Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’: understanding the story
I can explain what happens in Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’.
Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’: understanding the story
I can explain what happens in Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- 'One Thousand and One Nights' is a collection of Middle Eastern folktales.
- 'One Thousand and One Nights' uses a frame story: a main story around shorter ones, all told by one person, Shahrazad.
- Shahrazad tells these stories to her husband, Shahrayar, ending each installment on a cliffhanger.
- In this way, Shahrayar, desperate to know the rest of the story, puts off killing her (his usual custom with his wives).
- 'The Fisherman and the Jinni' is one of the stories Shahrazad tells her husband.
Keywords
Jinni - a supernatural spirit with magical powers
Folktales - stories that are passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth
Prophet - a person who is able to communicate the will of God
Sage - a wise person
Frame story - a main story that surrounds shorter stories
Common misconception
'The Fisherman the and Jinni' is a framing story because there is a story within it.
The story of King Yunan and his sage is a story within a story. In 'One Thousand and One Nights', the frame story is only that of Shahrazad and Shahrayar. This frame story punctuates all the tales, with dialogue between husband and wife throughout.
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’: understanding the story, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: Hanan Al-Shaykh's ‘The Fisherman and the Jinni’: understanding the story, 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 3 english lessons from the Myths, legends and stories that inspire unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You will need access to a copy of the extract ('The Fisherman and the Jinni') from 'One Thousand and One Nights' by Hanan Al-Shaykh published by Bloomsbury in 2013.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of serious crime
- Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
- Depiction or discussion of sexual content
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
stories about how the world was made, and what it is like
a traditional story, often focused on fictional historical characters
a story which has a moral, often with characters who are animals
a story that is passed on via word of mouth through generations
Exit quiz
6 Questions
a formidable story teller
a tyrannical king
a supernatural spirit
a clever man who is rewarded
a person who listens to poor advice
a person who teaches his king a lesson