Learning intentions

Machine Gunners Learning intentions: •Make deductions and inferences from the text •Identify adapt and use narrative features, vocabulary and authorial techniques •Compare life as a child now with that in the 1940s •Respond to the text, its themes, the intentions and opinions of the author

• Before even telling the class the title of the book, they were showed a set of images linked to the story and asked to sort them into themes and make links between them

Word decipher • The children discussed words in groups to work out meaning • Used the words to predict events in the story

Swastika

Tailfin nose-cone prop-blades Nicht anfassen Oel

Who are your heroes/heroines? • • • • • • • • •

Van der Saar Stirling Moss Ayrton Senna My brother Nelson Mandela Army people Michael McIntyre My Mum The Stig

• • • • • • • • •

David Tennant J.K. Rowling Frank Lampard Messe Spiderman Robin Hood Harry Potter Andy Murray Winston Churchill

Tiny Texts • In the next session, the class looked at tiny texts in groups. They: • discussed individual words that they didn’t know in the group and any remaining were discussed at a whole class level • In pairs chose a tiny text to ‘interrogate’ as text detectives trying to infer as much meaning as possible

Something was blocking out the light through the branches, he couldn’t quite see, except it was

black.

A police whistle shrilled at the edge of the wood.

And then slowly, the spire pounced downwards at the firemen, like a leaping red lion.

‘Your own bairn, and you wouldn’t look for him. God forgive you, for I never shall.’

She ran and ran, not looking where she was going, but not running away from the enemy. What was luckier was that Mr McGill never questioned Chas about the gun himself; he was the only one Chas could never have deceived.

Boddser had the best collection of souvenirs in Garmouth.

A great hammer banged on the dark tin tray of the sky.

MG 15, calibre 7.62mm, firing 1000 rounds a minute, effective range one mile.

‘British boys fight with their fists.’

Reading the text • As I read, the children were encouraged to ask about any words they didn’t know and to ‘Magpie’ words that they might use in their own writing – knowing that they would be writing their own short story set during World War Two

Machine Gunners Chapter 1 • Why was it bad that the milk-cart had too much milk? • What was Chas’s hobby? • What links can you make to the themes and the tiny texts?

• Some of the lowest achieving writers were the best at inference and deduction

Today’s Objectives: • Recognise how a simile can be turned into a metaphor • Recognise sterotypes • Identify features of an author’s style They were a slummy kind of family, a great fat woman in carpet slippers and a hoard of boys of assorted sizes; hair like lavatory brushes…. Cuthbert, the largest lavatory brush, picked up a stone, a sudden look of interest on his face.

Investigating a theme • Collections Homework • Do you collect anything? • Did your parents or grandparents collect things?

Today’s writing objectives • • • • • •

Use topic sentences Use the language of comparison Engage the reader with a lively style Write complex sentences Use commas appropriately Use a colon (:) in your own writing

Collecting – a pastime in decline? Introduction

questions

Why collect

Boys/Girls

Generations

Unusual

Final Comment

Still popular Butterflies/birds eggs/stickers stamps

Hale Heinkel Setting Build up

Dilemma

Events

Resolution

Visit from 25th Bomb Disposal Co

Adding opinion to writing • In Chapter 5, Chas is asked to write an essay on war souvenirs • Imagine you or your brother has a collection – write your essay about a collection of war souvenirs • WILF: • Use a colon to introduce a list • Use brackets for extra information • Include opinion • Let the reader have an idea of your brother’s character

• • • • •

My Collection of War Souvenirs: German Incendiary Bomb – Live (found in Chirton Woods) British Bullet (from my Uncle Colin – First Kent Rifles) Nose cone from a German shell (swap from Boddser) ….

My brother’s stupid collection of dangerous rubbish My brother is obsessed with war souvenirs. He has hundreds of boring bits of shrapnel and various bits of shell casing. It scares me stiff because he also has …. My Collection of War Souvenirs I am extremely proud of my collection of war souvenirs – it is by far the best in Hale. My favourite item is a genuine British Mills bomb - it is completely in tact with the pin still in and everything. My stupid sister says I should hand it in to the police and that it is dangerous but I’d loose it if I did that. Anyway it’s great for scaring people with! Last week I …

Further plans include: • Chapter 10 Rudi’s embarrassment and Chas’ dilemma – Balanced argument • Chapter 12 – how does the author develp tension and what is the effect of switching between events happening at the same time? • Drama opportunity – Nicky’s boat • Chapter 16 – Mr McGill though tracking • Should children be allowed to play out alone? Continuum statement • Revisit – What makes a hero?