Hi there.

I'm Mr. Buckingham.

And it's so good to see you here for today's lesson.

Now, I'm really excited because today we're going to start reading a fantastic new book called "A Kind of Spark" by Elle McNicoll.

I think you're going to really enjoy it.

So, let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called "Gathering Evidence About Characters And Their Relationships," that it comes from a unit called "A Kind of Spark" reading.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to describe the relationships between characters in the text and provide evidence to support these descriptions.

Now for this lesson, you will need to have access to the 2020 Knights Of Edition of "A Kind of Spark" written by Elle McNicoll and illustrated by Kay Wilson.

If you've got that with you, let's make a start.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

First person, evidence, and inference.

Well done.

So the first person perspective refers to the point of view where the narrator of the story is the "I" character providing a personal account of events or experiences.

And evidence is the information from a text that can support or justify our reasoning.

And an inference is a conclusion drawn from information and evidence in a text.

So, here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by looking at how we can gather evidence to support a viewpoint, and then we're going to be comparing relationships between characters in this text.

So as I said, we are reading a book called "A Kind of Spark," and it's written by Elle McNicoll.

And it's written in the first person, from the point of view of a girl called Addie.

So, she is the "I" character in the book and we are seeing her perspective on the events.

Now, before we start reading the first section of the book, here's some vocabulary we're going to encounter in that first chapter.

We're going to see the word "overly." Overly means too much.

You might say overly salty.

If something's diminished, it's made small or insignificant.

A thesaurus is used to find synonyms for words.

I'm sure you've used one of those in school.

It has the word you've looked up, and then some other examples of words which have a similar meaning.

A clamour is a great word for a loud, confusing noise, like a group shouting.

So, I'm sure sometimes in your playground there might be some clamour going on.

If you caress something, you're stroking it.

Maybe like a pet you might caress like this.

And if you're engrossed in something, it takes up all your attention.

So, I think you're going to be really engrossed in this book we're about to read.

So, now we've talked about that vocabulary.

I'd like you to go and read to the end of Page 2 in "A Kind of Spark." Pause the video and have a go.

Well, I hope you really enjoyed your first taste of the book.

We're going to get a lot deeper into it as we go through this unit.

First of all, let's check what we've read so far.

Which of these statements below are correct and can you correct any incorrect statements with the right information? Pause the video and have a try.

Well done.

Great job.

So A says, "Miss Murphy tore up Addie's work because the handwriting was poor.

That's correct, isn't it? B said, "Addie's best friend is called Emily.

No, that's not right.

Addie's best friend Jenna is talking to a girl called Emily.

C says, "Addie dislikes her sister Keedie." No, that can't be right because Addie wishes Keedie was here to help her in this horrible situation she's in.

And D says, "Addie's class was supposed to have a different teacher." And that's right, isn't it? So, Miss Murphy has stepped in to replace the intended teacher.

So, so far we've seen a really unpleasant situation that Addie's been placed in, but described brilliantly by Elle McNicoll.

Really well done for getting those correct.

So, in these first two pages we've been introduced already to several of the most important characters that we're going to stick with throughout this book.

We've got Addie, who's the protagonist, the main character who's speaking to us in the first person.

She's the one describing the events.

We also have Keedie, who is Addie's sister who's been mentioned.

And we have Jenna, who's Addie's best friend at the moment.

And we've got Miss Murphy who is Addie's teacher.

So, pause the video and talk to your partner.

What's your first impression of each of these characters? Have a chat with the person next to you.

So, I'm sure you came with lots of ideas there.

I'm sure you've got a negative first impression of Miss Murphy and maybe a more positive first impression of Addie or of Keedie.

Maybe you thought about Jenna a little bit.

Alex has said, "Jenna doesn't seem like a great best friend because when Addie is upset, she's just whispering to Emily!" So, she doesn't seem to be empathising with Addie's situation at all or trying to support her when she's in this horrible situation caused by Miss Murphy.

Really well done for your ideas there.

So at the end of this section, Addie's looking through her thesaurus to help her calm down from this horrible situation she's been in.

And she settles on the word "diminished", as one which describes her current situation.

So, why do you think she relates to this particular word at this particular point in the story? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Fantastic ideas.

So, maybe you said something like this.

Laura says, "Miss Murphy has made Addie feel small and insignificant, which is what 'diminished' means.

So, she feels like she's unimportant and unwanted." Her work, her story has just been disrespected, has been torn to shreds and thrown in the bin.

So, she's feeling squashed down or made insignificant, which is what diminished is.

Maybe you said this.

"Maybe Addie started off feeling 'big' because she was proud of her story, but now she feels 'small'." And that's what diminished is.

When you go from bigger to smaller, something gets diminished.

