Hi everyone, thank you for joining me for today's reading lesson.

My name is Mr. Charlesworth, and in today's lesson, we are going to be exploring the text "Coming to England", which is written by Floella Benjamin.

I'm really looking forward to working with you today.

For today's lesson, you are going to need a copy of the text.

It needs to look exactly like mine.

Pause the video whilst you go and collect your copy.

Fantastic work, I hope you're looking forward to reading.

Let's get started.

The lesson outcome for today's lesson is, I can identify and reflect on the key themes in "Coming to England".

The key words are my turn, your turn.

Theme, convey discrimination, adversity.

Let's say there's once more, theme, convey, discrimination and adversity, well done.

Let's now have a look at the definitions.

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

To convey means to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly.

Discrimination is treating a personal group of people differently and unfairly because of a certain characteristic.

Adversity can be described as challenges, prejudice, and hardships a person had to confront and overcome in their life.

Don't worry if you're unsure about any of these keywords, we'll be exploring them throughout the lesson.

In today's lesson, we're going to be exploring and engaging with the themes in "Coming to England".

We're going to begin by reading chapter 15, which is at the end of the text before then having a go at identifying and reflecting on themes that we've discovered across the whole text.

Let's begin by exploring chapter 15 together.

"Coming to England" is written by Floella Benjamin and illustrated by Joelle Avelino.

Let's have a look at what we know so far about the text.

In the previous reading, we learned that Floella is pleased to be reunited with her parents and younger siblings, but she has mixed emotions about her new home.

If you've been able to read the chapters in between the sections we've read together, well done.

If you haven't, here's a brief synopsis of what happens.

In chapters 11 to 14, Floella attempts to settle into her new life in a new country.

She experiences discrimination, which is due to the colour of her skin.

Ella describes what it's like to feel as though you have two identities, two accents, and two different lives.

She's proud of both cultures and countries.

In chapter 15, Floella describes her determination to succeed.

She's very competitive and achieves well in both academic and sporting environments.

And I'll like you to read the first part of chapter 15, which is from page 107 to the bottom of page 112.

You should get up to the word family.

Turn to page 112 now to see where you're reading up to and then go back to the beginning of chapter 15 and read together with your partner.

Pause the video now whilst you read.

Great reading, at the start of this chapter we get insight into both positive and negative experiences that Floella writes about.

I'd like you to now refer to page 107, right at the beginning of the chapter.

Can you tell me why were Floella and her siblings so competitive around mealtimes? Have a look back at the text if you need to.

Pause the video now whilst you answer the question with your talk partner.

Fantastic work, did you spot what Floella compares her and her siblings to? It was quite an interesting animal.

An example might be like Jacobs who says, "Floella describes her siblings as being like wild piranhas circling around Junior's plate.

I think they competed to have as much of Marmie's cooking as possible." I can imagine Marmie's cooking was described in both the first chapter and in chapter 10 as being really delicious and something to look forward to.

Sadly, as we continue to read, Floella still experiences discrimination.

She writes about several examples where she faces adversity.

While done on noticing both of our keywords, Floella describes lots of experiences as both discrimination and challenges that she had to overcome throughout the whole text.

I wonder, can you find two examples where Floella is discriminated against due to the colour of her skin? You might like to refer to pages 108 and 112 for support.

Pause the video now whilst you identify these with your partner.

Really interesting discussion.

Your comment might have been similar to Aisha who says, "Floella experiences racism in the swimming pool.

She's not allowed to join in with the other girls.

When captaining her team to victory she's not permitted to take the trophy home, which has always happened before." I wonder if you reflected on any other examples of discrimination through this chapter or in previous ones.

Here's a check for understanding based on what we've just read.

Can you match the colours of the house names at Floella's school? You can of course refer to pages 109 and 110 for support.

On the left, you've got a series of colours and on the right hand side, the name's Elizabeth Fry, Florence Nightingale, Edith Cavell, and Charlotte Bronte.

Pause the video now whilst you match them up.

Well done, I remember Floella mentioning in the text that she was wearing a yellow sash and that represented the house, Elizabeth Fry.

The red links to Florence Nightingale, the blue to Charlotte Bronte, the yellow to Elizabeth Fry and the green to Edith Cavell.

Well done if you've got those all correct.

