Understanding the setting and characters in 'The Borrowers'
I can understand the setting and characters in ‘The Borrowers’.
Understanding the setting and characters in 'The Borrowers'
I can understand the setting and characters in ‘The Borrowers’.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The opening introduces the Clock family as the main characters and describes the setting of their home.
- The Clock family live under the kitchen floorboards and access the upstairs through a hole at the bottom of a clock.
- The Clock family’s home is made up of items borrowed from the human “beans”, which are used in new ways.
- A character trait is a special quality that makes a character in a story unique or interesting.
- We can infer different character traits of Pod, Homily and Arrietty through exploring their experiences and actions.
Keywords
Setting - where the story takes place
Inference - to use clues from within the text to draw conclusions
Character traits - the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting
Common misconception
Children may find it difficult to distinguish between feelings and character traits.
Explain that feelings tend to be temporary and shifting but character traits are more permanent. Explore how lots of people feel 'nervous' from time to time, but that it appears as a regular part of Homily's interactions, making it a character trait.
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Understanding the setting and characters in 'The Borrowers', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 4 english lesson on: Understanding the setting and characters in 'The Borrowers', 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 'The Borrowers': narrative writing and reading unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2014 Puffin Books edition of ‘The Borrowers’ by Mary Norton for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a large, strong building that can be defended from attack
a device with interlocking parts used for fastening things together
a framework of parallel or crossed bars, typically preventing access
a small box commonly used to store jewellery
an old-fashioned piece of furniture with a long seat and high back
the supporting column of something (e.g. a statue or table top)
Homily fretted about Arrietty keeping her jersey clean.
Arrietty stopped writing in her diary to help her mother.
Pod was on a mission to borrow items for the family.