Toto by Michael Morpurgo - Cover Sheet (KS1, KS2)

TOTO 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.

Toto

When a twister descends on their Kansas farm, Toto and his owner Dorothy are plucked into the air and sent to the mysterious Land of Oz. Toto and Dorothy are desperate to return home, so they set off with some new friends on a journey down the yellow brick road to find the only person who might be able to

help them: the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But what they find might surprise them.

And on the way, everyone will learn that what they think they are missing might have been there all along…

Toto is a retelling of the story of The Wizard of Oz, told through the eyes of Toto, Dorothy’s dog.

Using the resource This resource shares an extract from the story where Dorothy’s house is lifted into the air and transported to Oz by a twister.

There is also a sheet with a writing challenge based on the extract. For Toto it focuses on descriptive writing and conveying action. This could be used as a After reading the text, there are suggested discussion activities considering: short classroom activity or as homework to consolidate the learning in the teaching • Use of inference to build comprehension session.

• Author’s craft through considering the After reading and discussing the extract use of different sentence structures some children may be inspired to read • Specific vocabulary choices made by an the book itself. You could read it aloud as author, considering the choice of verbs to a class novel or direct children to where they can find a copy to convey meaning read themselves: the book Depending on time and the needs of your corner, school library, local class, you may want to work through all library or a local bookshop. of these interrelated activities or focus on just one.

Teacher’s notes for the PowerPoint Slide 2 • Share the front cover and blurb to introduce the book and give context.

• Ask the children to look at the extract and with a partner, identify where there are longer and shorter sentences.

• Ask children if anyone has read the book before. Does the blurb make them want to read on?

• How do the longer descriptive sentences in the extract help to reflect the sense of chaos in the kitchen? Why might Michael Morpurgo choose to list the different items that are crashing around?

Slide 3 • 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 work with a partner to suggest what is happening in the extract. Ask the children about who could be telling the story.

• Tell the children that the story is being narrated by Toto the dog. In this extract, Toto and his owner Dorothy, and their house, have been lifted by a twister (a tornado) into the air.

• To check their comprehension, ask the children: - Which room are Dorothy and Toto in? (the kitchen) How do they know?

- Where are Aunt Em and Uncle Henry? (in the cellar) - Where were Dorothy and Toto trying to get to? (through the trapdoor to the cellar to join Aunt Em and Uncle Henry) - Why were the voices ‘becoming fainter with every moment’? (because the house is now in the air and they are still on the ground in the cellar) • Ask the children to talk with a partner and discuss how they would feel if they were there in the house as it is lifted into the air. How would their feelings change over the course of the scene? Would they feel relieved when the smashing stopped or more worried?

Why? Share answers and opinions as a class, challenging children to justify their opinions.

• What is the effect of finishing with the short sentence ‘Then all was silence’? How might it make a reader want to read on?

Slide 4 • This is a twister (or a tornado in the UK), if children have not seen one.

Slide 5 • Ask the children to work with a partner to jot down as many verbs as they can find that tell the reader what is happening in the scene (smashed, flew, rattled, crashed, tipped).

• Why do they think Michael Morpurgo might have chosen these words? How do they create a sense of energy and chaos? Would fell or dropped be as powerful?

• Ask the children to choose one of the verbs and find as many synonyms for it as they can. They can think of these or use a thesaurus.

• If the children were writing the scene, would they have chosen the same word as Michael Morpurgo?

Slide 6 • Return to the front cover and blurb.

• Ask the children if they would like to read Toto 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).