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Year 5

Exploring and engaging with themes in 'Oliver Twist'

I can identify and engage with the key themes in ‘Oliver Twist’.

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New
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Year 5

Exploring and engaging with themes in 'Oliver Twist'

I can identify and engage with the key themes in ‘Oliver Twist’.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.
  2. Themes can be incredibly relevant and link to significant issues regardless of the time in which the text was written.
  3. At the end of the text, the author offers resolutions to many of the characters.
  4. The theme of identity is conveyed through Oliver’s emotional journey to finding out who he is; it is a central theme.

Keywords

  • Theme - A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.

  • Convey - To convey means to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly.

  • Identity - Identity is linked to understanding who you are and your place within the world.

Common misconception

Pupils may find discussing a character's search for identity challenging.

Discuss identity in relation to other characters that pupils have experienced in texts they have in common. Links can be made across lessons, particularly Lesson 1 and 2.

To make the story summary slides at the start of LC1 more engaging, statements could be put onto strips of paper for pupils to sequence in pairs after reading.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2014 Oxford University Press edition of ‘Oliver Twist’ written by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Jeff Anderson, for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

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.
Who teaches Oliver to read and write?
Fagin
Bill Sikes
Correct answer: Miss Maylie
Nancy
Q2.
Which character does Fagin ask to track Nancy's whereabouts?
Correct Answer: The Artful Dodger, the Artful Dodger, the artful dodger, The artful dodger, Artful Dodger
Q3.
Which adults in the text does Oliver trust most?
Fagin
Bill Sikes
Correct answer: Mr. Brownlow
Correct answer: Miss Maylie
Q4.
During the text, in which locations does Oliver feel like he belongs?
Fagin's Den of thieves
Correct answer: Mr. Brownlow's home
the ramshackle hut
Correct answer: Miss Maylie's house
Q5.
What is a theme within a text?
the reason a text was written and the desired impact
Correct answer: a big idea, topic or message that repeats within a story
a question that you have about a text
Q6.
What is a suitable definition of a character's identity?
a lesson that can be learnt from a story or experience
unfair or untrue beliefs about a particular group of people
Correct answer: an understanding of who they are and their place in the world

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to their definitions.
Correct Answer:theme,a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story

a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story

Correct Answer:convey,to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly

to communicate a message to the reader directly or indirectly

Correct Answer:identity,linked to understanding who you are and your place within the world

linked to understanding who you are and your place within the world

Q2.
Where does Oliver find his mother's items in Fagin's Den?
under Fagin's bed
Correct answer: up the chimney
in the caldron
Q3.
True or False? Monks is Oliver's half-brother.
Correct Answer: True, true
Q4.
How much inheritance is Oliver set to receive?
6 pounds
600 pounds
Correct answer: 6000 pounds
Q5.
What items does Oliver now own that belonged to his mother?
Correct answer: a ring
a key
Correct answer: a locket
a watch
Correct answer: a lock of hair
Q6.
What word is engraved on the brass plate on the church near where Oliver and his friends now live?
Correct Answer: Agnes, agnes, AGNES