So, hopefully you've got some brilliant ideas there too for why Addie settled on that word.

Well done.

Now, we haven't yet been told this in this story, but one part of Addie's character is that she is autistic.

So, what does that mean? Well, autism is a condition that makes autistic people's brains work differently to other peoples.

For instance, some autistic people may find it hard to interact with others and to understand how others are thinking or feeling, or to understand situations they're placed in.

Some autistic people might also find loud noises or bright lights and sensory inputs overwhelming.

And they might get anxious about new situations or about changes to their routine.

Some autistic people may do the same things repeatedly to help soothe themselves in difficult situations, or they might need longer to process information.

But it's really important to remember that not all autistic people are the same.

Some autistic people might need support from adults and maybe other children in school, whereas others might need no help at all.

But they might still be experiencing some of the challenges that we've talked about there.

So, do you agree with what Andeep says here? And why or why not? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Really good ideas.

Maybe you agree with Izzy? She says, "I think anyone would be upset in this situation because what Miss Murphy did was awful." Or maybe you agree with Sam.

She says, "Maybe Addie's autism is making it hard for her to see that Miss Murphy is wrong in this situation.

So, she's blaming herself for what's going on." Really well done for your ideas too.

So, now I'd like you to read up to the end of Chapter 1.

Pause the video and have a read.

Well done.

Really good reading.

So, we've seen here Addie being much more relaxed and at ease compared to when she was in the classroom.

So, what do we learn about Addie in this section that's new compared to what we saw in this situation with Miss Murphy? Pause the video and have a chat to the person next to you.

Well done.

Great idea.

So, we learned that she loves sharks and that she's very knowledgeable about them.

And we learned that she's happy here in the library and that she likes Mr. Allison who's the librarian.

And we learned that she has a good imagination.

So, we've learned much more about what Addie enjoys doing compared to the stressful situation we saw in the classroom before.

Well done for your ideas there.

So, can you give the answer to each of these questions about what we just read? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good ideas.

So, A says, "what happens to Addie's heart when she's in the school corridor?" Well, she's feeling very stressed, isn't she? So, it's beating too fast.

And what's different about the library compared to the corridor? Well, it's quieter and the things are more spread out.

It's a more calm and relaxing environment.

What does Addie imagine at night to help her sleep? Well done.

That's right.

She imagines diving into the sea and exploring there.

And how does Addie feel when Mr. Allison gives her the book? Well, she's instantly feeling better, isn't she? So, this is a big improvement compared to how she was feeling in the classroom and in the corridor.

Really well done for your answers there.

So, we know that when we are reading, all the time, we are gathering evidence to support inferences, to support things we work out about a character or an event in a text.

So for instance, Aisha says this.

"I think that because of her autism, Addie often finds that school overwhelms her senses." So, Aisha's made an inference, and we can see lots of evidence to support this inference that school can be overwhelming for Addie.

For instance, she finds the sound of her story being ripped up very loud.

She feels like Miss Murphy is shouting at her.

She feels like the school bell is very loud.

She feels like the children are too close to her in the corridors.

And she has a physical reaction, doesn't she? To this sensory overload.

She feels her heart beating too fast.

So, we've got loads of evidence there to support Aisha's inference that the school environment can be overwhelming for Addie.

So, which of the following are pieces of evidence that support the inference that Addie loves learning about sharks? Pause the video and see which ones stand out to you as pieces of evidence to support that viewpoint.

Have a go.

Well done.

Good job.

So, A says, "She says 'sharks' so excitedly." Yes, that's a good piece.

B says, "She loves reading about dinosaurs." No, that's not mentioned.

C says, "She's 'caressing' the photo of the shark." Yes, that's good evidence that she loves sharks.

And D says, "She finds reading a calming activity." Well, that's not evidence that she loves learning about sharks, is it? That's a more general idea.

E says, "She's grateful to Mr. Allison for the book." That works because it shows us she enjoys reading books about sharks specifically.

F says, "Mr. Allison is silent for some time." That's not evidence to support Addie loving sharks.

G says, "She's 'dazed' by being given the book." Yes, that shows the impact of the book on her because it's about sharks.

And H says, "She's 'engrossed' in the book." Remember, engrossed means you are fully involved in it.

So, that shows us she really wants to read about sharks.

So, loads of evidence there to support the inference that Addie loves learning about sharks.

So, what evidence is there that Addie and Mr. Allison have a good relationship? Looking back in the text, what evidence can you find to support that inference that we've made? Pause the video and have a try.

Well done.

Good job.

There's lots of evidence, isn't there? So for instance.

He says her name happily when she enters the library.

She describes as being "kindly".

She has a mental image of him as being "nice".

She likes that he focuses on books rather than on "boring" things.

