‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ by John Boyne: Introduction Lesson Objectives: Identify patterns and effects in texts

Understanding the writer’s craft John Boyne uses structural patterning in the novel which acts like an echo Structural patterning is when a writer repeats a phrase or sentence frequently so the reader recognises them

Spot the structural patterning … In the distance he could see the gate that led to the road that led to the train station that led home, but the idea of going there, the idea of running away and being left on his own without anyone at all, was even more unpleasant to him than the idea of staying. (Page 66)

‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is a fable Do you agree with this statement? What is a fable? A fictional story which communicates a moral What do you think the moral of this story is going to be? Prediction:

Which of these images best matches what Bruno describes? “There was a huge wire fence … At the top of the fence enormous bales of barbed wire were in tangled spirals … “There wasn’t any grass after the fence; in fact there was no greenery anywhere to be seen in the distance. Instead the ground was made of a sand-like substance … there was nothing but low huts and large square buildings dotted around one or two smoke stacks in the distance.”

Chapter 5 & 6 In these chapters we learn a lot about Bruno’s father and Maria, the maid. Makes notes as we read in two columns about what we find out. Bruno’s father Maria

Relationships What is the relationship between Bruno and his Father like? In pairs you will have a card which describes a moment between Bruno and his Father, you need to turn that into a short piece of improvised drama

Understanding relationships Which pair do you think showed the greatest understanding of the relationship between father and son? How would you describe that relationship?