Hello there.

How are you today? Hope you're really, really well.

My name is Miss Afzal.

I'm feeling really good because we are going to explore a very interesting text today.

It is called "Blackberry Blue," and it's by Jamila Gavin.

So I'll let you pause the video here while you go and fetch your copy of the text.

It's good to see you again.

You've got your copy of the text.

What else do you have? Do you have some curiosity? Do you have some lively interest? I hope so.

Let's begin exploring "Blackberry Blue." The outcome for today's lesson is, I can understand the features of a contemporary fairy tale.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

Let's go through them, my turn, your turn.

Preface, fairy tale, features, prologue, prediction.

Fantastic.

I heard those loud and clear.

Let's find out more about what these keywords mean.

A preface is an introduction to a book, typically stating its subject, scope, or aims. A fairy tale is a story that typically involves magical or supernatural elements, often with a hero or heroin who overcomes challenges to achieve their goals.

The features of a text type refer to distinctive characteristics that belong to it.

A prologue refers to an introductory section that sets the stage for the stories within a text.

A prediction is an educated guess based on evidence in the text or prior knowledge.

So let's make sure we're on a lookout for these words.

We're listening for them.

We're being curious about these keywords.

So let's find out what's involved in our lesson today, reading and engaging with "Blackberry Blue." Well, there's two parts of the lesson.

There's introduction to the genre and text and first impressions.

Let's begin with that introduction to the genre and text.

"Blackberry Blue" is a collection of fairy tales written by Jamila Gavin with illustrations by Richard Collingridge.

The text contains six stories with characters from various backgrounds and cultures.

reflecting the diversity of the world.

Each tale contains magical elements and fantastical occurrences, adding to the enchantment of the storytelling.

The front cover can provide the reader with clues as to what might occur in the text.

So here's my first question for you.

This is a good question.

What do you notice on the front cover? So this is a very, very rich, engaging, detailed front cover.

I'd like you to pause now and talk to the person next to you and tell them everything that you notice on that front cover.

So pause the video here, and I'll see you when you've had that discussion.

Okay, so I'm really curious, what did you notice on the front cover? What did you spot? Maybe some of these things you may have spotted.

A young woman, her hair is full of blue flowers.

Her dress is made up of red autumn leaves.

Both look as though they're fragmenting.

That means they're falling apart.

The figure is surrounded by thorns and brambles.

These continue around the spine and the back cover too, so take a really close look.

Pick up the book.

Maybe not now, perhaps later, pick it up and take a look.

Can you see those thorns and brambles continuing to grow across the spine and all the way onto the back cover? What else did you spot? Did you notice this? A wolf howling up at the moon, and a blackbird, possibly a crow or a raven, is flying across a forest.

There's a large castle, a kingdom bathed in white light, and that can be seen in the background.

And three red petals trail beneath the title of the text.

Oh, my goodness.

So curious.

So much going on here.

Well done if you spotted these things.

Check for understanding, true or false? The front cover of the text can usually provide us with some clues about the story.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

And now I'd like you to justify your answer.

The front cover just tells readers the author of a text.

The front cover gives subtle hints at what might happen in a narrative.

Pause the video while you decide which of these is the correct justification for your answer.

Well done if you selected B.

Indeed, the front cover gives hints what could be happening.

There are clues there if we look closely at the image on the front cover.

So, of course, we have the title of the text and the author, but there's more to it than that.

So what are the features of a traditional fairy tale? So we have got some of our keywords here.

What are the features of a traditional fairy tale? Well, features are refer to some of the distinctive characteristics of a particular text type that belong to that text type.

And another one of our keywords that we have here is fairy tale.

And a fairy tale is a story that involves magical or supernatural elements, and it often has a hero or heroine who overcomes challenges to achieve their goals.

So let's find out some more.

Let's find out what some of these features of a fairy tale are.

Pause the video and talk to someone nearby.

What are some of the features of a traditional fairy tale? Okay, what did you come up with? I'm curious to find out.

