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Year 2

Understanding character in 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

I can describe Plop’s appearance and personality.

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New
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Year 2

Understanding character in 'The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'

I can describe Plop’s appearance and personality.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Characterisation is the way an author describes and develops the characters in a story.
  2. Appearance is how a character looks on the outside.
  3. Personality refers to what a character is like on the inside.
  4. Plop is a cute, fluffy barn owl who is clumsy but friendly.
  5. The author’s characterisation of Plop makes him a likeable character, which is engaging for the reader.

Keywords

  • Characterisation - the way an author describes and develops the characters in a story

  • Character traits - the special qualities that make a character unique and interesting

  • Appearance - how a character looks on the outside

  • Personality - what a character is like on the inside

Common misconception

Children may find it hard to identify character traits for Plop for the inside of the owl template.

Reread specific pages aloud to the children and discuss Plop's actions and what this tells us about his character e.g. when he hears noises he goes down from his tree to explore - this tells us he is curious.

The tasks would work well as a group activity. Pupils could complete the character descriptions on large sugar paper and these could then be displayed in the classroom.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2014 Farshore edition of ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark’ by Jill Tomlinson for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In Chapter 1, Plop met a young boy who said the dark was...
kind.
Correct answer: exciting.
fun.
Q2.
In Chapter 2, Plop met an old woman who said the dark was...
Correct answer: kind.
exciting.
fun.
Q3.
In Chapter 3, Plop met a Scout who said the dark was...
kind.
exciting.
Correct answer: fun.
Q4.
What is a character in a story?
where a story is set
what happens in a story
Correct answer: a person or animal in a story
Q5.
Order the following events from Chapter Three.
1 - Mr and Mrs Barn Owl went out hunting but Plop decided not to go with them.
2 - Plop heard noises from down below so he decided to be brave and go down.
3 - Plop met a Scout who was guarding a fire and told Plop why the dark was ‘fun'.
4 - Plop joined the Scouts for singing round the fire & then went back to his tree.
Q6.
Match the reading strategy to what it means.
Correct Answer:retrieval,finding information directly from the text

finding information directly from the text

Correct Answer:inference,using clues from the text to draw conclusions

using clues from the text to draw conclusions

Correct Answer:discussion,talking to others about the meaning of what we have read

talking to others about the meaning of what we have read

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the definition of characterisation?
how fictional characters talk to each other
Correct answer: the way an author describes and develops the characters
a conflict between characters in the story
Q2.
Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
Correct Answer:character traits,the special qualities that make a character unique and interesting

the special qualities that make a character unique and interesting

Correct Answer:appearance,how a character looks on the outside

how a character looks on the outside

Correct Answer:personality,what a character is like on the inside

what a character is like on the inside

Q3.
Which of the following describe Plop's appearance?
Correct answer: soft feathers
Correct answer: wobbly knees
nervous
curious
Correct answer: big, round eyes
Q4.
Which of the following describe Plop's personality?
uncoordinated
Correct answer: uncertain
chubby
Correct answer: friendly
Correct answer: inquisitive
Q5.
Select the statement that is true about Plop.
Plop hates the dark and does not ever want to learn about it.
Correct answer: Plop is unsure about the dark, but is interested to learn about it.
Plop loves the dark and wants to go out hunting.
Q6.
Order the following events from 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark'.
1 - Plop met a boy who taught him about fireworks and said darkness is ‘exciting'.
2 - Plop met an old woman who said night time is ‘kind’ as she likes to 'remember'.
3 - Plop met some Scouts who said darkness is ‘fun’ because they can play games.