Michael Morpurgo Month 2020: Pinocchio Cover Sheet

Pinocchio This is one of sixteen resources that you can use with your class to celebrate Michael Morpurgo Month in February, or to explore books from the world famous author at any other time of the year.

Each resource is built around an extract but also shares some of the key themes from the complete story that make the book such a rich and enjoyable text to share with your class. The extracts can be read with the class using the accompanying PowerPoints, and there are teacher notes and pupil challenges to help children develop their own story-writing skills.

This activity is about giving the reader clues about a character based on his or her actions.

Pinocchio “Now – there’s no point in pretending here – I was, and still am deep down, a puppet. Everyone knows Pinocchio is a puppet... I reckon I must be just about the most famous puppet the world has ever known.

But the truth is I’m not just a puppet, I’m more than just bits of wood and string. I’m me... So I thought it was about time that I, Pinocchio, told you my story…”

Pinocchio is the famous story of the naughty puppet who is desperate to become a real boy, retold in his own words.

Themes and ideas Pinocchio is a wonderful (and beautifully illustrated) retelling of the classic Collodi story, told by Pinocchio himself in the first person. When reading the whole text with a class it gives lots of opportunities for talk and discussion, including:

The consequences of our actions Over the course of the story, Pinocchio has many adventures. The result of each is linked to the choices Pinocchio makes. When he behaves well, he is rewarded, but each time he doesn’t (which is often!) another terrible thing happens to him.

This provides an opportunity for discussion about how decisions we make can influence the future.

Key discussion questions: • How would Pinocchio’s story be different if he behaved himself? Would Pinocchio (and the people around him) be happier? Would the story be as good?

Using the resource This resource shares two extracts from the start of the story, where characters say certain things, but their actions suggest that they think something else. After reading the text, there are suggested discussion activities considering author’s craft and the use of action to suggest emotion, feelings or intent.

There is also a sheet with a storytelling challenge based on the extract. For Pinocchio it focuses on giving the reader clues about a character from their actions. This could be used as a short classroom activity or as homework to consolidate the learning from the teaching session.

After reading and discussing the extract hopefully some children will 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 bookshop.

Illustrations © Emma Chichester Clark, 2013

Teacher’s notes for the PowerPoint Slide 2 Share the front cover and blurb to introduce the book and give context. Ask if anyone has read this book before. Does the blurb make you want to read on?

Slide 3 Tell the children that Pinocchio is a puppet made by his father, Gepetto. His parents love him more than anything in the world, but Pinocchio isn’t always a good son. In this extract he has just been found after running away from school. Unfortunately, he had his little wooden feet burnt right off, so his father is making him some new ones.

Read aloud together (either with the teacher reading aloud and children following, children reading together as a class or children reading together in pairs) and then ask children: Who is telling the story? (Pinocchio) • •

•

Can you summarise what is happening in this conversation?

Mama is giving Pinocchio a “good ticking off”, but is she actually cross with him?

How do you know?

Do you think Pinocchio is taking his telling off seriously? How do you know?

Explain to the children that in this extract Michael Morpurgo skillfully shows us what characters are feeling and thinking through their actions, not through their words. In fact, there is a contrast between what they are saying and what they actually think: •

Mama is telling Pinocchio off, but she’s also giving him lots of kisses.

•

Pinocchio is listening to the telling off, but actually he’s thinking about how hungry he is and how he’d like some chocolate – perhaps he’s not that sorry after all!

Slide 4 Tell the children that Pinocchio agrees to return to school, but he needs an ABC book.

His parents are poor and are not sure what to do. His father leaves and this extract tells what happens when he returns.

Read the extract aloud (either with the teacher reading aloud or children taking it in turns to read).

In pairs, ask the children to read the text again and discuss what we learn about the characters from their actions here. If needed, prompt the children by asking, “What has Papa done?” “Why has he done it?” “What does it tell you about how he feels about Pinocchio?”

Slide 5 Ask the children to look at the section in bold.

Is Papa telling the truth here? Is his coat all of these things? Why does he say this?

Draw out that Papa says this so Pinocchio feels happy to accept the book and doesn’t feel bad about him giving up his coat.

Draw children’s attention to the fact that a character’s actions (selling his coat) tell us something different to their words (saying that he didn’t want the coat in the first place).

Slide 6 Tell the children that they are going to practise showing a particular emotion or intention through a character’s actions in their own storytelling.

Ask the children to follow the instructions on the slide, thinking of a character and an emotion and then inventing an action or behavior that would show it.

In pairs, children can then try writing character descriptions that show how a character really feels or what they really think.

The children could then use this idea in their creative writing or storytelling.