So she's giving him, she's giving a positive opinion of him.

He gives her a book on a subject that she loves, sharks, showing that he knows her well.

He tells Addie to keep the book as long as she wants, showing his generosity towards her.

And she tries to show him that she's really grateful for that book.

So, the things that Addie does and the things that Mr. Allison do together provide us lots of evidence to support this inference that they have a good relationship together.

Well done for putting all the evidence.

So, let's do our first task for this lesson.

Referring to what we've read so far, we're going to gather some evidence to complete the table below.

So, we've got one side of the table which says.

"things in school that can be difficult for some autistic people." So, I want you to find some evidence of things that are difficult for some autistic people.

And then, I want you to find some evidence of things in school that can be helpful for some autistic people.

So, thinking about what would be good for autistic people.

What does Addie find better about the library compared to the corridor? But as we said before, do bear in mind that all autistic people are different.

So, these won't be true for everyone.

If you're autistic, you might have a different experience of school to someone else who's autistic.

And things that work for you might not be the same things that work for them.

So, let's just try and come up with some general ideas of things that can be difficult for some autistic people based on the text, and things that can be helpful for some autistic people based on what we read in the text.

So, we're looking back at the text we've read for our evidence.

Pause the video and see what evidence you can find.

Well done.

Really good job.

So, here are some examples of the evidence you might have found.

For things that can be difficult, you might have said people shouting, people not explaining why things are happening.

Changes like a change of teacher, like Addie had with Miss Murphy.

Crowded spaces like the corridor.

And loud noises like that school bell.

And things that can be helpful might be things like this.

Having calm spaces to go to like the library.

Having quiet areas.

Having a trusted adult to talk to like Mr. Allison.

And being able to explore particular interests, like Addie is able to explore her interest in sharks, and she finds that calming.

So, notice that all these things which are helpful to autistic people are also helpful to all of us in the school.

We all need to have calm spaces to go to and trusted adults to talk to, and to be able to explore our interests.

So, these things which help autistic people help us all in school as well.

Really well done for finding that evidence.

So, now let's move onto to the second part of our lesson.

We're going to see if we can compare some of the different relationships that Addie has, and we're going to read some more of the book.

So, we've seen Addie in a school environment so far, haven't we? Both in her classroom, in the corridor and the library.

In Chapter 2, she's going to be at home having her tea.

So, we're going to see her in a completely different environment.

So, here's some of the vocabulary we're going to encounter in this second chapter of the book.

We're going to see the word "retracts".

And if something retracts, it goes back into its normal position.

If hair is auburn, it's reddish brown.

At a therapy session, you talk to a professional who helps you to understand your feelings and your thoughts better.

A rebuke is a telling-off.

So, maybe a teacher might give you a stern rebuke if you've done something wrong.

And if you act instinctively, you do it without thinking.

So, I'd like you to now read to the star on page 12, Pause the video and have a read.

Well done.

Great reading.

So, I hope you enjoyed reading about Addie being at home there.

So based on what you've read, are these statements true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good work.

So, A says, "Addie prefers food to have strong flavours." No, that was false.

B says, "Nina is an influencer who makes videos." That's true.

C says, "Addie seems to prefer Keedie to Nina." That's true.

And D says, "Keedie really wants to be an influencer too." Then, that's false, isn't it? Really well done for getting this.

So, can you now give an answer to each of these questions based on what you've read in Chapter 2? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Good job.

So, A says, "What did Addie's therapy sessions focus on?" They focused on how to identify different facial expressions and the emotion they showed.

B says, "What will Addie do with Keedie that she won't do with other people?" She will share a hug.

C says, "What can Addie hear that her dad cannot?" So, she can hear the sounds of Nina finishing her recording and leaving her room.

So she's got extra sensitive hearing as part of her autism.

D says, "What makes certain lights 'bad' for Keedie and Addie?" Well, if they're too bright, they can be painful to experience.

Really well done for your answers there.

So, we've learned some important new information in this part of Chapter 2.

We now know that Addie has twin older sisters called Nina and Keedie.

And we know that Keedie is also autistic, but Nina is not.

And we know that Nina is an influencer and that Keedie is at university.

So, they've got two quite different personalities.

And like we said earlier, as we read, we're always using evidence in the text to make inferences, to work things out about each character in our minds.

And we're not even always aware of those things that we're doing, but we are still doing it by picking up this piece of evidence and using them to create inferences to work out what we think is happening, what we think about each of these characters.

So for instance, if we take this piece of evidence.

"Dad throws pasta onto the ceiling to check if it's cooked." From that, we might infer that he's a carefree person who doesn't mind a bit of mess.

