Lesson video

Welcome to our next lesson on "Oliver Twist." Now you may remember what happened in our last lesson.

After Oliver Twist was born, he was gasping for air and then Oliver's mother was very sick.

Let me see the child one last time and die.

Oliver Twist's mom died shortly after she gave birth.

So this pitiful orphan has entered this dark and dangerous world all by himself with no one to look after him.

In today's lesson, Oliver Twist meets a group of very intimidating men.

Let's begin.

For today's lesson, you will need an exercise book or paper and a pen.

If you do not have this equipment, press the pause button on this video, go and collect the equipment and then come back to begin our lesson.

Let's begin with a recap from our last lesson.

You will be tested upon this in a minute, so listen carefully.

Last lesson I introduced you to Charles Dickens, the author of "Oliver Twist." To understand this man, we must take a look at this childhood.

When Charles was 12 years old, his father John Dickens was imprisoned for failing to pay his debts.

To support his family, Charles was sent to work at a shoe polish factory.

This horrendous experience had a huge impact upon the rest of Charles's life.

Charles Dickens went on to become a very famous author and his experience of poverty inspired his writing.

Dickens wrote his novels to educate his readers about the sufferings of poor people.

Let's now test your memory on these ideas.

True or false.

A, when Charles Dickens was 12, he was sent to work in the blacking factory.

B, Dickens had never experienced what life was like for poor people.

C, Dickens wrote his novels to educate the public about the sufferings of poor people.

And D, Dickens wrote his novels purely for entertainment.

Fell free to press the pause button on this video now and tell the screen the right answers.

Let's now see the right answers.

A is of course true.

When Charles Dickens was 12, he was sent to work in the blacking factory.

B is false.

Dickens did in fact experience what life was like for poor people.

As we said, when Dickens was 12 years old, his father went into a lot of debt and to support his family, Dickens had to work in a blacking factory.

C is of course true.

Dickens wrote his novels to educate the public about the sufferings of poor people.

And D is false.

While Dickens novels were undoubtedly entertaining, he wrote for a very serious purpose.

As we have said, Dickens wrote his novels to tell people about how difficult life was for the poor.

Well done, if you got full marks there.

Let's go through our plan for today's lesson.

First of all, we are going to learn about novels.

Secondly, we will learn about the word vulnerable.

Thirdly, we will read our extract.

And finally, we will analyse our extract.

Let's begin by looking at the idea of a novel.

We all know that "Oliver Twist" is novel.

But let me now explain what exactly a novel is.

I will now give you a definition of a novel.

I novel is a long book, which tells a story about imaginary events and people.

Let me now give you three examples of different novels.

"Harry Potter" is a novel.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a novel.

And the "Hunger Games" is a novel.

All three of these books are novels for two main reasons.

First of all, they are all rather long.

They will all take multiple hours to read.

And secondly, all three of these books involve imaginary events and people.

The characters and things that take place in these books are not events or people that exist in real life.

All three of these books are novels.

I will now test your understanding about what a novel is through this task.

which person is talking about a novel? Option one.

"I can't wait to see " A Midsummer's Night Dream" at the theatre tomorrow night," said Wendy, Option two.

"The "Jabberwocky" is an excellent poem by Lewis Carroll," said Dan.

Option three.

"Artemis Fowl" is a long book about a boy who discovers a fairy land," said Mike.

And option four.

"David Beckham's autobiography describes the highs and lows of his football career," said James.

Which one of these people is talking about a novel? Pause your video here.

And work out this answer and tell your answer to your screen.

Off you go.

I will now give you the right answer.

It is of course, option three.

"Artemis Fowl" is a long book about a boy who discovers a fairy land.

"Artemis Fowl" is a novel for two reasons.

First of all, it is a long book.

And secondly, this book is clearly about imaginary events, since it is about a fairy land.

Let's me now explain why options one, two, and four are not novels.

Option one is not a novel because it is in fact a play.

You go to see a play at the theatre while you read a novel in a book.