Maybe something like this, magical or supernatural elements, such as fairies, witches, and enchanted objects.

All exciting.

What else? Usually including a hero or heroine who overcomes obstacles to achieve their goals.

What else? Frequently they involve a conflict between good and evil forces.

They often contain an important moral or a lesson that is taught, and there may be a repetition of phrases, motifs, or story elements which can reinforce the key themes of the text.

Well done if you came up with some of these features for a traditional fairy tale.

Fairy tales are an important part of many cultures' storytelling traditions, offering insights into a society's values, beliefs, and customs. So which fairy tales do you already know? I'd like you to turn to someone nearby and share with each other.

Maybe you can even play fairy tale tennis.

One of you says a fairy tale, and then the next one and then the next one, and so on.

So how many fairy tales can you come up with? How many in your rally of fairy tale tennis? And I'll see you when you finish.

Pause the video here.

Okay, so which fairy tales did you come up with? You may have mentioned "Little Red Riding Hood," a classic.

"Hansel & Gretel," very good.

"The Little Mermaid," "The Ugly Duckling," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "Rapunzel," "Rumpelstiltskin" and "The Princess and the Pea." So many, and maybe you had some other fairy tales as well that you mentioned.

So well done for coming up with those.

So many fantastic fairy tales, and we know there are more, many, many more.

In "Blackberry Blue," Jamila Gavin updates these traditional tales while keeping many of the themes.

She explores her reasons for this in the preface.

And there's our keyword preface, and a preface is like an introduction to the book where we may have stated the subject, scope, and aims of the text.

Check for understanding, which of the following features are usually found in traditional fairy tale texts: modern technology, a hero or heroine who overcomes obstacles, magical or supernatural elements? So pause the video while you decide which of these features are usually found in traditional fairy tale texts.

Well done if you selected statements B and C.

Indeed, a hero or heroine who overcomes obstacles is usually found in traditional fairy tales and so are magical or supernatural elements.

Fairy tales often aim to create timeless and universal stories that transcend specific historical periods, so they go beyond being in one particular period of history or, indeed, showing technological advancements.

Before reading the tale of "Blackberry Blue," we are going to explore the preface.

So remember that preface is like the introduction to the, where we may find out more about the subject, the scope, the aims. So what I'd like you to do now is to read the preface at the beginning of the text, page 9.

And 9 is written as an i and an x in Roman numerals.

Roman numeral are frequently used for pages before the main text begins in a book.

So read the preface and then answer this question.

What were Jamila's goals when writing her own collection of fairy tales? So pause the video here, read the preface, and then turn someone nearby and share with them what were Jamila's goals when writing her own collection of fairy tales.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, good to be back with you.

Let's hear what Sam has to say.

"Jamila wanted to honour traditional fairy tales, such as those written by Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm, and reflect a range of characters from diverse backgrounds so all readers could see themselves in such fantastical tales." Oh, my goodness, I love that.

Yeah, thank you for sharing that, Sam.

So wonderful, wonderful answer, and what a wonderful goal that Jamila had, so that everybody, all readers, can find themselves in stories by seeing themselves reflected, how inspiring.

"Blackberry Blue" begins with a prologue, a paragraph that sets the stage for the fairy tale that is about to follow.

Prologues may provide background information, establish the tone or themes, or offer a glimpse into the magical world readers are about to enter.

So there's our keyword prologue.

It gives us that background information and sets the stage for what's to happen next.

So what I'd like you to do now is read the prologue on page 1 and ending with the word king.

Once you've done that, turn to someone nearby and share with them, what do you notice? And how does it make you feel? So pause the video while you read the prologue and share with someone, what do you notice? How does it make you feel? Okay, it's great to be back with you.

So you've read the prologue, you have had a discussion about what you noticed and what you felt.

I wonder if it was something like this.

Let's hear from Aisha.

"I noticed that the prologue contained lots of rhetorical questions.

