Lesson Plans and Ideas for

Lessons to Implement Before Reading the Novel

Background Information In order for your students to understand the beginning on the novel, you will need to implement a mini lesson about Great Britain during WWII and the air raids they endured. In addition, you will need to review the evacuation of the children because this is how the main characters in the novel end up at the professor’s house in the country. I have included some example slides that link to audio/video clips from the BBC’s website. These would be great clips to introduce to the students before reading the novel.

ar%202%20Evacuation These World War II audio-visual clips are intended to support your study of the War. They include key speeches, eye-witness reports and some of the most evocative sounds of the War. There is an emphasis on the lives of British children, including evacuation.

Click on Image to View Video Clip Gas masks were issued to all children as a precaution against attack by gas bombs. The masks came in cardboard boxes, with a strap for carrying them on the shoulder. Children were instructed to keep their masks with them at all times and were the key item of luggage for evacuees. Gas mask drill was a daily feature of life at school. The routine for the drill was: i) remove mask from box; ii) put mask on face; iii) check the mask is fitting correctly; iv) breathe normally.

In the first four days of September 1939 nearly 3,000,000 people were evacuated from Britain's towns and cities and moved to safer places in the countryside. The vast majority of these were schoolchildren, but they were accompanied by 100,000 teachers and sometimes a parent. In scenes repeated all over the country, children marched as a school to the train station wearing identity labels and carrying their gasmasks and a few personal possessions. For most it was the start of a long day that would eventually conclude with their selection by a 'host family' in the 'reception area' - their new homes. Click on Image to View Video Clip

Standards for History Mini Lesson B: Illustrate concepts and knowledge of historical documents, artifacts, and sites, which are critical to World history D: Examine patterns of conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations that impacted the development of the history of the world.

Genre Review Since the Chronicles of Narnia falls into the fantasy genre, you may need to review genres in general or specifically introduce the genre of fantasy (characteristics of fantasy novels and examples). Below I have included a Battleship genre game that can be played as a class using either a Smart Board or interactive White Board or simply a projection screen. In addition, I have included a Mythology review as well.

Werewolfa person believed able to change into a wolf and back again into a human being Ghoulevil and terrifying spirit Bogglegoblin; ghostly, awful Ogreevil giant or monster who eats people Minotaurmonster with a body of a man and head of a bull that was fed human sacrifices Hagoffensive term used to describe bad old women – essentially witches with magical powers Spectrea ghostly presence Centaurwild creature with the head, arms and torso of a man joined to the body of a horse at the neck Unicornmythical animal usually depicted as a white horse with a single straight spiraled horn growing from it’s forehead Efreetmythical jinn spirits that embody fire; they resent humans and consider themselves superior to them Dryadnature spirit that lives in trees Nymphnature spirit that lives by springs and rivers or cool caves Fauna mythical creature with the feet, legs and horns of a goat but the face and arms of a man Satyrlike a faun but considered less gentle and kind and more interested in satisfying itself with pleasurable activities, like eating and drinking Incubusa male demon Wraithghost of a dead person Ettin3-headed giant in English fairy tales Spritesmall spirit being like an elf or a fairy Mythological Creatures in Narnia Before reading the novel, you may want to present a lesson about the different mythological creatures mentioned in the story. Therefore, the students will be able to visualize these characters while they are reading.

Dryad Nature spirit that lives in trees.

Faun A mythical creature with the feet, legs, and horns of a goat but the face and arms of a man.

Standards for Mythology Vocabulary and Genre Review R5.A.1.1: Identify and interpret the meaning of vocabulary. R5.A.2.1.2: Identify and/or interpret meaning of content-specific words used in text. R5.A.2.6: Identify and describe genre of the text.