Developing responses to 'Varjak Paw' through rich discussions
I can develop my own response to 'Varjak Paw'.
Developing responses to 'Varjak Paw' through rich discussions
I can develop my own response to 'Varjak Paw'.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Character traits can be explored through the text’s illustrations or words used by the characters.
- Different readers may interpret a text in different ways.
- Discussing books by building on others and our own views can help us to deepen our understanding of a text.
- Making links to other characters and stories helps to deepen our awareness of texts.
Keywords
Character trait - Character traits are the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting.
Impression - An impression refers to initial feelings about a person, place or thing, gained from reading a text.
Connection - How a text relates to a reader, another text or the wider world can be called a connection.
Recommendation - A recommendation is a suggestion for a text that is well-suited to a reader’s age and their interests.
Common misconception
Pupils may think that how a character looks determines whether they are friend or foe.
When discussing the character of Sally Bones, focus on character traits that intimidate Varjak, not solely her appearance.
To help you plan your year 3 english lesson on: Developing responses to 'Varjak Paw' through rich discussions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 3 english lesson on: Developing responses to 'Varjak Paw' through rich discussions, 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 'Varjak Paw': book club unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2014 Corgi Childrens edition of ‘Varjak Paw, written by SF Said with illustrations by Dave McKean, for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Varjak's brother
Varjak's grandfather
Varjak's ancestor
the lady who owned the house Varjak's family lived in
Exit quiz
6 Questions
special qualities that make a character unique and interesting
initial feelings about a person, place or thing gained from reading
how a text relates to a reader, another text or the wider world