Starter quiz
- True or false? 'The Borrowers' is a historical fiction text.
- True
- False ✓
- What makes ‘The Borrowers’ a fantasy fiction novel?
- It was written in 1952.
- It is about miniature people who borrow from big humans. ✓
- It was adapted into a film in 1997.
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- What is the name of the protagonist in 'The Borrowers'?
- Mary Norton
- Arrietty ✓
- Pod
- Boy
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- Order the four main parts of a story structure.
- 1⇔opening
- 2⇔build-up
- 3⇔climax
- 4⇔resolution
- Why does Pod come home distressed in the build-up of the story?
- He couldn't find the items he was hoping to "borrow".
- He had been “seen” by one of the “human beans” upstairs. ✓
- He had lost Arrietty on their expedition.
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- When Mrs Driver (the lady who owns the house) finds out about the Borrowers, what does she do?
- She hires a rat catcher. ✓
- She gets diggers to destroy under the kitchen.
- She invites them up to join her in the main house.
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Exit quiz
- Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.
- fortress⇔a large, strong building that can be defended from attack ✓
- clasps⇔a device with interlocking parts used for fastening things together ✓
- grating⇔a framework of parallel or crossed bars, typically preventing access ✓
- Which member of the Clock family was the only one who knew their way upstairs to borrow from the human "beans"?
- Pod ✓
- Homily
- Arrietty
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- Match the vocabulary to the correct definition.
- trinket box⇔a small box commonly used to store jewellery ✓
- settle⇔an old-fashioned piece of furniture with a long seat and high back ✓
- pedestal⇔the supporting column of something (e.g. a statue or table top) ✓
- True or false? Homily was proud of their living room.
- True ✓
- False
- How do we identify character traits?
- They are explicitly written and we retrieve them.
- We infer them from a character's experiences and actions. ✓
- We guess them.
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- Match the character action to the character trait that can be inferred from it.
- fussy⇔Homily fretted about Arrietty keeping her jersey clean. ✓
- dutiful⇔Arrietty stopped writing in her diary to help her mother. ✓
- dependable⇔Pod was on a mission to borrow items for the family. ✓
Worksheet
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Presentation
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The opening introduces the Clock family as the main characters and describes the setting of their home.
- The Clock family live under the kitchen floorboards and access the upstairs through a hole at the bottom of a clock.
- The Clock family’s home is made up of items borrowed from the human “beans”, which are used in new ways.
- A character trait is a special quality that makes a character in a story unique or interesting.
- We can infer different character traits of Pod, Homily and Arrietty through exploring their experiences and actions.
Common misconception
Children may find it difficult to distinguish between feelings and character traits.
Explain that feelings tend to be temporary and shifting but character traits are more permanent. Explore how lots of people feel 'nervous' from time to time, but that it appears as a regular part of Homily's interactions, making it a character trait.
Keywords
Setting - where the story takes place
Inference - to use clues from within the text to draw conclusions
Character traits - the special qualities that make a character in a story unique and interesting
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