New
New
Year 4

Discussing a section of 'The Borrowers' (part 2)

I can read and discuss a section of the build-up in 'The Borrowers'.

New
New
Year 4

Discussing a section of 'The Borrowers' (part 2)

I can read and discuss a section of the build-up in 'The Borrowers'.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this section of the build-up, Arrietty explores the outside world and enjoys freedom and nature.
  2. The atmosphere shifts when Arrietty spots the eye of a human “bean”.
  3. Arrietty forms a friendship with the human “bean” this eye belongs to whose name is “Boy”.
  4. The atmosphere and Arrietty’s emotions change over the course of her experiences.
  5. We can make inferences about a character’s emotions by analysing their actions, words and expressions.

Keywords

  • Build-up - the building of action and suspense that leads up to the climax in a narrative

  • Atmosphere - the tone or mood created in a text

  • Emotions - strong feelings that result from a person’s circumstances, mood, or relationship with others

  • Inference - to use clues from the text to draw conclusions

Common misconception

Some of the vocabulary and phrases in the text may be unfamiliar. This may present a barrier to comprehension, particularly during dense sections of description involving high-level vocabulary.

Make a bank of unfamiliar vocabulary from the text and provide definitions in context beforehand. E.g. looking at a primrose leaf and identifying a "furrow".

If time allows, continue reading Chapter 9 up to the end of page 77 and discuss the continued evolution of Arrietty's emotions as she engages in conversation with "Boy".
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2014 Puffin Books edition of ‘The Borrowers’ by Mary Norton 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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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? In the build-up, Pod takes Arrietty on her first borrowing expedition.
Correct Answer: True
Q2.
What does it mean to summarise?
to retell a story in detail
Correct answer: to pull out the key information and ideas from a text
to uncover hidden messages or meaning
Q3.
What is the purpose of the build-up?
It resolves the problem.
It introduces the setting and characters.
Correct answer: It builds action and suspense leading up to the climax.
Q4.
What does atmosphere refer to?
the order of events in the story
Correct answer: the tone or mood created in a section or whole of a text
the feelings that a characters has
Q5.
True or false? A character's emotions always stay the same.
Correct Answer: False
Q6.
How do we make inferences?
retrieve them from the text
Correct answer: use clues from the text
summarise the key points

6 Questions

Q1.
Order the events from this section of the build-up:
1 - Arrietty closely watched from the clock as Pod ran to the front doormat.
2 - Shortly after, Arrietty joined her father and sat on the front doorstep.
3 - Arrietty spotted the grating and spoke to her mother through it.
4 - While Pod went borrowing, Arrietty enjoyed the freedom of the outdoors.
5 - After venturing through the grass, Arrietty happily lay by a tree.
6 - Arrietty was taken aback when she spotted the eye of a human “bean”!
Q2.
What was Arrietty most fascinated by on her borrowing expedition?
the items she could borrow
the hallway of the house
Correct answer: the outside world
Q3.
Where did Arrietty venture to when her father went borrowing?
Correct answer: through the grass to the base of a tree
along the pathway to the back garden
through the hallway to the kitchen
Q4.
What was Arrietty taken aback by the sight of while lying by the tree?
the voice of a human “bean”
Correct answer: the eye of a human “bean”
the legs of a human “bean”
Q5.
True or false? The atmosphere changes when Arrietty spots the eye.
Correct Answer: True
Q6.
True or false? Arrietty remains terrified of the human "bean" she encounters.
Correct Answer: False