Fantastic Mr Fox Inference

Lesson Overview

This 50-minute guided reading session focuses on chapters 5 and 6 of Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. The key skill taught is inference—reading between the lines to understand characters’ feelings and motivations. The lesson aligns with the National Curriculum for England’s Year 2 reading objectives, particularly developing comprehension and understanding of texts, expressing feelings about texts, and drawing inferences.

National Curriculum Links

Reading – Comprehension
Year 2 Programme of Study:
Listening to, discussing, and expressing views about a wide range of contemporary and classic poetry, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond that at which they can read independently.
Drawing on what they already know or on background information and vocabulary provided by the teacher.
Checking that the text makes sense to them as they read and correcting inaccurate reading.
Discussing the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related.
Making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils will:

Use clues from the text and illustrations to infer the feelings and thoughts of characters (Mr Fox and the farmers).
Express ideas about the characters’ emotions with supporting evidence from the story.
Begin to develop pictorial representations linked to characters’ feelings.

Lesson Structure & Script

Starter (5 minutes)

Objective: Activate prior knowledge and set the purpose.

Greet the class warmly and gather attention.
Script: “Today, we are going to be detectives of feelings in Fantastic Mr Fox. We will look carefully at chapters 5 and 6 to find clues that show how Mr Fox and the farmers are feeling, even if the book doesn’t say it outright. This is called making an inference—it’s like solving a little mystery!”
Prompt: “Who remembers what happened in chapter 4? Can anyone share how Mr Fox was feeling then?”
Reinforce the idea that today’s focus is not just on the story but reading between the lines.

Reading and Modelled Inference (15 minutes)

Objective: Model inference using text evidence.

Read selected passages aloud from chapters 5 and 6, using the teacher presentation slides to guide reading.
Script (using Slide 2 content): “Let’s read part of chapter 5 where the farmers show their anger. The text says the farmers are ‘grumbling’ and ‘they clenched their fists.’ What do these clues tell us about how the farmers are feeling? Yes, they are angry! They are upset that Mr Fox is outsmarting them.”
Write the key words on the board (“grumbling”, “clenched fists”) and highlight why these suggest anger.
Use Slide 3 to continue: “Now let’s look at Mr Fox in chapter 6. He’s talking about what he’s going to do next but we don’t see his feelings written clearly. But he is ‘smiling slyly.’ What does this make you think about how Mr Fox might be feeling? Perhaps he’s confident, clever, or excited!”
Model language for inference: “I think Mr Fox feels... because the text says…”
Engage a few pupils in sharing their ideas orally.

Paired Activity (10 minutes)

Objective: Pupils practise verbal inference using sentence stems.

Pupils work in pairs reading short excerpts or looking at illustrations with dialogue bubbles from chapters 5 and 6 (teacher-prepared handouts or book pages).
Provide sentence stems to support thinking aloud:
“I think the farmer is feeling... because...”
“Mr Fox looks... when he says...”
Circulate to scaffold and provide feedback.
Script prompt for pairs: “Remember to look for clues in the words and pictures—what emotions do they show? Talk to your partner about what you think and why.”

Independent Drawing & Writing (15 minutes)

Objective: Pupils reflect and express inferences through art and simple writing (Slide 4).

Pupils draw a picture of Mr Fox from chapter 6. Around the picture, they write or dictate words or short phrases describing how he feels, using the clues discussed.
Encourage adjectives and emotion words from the lesson: confident, clever, sly, excited, thoughtful.
Script to introduce activity: “Now you are going to be artists and word detectives. Draw Mr Fox and add words around him that show how he felt in chapter 6. Use the clues we have talked about. You can use your own words or copy some we have learned.”
Provide writing support where needed, reference vocabulary lists, model spelling of key words.

Plenary & Assessment (5 minutes)

Objective: Consolidate learning and assess understanding.

Invite 4-5 pupils to share their drawings and explain one feeling word they chose and why.
Script: “Who would like to share their picture and tell us how Mr Fox felt and what made you think that?”
Summarise: “Well done detectives! Today you learnt to find clues in the text and pictures to understand how characters feel, even if the book doesn’t say it directly. This helps us enjoy stories in a deeper way.”
Informal formative assessment to note pupils who confidently used inference language and those needing more support.

Classroom Resources

Fantastic Mr Fox Year 2 level text copies or excerpts from chapters 5 and 6
Teacher presentation slides (provided) to structure discussion and reading
Whiteboard and markers for modelling inferential vocabulary
Pencils, coloured pencils, plain paper for drawing task
Vocabulary word bank of feelings/emotions for support

Differentiation

Support: Sentence stems and oral discussion.
Challenge: Ask higher-attaining pupils to explain why the farmers and Mr Fox feel differently and to compare the emotions across chapters.
EAL: Provide visuals/emoticons aligned with feeling words; allow use of first language to plan ideas before English writing.

Reflection Points for Teacher

Did pupils use evidence to explain feelings?
Which pupils showed emerging skills in inference?
How did pupils respond to the drawing and writing task as a means of expressing comprehension?
Plan next steps for developing inference skills further with other fiction texts.

This lesson carefully scaffolds year 2 pupils' ability to infer character feelings, meeting the National Curriculum’s emphasis on comprehension and engaging children with a beloved text in an interactive, multimodal way. It combines oral discussion, close reading, paired talk, and creative expression to embed understanding confidently and joyfully.

Teaching Instructions