Option two is not novel because option two is describing a poem.

And option four is not a novel because David Beckham's book is about a real person.

David Beckham it is not about imaginary events and characters.

Novels became widely read in Victorian times for three main reasons.

First of all, developments in printing technology made novels widely available.

Such technology allowed novels to be printed far more quickly and at a far lower cost than they had previously.

Number two, booksellers and libraries opened across towns and cities.

These booksellers and libraries allowed members of the public to have greater access to novels.

And thirdly, increasing numbers of the public were educated to read.

As a consequence of these three developments, novels became one of the main forms of entertainment for Victorians.

Let's now test your memory on these ideas.

Question number one.

The development of what technology made books more widely available in the Victorian era? Question two.

What two places were increasingly found in Britain's towns and cities throughout the Victorian era.

I'll give you a clue for question two, both of these places involve books.

And number three.

Why were increasing numbers of people capable of reading books during the Victorian era? You can now pause your video and tell the screen the right answers.

Off you go.

Right, let's now go through the answers together.

Number one.

The development of what technology made books more widely available in the Victorian era? And it is the development of printing technology that made books more widely available in the Victorian era.

Well done if you got that right.

Number two.

What two places were increasingly opened in Britain's towns and cities throughout the Victorian era? And it is of course, booksellers and libraries, which were increasingly opened across towns and cities in the Victorian era.

And finally, number three, why were increasing numbers of people capable of reading books during the Victorian era? And the answer is this.

Increasing numbers of people were capable of reading books because of increasing access to education throughout the Victorian era.

Well done, if you got all three of those answers right.

Now of all the novelists in the Victorian times, the most famous and the most celebrated was of course, Charles Dickens, the author of "Oliver Twist." Now to understand the extract that we're about to read, we need to understand our key word for this lesson: vulnerable.

The word vulnerable refers to someone or something that could be harmed easily.

I'll give you an example.

Surrounded by the barking dogs, the kitten looked small and vulnerable.

In this situation, the kitten is vulnerable because it could be easily harmed.

It could be attacked by these barking dogs.

Here's another example.

Walking through the streets late at night by yourself will make you vulnerable.

In other words, walking through the streets late at night by yourself is a bad idea because it could make you easily harmed.

It could put you in the vulnerable position.

And here's our third and final example.

The elderly are vulnerable members of society.

In other words, the elderly are the members of society who are easily harmed because they're rather frail perhaps, or rather weak or rather sick.

Let's now test your understanding of this word vulnerable.

Which option describes someone or something that is vulnerable? Option one, Sophie is very small, but also very strong.

Is Sophie vulnerable? Option two, Richard was a young lion, but he was fierce and dangerous.

Is Richard vulnerable? Option three, Dan is a friendly and kind man.

Is Dan vulnerable? Option four, the little mouse was being chased by the cat.

Is the little mouse vulnerable? You can now pause your video and choose the right option.

Okay, I'll now give you the right answer, which is of course, option four.

The little mouse was being chased by the cat.

The little mouse is vulnerable because it could easily be harmed by the cat.

It could easily be eaten.

Now some of you might've chosen option one.

Sophie is very small, but also very strong.

You might have chosen option one because Sophie is very small.

But just because you're small does not mean that you are vulnerable.

Just because you're small does not mean you're easily harmed.

And in fact Sophie is very strong.

She can defend herself and therefore we can not describe her as vulnerable.

Some of you might have chosen option two.

You might have chosen option two because Richard is a young lion.

But just because you're young does not mean you are vulnerable.

While Richard is young, he is also fierce and dangerous and can clearly defend himself.

We cannot therefore describe Richard as vulnerable.

Some of you might have chosen option three because Dan is a friendly and kind man.

But just because someone is friendly and kind does not mean they are vulnerable.

It does not mean that they cannot defend themselves.

Option four is the right answer.

Well done, if you got that right.

I now want you to write your own sentence that uses the word vulnerable.

Pause your video here and write your sentence down on your page or in your book.

