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Year 3

Understanding Lila's feelings in the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter'

I can identify and understand the emotions of Lila in the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter’.

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New
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Year 3

Understanding Lila's feelings in the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter'

I can identify and understand the emotions of Lila in the build-up of 'The Firework Maker's Daughter’.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Lila faces physical and emotional challenges that the reader does not know if she will overcome.
  2. Lila's emotional journey is a key part of building suspense in the build-up of the story.
  3. Philip Pullman conveys Lila's changing emotions both explicitly and using 'show and tell'.
  4. 'Show and tell' is a narrative technique that conveys a character's feelings through sensory details, actions &thoughts.
  5. Empathising with a character's emotions can help us develop our own examples of 'show and tell'.

Common misconception

Children may find it difficult to develop 'show and tell' ideas without stating the emotion.

Act out different feelings to encourage children to consider what happens in their bodies when they feel that emotion.E.g. What do you think or physically feel when you experience frustration? Answers could include 'chest tightens' or 'jaw clenches'.

Keywords

  • Suspense - a state of feeling excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen

  • 'show and tell' - a writing technique for showing a character's feelings with description of their actions, body language and facial expressions

  • Empathy - the ability to understand other people's emotions and points of view

Ensure children have access to pages 59-65 of 'The Firework-Maker's Daughter' so they can use extracts from the text to infer Lila's emotions.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the 2018 Penguin Random House UK edition of ‘The Firework Maker's Daughter' by Philip Pullman for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does the build-up in Chapter 4 of 'The Firework-Maker's Daughter' involve?
Lila leaving home.
Lila finding out her father's views.
Correct answer: Lila's journey up Merapi.
Q2.
What is suspense?
a state of feeling amused by the events in a story
Correct answer: a state of feeling excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen
a state of not caring about what happens next
a state of feeling certain about what is going to happen next
Q3.
True or false? Lila's journey up Merapi is simple and straightforward.
Correct Answer: False, false
Q4.
Order the following events from the first part of Lila's journey.
1 - Lila tried to sleep but she couldn’t. She considered giving up.
2 - Lila reached steeper ground and realised she was climbing the mountain.
3 - Lila slipped and fell down the mountain, losing a sandal in the process.
Q5.
Order the following events from the second part of Lila's journey.
1 - Lila continued to climb higher, braving the heat with bare feet.
2 - Lila kept sliding back, experiencing such pain she felt like she might die.
3 - A huge stone rolled towards Lila but it missed her. The Grotto was uncovered!
Q6.
True or false? Lila experiences a range of emotions during her journey up Merapi.
Correct Answer: True, true

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? The only way to identify a character's emotions is if the author explicitly states it.
Correct Answer: False
Q2.
What effect does the narrative technique of 'show and tell' achieve?
it makes sentences catchy and memorable
it explicitly states a character's feelings
Correct answer: it conveys a character's feelings through sensory details, thoughts and actions
Q3.
Match the key moments Lila experienced at the beginning of her journey to how she felt.
Correct Answer:couldn't sleep, considered giving up,tired and frustrated

tired and frustrated

Correct Answer:steeper ground, climbing mountain,determined and optimistic

determined and optimistic

Correct Answer:slipped and fell, caught breath,shocked and shaken

shocked and shaken

Q4.
Match the key moments Lila experienced towards the end of her journey to how she felt.
Correct Answer:continued climb, braving the heat,exhausted but committed

exhausted but committed

Correct Answer:slid backwards, pain like she'd die,agony and despair

agony and despair

Correct Answer:rock missed her, Grotto uncovered,relief and excitement

relief and excitement

Q5.
How can we generate 'show and tell' ideas for Lila's emotions?
Correct answer: by using empathy to understand her feelings
by explicitly stating how she felt
by describing the setting
Q6.
What is the definition of empathy?
the ability to take away someone's problems
Correct answer: the ability to understand other people's emotions and points of view
the ability to laugh in difficult situations