Hello, everybody.

It's great to be here with you.

My name is Ms. Absal.

I'm so pleased that we've got together because today we're going to be exploring the verse novel "Cloud Busting." I absolutely love this novel and so I'm so pleased that we've got this time together.

So you're going to need a copy of this incredible text and look it up.

Great cover.

So you'll need a copy that looks just like this one.

I'll pause now while you go and fetch your copy of the text.

Okay, good to be back with you.

So you've got your text, you've got your thinking brain, you've got your listening ears, you've got your curiosity, your enthusiasm.

I think we're all set.

Let's go for it.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can discuss the main ideas of "Cloud Busting." Let's say what our keywords are today.

We'll go through them one at a time.

My turn.

Your turn.

Verse novel.

Form.

Fixed verse.

Free verse.

Theme.

All right, great stuff.

I could hear that loud and clear.

Let's find out more about these keywords.

A verse novel is a narrative told through poetry, blending prose and poetic elements.

Form is the way that a text can be presented.

Fixed verse is poetry with a specific structure, rhyme, and metre.

Free verse is poetry without strict rhyme or metre; it emphasises natural speech rhythms. And a theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.

Let's make sure we look out, we listen out and we think carefully about these keywords as they appear in our session today.

And the outline of today's lesson is as follows.

There's three parts to it.

First of all, exploring the story.

Next, exploring verse novels and then exploring themes.

Let's begin with exploring the story.

"Cloud Busting" is written by Malorie Blackman, with illustrations by Helen van Vliet.

"Cloud Busting" focuses on the relationship between two friends, Davey and Sam.

The story is told as a verse novel.

"Cloud Busting" uses both fixed verse and free verse poetry.

And remember, we talked about these in our keywords earlier.

A range of poetic forms are used by the author, including haikus, blank verse, limericks and concrete or shape poems. And these are represented in different chapters.

Malorie Blackman also uses a range of poetic devices, including metaphor and alliteration.

So metaphor is when we say one thing is like another thing.

So for example, we might say two friends are like peas in a pod.

So they're like so close together, they're tightly close together, like peas would be in a pod.

And alliteration is when words that are next to each other or near each other start with the same sound.

"Cloud Busting" is written in both the present and the past through use of flashbacks.

Flashbacks are when the story jumps into the past to show something important for the narrative.

In the author's note, Malorie Blackman discusses how the chapter titles add to the meaning that the reader can gain from reading the text.

The title of the text can be found in the titular poem, pages 133 to 134.

And titular means coming from the title.

So it's the title.

The book is called "Cloud Busting," and that poem is also called "Cloud Busting." Okay, I have my first questions for you.

Why is this verse novel important to you? And what did you notice on your first read through? So take a moment to reflect on this.

Just pause, think about these questions and then turn to someone nearby and share with them.

Pause the video while you do this.

So I'm curious, why is this verse novel important to you? What did you notice? Let's get a response from Laura.

This verse novel is important because it teaches us about friendship and also reasons why people are unkind or bully.

I was really surprised by the change in perspective in the poem "The Truth Hurts" where the narrator is revealed as Sam, the bully.

Yeah, a really important point there, Laura.

And there's no spoilers because everybody's already read this book.

So you'll know that Sam is in fact the bully.

Check for understanding.

"Cloud Busting" is written chronologically.

That means in time sequence.

Events are written about in the order that they occur.

Is that true or false? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected false.

That's not the case.

The events are not written in chronological order.

Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Choose between one of these two statements.

A, in the first poem, the narrator is referring to someone who is no longer in the class.

He describes their friendship in poems that follow.

Or is it B? David Youngson was nicknamed Fizzy Feet because he had pins and needles in an assembly at school.

Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected A as the correct justification for your answer.

Now let's go through a brief summary of the text.

So Mr. Mackie, the class teacher, begins by asking the class to write a poem about someone close to them.

The narrator, Sam, asks if he can write about Davey, the class quietens.

We learn that Davey is being picked on by the class bully.

He's described as weird.

Davey refuses to retaliate.

So retaliate means to fight back or to argue back.

Alex, Sam's friend, goads Sam.

That means he leads him on.

He goads Sam and encourages him to distance himself from Davey Through flashbacks, the reader sees how Davey opens Sam's eyes to the beauty of the world around him.

By the end of the text, both boys have changed significantly.

What a lot to cover in really quite a slim text.

Check for understanding.

I'd like you now to put the following events from "Cloud Busting" in chronological order.

That means in time order, in the sequence in which they occurred in the text and use the text to support you.

