Sun and Moon

Learning Intention:

 

I am learning to extend characterisation from a model text so that I can develop the narrative and adapt the ending.

 

Success Criteria:

• I can recognise features of a poem that help develop character and setting
• I can work with others to role play different scenarios for characters
• I can identify features of a comic strip
• I can use the characters from a model text to create my own comic strip.

 

Essential knowledge:

 

A video resource about Characterisation can be found on The School Magazine website.

 

Understanding text:

 

Project the poem onto the board and read the poem as a class. Direct student’s attention to the structure of the poem. Discuss how the poem is structured. (It has two stanzas)

Ask students to answer the following questions:

• What happens in the first stanza? (The sun waves to the moon and says it is tired)
• What happens in the second stanza? (The moon tells the sun not to worry because they are ready to glow while the sun rests)

 

Ask for a student volunteer to identify the word or phrase that shows the Sun is tired. (tired-out sigh)

Ask for a different volunteer to identify the word or phrase that shows that the Moon is feeling alert and awake. (growing bright, shouted, ready to glow).

 

Draw students attending to the exclamation marks which are used in the direct speech from both the Sun and the Moon. Discuss why these are required? (It shows that they are calling loudly to one another from opposite ends of the sky, it emphasizes what they are saying.)

 

Oral language and communication:

 

Have students consider what the characters from the poem might say to one another at the opposite end of the day – the early morning.

Organise the class into pairs. One person in the pair takes on the role of the sun, the other takes on the role of the moon. Ask them to have a conversation with one another, in character, about the early morning. For this activity it might be best to take students to an outdoor learning space where they can spread out.

After completing the exercise, ask for some volunteer pairs to role-play their conversation for the whole class.

Discuss:

• What did the sun and moon talk about in your pair?
• Did you and your partner have similar conversations to other pairs in the class?
• If your conversations were similar, why might this be? (Conversations might have been similar because of the common features of the setting – early morning. Students have a common understanding of this time of day.)

 

Creating text:

Have students create a four-square comic strip showing the interactions between the Sun and Moon in the early morning. Tell students that their comic strip will be a sequel to the poem.

Before students begin their comic strip, use ‘Hungry Bugs’ on page 36 as an example of the text type. Discuss the following features:

• The squares or frames are different sizes
• There are a range of angles used – some images are close up others from a longer angle
• The character dialogue is shown in speech bubbles
• Some words in the speech bubbles are in bold for emphasis
• Sound effects are included in a different bubble style font.

 

Encourage students to create their four-square comic strip with these features in mind.

 

Assessment for/as learning:

 

Students complete a self-assessment of their comic strips. They can use the following checklist (taken from the above analysis of ‘Hungry bugs’) to tick the features of comic strip they successfully used in their work. They can simply tick the items which they included in their work.

• The squares or frames are different sizes
• There are a range of angles used – some images are close up others from a longer angle
• The character dialogue is shown in speech bubbles
• Some words in the speech bubbles are in bold for emphasis
• Sound effects are included in a different bubble style font.