Varjak Character Growth

Overview

In this lesson you will analyse Varjak Paw’s character development across recent chapters of Adventures with Varjak Paw. You will link changes in his actions, choices and feelings to challenges he faces, and you will use cohesive devices to join ideas across sentences.

Learning intentions

• WALT: Summarise Varjak’s character development by tracking what changes about him from chapter to chapter.
• WALT: Use vocabulary and grammar to explain how his challenges shape his decisions and behaviour.
• WALT: Link ideas across paragraph lines using cohesive devices (repetition, contrast, and adverbial connections).
• WALT: Use passive voice selectively to explain information clearly when writing about events.

Success criteria

• I can summarise Varjak’s growth in 3–5 clear points, using chapter evidence.
• I can explain at least one challenge and how it affects Varjak’s thoughts or actions.
• I can link my ideas using cohesive devices such as “on the other hand”, “as a consequence”, or repeated key terms.
• I can use passive voice in a sentence where it makes the event sound clearer (e.g., “The message was delivered…”).

Curriculum links

• Vocabulary, grammar and punctuation — Year 6: linking ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices such as repetition, adverbials, and ellipsis.
• Subject, object — Year 6: recognising and using sentence structure when making meaning clear.
• Use of the passive to affect the presentation of information in a sentence (active vs passive).
• Layout devices — for structuring writing with headings and bullet points.
• Punctuation of bullet points to list information.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Starter: Growth lens. Teacher shows a short prompt: “What has Varjak learned so far, and what is still hard for him?” Students do a quick think-write using two words for progress and two words for challenge.

2. 5–15 min · Guided recap of chapters. Teacher revisits the learning focus: growth and challenges across the last chapters you read. Students, in pairs, complete a “Change and Challenge” table with one row per chapter: (Challenge faced) → (What Varjak did/changed).

3. 15–30 min · Direct teach: How to analyse character. Teacher models a short example paragraph using cohesive devices and a mix of active and passive sentences. Students highlight in the model where the writer:

• repeats a key word/phrase about Varjak,
• uses an adverbial (e.g., “as a consequence”),
• contrasts choices (“however/on the other hand”),
• uses passive voice for event-focused clarity. Students then do a mini-task: rewrite one active event sentence into passive (teacher provides a sentence stem).

4. 30–42 min · Independent summarising: bullet-point character timeline. Students create a bullet list summary titled “Varjak’s growth so far” with 4–6 bullets, one bullet per major turning point.

• Each bullet must include: the challenge, the effect on Varjak, and one piece of evidence (short quote or paraphrase).
• Students ensure bullet punctuation is correct and uses full stops or commas consistently.

5. 42–54 min · Cohesion check + paragraph writing. Students write a focused paragraph (8–10 sentences) using their bullet list. Teacher reminds them to link ideas across sentences using cohesive devices (contrast, consequence, repetition). Required sentence types:

• one sentence starting with “As a consequence…” (or similar),
• one sentence using contrast (“On the other hand/However…”),
• one passive-voice sentence about an event in the chapter.

6. 54–60 min · Quick assessment: share + exit ticket. A few students read their paragraph. Teacher listens for: challenge-to-growth links and use of cohesive devices. Exit ticket (2 questions):

• “What is one challenge that changed Varjak?”
• “Which cohesive device did you use to link your ideas?”

Resources

• Class set or shared access to the relevant chapters of Adventures with Varjak Paw
• “Change and Challenge” table (print or digital)
• Model paragraph (teacher-prepared)
• Passive voice rewrite sentence stems
• Character timeline template with bullet points
• Highlighters/colour pens for identifying cohesive devices

Assessment

• Teacher observation during paired chapter recap (evidence accuracy and clarity of challenge/effect link).
• Checklist during paragraph writing: cohesive device used, passive voice attempted correctly, bullet punctuation correct.
• Exit ticket review to check students can summarise character development and name a challenge linked to growth.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide guided notes with sentence starters for each bullet (e.g., “The challenge was… which made Varjak…”; “As a consequence…”), plus a word bank of character-change verbs (learned, resisted, trusted, doubted, changed).
• Support for writing: Offer a paragraph frame with three slots: challenge → reaction → development, and include one pre-planned cohesive device for each slot.
• Consolidation: Reduce the number of required turning points from 6 bullets to 4, while keeping evidence strong.
• Extension (advanced learners): Create a “cause-and-effect” mini-argument using ellipsis or repetition to show progression over time (e.g., repeating one key phrase to emphasise a theme) and include two active-to-passive transformations in different contexts.

Extension (optional)

• Create a visual timeline of Varjak’s growth across the unit: each turning point as a node with (challenge icon) + (growth statement) + (quoted/paraphrased evidence). Add arrows showing “as a consequence” links.