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Year 3

Building comprehension of 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' through rich discussions

I can infer meaning from 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' through discussion.

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New
New
Year 3

Building comprehension of 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' through rich discussions

I can infer meaning from 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' through discussion.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs in a story.
  2. Anansi folktales explore themes relating to character in order to teach an important moral or lesson.
  3. 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby' explores themes such as trickery, kindness, strength and loyalty.
  4. Exploring themes can help us infer greater meaning from a story.
  5. Anansi and Antelope use their strength in different ways to show one another kindness and protection.

Common misconception

Children may only understand the term 'strength' in relation to physical strength.

Clearly explain the meaning of strength in terms of characters and provide children with examples. Pupils could discuss every day examples of strength of character.

Keywords

  • Discussion - the process of talking about something to exchange ideas

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

  • Strength - the quality of being strong

  • Trickery - the practice of deception

  • Kindness - the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate

Hone in on the differences in opinion that emerge from the discussion to highlight the different interpretations students may have. Explain how valuable this is for building comprehension and inferring meaning.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the ‘Anansi and the Antelope Baby’ from 2016 Oxford University Press edition of ‘Mischief Makers’ retold by Tony Bradman 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).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does it mean to build comprehension of a text?
reread it
Correct answer: deepen our understanding of it
sequence the events in it
Q2.
True or false? Anansi uses his trickster ways for good in the story of 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby'.
Correct Answer: True, true
Q3.
What does making an inference from a story mean?
recounting the story
retrieving a piece of information
Correct answer: using clues to draw your own conclusions
Q4.
Which character traits do Anansi and Antelope display towards one another?
Correct answer: kindness
Correct answer: loyalty
dishonesty
cruelty
Correct answer: protection
Q5.
What does having rich discussion mean?
thinking about the meaning of what we have read
Correct answer: talking to others about the meaning of what we have read
explaining what happened in the story
Q6.
How does rich discussion about a text improve your comprehension?
Correct answer: It offers opportunities to clarify and understand things.
It helps you to sound out the words.
Correct answer: It offers opportunities to hear other ideas.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a theme in a story?
Correct answer: a big idea, topic or message in a story
a summary of the story
the characters in a story
Q2.
Which of the following themes are explored in 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby'?
celebration
Correct answer: kindness
Correct answer: trickery
magic
Correct answer: strength
Q3.
Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.
Correct Answer:trickery,the practice of deception

the practice of deception

Correct Answer:kindness,the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate

the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate

Correct Answer:strength,the quality or state of being strong

the quality or state of being strong

Q4.
Which of the following statements is most accurate when defining the word 'strength'?
Strength refers to physical power and ability.
Correct answer: Strength can refer to how physically or mentally strong a person is.
Strength refers to mental resilience.
Q5.
True or false? Trickery is always a bad thing.
Correct Answer: False, false
Q6.
Which of the following lessons do we learn about kindness in 'Anansi and the Antelope Baby'?
You shouldn't be kind to everyone.
Correct answer: An act of kindness can be returned to you.
Correct answer: Acts of kindness can forge friendships.