School Radio - BBC

1 School Radio private peaceful . by Michael Morpurgo Age 9 - 12+. The 13 episodes of this abridgement are available to listen online. Go to: Contents: Introduction 1. National Curriculum Programme of Study 1. 1 Five past ten 4. 2 Twenty to eleven 5. 3 Nearly quarter past eleven 5. 4 Ten to midnight 6. 5 Twenty-four minutes past twelve 7. 6 Nearly five to minte 9. 7 Twenty-eight minutes past one 9. 8 Fourteen minutes past two 11. 9 A minute past three 12. 10 Twenty-five past three 13. 11 Nearly four o'clock 14. 12 Five to five 15. 13 Twenty-seven minutes to six 16. Exploring the text further 17. Links 19. Teacher's Notes written by Caroline Garland School Radio BBC 2014. School Radio private peaceful by Michael Morpurgo Introduction National Curriculum in England - Programme of Study for English 2014. Michael Morpurgo was born in 1943. He went to School in London, Sussex and Kent and Upper KS2 Reading Comprehension later to the University of London where he studied English and French.

2 He became a Pupils should be taught to: primary School teacher and it was during his Maintain positive attitudes to reading and under- time as a teacher that he realised he wanted standing of what they read by: to be a writer. Michael has described how his class were bored with a story he was shar- continuing to read and discuss an increasingly ing with them and how he decided to create wide range of fiction, (poetry, plays) non-fic- something for exciting for them instead. tion and reference books or textbooks reading books that are structured in different Michael has gone on to become one of the ways and reading for a range of purposes country's best-loved authors of children's increasing their familiarity with a wide range of literature. He was Children's Laureate from books, including myths, legends and traditional 2003-2005 and became an OBE in 2006. stories, modern fiction, fiction from our literary heritage, and books from other cultures and He has written over 100 books and has won traditions recommending books that they have numerous awards, including The Blue Peter read to their peers, giving reasons for their Award' for private peaceful .

3 Choices identifying and discussing themes and conven- He has said: For me, the greater part of tions in and across a wide range of writing writing is daydreaing, dreaming the dream making comparisons within and across books of my story until it hatches out the writing learning a wider range of poetry by heart down of it I always find hard. But I love preparing poems and plays to read aloud and finishing it, then holding the book in my to perform, showing understanding through hand and sharing my dream with my intonation, tone and volume so that the mean- ing is clear to an audience readers.'. Understand what they read by: Michael was born during World War 2 and often writes of the divisions, conflicts and checking that the book makes sense to them, injustices of warfare. His own family was discussing their understanding and exploring deeply affected by war through the loss of the meaning of words in context his uncle and the break up of his parents. asking questions to improve their understand- The theme of war is explored in Michael's ing books private peaceful , War Horse and drawing inferences such as inferring charac- Adolphus Tips.

4 Ters' feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence predicting what might happen from details Michael has established three working farms stated and implied in Devon, Wales and Gloustershire where summarising the main ideas drawn from more children from inner city schools can come than one paragraph, identifying key details and stay for a week to experience life work- that support the main ideas ing in the countryside. Michael now lives identifying how language, structure and pres- with his wife in Devon where he continues to entation contribute to meaning write. You can read more about Michael at: Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader. 1. School Radio BBC 2014. School Radio private peaceful by Michael Morpurgo Distinguish between statements of fact and opin- In using reference books, pupils need to know ion. what information they need to look for before they begin and need to understand the task.

5 They Retrieve, record and present information from should be shown how to use contents pages and non-fiction. indexes to locate information. Participate in discussions about books that are The skills of information retrieval that are taught read to them and those they can read for them- should be applied, for example, in reading history, selves, building on their own and others' ideas geography and science textbooks, and in contexts and challenging views courteously. where pupils are genuinely motivated to find out information, for example, reading information leaf- Explain and discuss their understanding of what lets before a gallery or museum visit or reading they have read, including through formal presen- a theatre programme or review. Teachers should tations and debates, maintaining a focus on the consider making use of any library services and topic and using notes where necessary provide expertise to support this. reasoned justifications for their views. Pupils should have guidance about and feedback Provide reasoned justifications for their views.

