Hi there, I'm Mr. Buckingham and I'm so glad you decided to join me for today's lesson.

Now, hopefully you've now read up to the end of chapter 43 in Phil Earle's "When the Sky Falls," and you're excited to find out how this book ends.

Now the ending to this book does contain some upsetting scenes, so please make sure you've checked with an adult that they're happy for you to complete this lesson.

And if afterwards you are upset by anything that you've read, please do talk to a trusted adults about it.

If you're ready, let's begin.

Today's lesson is called Exploring Concepts and Themes in "When the Sky Falls," and it comes from a unit called "When the Sky Falls" Reading.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe key events in the final three chapters of the book and connect the book to relevant concepts and themes.

For this lesson, you will need have access to the 2021 Andersen Press Edition of "When the Sky Falls" written by Phil Earle.

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

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

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

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

A concept is an abstract idea like hope or fairness and a theme is a central idea of a text that the author wants us to think deeply about.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by exploring the final three chapters of the book, chapters 44, 45, and 46.

And then we'll move on to exploring concepts and themes that are raised by the book as a whole.

Let's make a step.

So let's begin by summarising the events of chapter 38 to 43, which you should have read since the last lesson.

We saw Joseph enter Adonis' cage for the first time and bond with him even more, even getting patted on the head by the gorilla.

Then we heard Mrs. F tell Joseph about her past.

She told him about the death of her husband in the First World War and of her daughter soon after.

And then the council came to kill Adonis but Mrs. F refused them entry to the zoo.

Then there was an air raid and this was a very dramatic section where Joseph finds Mrs. F drunk in the kitchen and he realises that that's because it's the anniversary of her daughter's death and she's very, very distressed by that.

Then he takes her to the shelter and runs through the air raid to the zoo to guard Adonis in her place.

And the bombs are falling on the zoo itself.

Fires are raging all around him and bombs are exploding in every direction.

And as the bomb hits nearby as he's pointing that rifle at Adonis, he falls the ground still holding the rifle at the end there of chapter 43.

So let's reflect on some of those key events.

What do you think motivates Joseph to keep holding the rifle in front of Adonis to guard Adonis, even as those bombs fall around him? What's driving him to do that? It's such dangerous behaviour.

So what's his motivation here? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Great ideas.

So, here's what Aisha said.

She said, "I think he's desperate to make Mrs. F proud of him.

He's thinking about what she would do if she were there and he's trying to do the same thing.

And it's so hard because Adonis is one of the things he cares about most in the world." So he is got such a conflict here between doing what he thinks Mrs F would do and his knowledge about Adonis and the bond they share together.

Here's what Jacob says.

"Yes and I think he's also motivated a bit by his hatred of the enemy bombers.

They took his dad and he wants to stand up to them in any way that he can." So, there might be lots of things motivating Joseph here but there's no doubt they'll be feeling a lot of conflict as well because of how much he cares for Adonis.

Really well done for your ideas.

So now we're going to read chapters 44 and 45.

Here's some vocabulary you're going to see in these chapters.

Pandemonium is a great word that means total chaos.

Something is fruitless if it's pointless.

Intensifying means getting stronger.

Disorientated means confused.

So you might be disorientated in a maze, you're not sure where you're going.

A sentry is someone who stands guard over something.

And famished means very hungry.

So I'd like you to read chapter 44 first of all on its own with your partner swapping after every sentence.

And if you finish, repeat from the beginning.

So don't go into chapter 45 just yet.

Let's just read chapter 44.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Great reading.

So let's look first of all at the first page of that chapter, page 286.

I've got a question for you here.

Did Adonis carry Joseph while he was barely conscious here? Can you explain the evidence on both sides? What evidence suggests Adonis did carry him and what evidence goes against that view? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good ideas.

So on the one hand, here's what Alex says.

"Joseph describes hearing someone else breathing and a grunting sound.

And he asks himself whether someone is carrying him.

And the grunting suggests this might be Adonis." On the other hand is what Jen says, "Then he becomes unconscious again when he wakes up.

He's in the same place as where he originally fell down.

So why would Adonis put him back in the same place? So this suggests, Jen says, that he was dreaming.

So you might have different views on that but they're certainly not clear in the book, is it? There's some evidence on either side.

So maybe the author's intentionally trying to make us wonder whether Adonis has done something there.

Now let's look at page 286 and 287.

Which of the following does Joseph notice when he awakes from being unconscious? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Good work.

So a, the bars of Adonis' enclosure have been blown off.

Yes, he does see that.

He can move his upper body.

Yes, he can.

He can only move one of his legs.

Yes, that's correct.

And Adonis is standing over him.

No, he can't actually see Adonis at that moment.

So, he's seen the bars have been blown open on Adonis' cage and that's obviously a really significant point.

Really well done for getting those.

