Read Like a Writer

Overview

In this first lesson of the eight-part Red’s Forest Narrative Workshop, students read the opening of Annaleese Jochems’ Red, the Pig, and the Automobile as writers. They identify narrative components, use evidence to explain author choices, and orally rehearse then write a complete sentence from a narrative map.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify the opening, setting, characters, problem, events and possible resolution.
• WALT notice how an author creates humour and curiosity.
• WALT support an observation with evidence from the text.
• WALT orally rehearse and write a clear sentence about an author’s choice.

Success criteria

• I can name key narrative components in the text.
• I can point to or quote a detail that supports my observation.
• I can explain how a text creates humour or curiosity.
• I can write a clear sentence using: “The author creates ___ by ___.”

Curriculum links

• Reading for meaning: identify and discuss ideas, details, structure and author’s purpose in a literary text.
• Close reading and critical thinking: use evidence to explain how language and structure affect readers.
• Creating texts: orally rehearse, organise and write clear, complete sentences for a purpose.
• Oral language, vocabulary and communication: listen actively, build on others’ ideas and use subject-specific language.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook and prediction

Open with the hook question and opening image. Ask: “What might happen if a familiar fairy-tale character met something completely unexpected?” Show the title and cover or opening illustration of Red, the Pig, and the Automobile without explaining the plot. Students make a quick prediction with a partner, then share one reason.

2. 5–12 minutes – First reading: read like a reader

Read the opening aloud while students follow their copies. Pause briefly to clarify essential vocabulary, but avoid explaining the humour. Ask students to listen for what they learn about the place, characters and situation. Revisit the first-reading prompts and invite students to share one detail that made them curious.

3. 12–20 minutes – Model the narrative map

Display the narrative map model and think aloud. Model recording a short phrase, rather than retelling every detail, under “Opening”, “Setting” and “Characters”. Demonstrate evidence-based talk: “I think the setting feels ___ because the text says/shows ___.” Explain that writers make choices about what readers discover first.

4. 20–30 minutes – Partner narrative mapping

In pairs, students reread the selected opening and complete the narrative map and evidence questions. They identify the opening, setting, characters, problem, key events and a possible resolution or prediction. Partners must locate one text detail for either humour or curiosity. Provide the sentence opener prompt cards to students who need support during discussion. Circulate and prompt: “Which words or actions made you think that?”

5. 30–39 minutes – From map to sentence

Bring the class together and compare responses, highlighting that readers may make different predictions when they use reasonable evidence. Use the sentence-building and discussion prompts to orally rehearse the frame: “The author creates ___ by ___.” Model improving a vague response such as “It is funny” into a precise sentence naming the author’s choice and its effect. Students say their sentence to a partner, then write it on the worksheet, adding a text detail where possible.

6. 39–45 minutes – Share and exit reflection

Invite three or four students to read their sentences. The class listens for the narrative component, evidence and explanation. Finish with the plenary prompts: “What did the author reveal first?” and “What question do you still have?” Collect worksheets to identify the next teaching focus.

Resources

• Copies of Red, the Pig, and the Automobile, or the teacher-selected opening extract
• the complete Read Like a Writer slide deck
• the narrative map and evidence questions
• the sentence opener prompt cards
• Whiteboard or display screen
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Pencils and erasers
• Prepared visual story-map vocabulary: opening, setting, character, problem, event, resolution, humour, curiosity

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk for accurate identification of narrative components and use of evidence.
• Check worksheets for a completed narrative map and a relevant detail supporting humour, curiosity or a prediction.
• Assess the final sentence for a clear author choice, its effect, and complete sentence structure.

Differentiation

• Support readers with partner reading, a visual story map, vocabulary cards, teacher modelling and the sentence frame “The author creates ___ by ___.”
• Allow students to draw or record ideas orally before writing; provide a reduced map with fewer sections for students who need it.
• Support EAL learners by pre-teaching setting, character, problem, event and resolution with simple examples, gestures and paired rehearsal.
• Extend confident writers by comparing the opening with a familiar fairy tale and explaining how Jochems changes reader expectations through the character, setting or problem.