The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, Illustrated bywsassets.s3.amazonaws.com/ws/nso/doc/cf4310c780ddd... · Web viewthe poem such as: ‘Over the cobbles he clattered’ or ‘the wind

00390-2007CDO-EN Web-based literacy support materials for Year 5 and 6 teachers© Crown copyright 2007 Primary National Strategy

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, Illustrated byCharles Keeping

This unit of work lasts three weeks

This narrative poem, written in 1913, tells a tragic tale of love, jealousy and bravery. With evocative language, a powerful rhythm and strong patterning, it is ideal for performance.

It is important to read the poem to and with the class several times during this unit. Teachers should read the poem and the teaching sequence before starting work on the unit with the class. Sessionsare for guidance only. The length of time each aspect of the sequence will take depends on the ways they are developed by the teacher, the amount of time allowed for different activities such as discussion and also the prior experience of the class, for example, with drama techniques.

Phase 1Phase 1 of the unit (sessions 1–5) introduces the children to the historical context of the poem andthe characters and setting. They develop an understanding of the story told in the poem and plot the main events. Children also look closely at unfamiliar language and investigate word meanings.

Phase 2Phase 2 of the unit (sessions 6–10) focuses on exploring the characters through drama and storytelling, thinking about their viewpoints and motivations. Story writing in role is the writing outcome for this phase of the unit.

Phase 3Phase 3 of the unit (sessions 11–15) focuses on the language and rhythm of the poem. The children perform the poem, look closely at the language and experiment with writing in a similar style. The unit finishes with group presentations of information that the children have discovered about highwaymen from the poem, class discussions and additional research.

Guided readingAlthough the unit is designed for use with the whole class, teachers could also select aspects of it to use with guided reading groups. Alternatively, individual sessions could be followed up during guided reading sessions with a closer look at particular sections of the text – looking, for example, at the language or what has been revealed about plot or character.

All children will benefit from regular opportunities for small-group reading, discussion and writing witha teacher or teaching assistant.

Related core objectivesThe overarching core learning outcomes for the key stage are indicated in italics. Relevant objectives from Years 5 and 6 are indicated under the strands.

Web-based literacy support materials for Year 5 and 6 teachers 00390-2007CDO-ENPrimary National Strategy © Crown copyright 2007

SpeakingExplore, develop and sustain ideas through talkY5 Tell a story using notes to cue techniques

DramaUse dramatic techniques including working in role to explore ideas and textsCreate, share and evaluate understanding through dramaY5 Reflect on how working in role helps to explore complex issuesY6 Improvise, using a range of drama strategies and conventions to explore themes such as hopes, fears and desires

Understanding and interpreting textsRetrieve, select and describe information, events or ideasDeduce, infer and interpret information, events or ideasY5 Make notes and use evidence from across a text to explain events and ideasY5 Explore how writers use language for dramatic effectY6 Understand how writers use structure to create coherence and impactY6 Understand different points of view

Engaging and responding with textsRespond imaginatively, using different strategies to engage with textsEvaluate writers’ purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect of the text on the readerY5 Compare how a common theme is presented in poetry, prose and other mediaY5 Compare the usefulness of techniques such as visualisation, prediction and empathy in exploring the meaning of texts

Creating and shaping textsUse and adapt a variety of forms suited to different purposes and readersMake stylistic choices, including vocabulary, literary features and viewpoints or voiceY5 To experiment with different narrative forms and styles to write their own stories


Teaching approaches

Reading aloud, rereading

Booktalk and discussion

Responding to illustration

Visualisation, drawing and annotation

Drama: hotseating, freeze-frame and thought tracking

For information on drama approaches, see resources

Storytelling and story mapping or storyboarding

Shared writing, collaborative writing

Poetry performance

For a description of teaching approaches, see resources

Resources• A copy of The Highwayman, illustrated by Charles Keeping

• Photocopies of the cover illustration

• Interactive whiteboard (IWB) and/or flipchart

• Sticky notes and large sheets of paper

• Tape recorder (optional)

The teaching sequencePhase 1Session 1

Focus objectivesTo deduce information about a character from a visual textTo offer opinions and provide evidence to support them

Key teaching approachResponding to illustration

Organise the class into groups and give each group a copy of the illustration by Charles Keeping onthe cover of the book. See resources for a copy of the illustration. Ask them to discuss what theycan tell about the character from the illustration, who this person might be and what he might be like. They should make notes in their literacy books, reading journals on sticky notes or large sheets ofpaper.