Now chapter 44 end with Adonis emerging from the shadows, coming out of the shadows.

What questions might Joseph be asking himself in this moment? Adonis is out of his cage.

So what is Joseph thinking and questioning at this moment? What questions are running through his head? Pause the video and see how many you can come up with.

Lots of great ideas.

Maybe you thought of something like this.

Is Adonis going to hurt me? Does he know me well enough and trust me well enough to keep me safe? How am I going to keep my promise to Mrs. F that I'll shoot him if he escapes? How will I defend myself if he attacks me when I don't have the rifle? He doesn't have it anymore, does he? Where on earth is the rifle? How am I going to free myself from the rubble? And will Adonis help me to get free? So there can be loads of emotions, loads of thoughts, loads of feelings running through Jason's head as he sits there on the ground with his leg partially under the rubble and his upper body able to move, wondering what's going to happen next.

Is Adonis going to be helpful to me or is he going to be a threat to me? Really well done for your thoughts there.

So let's find out.

I'd like you to now read chapter 45 with your partner again swapping every sentence and again repeating from the beginning if you finish.

Pause the video and read chapter 45 now.

Well done.

Great reading.

So let's discuss a question.

What did Adonis's actions in this chapter show about his relationship with Joseph? Pause the video and have a chat with the person next to you or think on your own.

Well done.

Great ideas.

So here's what Laura says.

"I think Adonis' actions show that he's come to truly trust and care for Joseph.

I don't think he would've done all this for just anyone.

They have a strong bond and Adonis chooses Joseph over escaping the zoo when he has the chance to do so.

So we know Adonis's cage is broken, he could just leave, but instead he chooses to help Joseph.

So let's think about that in more detail.

Can you list first of all, all the things Adonis does to help Joseph in chapter 45? And then how do we know that Joseph is grateful for this help? Pause the video and see if you can answer both questions.

Have a go.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So what does Adonis do to help Joseph? Well, first of all, he stands guard over him.

He removes the rubble that's trapping Joseph's leg.

He roars that approaching wolf and he even kills one of the wolves that comes to attack Joseph because they're so hungry out there, these wolves, that they want to eat Joseph when he's trapped there under the rubble.

So how do we know that Joseph is grateful for this help? Well, first of all, he cries because he's overwhelmed by Adonis' kindness.

He thanks him out loud, although Adonis might understand that.

And they lock eyes, don't they? And they have a moment of shared understanding where they are connecting really, really strongly.

So we can tell from the things that Joseph does and says, and the feelings that are described by the author that he's incredibly grateful to Adonis for the amazing help that he's given him in this moment.

Really well done for your answers there.

So although Adonis has given Joseph all this help, Joseph is still in a very tricky situation at the end of chapter 45, isn't he? We see a wolf heading towards him while Adonis is dealing with the other wolf.

So, Adonis kills one of the wolfs but while he's distracted over there, the other wolf is approaching Joseph.

So what's your prediction? What do you predict is going to happen in the final chapter of the book that we're going to read in a moment? Pause the video and make your prediction.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So here's what Andeep says.

"I think that Mrs. F will arrive at the zoo with another rifle and shoot the wolf.

I think she'll be able to calm Adonis and guide him into another enclosure so that he's safe." Here's what Sam says.

"I think that Joseph will find the rifle at the last moment and shoot the wolf himself.

I think he'll watch Adonis escape the zoo and the book will end there." So Sam's predicting a kind of cliffhanger, isn't she? Where we are not sure what's going to happen to Adonis at the end of the book.

Whereas Andeep thinks that we'll have kind of a happy ending where Mrs. F manages to get Adonis back to safety in a cage and she manages to shoot the wolf.

So let's see what happens.

So, you're going to listen to your teacher read the final chapter or if you're in your own at home, you can read it yourself.

In that chapter, we'll see this vocabulary.

We're going to see the world debris, that's scattered remains, isn't it? And if something teeters, it's about to fall over.

If you show audacity, you're showing that you're willing to take risks or to do something rude or unexpected.

If you're incredulous, you can't believe what is happening.

So I'd like you to listen to your teacher now read the final chapter of the book.

Pause the video and let's see how this story ends.

Wow, it's a really dramatic final chapter, isn't it? And it probably leaves us with lots and lots of mixed feelings at the ending there.

So let's first of all share what are your first thoughts and feelings about the ending of this book? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So, Lucas says this, "Well, that was so sad but I like that the author is treating us like grownups.

Not everything in life has a happy ending and in real life you don't always get to wrap up everything perfectly." So Lucas is referring of course to the very sad moment where Adonis, one of our main characters, has been killed in the book.

And that is such a sad moment in the book.

But as Lucas says, "This maybe reflects kind of the reality of a story that's set in a war where terrible things do happen, which we would not want to happen in normal life." Here's another reaction.

