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Listen to the Moon presents
This is one of 16 activities to try during Michael Morpurgo Month, each of which explores an extract from a different book written by the world famous author. The books are grouped into four themes: natural world, animal adventures, tales retold, and times of war. All the activities can be usedt as either a quick starter or a longer lesson and provide a great opportunity to develop children’s comprehension and vocabulary - not to mention a love of Michael Morpurgo’s books.
Listen to the Moon
May, 1915. Alfie and his fisherman father find a girl on an uninhabited island in the Scillies – injured, thirsty, lost, and with absolutely no memory of who she is, or how she came to be there. She can say only one word: Lucy. Where has she come from? Is she a mermaid, the victim of a German U-boat, or even – as some islanders suggest – a German spy? Only one thing is for sure: she loves music and moonlight, and it is when she listens to the gramophone that the glimmers of the girl she once was begin to appear…
Using the resource This resource shares an extract from the story – a journal entry from the local doctor from 1915. After reading the text, there are suggested discussion activities considering: • Reading challenging texts to build comprehension • Author’s craft through considering how a character’s voice can be made distinctive through vocabulary and language structures • Specific vocabulary choices made by an author, considering potentially unfamiliar word and phrases Depending on time and the needs of your class, you may want to work
through all of these interrelated activities or focus on just one. There is also a sheet with a writing challenge based on the extract. For Listen to the Moon it focuses on narrative writing and dialogue. This could be used as a short classroom activity or as homework to consolidate the learning in the teaching session. After reading and discussing the extract some children may be inspired to read the book itself. You could read it aloud as a class novel or direct children to where they can find a copy to read themselves: the book corner, school library, local library or a local bookshop.
Teacher’s notes for the PowerPoint Slide 2 • Share the front cover and blurb to introduce the book and give context.
• Ask children if anyone has read the book
• Ask the children why Michael Morpurgo may have made these vocabulary choices when writing in Dr Crow’s voice. How might it help to make the story believable?
before. Does the blurb make them want to read on?
• Finally, work through the children’s
Slide 3 • Tell the children that Alfie and his father find a girl abandoned on an island and bring her home for the family to care for. Alfie’s mother, Mary, looks after the girl as best she can. The girl will only say one word – Lucy – so that is what they call her. She is visited by Dr Crow, who checks on her health. This is an extract from Dr Crow’s journal after visiting the family.
Slide 5 • Return to the front cover and blurb.
• Read aloud together (either with the
teacher reading aloud and children following, children reading together as a class or children reading together in pairs).
• Ask the children to summarise what the doctor thinks about Lucy’s condition. Is he happy with her care? Share the children's ideas then ask: - In what ways is Lucy feeling better? - In what way is Dr Crow still concerned?
Slide 4
• Ask the children to work with a partner
to look at the extract and note any words or phrases that suggest: - Dr Crow is an educated man - Dr Crow was writing in 1915, rather than today
• Share their ideas (enigma, bewilderment, quite mended, perhaps).
selections, ensuring that they understand the meaning of any unfamiliar words. Substitute them for modern, less-formal phrases (much better for quite mended; gone away for all but left her).
• Ask the children if they would like to
read Listen to the Moon having looked at this extract in detail and thought about Michael Morpurgo’s skillful writing.
• Point children to where they can find a
copy (either any copies you have in the classroom, the school library, or suggest the local library or a bookshop).