New
New
Year 3

Engaging with the plot of 'The Journey'

I can read ‘The Journey’ and summarise the key events.

New
New
Year 3

Engaging with the plot of 'The Journey'

I can read ‘The Journey’ and summarise the key events.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. ‘The Journey’ is a children’s picture book.
  2. The story is about two girls and their mother who are fleeing their war-torn country to find a safe place to live.
  3. The girls face many obstacles and challenges along their perilous journey as they cross unwelcoming borders.
  4. The story ends with them getting closer to a safe home where they hope to arrive soon.
  5. Summarising the key events in a story helps us to build our understanding of the text and the meaning behind it.

Common misconception

Pupils might be confused by the difference between a refugee and a migrant.

Explain that a refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, violence or natural disaster. A migrant moves from one place to another usually to find work or better living conditions.

Keywords

  • Refugee - a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, violence or natural disaster

  • Flee - to run away from a place or situation of danger

  • Border - a geographical line separating two countries

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

Read the author's notes at the back of the book to enhance the pupils' understanding of the book's context through the author's own words.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the 2016 Flying Eye Books edition of ‘The Journey’ by Francesa Sanna for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is an author?
a person who creates food recipes
Correct answer: a person who writes stories or other texts
a person who writes music
Q2.
What is a character?
Correct answer: a person or animal in a story that action happens to
where the story takes place
the person who writes the story
Q3.
What is an illustration?
the text on the back of the book
the words inside the book
Correct answer: a picture or image in a book
Q4.
What is a narrative?
a written version of a play
Correct answer: writing that tells a story
writing that always gives true information
Q5.
What is a setting?
the people or animals in the story
where the author wrote the story
Correct answer: where the story takes place
Q6.
Complete this sentence: The person who draws the pictures in a book is called the ...
Correct Answer: illustrator, Illustrator

6 Questions

Q1.
Who is the author of ‘The Journey’?
Correct Answer: Francesca Sanna
Q2.
Who is the illustrator of 'The Journey'?
Correct Answer: Francesca Sanna
Q3.
Who are the main characters in 'The Journey'?
the security guard
Correct answer: the girl, her sister, her mother
her mother's friends
the passengers on the boat
Q4.
True or false? 'The girl, her sister and mother tried to stay in their country.'
Correct Answer: false, False
Q5.
True or false? 'Summarising means describing each event from a text in detail.'
Correct Answer: false, False
Q6.
Why do the girls and their mother feel hopeful when they are on the train?
The weather is improving
They are going to go back home
Correct answer: They are getting closer to a safe place to live
They are going to see their friends again