As you're going to see in the extract that we're about to read, Oliver Twist is a young, vulnerable orphan.

Now let's begin a preparation for reading this extract.

I'll first of all ask you a few questions about our last extract to remind you what happened.

Here's a question.

Where is Oliver born? Tell the screen the right answer.

The right answer is of course, Oliver is born in a workhouse.

Question two.

Why does Oliver nearly die after he is born? Can you remember? What is it that you cannot do? Oliver nearly dies because he cannot breathe.

Thirdly, what happens to Oliver's mother after she gives birth? Can you remember? I'll give you a clue.

It's very sad.

Of course, Oliver's mother dies after she gives birth.

Question four.

What two facts have we learned about Oliver's mother? Have a think.

Think about our relationship with Oliver's father and how she got to the workhouse.

The answer is, of course this.

The nurse explains that Oliver's mother was an unmarried woman who was found on the street and taken into the workhouse.

Again well done if you got all those right.

Now, this extract here takes place in the workhouse.

Let's just revise what we went through in our last lesson.

When Dickens was writing, people were sent to the workhouse if they could not support themselves.

The workhouse provided shelter and employment for these people.

Conditions in workhouses were deliberately kept miserable to deter people from seeking their support.

Now a lot of time has passed between our last extract in our last lesson and this extract.

Oliver is no longer a baby.

In fact, Oliver is now nine years old.

He is sent to a workhouse for young boys.

Oliver travels to this workhouse with Mr. Bumble.

Mr. Bumble is a beadle.

In Victorian times, a beadle was a church official.

They were often involved in matters concerning the poor, poor people like Oliver Twist.

Now in this extract, before Oliver is sent to the workhouse, he must meet the workhouse board.

This is a group of people who are responsible for the running of a workhouse.

As you're going to see the workhouse board is a very intimidating group for Oliver to meet.

In the extract that we're about to read, Oliver Twist meets the workhouse board.

This is a committee that runs the workhouse.

It's made up by a group of very rich and judgmental men.

As you can imagine, he's very, very nervous about meeting this group of very scary men.

Let's see what happens.

Mr. Bumble gave Oliver a tap on the head with his cane to wake him up and another on the back to make him lively.

And biding him to follow, conducted him into a large white-washed room, where eight or 10 fat gentleman were sitting round a table.

At the top of a table, sitting in an armchair rather higher than the rest was a particular already fat gentlemen, with a very round, red face.

Now, just to pause our reading here, we can imagine how terrifying this moment must be for Oliver.

Oliver is a small, nine year old boy who now must be questioned by these eight or 10 fat gentlemen.

As we're going to see, Oliver is very nervous indeed.

Let's continue reading.

"Bow to the board," said Bumble.

Oliver brushed away two or three tears that were lingering in his eyes.

And seeing no board but the table, fortunately bowed to that.

"What's your name boy," said the gentleman in the high chair.

Oliver was frightened at the sight of so many gentlemen, which made him tremble and the beadle gave him another tap behind, which made him cry.

These two causes made him answer in a very low and hesitating voice, whereupon a gentlemen in a white waistcoat said he was a fool Which was the capital way of raising his spirits and putting him quite at his ease.

"Boy," said the gentleman in the high chair, "listen to me.

You know you're an orphan, I suppose?" "What's that sir?" inquired poor Oliver.

"The boy is a fool.

I thought he was," said the gentleman in the white waistcoat.

"Hush," said the gentleman who'd spoken first.

"You know you've got no father or mother and that you were brought up by the parish, don't you?" "Yes, sir," replied Oliver weeping bitterly.

"What are you crying for?" inquired the gentleman in the white waistcoat.

And to be sure it was very extraordinary.

What could the boy be crying for? "I hope you say your prayers every night," said another gentleman in a gruff voice "and pray for the people who feed you and take care of you, like a Christian." "Yes, sir," stammered the boy.

The gentlemen who spoke last was unconsciously right.

It would have been very like a Christian, and a marvellously the good Christian too, if Oliver had prayed for the people who fed and took care of him.

