Hope and Resilience

Lesson Overview

Year Group: Year 8
Subject: English
Lesson Duration: 50 minutes
Text: The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
Chapters Covered: 24 & 25
Curriculum Focus:

• National Curriculum for English (KS3):
  • Reading: Understanding themes, character development, and writer’s techniques.
  • Writing: Structuring analytical responses.
  • Speaking & Listening: Engaging in discussion and debate.
  • British Values & SMSC: Exploring empathy and resilience in literature.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will:

1. Analyse how Fraillon uses language and structure to convey hope and resilience.
2. Explore the development of Subhi and Jimmie’s relationship in these chapters.
3. Practise writing an analytical paragraph using evidence from the text.
4. Discuss how The Bone Sparrow links to real-world refugee experiences.

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Lesson Structure

Starter (10 minutes) – Hope in Unexpected Places

Activity:

• Display the following question on the board:
  "What does hope look like in difficult times?"
• Give students two minutes to discuss with a partner.
• Invite three students to share their ideas.
• Next, read aloud an extract from Chapter 24 where hope is evident (e.g., Subhi’s reflections on his Maá).
• Ask students to note adjectives Fraillon uses to create a hopeful tone.

Purpose:

• Activates prior knowledge.
• Encourages engagement with language.

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Main Activity 1 (15 minutes) – The Power of Words

Activity:

• Give students four key quotations from Chapters 24 & 25 that reflect resilience and hope. Examples:
  • “Words are powerful. They can make things true.”
  • “There is always a story waiting to be told.”
• In pairs, students analyse how each quote conveys emotion.
• Challenge: Can they link hope in the novel to real-life refugee stories?

Teacher Notes:

• Provide sentence starters for less confident students:
  • Fraillon shows hope through…
  • This phrase suggests that…
• Circulate and provide feedback on their responses.

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Main Activity 2 (15 minutes) – Analytical Writing Sprint

Activity:

• Students write one PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explain, Link) paragraph responding to the question:
  "How does Fraillon present resilience in Chapters 24 and 25?"
• Use a whole-class model example to scaffold:
  • POINT: Fraillon uses imagery to show how Subhi finds strength in storytelling.
  • EVIDENCE: “Words are powerful. They can make things true.”
  • EXPLAIN: This suggests that…
  • LINK: This connects to the wider theme of survival by…

Differentiation:

• Provide sentence starters if needed.
• Higher-achieving students are challenged to integrate an alternative interpretation.

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Plenary (10 minutes) – Living the Story

Activity:

• Students pair up. One plays the role of Subhi, the other plays the role of Jimmie.
• They create a two-line dialogue where Subhi gives Jimmie advice about resilience.
• Three pairs perform their dialogue to the class.

Final Reflection:

• "What is one lesson about resilience you are taking from today’s lesson?"
• Responses can be spoken or written on post-it notes for a class display.

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Assessment Opportunities

• Oral responses during the starter and plenary.
• Written work in the analytical writing sprint.
• Peer discussions and evaluative questioning.

Homework (Optional Extension)

• Research and write a short diary entry from the perspective of a young refugee today.
• Focus on how hope keeps them going.

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Resources Required

• Copies of The Bone Sparrow.
• Sentence starter handouts.
• Quotation sheets.
• Post-it notes.

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Teacher Reflection & Next Steps

• What worked well?
• Were students engaged in discussions?
• Do any students need further support in analytical writing?
• How can this lesson prepare students for wider themes of activism and empathy in literature?