Oxford Level 16 David Copperfield Author: Charles Dickens (1812 1870) Teaching Notes author: Jo Tregenza Information about assessment and curriculum links can be found at the end of these Teaching Notes. Synopsis David Copperfield lives with his mother and their housekeeper, Peggotty. When David s mother marries a very cruel man, Mr Murdstone, David is sent away to Salem House, a run-down London boarding school where he makes friends with a rich boy called Steerforth. David s mother gives birth to a son but sadly, she and the child later die. David is sent away to work at a warehouse by Mr Murdstone. David runs away and lives with his great aunt, Miss Betsey Trotwood, where he has a happier life. David goes to work at a law firm where he meets Uriah Heep, who causes many problems, and Agnes, who becomes a good friend. David resolves the problems caused by Heep and marries a beautiful young woman. Sadly, she dies and David travels, receiving comfort from the letters of his dear friend Agnes. Eventually David returns, becomes a successful writer and marries Agnes. Social and historical context The story is set in early Victorian England against a backdrop of great social change. The Industrial Revolution had transformed the social structure of the country and the gap between the rich and poor increased. People moved to cities in search of opportunities and endured poverty and dirty, crowded living conditions. Many children were forced to work long hours. Group or guided reading Introducing the book (Predicting) Ask the children to make predictions about what the story might be about using the front cover and chapter headings. Encourage them to explain why they think something might happen. (Clarifying) Develop the children s understanding of the period by showing pictures from Victorian times and reading extracts that describe schools, Victorian London, family life, and so on. Display a picture of a Victorian London scene and ask the children to annotate the picture with interesting vocabulary and descriptions of the scene. During reading Objective: Sustain engagement with longer texts, using different techniques to make the text come alive. (Deducing) Read Chapters 1 4 with the children. Ask them to consider what sort of life David has had. Show children how to make an emotions graph of the story so far by writing the chapters along the X-axis and different emotions on the Y-axis. Work together to consider David s emotions for the first four chapters. Assessment: Can the children use clues from the text to draw conclusions about the feelings of the main character?
Independent reading (Questioning, Clarifying) Whilst they are reading, ask the children to make notes of any questions that they might like to ask David. They could record these in a reading journal. Explore how the Victorian setting influences the storyline and what happens to David. Ask the children to complete the emotions graph for the rest of the chapters. can deduce the feelings of the characters in the story can identify how the social and historical context influences the characters and the storyline. Ask the children to finish reading to the end of the story independently. Returning and responding to the text (Deducing, Summarising) Focus on the children s emotions graphs and ask: How have David s emotions changed during the story? What events have had the most impact on him? (Questioning, Imagining) Ask one of the children to go into role as David Copperfield. Encourage other children to generate questions to ask David. can retrieve and summarise key information from the text can deduce, infer and interpret characters emotions using evidence from the text. Speaking, listening and drama activities Objective: Use the techniques of dialogic talk to explore, ideas, topics or issues. Invite the children to prepare a brief oral presentation on what life was like for children in Victorian London. Encourage them to use visual aids to add interest. activities Objective: Select words and language drawing on their knowledge of literary features and formal and informal writing Briefly remind the children that David Copperfield became a writer. Ask the children to recall his life. Focus on diary writing and look at examples of diaries, e.g. The Diary of Anne Frank. Challenge the children to write the events of David s life as a diary extract. Encourage them to try and adopt language from the Victorian era. can put themselves into the mind of David and write imaginative, interesting and thoughtful texts can select appropriate and effective vocabulary. Whole class reads Books on a similar theme: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank Street Child by Berlie Doherty Fair s Fair by Leon Garfield Cross-curricular links History Study rich and poor communities in Victorian England. You could focus on Victorian schooling and the lives of children. Art Encourage the children to Research Victorian cartoons that depict poverty in London (ensure they have access to child-friendly sites only). I.C.T. Present the diary extracts from the writing activities section as multi-layered I.C.T. texts with hyperlinks to images and sounds. Oxford University Press 2016. No sharing, copying or adaptation of materials permitted except by subscribers to Oxford Owl. For teachers Helping you with free ebooks, inspirational resources, advice and support For parents Helping your child s learning with free ebooks, essential tips and fun activities www.oxfordowl.co.uk
David Copperfield (Oxford Level 16) curriculum coverage chart Links to Oxford Criterion Scale: Can skim and scan to identify key ideas in a text. (R) [ORCS Standard 6, 3] Can summarize and explain the main points in a text, referring back to the text to support and clarify summaries. (R) [ORCS Standard 6, 6] Can use inference and deduction skills to discuss messages, moods, feelings and attitudes using the clues from the text. (D) [ORCS Standard 6, 8] Can discuss how an author builds a character through dialogue, action and description. (D) [ORCS Standard 6, 11] Can infer and deduce meaning based on evidence drawn from different points in the text. (D) [ORCS Standard 6, 16] Comprehension strategies Comprehension strategies are taught throughout the Teaching Notes to enable pupils to understand what they are reading in books that they can read independently. In these Teaching Notes the following strategies are taught: Predicting, Questioning, Clarifying, Summarising, Imagining, Deducing England The National Curriculum in England: Years 5 6 Spoken language : Comprehension : Composition Pupils should be taught to participate in discussions, presentations, performances and debates (SpokLang.9) Pupils should be taught to maintain positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by continuing to read and discuss an increasingly wide range of fiction, poetry, plays, non-fiction and reference books or textbooks (Y5/6 Readcomp.1i) Pupils should be taught to understand what they read by drawing inferences, such as inferring characters feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence (Y5/6 ReadComp.2iii) Pupils should be taught to understand what they read by summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas (Y5/6 ReadComp.2v) Pupils should be taught to draft and write by selecting appropriate grammar and vocabulary, understanding how such choices can change and enhance meaning (Y5/6 WritComp.2i) Scotland Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English experiences and outcomes Second level Listening and talking I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in an appropriate way for my purpose and use suitable vocabulary for my audience (LIT 2-06a) Through developing my knowledge of context clues, punctuation, grammar and layout, I can read unfamiliar texts with increasing fluency, understanding and expression (ENG 2-12a) To show my understanding, I can respond to literal, inferential and evaluative questions and other close reading tasks and can create different kinds of questions of my own (ENG 2-17a) To show my understanding across different areas of learning, I can identify and consider the purpose and main ideas of a text and use supporting detail (LIT 2-16a) By considering the type of text I am creating, I can select ideas and relevant information, organise these in an appropriate way for my purpose and use suitable vocabulary for my audience (LIT 2-26a) Wales Programme of Study for English: Year 5 Oracy Learners are able to speak clearly, using formal language and projecting voice effectively to a large audience, e.g. event for parents/carers, presentation to visitors (Y5_OracSpea.2) Learners are able to show understanding of main ideas and significant details in texts (Y5_ReadComp.1) Learners are able to infer meaning which is not explicitly stated (Y5_ReadComp.2) Learners are able to read extended texts independently for sustained periods (Y5_ReadStrat.2) Learners are able to use appropriate vocabulary, including subject-specific words and phrases (Y5_WritLang.2)
Northern Ireland Levels of Progression in Communication across the curriculum: Primary Level 4 Talking and listening Pupils can explain information, ideas and opinions clearly (L4_com_talk.3i) Pupils can show understanding by identifying and summarising information (L4_com_read.1i) Pupils can read independently (L4_com_read.2) Pupils can understand explicit meanings and recognise some implicit meanings (L4_com_read.4ii) Pupils can express meaning clearly, using an appropriate vocabulary and level of detail (L4_com_writ.2iii)