You may wish to explore what made these women inspirational.

Perhaps you know a few of them already.

Let's continue to explore the chapter together.

Floella and her family still visit church regularly.

It is described as very different to worship in Trinidad.

I'd like you to now read the second part of chapter 15.

That's on pages 113 to the bottom of page 118.

That's the end of the text.

Pause video now while you read together, Well read, is quite an emotional resolution to the story isn't it? And I'd like you to answer the following question.

Referring to page 113 and 114, why was Floella especially shocked by the members of the church? Well noticed, they're known as parishioners.

Pause video now whilst you discuss the question with your partner.

Great discussion, it's yet another example of discrimination.

Your discussion might be similar to Sam who says that, "Floella feels betrayed by the parishioner's responses, which are directed towards her and her family.

She was made to feel like she didn't belong.

This was one of several experiences that Floella came up against in her younger life.

Ella was still able to look on the bright side.

Her confidence in herself grew in her new church that they moved to as well as at school.

At the end of the text, she describes a Christmas concert where she performs a solo piece.

I'd like you now to refer to page 115.

What was the audience's reaction to Floella acting, singing, and dancing? I wonder if you can see how they reacted specifically and the action that they performed.

And how did they perform it? Pause the video now whilst you answer the question with your partner.

Great discussion, perhaps we need a round of applause like in a text.

Let's have a look at an example from Jun.

He says that, "Floella describes the applause that follows her performance as thunderous.

This suggests the audience are clapping loudly and enthusiastically.

Sandra is incredibly proud of her sister." That moment at the end of the text really resonated with me.

I hope it did for you too.

Here's our next check for understanding.

At the end of the school concert, the audience asked for an encore because, A, they were really impressed.

They wanted to hear more.

B, they really disliked Floella's singing or C, they were prejudiced.

Which one of these options is the correct answer? Pause the video now whilst you decide.

Well done, the whole experience is described really positively for Floella , so therefore the answer is A, they were really impressed and they wanted to hear more.

In this task, we're going to reflect on the text as a whole.

In "Coming to England", some of Floella's experiences are positive, but some are also negative.

Floella regularly compares England to the country of her birth, Trinidad.

Referring to the text, I'd like you to make notes on the following, home life, transport, church and her emotions.

You can add notes to the table like this.

I'll start by sharing one that I've got for Trinidad.

In chapter one, Floella describes her home as having lots of rooms. They've each got enough space, which was very different to life in London.

You can of course refer to the following chapters for more information to put into your table.

For home life, focus on chapters one and 10.

For transport, focus on chapter 10.

For church, have a look at chapters five and 15 and emotions, have a look at chapters six and 15.

Make sure you've got a note for each of the sections of the table.

Pause the video now whilst you complete the task.

Well done, let's have a look at an example of a completed grid.

These just show some examples.

Yours might look a little bit different.

Under home life in Trinidad, you might have said that Floella's home had lots of rooms. They also had prized possessions.

They were on show in the dining room, well remembered.

For home life in England, you might say that Floella's expectation of a home in England is very different to reality.

You might use some of the words they used to describe it like dingy.

The transport in Trinidad is described using sensory approach.

Floella describes a smell of car ties in the heat.

She also mentions that trains are smaller than in England.

In England, Floella is shocked to the change in transport.

They're busy streets which are filled with double-decker buses and lots of other forms of transport.

In Trinidad, Floella describes church as joyous and rejuvenating, which means it gives her energy in life.

In England, Floella describes some churches as judgmental.

Her and her family were discriminated against based on the colour of their skin.

Under emotions you might have said for Trinidad before her father leaves for England, Floella is very content.

She enjoys her family life.

And when Floella gets to England, you might have said that her emotions are that she's determined to succeed in whatever she sets her mind to.

She knows she'll have to work twice as hard.

I wonder, were your notes similar to mine or different? Using examples in the text can really help us gain a better understanding of Floella's experiences throughout the whole book.

Let's now explore and reflect on themes within the text.

We've discussed some already.

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

Within literature, authors use techniques to convey themes to the reader.

Well noticed on both of our keywords.

These themes often mirror issues and topics that we encounter in our own lives, which makes the story relatable to the reader.

Here are some examples of themes as friendship, family, love, courage, and betrayal.

And also good versus evil, death, protection, loneliness and survival.

