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The theme of protection in 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'

I can explore the theme of protection in the story.

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New
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Year 2

The theme of protection in 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'

I can explore the theme of protection in the story.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A theme is a big idea or lesson that the author wants you to explore and understand through reading the story.
  2. Readers can interpret themes and their importance within a story in different ways.
  3. ‘The Planet in a Pickle Jar’ explores the theme of protection relating to environment, family and belongings.
  4. The importance of protecting the world’s natural wonders and the environment is a key lesson communicated in the story.
  5. There are many natural elements in our world that need protecting and a variety of ways to help with this.

Keywords

  • Theme - a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story

  • Protection - any action taken to guard something against damage

  • Environment - the natural world around us

Common misconception

Children may have questions around the role they can play in protecting the world. They may not understand the link between actions they can take and the positive effects of it globally.

Discuss some examples of simple actions we can take and how far reaching the impact can be even if we can't see it. E.g. Reducing our use of energy will combat global warming which will protect sea ice for polar bears.

Create a class mind map or charter of different actions students can take to protect the environment.
Teacher tip

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

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.
Why does the grandma preserve items in pickle jars?
she likes the taste of pickled items
she likes to have jars of items as ornaments in her home
Correct answer: she wants to protect the world's wonders and other special items
Q2.
True or false? It is actually possible to preserve the world's wonders by pickling them.
Correct Answer: False
Q3.
Sequence the following events to retell the beginning of the story 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'.
1 - the grandchildren visit their grandma and find her boring
2 - they remain unaware/uninterested as their grandma explores the world's wonders
3 - the children witness a star falling and become worried about the world
4 - the children go looking for their grandma but cannot find her
Q4.
Sequence the following events to retell the rest of the story 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'.
1 - the grandchildren encounter a leopard and run away, finding a mysterious door
2 - the grandchildren enter a room filled with items in pickle jars
3 - the children then enter a nature sanctuary and find their grandma
4 - the grandma explains she needs their help protecting the world's wonders
5 - the grandchildren help their grandma by pickling the world's wonders in jars
Q5.
What is a theme within a story?
Correct answer: a big idea, topic or message
the main characters
where the story is set
Q6.
How do we uncover themes within a story?
retrieve the theme from the page
Correct answer: infer deeper meaning from recurring ideas, topics or messages
read the story again and again

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the key theme explored in the story of 'The Planet in a Pickle Jar'?
greed
friendship
Correct answer: protection
good vs evil
Q2.
What is protection?
causing harm to things
Correct answer: any action taken to guard something against damage
leaving things at risk of danger
Q3.
Which other themes are explored through the overarching theme of protection?
sports
Correct answer: family
Correct answer: belongings
Correct answer: environment
television
Q4.
Match the theme to its definition.
Correct Answer:environment,the natural world around us

the natural world around us

Correct Answer:family,a group of people who look after each other and love one another

a group of people who look after each other and love one another

Correct Answer:belongings,a person's possessions

a person's possessions

Q5.
Match the types of items to the examples given.
Correct Answer:the world's natural wonders,the ocean, plants, creatures

the ocean, plants, creatures

Correct Answer:human elements and experiences,family, memories, smells

family, memories, smells

Correct Answer:special items and belongings,a book, yarn, a ukuele

a book, yarn, a ukuele

Q6.
Match the actions we can take to the benefit they have on protecting the environment.
Correct Answer:reduce, reuse and recycle,This cuts down on waste of natural resources.

This cuts down on waste of natural resources.

Correct Answer:walk and cycle more, drive less,This reduces air pollution.

This reduces air pollution.

Correct Answer:keep educating ourselves,This helps us understand and share knowledge with others.

This helps us understand and share knowledge with others.