Character, setting and plot in 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'
I can explore the story through discussing the characters, setting and plot.
Character, setting and plot in 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'
I can explore the story through discussing the characters, setting and plot.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘The Planet in a Pickle Jar’ is told through narrative writing and illustrations and it includes magical elements.
- The grandchildren are characters and the narrators of the story which means it is told from their perspective.
- At the beginning, the illustrations show a different story to the one being told by the narrators.
- The story contains multiple settings and it moves quickly between them.
- The plot follows the grandchildren as they uncover their grandma’s desire to protect the world’s wonders.
Keywords
Character - a person or an animal in a story
Setting - where the story takes place
Plot - what happens in the story
Perspective - a character's point of view
Common misconception
Children may not understand important vocabulary within the story, e.g. "preserve" or why pickling items in a jar is a way to protect them.
Offering a simple explanation of the word "preserve" will support the children's understanding. Vocabulary and the meaning behind word choices will be explored in greater detail in the next lesson in the unit.
To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Character, setting and plot in 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 2 english lesson on: Character, setting and plot in 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 english lessons from the 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar': book club unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You will need a copy of the 2023 Flying Eye Books edition of ‘The Planet in a Pickle Jar’ written and illustrated by Martin Stanev for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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