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Year 5

Engaging with the plot of 'The Viewer'

I can engage with the plot of ‘The Viewer’.

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Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 5

Engaging with the plot of 'The Viewer'

I can engage with the plot of ‘The Viewer’.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. ‘The Viewer’ is a narrative fiction story with elements of mystery and supernatural fantasy.
  2. The setting in the opening is a ‘dump’ in the city.
  3. The story features a magical object that is found at the dump.
  4. The distinctive illustrations play an important part in telling the story.
  5. The story ends in an unusual and mysterious way.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that fantasy stories are entirely built around fantastical elements and cannot have any parts that are based in real life.

Teach pupils that this is a fantasy story, even though there are large parts of it that seem quite naturalistic and real.

Keywords

  • Fiction - when authors create made up stories with characters, places and adventures which did not happen in real life

  • Setting - where or when a story takes place

  • Fantasy - a genre of fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe

  • Mystery - a literary genre that builds suspense and plot for the reader to solve

The distinctive illustrations play an important role in enhancing the story. You may wish to spend more time analysing and discussing the illustrations in the text. You could print these off and have children discuss in groups.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2012 Hodder Children's Books edition of ‘The Viewer’ written by Gary Crew and illustrated by Shaun Tan, 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).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
A fiction text is written about things that ...
are real.
Correct answer: are not real.
happened in the past.
Q2.
Which of these is a type of fiction text?
a newspaper report
a non-chronological report
Correct answer: a story
Q3.
What is the name for the place where a story happens?
the title
Correct answer: the setting
the characters
Q4.
What is the name for the people or animals in a story?
Correct answer: characters
authors
chapters
Q5.
The front cover of a book will tell you the ...
ending.
Correct answer: title.
characters.
Q6.
The name for the person who drew the pictures in a book is ...
the publisher.
the writer.
Correct answer: the illustrator.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? Fiction is when authors create made up stories with characters, places and adventures which did not happen in real life.
Correct Answer: true, True
Q2.
A person, animal, being, creature or thing in a story, is known as a ...
setting.
Correct answer: character.
illustrator.
Q3.
Fill in the blank. A __________ is where or when a story takes place.
Correct answer: setting
character
illustrator
Q4.
The main setting in the opening of 'The Viewer' is a ...
Correct answer: city dump.
city train station.
city road.
Q5.
'The Viewer' is written by ...
Shaun Tan.
Joseph Coelho.
Correct answer: Gary Crew.
Q6.
The illustrator of 'The Viewer' is Shaun Tan. What does an illustrator do?
write the story
Correct answer: draw the pictures
publish the book