New
New
Year 4

Engaging with 'The Borrowers'

I can order the key events of ‘The Borrowers’.

New
New
Year 4

Engaging with 'The Borrowers'

I can order the key events of ‘The Borrowers’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. ‘The Borrowers’ is a fantasy fiction text written by Mary Norton in 1952.
  2. ‘The Borrowers’ is about miniature people, who secretly live under the floorboards of an English house.
  3. The protagonist in ‘The Borrowers’ is Arrietty, who is the daughter of Pod and Homily.
  4. It is important for stories to have a clear structure so that readers can understand and enjoy them.

Keywords

  • Fantasy fiction - a story which is made up or imagined and involves magical elements

  • Summarise - to pull out the key events and ideas from the text

  • Structure - the order of events within a narrative that gives it a coherent and engaging flow

Common misconception

Pupils may have different ideas about which parts of 'The Borrowers' constitute the opening, build-up, climax and resolution.

Ensure that pupils know that the way one person summarises may be different to another person's summary. If possible, print the story staircase on A3 sized paper to make Task B more accessible.

You may wish to read the whole text aloud as a class book before starting this unit, so the pupils are familiar with the story. Pupils could also watch the film, 'The Borrowers' which is suitable for the age group.
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.
What is a narrative?
writing that is made up or imagined
Correct answer: writing that tells a story
writing that always gives true information
Q2.
What is a protagonist in a story?
the narrator of the story
Correct answer: the main character in a story and the one whom the plot revolves around
the person who wrote the story
Q3.
Complete the sentence: An __________ is a person who writes books.
poet
Correct answer: author
illustrator
Q4.
Which of the following are examples of genre?
Correct answer: adventure
Correct answer: mystery
Correct answer: fantasy
cook book
dictionary
Q5.
Select the correct definition for the genre of 'fantasy'.
a literary genre that builds suspense and plot for the reader to solve
a genre in which a fictional plot takes place in a real historical setting
Correct answer: a genre of fiction involving magical elements, set in an imaginary world
Q6.
What is the correct definition of to 'borrow'?
taking something without permission and with no intention of returning it
Correct answer: taking something that belongs to someone else with the intention of returning it
paying for something to gain permanent ownership of it

6 Questions

Q1.
What type of text is ‘The Borrowers’?
non-fiction
Correct answer: fantasy fiction
fairy tale
information text
Q2.
Who is the author of ‘The Borrowers’?
Mark Norton
Correct answer: Mary Norton
Arrietty Clock
Q3.
When was ‘The Borrowers’ first published?
1901
Correct answer: 1952
1997
Q4.
True or false? 'The Borrowers' is a story about giant people who live in an English house.
Correct Answer: false, False
Q5.
What is the Clock's family home made from?
items they have bought from a shop
Correct answer: items they have borrowed from the human “beans” upstairs
items they have been gifted by the human “beans”
Q6.
Order these key events from the story.
1 - A lady called Mrs May tells a little girl called Kate about the Borrowers.
2 - Pod gets “seen”. Homily decides that Arrietty should be allowed to go borrowing.
3 - On this trip, Arrietty encounters “Boy” in the garden and they become friends.
4 - The human “beans” realise their things are going missing.
5 - Mrs Driver hires a rat catcher to catch the Borrowers, but they escape.
6 - The story ends as it began: with Mrs May and Kate sewing their quilt.