Bring the class back together and share their ideas and the evidence they have found. Record thison a flipchart or IWB, or by asking children to come up and stick their notes around a copy of the picture. Keep these notes so that you can look back on them later in the unit.

Show the children the cover of the book and talk about the title. Ask them to turn to a partner and discuss what they know about highwaymen. Make a list of their ideas about highwaymen and then show them the following web page on an IWB or alternatively print off copies to share:

http://www.stand-and-deliver.org.uk/hounslow_heath.htm

Read and discuss this page with the class. This will give them useful background knowledge and create a context for the poem.



For homework, ask the children to find out some more about highwaymen.

Before the next session, allow time for the children to share any information they have found out about highwaymen and start a noticeboard to display any pictures or information they have found.

Session 2

Focus objectivesTo develop the ability to listen to a story and make notes about the main pointsTo give views based on response to a text and respond appropriately to the opinions of others

Key teaching approachesReading aloudDiscussion

Explain to the children that this book contains a poem that tells a story involving a highwayman. Ask them to listen carefully and see if they can follow the story in the poem, who it involves and what happens to them. Read the poem to the class and then ask the children to talk with a partner about what they have found out about the story. Discuss their ideas and make notes together about the characters and the story. Read the poem again and this time, ask children to work in mixed-ability groups and think about what they liked and disliked about the poem and also anything that puzzled them. Give each group a large grid to record their thoughts. A more experienced writer within thegroup should take the role of scribe. (To download a grid, see resources.) Allow time for the childrento discuss their responses and questions.

Session 3

Focus objectivesTo visualise a scene and respond to it pictoriallyTo consider the ways that visualisation helps to gain a deeper understanding of a description of a setting

Key teaching approachesVisualisationIllustration

Reread the first three lines of the poem, then ask the children to close their eyes and visualise the setting. Talk with them about the language and the kind of pictures it created for them. Ask themto choose one of the three lines to illustrate, using paint, inks, chalk pastels, crayons or coloured pencils, adding their chosen line from the poem in pen and ink.

At the end of the session, ask each group to read out their line together, holding up their illustrations. Then talk with them about the kind of mood these words create at the beginning of the poem andthe ways that visualisation helped the children to picture the story setting. Display the pictures on the wall with lines from the poem.

Session 4

Focus objectivesTo investigate the meaning of unfamiliar wordsTo deduce information about a character from a description

Key teaching approachesAnnotationRereading and investigation


Before this lesson, prepare a class dictionary with pages labelled with the letters of the alphabet.Ask the children to work with a partner and give each pair a verse from the poem. Ask them to lookfor any unfamiliar words in their verse and to investigate what these mean, using dictionaries or theInternet. Then ask them to enter the words they have found directly into the class dictionary or to write them on paper or sticky notes so that they can be entered properly later. Talk about these words as a class, focusing in particular on the beginning of the poem.

Give the children a copy of the second verse of the poem, which provides a description of the highwayman. Ask them to make annotated drawings of him following the description in the text.

Session 5

Focus objectivesTo identify the key events in a storyTo use storyboarding as a means of recording the key events in a story

Key teaching approachStoryboarding

Reread the poem with the class again using an enlarged version of the text, displaying the poemon an IWB or flipchart so that the structure is clear. To download a text version of the poem see resources. Talk about the separate verses and the sequence of events in the poem. You could notethe key events next to each verse as the children begin to identify them.

Then, ensuring that each pair has a copy of the poem, ask them to work with a partner and create a storyboard to illustrate the sequence of events in the poem. See resources for a storyboard outline.