But he hadn't because nobody had taught him.

"Well, you have come here to be educated and taught to useful trade," said the red face gentleman in the high chair.

"So you'll begin to pick oakum tomorrow morning at six o'clock," added the surly one in the white waistcoat.

For the combination of both these blessings in the one simple process of picking oakum, Oliver bowed low by the direction of a beadle and was then hurried away to a large ward where, on a rough, hard bed, he sobbed himself to sleep.

What a novel illustration of the tender laws of England.

They let the paupers go to sleep.

In this extract, Oliver is brought to meet the workhouse board.

Now this is a group of men who are responsible for the running of the workhouse and they're a very intimidating group.

They're very large.

They're very fat and they're very judgmental.

Little Oliver goes to meet them and he's very, very intimidated.

He's shaking in his shoes.

He doesn't really know what's going on.

When he gets told to bow the board, Oliver doesn't know what the board is.

So he panics, he then sees the table and thinKs that must be the board and bows to the table instead.

Oliver is overwhelmed by this stressful situation, but the workhouse board have no sympathy for Oliver Twist at all.

In fact, they're very judgmental of him.

When Oliver Twist is too nervous to answer the questions properly, one of them says "that boy is a fool." All in all this extract perfectly displays Oliver's vulnerability in a cruel and heartless world.

We're now going to begin analysing this extract.

We will consider this question.

How does Dickens make the reader feel towards Oliver in this extract? Let's take a look at this quotation here.

I will read it once again.

"Bow to the board," said Bumble.

Oliver brushed away two or three tears that were lingering in his eyes and seeing no board but the table, fortunately bowed to that.

Now this moment is a very embarrassing experience for Oliver.

Oliver is told by Mr. Bumble, that he must bow to the board.

He must bow to this group of men who've gathered to question Oliver.

But Oliver does not know what a board is.

So instead Oliver bows to the table.

His decision reflects his overwhelming sense of confusion right now.

He does not know how to follow Mr. Bumble's instructions.

Now as the reader, I pity Oliver a huge amount at this moment.

It is clear that this boy is overwhelmed with confusion and anxiety concerning his situation.

No one has bothered to explain to Oliver exactly what is going on.

No one has explained to Oliver what board actually is nor why he must meet this group of intimidating old men.

Okay, you can now pause your video here.

Take some notes upon this quotation because in a minute you will answer questions upon this.

Off you go.

Okay, let's now take a look at our questions? Question one.

Why does Oliver bow to the table here? This is an opening phrase that you can use for your answer.

Oliver bows to the table, because.

Question two.

What does this moment suggest about Oliver's feelings about his situation? And you can say this moment suggests that Oliver feels.

Question three.

How is the reader likely to feel towards Oliver in this moment? The reader is likely to feel.

So if you write down answers to these three questions, and if you can use the word vulnerable, at least once in your answers.

You can now pause your video here and answer these three questions on your sheet or in your book.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at some exemplar answers.

Question number one.

Why does Oliver bow to the table here? Oliver bows to the table because he does not understand Mr. Bumble's instruction to bow to the board.

It is likely that Oliver thinks Mr. Bumble is probably talking about the table here.

Question two.

What does this moment suggest about Oliver's feelings about his situation? This embarrassing moment suggests that Oliver feels confused and overwhelmed.

No one has taken the time to explain to Oliver what this board is and why he must appear before it.

Oliver does not therefore know how to behave in this stressful situation.

Number three.

How is the reader likely to feel towards Oliver in this moment? The reader is likely to feel pity for Oliver during this embarrassing moment, because it is clear that this vulnerable orphan is overwhelmed with uncertainty.

There is no one in the meeting who can offer any advice or support to this pitiful young boy.

Oliver is left isolated in a terrifying situation.

Right, I now want you to pause the video, take a look back at your previous answers and improve them based upon your reading of those exemplars.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at our next quotation.

I will read once again.

Oliver was frightened at the sight of so many gentlemen, which made him tremble and the beadle gave him another tap behind, which made him cry.