I'll read through them first of all.

So A, Davey reveals to Sam that he has a peanut allergy.

Sam shares this information with his friend Alex, who ends up hospitalising Davey.

The class' response to writing poetry is negative.

The class bully picks on Davey.

He calls him names and makes fun of his clothing and hygiene.

The bully is revealed as Sam, the narrator of the text.

Pause the video while you turn to someone nearby and discuss which order these events occurred in.

Okay, we're back together.

What did you come up with as your first event? Is it this one? The class' response to writing poetry is negative.

Next, the class bully picks on Davey.

Next, the bully is revealed as Sam.

And then we find out that Davey reveals to Sam he has a peanut allergy.

Well done for having a go at this ordering activity.

Okay, we're onto our first task.

Now that we've explored the story, we're going to discuss our own thoughts, our own feelings about the text.

So I'd you to answer the questions in the grid that's coming up in a moment with a partner.

Be honest about your thoughts and make sure that you listen, listen carefully to your partner's opinion.

So this is a chance for you to just pause, reflect, notice how you're feeling, notice your thoughts, share them, and also make sure you're listening to each other.

So here's our grid.

We're going to explore the story using this matrix.

So we will begin with likes.

What caught your attention? What made you wanna keep on reading? Here's some sentence stems. You might say I enjoyed or my favourite part was.

How about dislikes? Was there anything maybe you weren't unsure of, or didn't understand.

You could say I was unsure about or I wanted to know more about.

And finally, puzzles.

Was there anything you found strange or surprising? Here are some sentence stems for you.

I wondered or I noticed.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and answer these questions with your partner.

Likes, dislikes, and puzzles.

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

I'm curious, I'm wondering what you came up with.

What did you like? What was your favourite bit? Anything puzzle you, anything you're unsure about? Let me share some of mine.

So my favourite poem was "Shadow" because in the poem, Sam comes to the realisation that he is in Davey's shadow, not the other way around.

Dislikes: I didn't like how mean Alex was.

I was worried for Davey when Alex put a peanut in his sandwich in the poem "Just A Joke." Thankfully Davey was all right but that was a very, very serious moment.

Puzzles: I noticed quite a few of the poems had different structures and forms, and I wonder how Malorie Blackman decided which structure and form to use for each chapter of the story.

Next, we're going to be exploring verse novels.

Verse novels are a type of narrative where the story is told primarily through poetry.

We can see a couple of examples here.

"The Final Year" and "Love That Dog." I've gotta say, I really love dogs and I love this book, "Love That Dog." So yeah, I highly recommend that one to you.

Poets can use poetic language, line breaks and other poetic devices to convey the plot, characters and emotions of the story.

Some features of verse novels include visual appeal, figurative language, varied forms, and also enjambment.

This is where a sentence continues over two or more lines without any punctuation breaks.

Line breaks and stanzas.

Stanzas is when we have a group of lines in a poem together, a bit like a paragraph in prose.

Fixed verse poems can take many forms including a couplet, haiku, limericks, acrostic, sonnet, ballad, tanka or concrete or shape poems. There are several other poetry forms in other cultures and languages, each with its unique characteristics and traditions.

Free verse poetry does not adhere to specific rhyme or metre patterns.

So it doesn't stick to a very, very specific style.

Refer to the author's note for how these are used by Malorie Blackman effectively.

I'm going to tell you about my favourite poem and the structure it takes and why.

So one of my favourite sections from the text is the final haiku on page 25.

So a haiku is a traditional Japanese poetic art form in which the poems consist of three lines.

And the first and the third line have five syllables, and the middle line, the second line has seven syllables.

And often traditionally, they were nature themed.

So this poem, I feel it's effective not only because of its structure, the haiku structure I was just explaining, but also how it draws the reader in, sparking curiosity and leaving us on a cliffhanger.

So much is done, so much is achieved, in something so small.

What about you? What is your favourite poem or line from a poem? And what form or structure does it take? And why? Why is it effective? And you could use a sentence stem like this.

My favourite section is.

I thought it was effective because.

So pause the video now and share with someone next to you your favourite poem or line from a poem, the structure it takes and why it's effective.

So pause the video now as you choose your favourite poem.

Share it with someone nearby.

Tell them the structure it takes and why it's effective.

And I'll see you when you're finished.

Oh, I'm so curious.

I wonder what you came up with.

There are so many incredible poems in this book.

I can't imagine how hard it must have been to select one, but I wonder which one it was.

I hope you enjoyed sharing it with your partner.