Phase 2Session 6

Focus objectivesTo think from a character’s viewpoint about the reasons for their behaviourTo use drama strategies to explore characters’ feelings

Key teaching approachFreeze-frame and thought tracking

Split the class into groups of six and ask them to create a ‘freeze-frame’ for the scene when Bess is tied to the bed, taking the parts of Bess, Tim and the soldiers. Once they have prepared theirfreeze-frames, ask one or two groups to come to life and voice their thoughts in character.If possible, keep a record of their drama by taking photos and noting what they say in role.

With some of the groups focusing on Tim the Ostler, some on the highwayman and some on Bess the landlord’s daughter, ask them to look back at the poem and find out all they can about theircharacter and also think about the reasons he or she behaved as they did. They could make noteson a large sheet of paper. Ask the groups to report back to the rest of the class at the end of the session. Discuss what has been found out.

Session 7

Focus objectivesTo think from a character’s viewpoint about the reasons for their behaviourTo reflect on the ways working in role helps you think about a character


Key teaching approachHotseating

Start the session by discussing the drama activity and what the children thought about the different characters’ feelings at that point in the story. Ask the children to work with a partner and think about what they might ask Tim, Bess, or the highwayman (interviewed posthumously!) and what thischaracter might reply about what happened and why they behaved as they did.

With one member of the class in role as Tim, Bess or the highwayman, pose questions as a class to explore his or her motivation and feelings about what has happened.

If the class are not familiar with this approach, then take the hotseat yourself.

Session 8

Focus objectiveTo tell the story of The highwayman from the perspective of one of the characters, using notes

Key teaching approachStorytelling

Ask children to sit in a circle. Displaying an enlarged version of one of the story maps, explain that they are going to tell the story of the highwayman from the point of view of one of the characters, using the story maps to help them. Model an opening to the story yourself as told from the highwayman’s point of view. Then invite members of the class to contribute to a joint telling of the story.

After this activity, explain to the class that they are going to work with a partner and tell the storyof The highwayman from the point of view of one of the characters: Bess, Tim or the highwayman. They can draw on the drama they have experienced to help them to think about the characters’ feelings, and can also use their storyboards. After they have practised, share some of these storiesat the end of the session or tape-record them.

Sessions 9 and 10

Focus objectivesTo write a story from the viewpoint of one of the characters

Key teaching approachesShared and individual writing

Tell the children that they are going to write the story of The highwayman from the point of view ofone of the characters, based on the stories they told in the previous session – from the point of viewof Bess, Tim or the highwayman. Demonstrate how they might begin their writing by scribing a possible first line for a story from the highwayman’s point of view. Then take ideas from the classabout how to continue with the next two lines. Then ask the children to work independently and draft their own stories. When the stories are finished, the children should work with a response partnerto try to improve them, focusing in particular on making sure that they have really shown how their character was feeling. The finished stories could be published as short chapter books and illustrated.


Phase 3Session 11

Focus objectivesTo explore how writers use language for dramatic effect

Key teaching approachesText marking and discussion

Read the first two verses of the poem out loud together and talk about the way it is written. Ask the children to discuss in pairs anything they notice about the way the poet uses language. In thewhole-class session, ask the children to feed back their thoughts. Record their thinking on a flipchart. Their observations might include the use of rhythm and repetition, for example, and theway that this helps to create the effect of a horse galloping. Introduce the concept of metaphor as children notice phrases such as ‘The moon was a ghostly galleon’.

Session 12

Focus objectivesTo make decisions about how to perform a section of a poem dramaticallyTo develop the ability to work collaboratively to perform a poem dramatically

Key teaching approachPoetry performance

Ask the children to work in groups to prepare a performance of a section of the poem. Invite themto make decisions about which parts to read individually and which to perform altogether, and also where actions or sound effects might be needed. Gather the groups together to practise and then perform the poem as a class. If possible, find a time when the class can perform the poem to other classes or perhaps to the school as a whole.

Session 13

Focus objectiveTo experiment with writing in the form of a narrative poem

Key teaching approachesCollaborative writingPoetry writing

As a shared writing activity, introduce the idea of writing an additional verse for the poem,describing a ghostly meeting between Bess and the highwayman. Start the verse with a line fromthe poem such as: ‘Over the cobbles he clattered’ or ‘the wind was a torrent of darkness’. Then askthe children to work with a partner and write their own verses, perhaps from the point of view of a traveller witnessing the scene. Encourage the children to add their own ideas but ask them to try to stick to the style and rhythm of the poem as much as possible.