Izzy says, "Yes, except in one way it is a happy ending because we can see that Joseph has finally learned to trust Mrs. F and to rely on her.

And it's sad that it took Adonis' death for that to happen but I'm glad it did." What's Izzy referring to? Which I think she's referring to, isn't she, that moment at the end where Joseph really lets go and he's just weeping in Mrs. F's arms. It's a really sad moment but as Izzy says it's also kind of a moment where we see that he's connecting with another human being in a way that we haven't really seen before.

He's almost let down his guard finally and is able to connect with her in this really emotional way.

And that shows how much he's come to trust Mrs. F in this moment.

So, although it's a really heartbreaking ending to a book, Izzy is seeing there kind of a glimmer of hope which may be hints towards a better future for Joseph even in the midst of all this horrible situation that he's in? Really well done for your sensitive ideas there.

So let's look at the final paragraph of chapter 46 of the whole book.

Can you explain all the reasons why Mrs. F and Joseph are crying? Pause the video and have a think.

Great ideas.

Well done.

It's quite complex, isn't it? Let's talk about the different reasons they're crying.

Jen says this.

"They're crying first of all for things they lost.

So for Joseph, he's lost his mom and dad and for Mrs. F, her husband and daughter, and for both of them they've lost Adonis.

But they're also crying for the things they've found," the author tells us, in this case, each other.

"So they've each found someone who shares their grief and who they can rely on and care for as well.

So it's a mixture of grief and love that's driving these tears." So Jen's saying, "Even though it's incredibly sad, it's a beautiful ending because we have this mixture of crying for things they've lost and crying for what they've found." Maybe you had a similar idea, really well done.

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

"When the Sky Falls" is a very emotional book all the way through with a very emotional ending that we've just read.

So when we finish a book like this with big emotions, it's good to take some time to just discuss and explore some big questions.

So as a class, I'd like you to choose some of the questions below to discuss, or if you're not, if you are at home, you can choose whichever ones you'd like to discuss.

We could discuss this.

Does the book have a hero? If so, who is it? Joseph, Mrs. F, or Adonis and why? Which character changed the most over the course of the book? Mrs. F or Joseph? And in what way did they change? The book ends quite suddenly.

What do you think happens next? And finally, did you enjoy the book and why or why not? So pause the video and discuss some of those questions with your class or on your own at home.

Have a go.

Well done.

Really good discussions.

So here are some of the possible answers you could have made to some of those questions.

For the hero question, you could have said this.

"I think Mrs. F is the real hero of the book because she helped Joseph to learn to trust people again." Maybe you said this about who changed the most.

"I think Joseph changed the most.

He learned that he has skills, like caring for Adonis, and that people care for him." Here's a prediction for what may happen next.

"I think that Joseph will stay with Mrs. F for the rest of the war and that she will help him learn to read." And finally, did you like the book or not? Here's a response.

"I love this book even though it was heartbreaking in some places, it was such a unique story with amazing characters." And I think I'd agree with that one.

Really well done for sharing your ideas so well in those discussions.

So we've now completed the book.

So, the last thing we're going to do in this unit is to explore some of the concepts and themes that were raised by the book as a whole.

So, we're going to consider the whole book now and we can try and link what we've read to different concepts and concepts are just abstract, like fairness and freedom.

For example, we could say that the book links to the concept of grief.

So we know that Adonis, Mrs. F, and Joseph all have grief because they all lose people they care about.

So there's some evidence that this book as a whole links to the concept of grief.

We could also link the book to the concept of patience.

So we know that Joseph has to be patient before Adonis will trust him.

But I think we also see that Mrs. F learns to be patient with Joseph so that he trusts her.

We see her become much more warm and patient with him as the book goes on when she was so abrupt to start with.

And that patience pays off at the end there when we see them really having a close bond together.

So how does "When the Sky Falls" link to each of these concepts.

I've chosen bravery, openness, and compassion.

And by openness I mean being willing to share our feelings with other people.

Pause the video and see if you can explain how the book links to each of those concepts.

Well done.

Really good thinking.

So for bravery, we could say Joseph shows bravery several times, for instance, when following the dog to the zoo and when running through the air raid to guard Adonis.

And Adonis shows bravery when trying to protect Joseph from the wolves.

For openness, we could say that both Mrs. F and Joseph learn the importance of openness, of sharing your feelings.

Mrs. F bravely tells Joseph about her family and Joseph opens up to different people about his reading.

And by being open, they're able to make progress to make things better for each other and themselves.

And then for compassion, well to start with, both Mrs. F and Joseph struggle to show compassion, don't they? But they learn to show compassion for each other in many ways and we see that in the very end of the book as well, their shared compassion is one of those things driving their tears at the end of the book.

Really well done for your thoughts there and how well you link those concepts to the book.

Now we can also identify some themes within the book that go beyond just a simple concept.