This made me feel interested and engaged with the story.

I wonder how they will be answered." Yeah, great.

Great question from you, Aisha, about the rhetorical questions.

There's questions that don't necessarily look for an answer, that they're really making us think.

And here is Jacob.

"I really like the image of happiness like a butterfly.

Will the story end well for the main character?" Aw, so many questions.

I wonder what you came up with.

What did you notice? How did you feel? And do you have some questions as well, I wonder? Check for understanding, which of the following characters are mentioned in the prologue to "Blackberry Blue," king, troll, woodcutter, witch? Pause the video while you decide which characters are mentioned in the prologue to "Blackberry Blue." Well done if you selected king, woodcutters, and witch.

I wonder if these characters make you think of a specific traditional fairy tale or, indeed, several.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to refer to the front cover, the preface, and the prologue of "Blackberry Blue." What predictions can you make about "Blackberry Blue"? And you can refer to the words, the illustrations, features of the text, and your own personal experience.

And you might like to begin your sentence like this: "I predict," give your prediction, and then, "because," and give your reasoning.

So pause the video here while you refer to the front cover, the preface, the prologue of "Blackberry Blue," and share your predictions with someone nearby.

Okay, it's good to be back with you.

So what did you predict? Maybe something like this.

"I predict that the main character will encounter the Raven Witch and Wolf Sun.

I notice these creatures on the front cover.

A feature of a fairy tale is the triumph of good over evil.

I think the main character will triumph." Okay, interesting.

I like how this answer is really drawing on the front cover and looking out for those details.

"I predict there may be themes of life and death because it mentions in the prologue that death treats everyone, no matter their status, equally." Hm, yeah, really nice answer there.

Again, very careful exploration of the text there of the prologue.

And if your prediction can be justified using information from the text, features of fairy tales, or personal experience, then it is a good prediction.

Well done for your good prediction.

And now we are to the next part of our lesson, first impressions.

Before we start reading, let's have a look at some words that we will encounter in the opening few pages.

Parapets, this is a low protective wall along the edge of a roof.

Plaintive, sounding sad or mournful.

Profusion, abundance or large quantity of something.

Briar, a thorny shrub or a tangled glass of prickly plants.

And here we can see some delicious, juicy-looking blackberries.

There's few ripe ones there in the centre, on a briar.

Damson is a small plum used in cooking or making jam.

And a foundling is an abandoned infant or child with unknown parentage.

"Blackberry Blue" opens with the king and queen of a kingdom rejoicing at the birth of a baby boy called Just.

I'd like you now to read pages 1 to 10, up to the word last.

And when you have done that, I'd late to refer to page 2.

What do you think it means when the text describes the woodcutter and his wife being poor but feeling rich? So pause the video, read pages 1 to 10, and then answer this question about the woodcutter and his wife being poor but feeling rich.

What do you think that means? Pause the video here.

I'll see you when you're finished.

Here's Andy.

"I think it means that the woodcutter and his wife felt thankful for the life they had and did not let themselves become sad by thinking about what they didn't have." Oh, my goodness.

I love that attitude.

That's literally one of my favourite attitudes in the world.

I wonder if you've been able to do that sometimes.

Just think about not really focus on what you don't have but just think about the things that you do have and to feel thankful for that.

Yeah, we really can be so rich.

Goodness, we could be multimillionaires if we like in our mind and in our heart if we really, really paid attention and were thankful for the things that we have.

Pages 5 and 6 contain some magical elements, a key feature of traditional fairy tales.

List at least two events which might be considered magical to the woodcutter's wife.

Pause the video while you refer to pages 5 and 6 and list two events that could be considered magical.

Okay, which events did you find? Maybe this one? The wall of brambles traps the woodcutter's wife, not letting her escape.

Or maybe this one: the woodcutter discovers an abandoned baby in the briar.

This is very unusual.

The baby's eyes are described as shining like blackberries.

