Engaging with the plot of 'Into the Forest'
I can retell the plot of 'Into the Forest'.
Engaging with the plot of 'Into the Forest'
I can retell the plot of 'Into the Forest'.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- ‘Into the Forest’ is a narrative fiction text written and illustrated by the author Anthony Browne.
- The story is about a little boy who goes on a journey through a forest to visit his grandma and find his dad.
- On the journey through the forest, the boy encounters characters from familiar fairy tales.
- The plot of a story is retold in chronological order using expression to convey greater meaning.
- Summarising the key events in a story helps us to build our understanding of the text and the meaning behind it.
Keywords
Narrative fiction - a story that features made-up characters, places and adventures that did not happen in real life
Journey - an act of travelling from one place to another
Fairy tale - a children’s story about magical and imaginary beings and lands
Plot - what happens in the story
Summarising - pulling out the key events and ideas from the text
Common misconception
Children may struggle to identify which familiar fairy tale characters the boy encounters in the forest.
Ask questions to prompt children, e.g. 'Which fairy tale character do you know who sold a cow?' Also encourage children to look for further clues in the illustrations, e.g. There is a beanstalk in the illustration on page 10.
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Engaging with the plot of 'Into the Forest', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Engaging with the plot of 'Into the Forest', 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 2 english lessons from the 'Into the Forest': diary writing unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2022 Puffin Books edition of ‘Into the Forest’ by Anthony Browne for this lesson.
Licence
Starter quiz
6 Questions
extremely bad or serious
unwell
crowding together or nestling closely