6 On the quality of their explanations and contributions to discussions. Upper KS2 Notes and guidance (non- statutory) Pupils should be shown how to compare charac- ters, settings, themes and other aspects Even though pupils can now read independently, of what they read. reading aloud to them should include whole books so that they meet books and authors that Department for Education they might not choose to read themselves. KS3 Reading and writing The knowledge and skills that pupils need in order to comprehend are very similar at different Reading at Key Stage 3 should be wide, varied ages. Pupils should continue to apply what they and challenging. Pupils should be expected to have already learnt to more complex writing. read whole books, to read in depth and to read for pleasure and information. Pupils should be taught to recognise themes in what they read, such as loss or heroism. They Pupils should continue to develop their knowledge should have opportunities to compare characters, of and skills in writing, refining their drafting skills consider different accounts of the same event and developing resilience to write at length.

7 They and discuss viewpoints (both of authors and of should be taught to write formal and academic es- fictional characters), within a text and across says as well as writing imaginatively. They should more than one text. be taught to write for a variety of purposes and audiences across a range of contexts. This re- They should continue to learn the conventions quires an increasingly wide knowledge of vocabu- of different types of writing, such as the use of lary and grammar. the first person in writing diaries and autobiogra- phies. Opportunities for teachers to enhance pupils'. vocabulary will arise naturally from their reading Pupils should be taught the technical and other and writing. Teachers should show pupils how to terms needed for discussing what they hear and understand the relationships between words, how read, such as metaphor, simile, analogy, imagery, to understand nuances in meaning, and how to style and effect. develop their understanding of, and ability to use, figurative language.

8 2. School Radio BBC 2014. School Radio private peaceful by Michael Morpurgo Pupils should be taught to control their speak- knowing the purpose, audience for and context ing and writing consciously, understand why of the writing and drawing on this knowledge sentences are constructed as they are and to to support comprehension use Standard English. They should understand checking their understanding to make sure and use age-appropriate vocabulary, including that what they have read makes sense linguistic and literary terminology, for discussing their reading, writing and spoken language. This Read critically through: involves consolidation, practice and discussion of language. It is important that pupils learn the knowing how language, including figurative correct grammatical terms in English and that language, vocabulary choice, grammar, text these terms are integrated within teaching. structure and organisational features, presents meaning Teachers should build on the knowledge and skills recognising a range of poetic conventions and that pupils have been taught at key stage 2.

9 Understanding how these have been used Decisions about progression should be based on studying setting, plot, and characterisation, the security of pupils' linguistic knowledge, skills and the effects of these and understanding and their readiness to pro- understanding how the work of dramatists is gress to the next stage. Pupils whose linguistic communicated effectively through performance development is more advanced should be chal- and how alternative staging allows for different lenged through being offered opportunities for interpretations of a play making critical com- increased breadth and depth in reading and writ- parisons across texts ing. Those who are less fluent should consolidate studying a range of authors, including at least their knowledge, understanding and skills, includ- two authors in depth each year. ing through additional practice. Department for Education KS3 Reading Comprehension Pupils should be taught to: Develop an appreciation and love of reading, and read increasingly challenging material indepen- dently through: reading a wide range of fiction and non-fic- tion, including in particular whole books, short stories, poems and plays with a wide cover- age of genres, historical periods, forms and authors choosing and reading books independently for challenge, interest and enjoyment re-reading books encountered earlier to increase familiarity with them and provide a basis for making comparisons Understand increasingly challenging texts through: learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding it with the help of context and dictionaries making inferences and referring to evidence in the text 3.

10 School Radio BBC 2014. School Radio private peaceful by Michael Morpurgo EPISODE 1: FIVE PAST TEN Guided reading: Synopsis: Identify how we meet the speaker. How does the author introduce the main character of the story? Each episode begins with a brief passage in which Explore how he uses present tense and then past the speaker - Thomas Tommo' peaceful - relates tense to move between time periods. something of his present circumstances, before he begins to recollect events from the past. In What can we tell of Tommo's circumstances from the first of these we learn that he is young, is his opening words? Where might he be? Why alone and that the night ahead is meaningful to might he want to remain awake all night? (What him. For some reason he wishes to remain awake can we tell from the soundtrack?). and alert. The subsequent episode openings gradually provide more information about his cir- Identify the characters introduced in the first cumstances through a series of hints and clues.