These two causes made him answer in a very low and hesitating voice, whereupon a gentleman in a white waistcoat said he was a fool.

Now Oliver is clearly frightened and intimidated at the beginning of this quotation.

This is a real reflection of Oliver's vulnerability.

When Oliver has a sight of these intimidating gentlemen, Oliver becomes very frightened and scared.

It is clear that Oliver does indeed feel like a little nine year old boy, who is scared of these large, fat, and rich gentlemen.

Oliver is so frightened in fact that he begins to tremble when he looks upon the board members.

Now look at the way that the beadle responds to Oliver's nervous behaviour.

The beadle gave him another tap behind.

This is a real reflection of the fact that the beadle does not offer Oliver any sympathy.

While the beadle could support Oliver right now, or try to help him calm down, instead the beadle impatiently taps Oliver, making him cry.

Let's read our next bit.

These two causes made him answer in a very low hesitating voice.

Oliver right now is so nervous, that he cannot even talk properly.

He is so overwhelmed with fear, by his intimidating surroundings that he speaks in this very low and hesitating voice.

Now look once again at the way that the gentleman in the white waistcoat responds to Oliver's nervous behaviour.

Rather than offering him any support or any comfort this man condemns all Oliver as a fool.

It is a cruel and judgmental insult against this pitiful young orphan.

You can now pause your video here and take some notes upon this quotation and then we will answer our questions.

Let's now answer our questions.

Question number one.

Does the behaviour of Mr. Bumble and the board member help calm Oliver or make him more nervous? Give a reason for your answer.

If you can, use quotations to support your answer.

Here's the first phrase that you could use to answer this question.

It is clear that Mr. Bumble and the board member calm Oliver's nerves slash make Oliver more nervous.

Question two.

What is Dickens suggesting about the attitude of these characters towards Oliver? Dickens is suggesting that.

Question three.

How is the reader likely to feel towards Oliver during these moments? The reader is likely to feel.

You can now pause these videos and answer these three questions in your book or on your page.

And remember, use the word vulnerable at least once in your answers.

Off you go.

Let's now take a look at our exemplar answers.

Question one.

Does the behaviour of Mr. Bumble and the board member help calm Oliver or make him more nervous? Give a reason for your answer.

It is clear that Mr. Bumble and the board member make Oliver more nervous.

When Oliver begins to tremble with fright at seeing these intimidating gentlemen, Mr. Bumble offers no support at all.

Instead Mr. Bumble gives him a cruel tap behind, which makes Oliver cry.

Overwhelmed with anxiety, Oliver now speaks in a low and hesitating voice.

Rather than offering words of comfort for the scared and vulnerable orphan, the board member condemns Oliver as a fool.

Question two.

What is Dickens suggesting about the attitude of these characters towards Oliver? Dickens is suggesting that these gentlemen have no sympathy for Oliver at all.

In response to all of those nervous behaviour, they offer no support, but rather punish him.

It is evidence that these cruel gentlemen have nothing but hatred for this vulnerable orphan.

And finally, question three.

Why is the reader likely to feel sympathy for Oliver during this moment? The reader is likely to feel great sympathy for Oliver during this moment.

It is evident that this pitiful orphan is feeling very anxious and fearful in this confusing situation, yet the workhouse board and Mr. Bumble offer nothing but criticism for the vulnerable Oliver.

You can now pause your video here, look back at your answers and improve them based upon the exemplars that you've just read.

Off you go.

And that brings us to the end of this video.

I am sure that you've done some amazing work today.

You can now share your work with Oak National.

If you'd like to, please ask your parents or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging Oak National and #LearnwithOak.

And that brings us to the end of our lesson.

Well done for all of your amazing work.

In our next lesson, we join Oliver just as he's beginning to settle into the miserable life of the workhouse.

Unfortunately, Oliver is going to get into a lot of trouble.

I'll see you next time.

And before you leave us, remember to complete the quiz upon all the great learning that you've done today.