New
New
Year 7

Analysing character in an unseen extract from Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'

I can make precise inferences about characters and explain quotations in detail.

New
New
Year 7

Analysing character in an unseen extract from Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird'

I can make precise inferences about characters and explain quotations in detail.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Magical-realist texts have a real world setting in which magic happens.
  2. Use the first read of an unseen extract to establish key information about plot, character and setting.
  3. Next, read more closely to consider the meaning of specific words and phrases and their effects.
  4. Imperative language means giving commands.

Keywords

  • Predict - to say what you think will happen in the future

  • Character - a person in a novel, play, or film

  • Extract - a short passage taken from a text, film, or piece of music

  • Quotation - a phrase or short piece of writing taken from a longer work of literature

  • Inference - a guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have

Common misconception

That magic in stories always happens in a make-believe, faraway world.

Magical-realist stories are set in the real world but magic and fantastical events happen.

You could ask the students to make a prediction about what they think will happen next in the story after you've read the extract.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of the Chicken House Books edition of ‘Asha and the Spirit Bird’ by Jasbinder Bilan.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

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).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a character?
a real person
a friend
Correct answer: a person in a story
Q2.
What does an 'unseen' text mean?
a text you are familiar with
Correct answer: a text you haven't seen before
a text you have written
Q3.
What is a spirit?
Correct answer: a supernatural being
a helpful being
a scary being
a human being
Q4.
Which colour is 'crimson' a synonym for?
Correct answer: red
purple
black
blue
Q5.
Which of the following do we normally associate the colour red with?
Correct answer: love
good luck
Correct answer: violence
poison
Q6.
If someone is giving orders then we assume they are ...
Correct answer: in charge
working for someone
equal to others

6 Questions

Q1.
What is an extract?
A text you have written
Correct answer: A short passage taken from a text
A text you haven't seen before
Q2.
What does predict mean?
to know what will happen in the future
Correct answer: to say what you think will happen in the future
to say what a quotation says about a character
Q3.
A story set in the real world but with fantastical events and magic is known as ...
Correct answer: magical-realism
fantasy
postmodern writing
social realism
Q4.
Which words from might make a character seem physically imposing?
Shrinking
Correct answer: Hulking
Correct answer: Tower
Fragile
Q5.
A guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have is known as an ...
Correct Answer: inference
Q6.
Which word might suggest someone is animalistic?
grins
Correct answer: bares
smiles
Correct answer: teeth