You might have also mentioned the fact that the woodcutter's wife was sure that the blackberries were not there before she had fallen asleep.

Very curious.

Check for understanding, place the following events in chronological order.

So that means in time order, in time sequence, the sequence of which they occurred, and refer to the text for support.

So let's go through these events we have.

The woodcutter's wife goes off to hunt for blackberries.

The woodcutter and his wife nurture Blackberry Blue as if she was their own child.

Prince Just's mother dies shortly after giving birth.

The woodcutter's wife discovers a baby in the briars.

So pause the video while you place these events in chronological order.

Did you get this as the first event, Prince Just's mother dies shortly after giving birth? Next, woodcutter's wife goes off to hunt for blackberries.

After that, the woodcutter's wife discovers a baby in the briars.

And finally, the woodcutter and his wife nurture Blackberry Blue as if she were their own child.

Well done if you place the events in this order.

And now I'd like you to refer to page 8.

The king has remarried.

However, his new wife is not all she seems. What clues are there that the new queen is a witch? Pause the video and turn to someone nearby and share with them after you've read page 8.

What clues are there that the new queen is a witch? Here's Lucas.

"In the text, it is rumoured that rooms become cold when the queen enters them, flowers perish when left in her bedroom, and a black raven flies out of a window in the dead of night." Woo.

Spooky.

Check for understanding, match the character to the moral principles of good or evil.

So we have the characters, the king, new queen, Prince Just, Prince Wolf, and the woodcutter's wife and Blackberry Blue, and good and evil.

So pause the video while you match the characters to whether their moral principles are more in the direction of good or evil.

So the king is good.

The new queen goes in the direction of evil.

Prince Just, good.

Prince Wolf, evil.

And the woodcutter's wife and Blackberry Blue also have good moral principles.

And now it's time for your final task.

When introduced, the two princes are described in very contrasting ways.

So contrasting means they're very different, kind of opposing.

What words and actions demonstrate the princes' personalities and character traits? Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.

So I'd like you to refer to pages 9 and 10 for support.

"Prince Wolf is," and, "because," give us your reasoning.

And you may like to begin, "Prince Just is," describe their personality and their character traits and why, what is your reasoning for that? So pause the video while you have a go at this task, and I'll see you when you're finished.

So what words and actions demonstrate the princes' personalities and character traits? Here's Alex.

"Prince Wolf is very rude.

He does not have any manners when requesting a pie from Blackberry Blue and her mother.

He snatches and takes more than one without even paying." Okay, thank you for that answer, Alex.

I like how you've shared some of those character traits and also really given us, back that up with some evidence from the text of why you feel that Prince Wolf is rude.

Here is Izzy.

"Prince Just is kind because he immediately offers payment.

The woodcutter's wife describes him as handsome and very noble." Oh, fantastic.

Thanks for that answer, Izzy.

Again, I like you've given us your answer, you think he's kind, and you've given us your reasoning for that.

And I wonder if these traits will remain fixed throughout the text.

Yeah, interesting because we all change, don't we? We may have certain character traits, but then sometimes in certain conditions or certain times or situations, maybe we change, and our personalities or character traits may change a little.

So I'm interested too to find out what happens later in the text.

In our lesson today, reading and engaging with "Blackberry Blue," we have covered the following.

"Blackberry Blue" is a collection of six fairy tales with characters from various backgrounds and cultures, reflecting the diversity of the world.

Each tale contains magical elements and fantastical occurrences, which is a key feature of the genre.

A preface is an introduction to a book, typically stating its subject, scope, or aims. The story begins with a prologue, a paragraph that sets the stage for the fairy tale that is about to follow.

Characters are identifiable as good or evil depending on their actions and how they are described.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson, where we're beginning to engage with this wonderful text, "Blackberry Blue." It was great to spend time with you.

I loved hearing about which fairy tales you know, enjoyed that game of fairy tale tennis.

I'll see you again soon on the next lesson.

Bye for now.