Once they have drafted and improved their work with their partners, share the verses as a class.

The children could then redraft their verses, which could be included in a class book, with accompanying illustrations.


Sessions 14 and 15

Focus objectiveTo collate and present information gathered on highwaymen using PowerPoint�� and then present to the class

Key teaching approachesDiscussion Research Presentation

Discuss with the class all the information they have found out about highwaymen from the poem and other sources. Organise the class into groups of three and ask them to gather togetherinformation that the class has already found out. Then ask them to think of a question they wouldlike to find out more about, for example: how were highwaymen were punished. They could use the‘Stand and deliver’ website h t t p : / / ww w . s t a n d - a n d - d e l i v e r . o r g . u k / h o u n s l o w _ h e a t h . h t m and relevant books or online encyclopaedias to research their question. Once they have gathered a little more information, they should organise and present it using a presentation programme such as Microsoft PowerPoint��. Allow time for groups to present their work to the rest of the class or to other classes within the school.

Opportunities for assessment in this unit

The Highwayman as a narrative poem is particularly strong in terms of plot, themes and character motivation and also has a powerful rhythm and memorable language. It supports children who are moving from Level 3 to 4 in empathising with characters and inferring their feelings, thoughts and motivations over the course of the narrative and also in considering the poet’s use of language andthe effects he has created.

In this unit, children are asked to search the text to locate evidence, to read the text closely for implicit meanings and to support their opinions by referring to the text.

Some discussions take place in whole-class contexts; others take place in pairs and groups. Teachers or TAs can listen in and make discreet notes on the discussions. Children are also frequently asked to make notes in their reading journals – these offer further opportunities for assessment.

The poem also offers opportunities to explore the themes and dilemmas through drama. These activities offer all children the opportunity to develop their understanding of the story.



Ongoing assessment opportunities

Class and group discussionsDuring the frequent opportunities for class discussion within the unit, the teacher could make brief notes after the session or a TA, if present, could make notes during a session.

Teachers or TAs could set up guided reading or writing activities, using some of the activities in the unit, to make more closely focused assessments with particular children who are working towards Level 4.

Notes can also be made, for example, using the following framework, during group discussions and partner work.

See resources for a framework that supports the monitoring of children who are moving from Level 3 to Level 4.

Written workChildren’s understanding can also be noted from their written work. Specific opportunities are listed in the following grid.

Assessment opportunitiesWith a particular focus on children moving from Level 3 to Level 4

• To be able to search text closely and to refer to the text when explaining ideas

Phase 1Session 5

The storyboards children create will indicate their understanding of the main events in the poem.

• To begin to make inferences (reading between the lines) and deductions (pulling evidence together) including empathising with characters and their feelings, thoughts, motivations and changes over the course of the narrative

Phase 2Sessions 9 and 10

Children’s story writing will indicate their ability to empathise with a character and infer motives.

• To discuss the author’s use of language (e.g. to describe characters and settings)

Phase 3Session 11

The teacher or TA could listen in when children are discussing the language in the poem with a partner to determine understanding of the reasons the writer has used language in a particular way.

Sources: NC level descriptionsQCA’s SATs analysis at the end of Key Stage 2, published in Implications for teaching and learning (QCA 2004, 2005,2006), show key pointers in helping children to move from Level 3 to 4 in reading.

National Curriculum Level descriptionsLevel 3Pupils read a range of texts fluently and accurately. They read independently, using strategies appropriately to establish meaning. In responding to fiction and non-fiction, they show understandingof the main points and express preferences. They use their knowledge of the alphabet to locate books and find information.

Level 4In responding to a range of texts, pupils show understanding of significant ideas, themes, events and characters, beginning to use inference and deduction. They refer to the text when explaining theirviews. They locate and use ideas and information

Documents

The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes, Illustrated bywsassets.s3.amazonaws.com/ws/nso/doc/cf4310c780ddd... · Web viewthe poem such as: ‘Over the cobbles he clattered’ or ‘the wind