These are just some examples of themes.

There are many, many more.

I wonder if any spring to mind about "Coming to England" straight away.

Identifying themes within a text involves inference.

Themes are not explicitly stated within a text.

That means we're not able to find them by looking at words.

We have to think and reflect on them.

Authors commonly use repetition to convey themes to the reader.

Let's have a look at a few ways to identify themes.

You can consider actions and characteristics of people within the text.

You can identify repetition, that's of actions, emotions, or character traits.

You can search for deeper meaning using inference and you can consider the overall message of the text.

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

Readers can interpret themes and their importance differently.

Here are just four examples that I've selected.

There's the theme of migration, discrimination, family, and cultural celebration.

Migration here refers to the movement of people from one place to another.

We know from reading and exploring the text that this is linked to the Windrush.

The Windrush generation has expanded on in the afterward that follows the text in the book.

These are just some of the themes.

There are many more.

We'll be exploring them in the main task.

Here's our final check for understanding.

Can you match the theme to how it's conveyed in the text? On the left hand side, we've got the themes of discrimination, family, and cultural celebration, and on the right hand side examples of how this might be conveyed in the text.

Pause the video now whilst you match the up.

Well done, there are lots of examples of discrimination where Floella is discriminated against based on the colour of her skin.

An example here might link to the fact that she's told that she cannot swim by her sports teacher.

When thinking about family, I think I'd be looking for the words parents and siblings, which is in the top example.

Floella is described as incredibly close with both her parents and her siblings.

They support one another in overcoming challenges.

Therefore, cultural celebration links to the feeling that Floella feels as though she has two identities.

She enjoys finding out about both aspects of who she is.

In the first part of our task, I'd like you to discuss which other themes appear throughout the narrative.

Here are the four that I've shared already.

I wonder if you and your talk partner can come up with more, perhaps think about the big ideas or messages and the experiences that Floella and her family go through to help you think of more.

It's important to remember that some themes are more complex and encourage us to consider their meaning.

Pause the video now whilst you answer the question with your partner.

Interesting discussion, I hope you enjoyed reflecting on the text as a whole.

Let's have a look at a few more examples of themes.

You might have said identity, which links really closely with belonging and feeling included.

There's determination, the determination to succeed and do well.

There's racism, this links really closely with discrimination.

You might have also mentioned education, acceptance, hope, the Windrush, inspiring positive change, and also activism.

Floella isn't someone who sits still, she actively goes out and seeks to find ways to change.

This is reflected in the work that she's done as an adult too.

In our final part of the task, I'd like you to reflect on the author.

Floella broke down many barriers in her life.

She continues to inspire others with her story.

I'd like you to answer the following questions.

What makes Floella's story one that can inspire young readers? And what have you learned from reading the text? You might like to use the sentence stem, I think Floella is an inspirational role model because.

And from reading "Coming to England", I have learned.

Pause the video now whilst you discuss these two thought provoking questions with your partner.

Well done, on reflecting on the text, let's have a look at a response to the second question.

I think Floella Benjamin is an inspirational role model because she places a high value on education.

She's committed to learning and personal development.

Her memoir reflects this and empowers readers.

In response to the third question, what you've learned from reading the text.

You might have said from reading, "Coming to England", I've learned that people come up against barriers that try to stop them from achieving what they'd like to.

With determination and support you can overcome these.

I wonder if your points were similar or different.

How did you think that Floella is inspirational? Perhaps you'd like to find out what she's been up to since you wrote the memoir.

I've been lucky enough to meet her.

I know that she's full of smiles and positivity.

I hope you get the opportunity too someday.

In today's lesson, we've been exploring and engaging with the themes in "Coming to England".

"Coming to England" highlights Floella's resilience and advocacy against racism.

The text promotes awareness and understanding around the adversity that she faced.

By the end of the text, Floella has a strong support network.

She describes positive traits that she's learned from both her parents.

Through the lesson, we've learned that a theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.

Finally, some themes can be more complex.

They can be incredibly relevant and linked to significant issues regardless of the time in which the text was written.

I hope you've enjoyed reading and exploring "Coming to England" with me.

It's a superb text and really rich for a reread.

It's been so interesting finding out about Floella's life and experiences with you.

I'm looking forward to working with you again soon.