Let's move on to our next task.

"Cloud Busting" uses a poem's form and structure to convey the characterization of Sam.

Characterization tells us what a character is like, the character traits, the way they are.

The range of poems provides the reader with background information about him and why he is the way he is.

We are able to both empathise with him, so we're able to feel with him, feel for him, and also distance ourselves from him when he harms others.

I'd like you now to find an example of a poem or part of a poem where Sam describes himself positively and one where he describes himself negatively.

And I'd like you to discuss the following: the poem's form, the poem's structure, characterization, and the imagery or illustration used.

So pause the video now while you find the poem or part of a poem where Sam describes himself positively and one way he describes himself negatively.

And discuss the points mentioned.

I'll see you when you're finished.

I wonder which poem or section of a poem you selected.

Let's have a look at some examples.

The final poem, "Homework," has Sam showing lots of the characteristics of Davey.

He has clearly learned a lot from his friendship and the mistakes he made.

He ends the text more optimistic and hopeful about the future.

And then in terms of describing himself negatively, Sam does this in the sixth poem, page 35.

This is a concrete or shape poem in the shape of a boot.

It describes the bully picking on Davey.

The poem has a strong sense of rhythm.

And finally, let's look into exploring themes.

A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference, where we're looking closely, we're reading between the lines.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

The text doesn't say this book is about.

So we have to search for them.

And there are a few ways in which we can identify themes.

Let's go through them.

Considering actions and characteristics of people within the text.

Identifying, repetition, actions, emotions, traits.

Searching for deeper meaning, using inference and considering the overall message of the text.

One of the most prominent themes in this text is bullying and friendship.

Sam is someone who we feel both annoyed with for the hurt he causes his friend Davey, but also someone who is misunderstood.

What themes do you think are shown within the text? Pause the video while you share with someone nearby.

So some themes you may have come up with are jealousy, empathy, compassion, regret, individuality, or maybe you came up with something else.

There are many possible themes that can be drawn out from this text.

And readers may interpret themes and their importance differently 'cause we're all individuals.

Check for understanding.

Match the theme with how it is conveyed in the text.

So here we've got three themes that occur in "Cloud Busting." Jealousy, compassion, and friendship, and how it can be conveyed in the text.

Conveyed means shown or represented.

Sam is annoyed that Alicia likes his friend more than him.

Sam understands what it means to be a true friend.

However, this is after Davey leaves school.

Davey always treats Sam with kindness, no matter how Sam reacts to him.

So pause the video now while you link up the theme and how it could be conveyed in the text.

Okay, let's see.

Did you link compassion with how Davey always treats Sam with kindness? Did you link friendship with how Sam understands what it means to be a true friend? And did you link jealousy with Sam being annoyed with Alicia? Well done if you made these connections.

A takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

What are your key takeaway ideas within "Cloud Busting?" What is it that you're leaving this text with? Pause the video while you share with someone nearby.

Okay, good to be back together again.

I wonder what you came up with.

What are you taking away? Let's hear some more ideas.

Here's Izzy.

"Embracing someone's individuality is a key part of genuine friendship." Oh, that is such a lovely statement.

Thank you, Izzy.

I feel quite moved reading that.

And Alex.

"It's important to own up to your mistakes and acknowledge them.

They are opportunities to learn." Wow, that's really, really, really important.

Thank you for sharing that, Alex.

Some takeaway ideas you might have mentioned could be a problem shared is a problem halved.

Sometimes it's important to share how you're feeling with someone else.

Are we forever defined by our mistakes? Oh, that's an interesting question to reflect on.

Honesty is always the best policy.

Yep.

And it's important to stand out for what is right and just.

Absolutely.

Wow, some really, really interesting takeaway ideas here.

Share your takeaway ideas with your partner.

And as our reading experiences are unique, your ideas will be too.

In our lesson developing understanding of "Cloud Busting" through rich discussions, we've covered the following.

The story of "Cloud Busting" is told as a verse novel in chapters.

The text uses both fixed verse and free verse forms of poetry.

A range of poetic forms are used by the author, including Haikus, blank verse, limericks and concrete or shape poems. "Cloud Busting" is written in both the present and the past through use of flashbacks.

A takeaway idea within a text may link to themes that are explored and developed in it.

It may include a key message, insight, or perspective that the author has communicated to the reader.

I wanna communicate to you that it has been really, really great to spend this time with you exploring this incredible text "Cloud Busting." And thank you for sharing your ideas, your thoughts, your feelings about this text, and I'll see you in the next lesson.

Bye for now.