The White Fox / During Reading / First Encounters /
Sol: Circle of Life
Using a graphic organiser to gather information about Sol from Chapter Two.
Lesson length: 1 session
Lesson from The White Fox series
Required reading: Pages 10-17
Text potential
- Inference opportunities: Character Inference
Purpose
Exploring different areas of a character’s life supports understanding of the way they behave and their motivations. Readers can then make connections between their own lives and that of a character, which builds empathy.
Preparation
- Divide a large sheet of paper into quadrants with a circle in the middle. The sections should be labelled: Home, Family, Play, and Day. Write Sol in the centre circle. This organiser is called a Circle of Life.
Process
Read chapter two and three aloud to the class. Check a literal understanding by asking:
- How does Sol befriend the fox?
- How is the fox caught?
- Does Sol’s dad know that he has seen the fox?
- Why doesn’t Sol tell him?
Introduce the Circle of Life. Organise the class into groups of no more than four children. They should work together to fill in the four sections with notes that provide information about that heading. Clarify what information is needed by asking:
- Where does Sol live, and with whom who does he live? (Home)
- Who else is in Sol’s family? (Family)
- How does Sol spend his time when he is not at school? (Play)
- What does Sol do during the day? (Day)
Once the group has filled in their grid, give them time to walk around and look at the grids completed by other groups.
Ask:
- If Sol’s dad filled this in, would it look different?
Use a different colour to add dad’s thoughts.
Final reflection
Read the first line of chapter three:
‘For three weeks Sol went down to the docks.’
- What can you infer from this about Sol?
- What qualities does he display?
If the children need a prompt, share some character traits, and ask them to choose the most appropriate. For example, patient, determined, committed, dedicated, stubborn.
Key vocabulary
patient, determined, committed, dedicated, stubborn, infer
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