So we've taken a piece of evidence, something we've read, and maybe even without thinking, we formed the impression of dad, the inference of dad, that he's carefree and doesn't mind a bit of mess.

He's enjoying life.

So, that tells us something about him.

We've made an inference perhaps without even noticing it.

So, look at the top of page 12 now.

How do you think Nina feels at this point and why might she feel this way? Pause the video, look at page 12, and have a think.

Well done.

Good job.

And well done for looking back at the text there.

So, maybe you agree with Aisha.

She says, "Well, she talks about Keedie and Addie having a 'secret' that she's not a part of.

So it sounds like maybe Nina's jealous of their close relationship.

But maybe if she was nicer to them, they'd share more with her." And she'd be in on the secret instead of being apart from it.

But maybe you agree with Izzy.

She says, "Perhaps it's not about jealousy as much as feeling left out of their relationship.

Because remember, Keedie and Addie are both autistic, whereas Nina is not.

So, she's the only one of the three sisters who isn't autistic." And that could be difficult to deal with, couldn't it? 'Cause she may feel a bit left out in that situation.

So, she could just be jealous or she could be feeling a little bit isolated.

Well done for your thoughts there.

Now we can see lots of evidence in the text about the different relationships Addie has with members of her family.

So, we could say that Addie's dad is very caring towards her and he considers her autism a lot.

That's an inference that we've made from the text.

So, what evidence supports it? Well, we can see that he doesn't bombard Addie with questions when she gets home from school.

He knows that she needs a bit of time to be calm and have quiet.

And they share activities together as they get ready for tea.

He makes different food for her to eat that she finds easier to eat.

And he "rebukes" or tells off Nina for the way she talks to Addie.

So, dad comes across here as very supportive, doesn't he? So, we've made the inference that he's caring and supportive and we've shown the evidence that supports that inference.

And remember, we might have made that inference without even really thinking about it because we've picked up on those pieces of evidence as we read.

So, do you agree with Sofia? Why or why not? She says, "It almost feels like Nina has a kind of double personality, like she's two different people!" Pause the video and decide if you agree or not.

Well done.

Good job.

So, maybe you said something like Andeep.

He says, "Yes, I agree! She's so nice to all her followers in her videos, but she doesn't seem to treat Addie very well." So, it's like she's lovely on her camera, on her videos, but not so nice in person to Addie.

Well, maybe you agree with Alex.

He says, "It seems like she's trying to present this happy image to the world, but she doesn't seem that happy in real life." And we often say that about social media and influencing, don't we? Where people create a beautiful impression of their life, but their real life might not be quite as good as they try to make out.

And maybe Nina's doing something similar there.

Really well done for your thoughts.

So, let's do our final task of assessment where we're going to compare some of Addie's relationships.

Now we can infer from the section we've just read that Addie has very different relationships with Keedie and with Nina.

So, I want you to complete the table using evidence from this part of Chapter 2 to show the difference between these two relationships.

So, I want you to show the evidence that Addie and Keedie have a close relationship and the evidence that Addie and Nina have a more distant relationship.

They're further apart from each other.

So pause the video, look back at what we've read of Chapter 2, and see what evidence you can find to support these two inferences we've made about her relationships.

Have a go.

Well done.

Really good job.

So, here's some of the evidence you might have selected.

First of all, we made the inference that Addie and Keedie have a close relationship.

What evidence supports that? Well, Keedie's the only person Addie will hug.

They understand each other easily, for instance, about the lights.

And Addie is waiting impatiently for Keedie to come home.

And finally, Addie jumps up to let Keedie in through the window.

So, all of that supports this idea that they have a close relationship.

Loads of evidence.

What about the evidence for the inference that Addie and Nina have a distant relationship? Well, Addie doesn't seem to understand Nina's expression when she looks at her.

And Addie says that she struggles to understand some of Nina's behaviour.

She's confused by it.

And finally, they talk to each other in a kind of hostile way, don't they? And they don't really greet each other when Nina comes downed to the kitchen there.

So, all of that evidence supports our inference that they have a more distant relationship than Addie has with Keedie.

Really well done for the evidence you gathered there.

So, let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We've said that in "A Kind of Spark," the main character is Addie, an autistic girl who has two twin sisters, and one of her sisters is also autistic.

We've said that the book is written in the first person from her perspective, from Addie's perspective.

We know that Addie struggles with some things at home and school, but she has relationships with some other characters and keen interests in certain areas.

And we know that when we read a text, we are constantly making inferences based on the evidence in front of us, even if we're not aware of this process.

Really well done for your effort in this lesson.

Great job.

And I hope you're enjoying this book as much as I am.

If you'd like to join me in the next lesson, please make sure you've read up to the end of Chapter 3 before then.

I hope to see you there.

Goodbye.