And by a theme you mean a central idea of a text.

So here are two we can identify in "When the Sky Falls" and I'm gonna give you some evidence that I believe supports the fact that these are themes of the book.

One theme I think is a problem shared is a problem halved, which is an expression you might have heard before, which means that when you share a problem you make things better.

Instead of bottling up to yourself, if you share it with someone else, you share your worries and concerns that makes your problem seem smaller.

So what's the evidence that that's a theme in "When the Sky Falls?" Well, we see Joseph share his difficulty with reading with other characters, don't we? And although they can't solve the problem immediately because that's a long time to learn to read, they don't react as he expects.

They're not hostile, are they? They're supportive, they're kind, and they want to help.

And so, by sharing with these people, these trusted people, he is able to make the feelings much less significant and make the anger he feels about not being able to read much less important.

Here's another possible theme.

When you do good for others, they help you in return.

So what's the evidence that that's a theme? Well, Joseph cleans Adonis' cage and he feeds him.

And then Adonis then saves Joseph from the wolves, doesn't he? And Joseph tries to defend him too.

So they're each paying back each other's kindnesses throughout the book.

Right at the very end there we see Joseph stand in front of Adonis to try and prevent him being shot.

He's not successful but he's trying his best to pay Adonis back for saving his life.

So, that shows us when we do good to others, they try and do good for us as well.

So which of the below do you think are themes in "When the Sky Falls?" Pause the video, look carefully at these ideas, and decide which ones are themes in the book.

Have a go.

Well done.

Great thinking.

So the first one says, things that happen to us can stay with us for a long time.

That's true, isn't it? The book tells us that even though these terrible things happened to Joseph many years ago in some cases like his mom leaving, that has shaped his whole life, hasn't it, in many ways up to this point.

So it still stayed with him even though it's a long time ago.

B says, other people's experiences are rarely similar to your own.

I don't think that is a theme because we see in this book that Syd's experiences are similar to Joseph's in some ways.

Mrs. F's are similar to Joseph's, Adonis' are similar to Joseph's.

They all have things in common.

The grief that comes with being in a war and having difficult times in your life is one thing that binds them all together, even though they don't necessarily know it at the start.

C says, sometimes people are not the same as they first seem.

And that's definitely a theme, isn't it? We see Mrs. F and Joseph both being quite hostile to each other at the start but they grow to have compassion and care for each other.

They change as people but also they were hiding aspects of themselves which come to the fore as the book moves on.

And D says, people are capable of changing.

I think that's also a theme, isn't it? Because here we see the changes, as I've just said, in Mrs. F's character and in Joseph's character as they learn to care for each other and as the events around them change how they behave.

Really well done for identifying those themes.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

I've got two themes here below.

As humans, we have lots more in common with animals than we think and we don't always know what people are going through.

I'd like you to pick one of the themes and explain how you think it links to "When the Sky Falls." And I'd like to try and give a range of evidence from the text to support the idea that that is a theme.

Alternatively, you could choose your own theme and explain how it's shown in the book.

So, pick one of these themes, decide what you think makes it a theme of the book backing it up with as much evidence as you can from the text.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Great ideas.

So maybe your explanation sounded like this.

For the first one where we talked about humans having more in common with animals than we might think, you could have said this.

We see Adonis showing qualities all the way through that seem human.

He shows grief like Joseph and Mrs. F do and he shows the same compassion and care for Joseph as Mrs. F does at the end.

And also just like Mr. F and Joseph, he takes a while to trust others, but when he does it's special.

So we can see there are big similarities in the book between the way humans behave and the way Adonis behaves even though he's an animal.

So that suggests the theme might be in the book that there are similarities between animals and humans.

My second idea for his theme is that we don't always know what people are going through.

What's the evidence? Well, Mrs. F knows about Joseph's mom but she isn't aware of his reading struggles and Joseph thinks Syd is annoying but he doesn't know what happened to her parents.

And Joseph thinks Mrs. F is cold but he doesn't know about her family's deaths.

And Joseph thinks Adonis is hostile but he doesn't know what he's been through.

So everyone in the book acts in certain ways towards different people without knowing the full story of their background, without knowing the full story of the difficulties they might have faced.

So there's loads of evidence in the book that this might be one of the themes we can pick out.

Really well done for your ideas there.

Great work.

Let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We've said that the final part of the book might leave us with mixed feelings.

We see Adonis's death but we also see Joseph and Mrs. F finally united in their grief.

And we can connect the book to a range of different concepts that are raised by the characters' actions and we can also identify themes that run through the book and which might offer lessons for us in our own lives.

Really well done for your effort in this lesson and throughout this unit.

I hope you've really enjoyed reading this fantastic book and well done for working so hard to get to grips with all the difficult and sometimes really emotional issues that it's raised.

Really well done.

I'd love to see you again in a future lesson.

Goodbye.