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Year 6 - English

Developing understanding of 'When Stars are Scattered' through rich discussions

'When Stars are Scattered': book club

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils explore and discuss the graphic novel memoir, 'When Stars are Scattered'. They discuss Omar Mohamed's experience of living in a refugee camp in Kenya and identify the key themes in the text. Finally, pupils make personal connections and recommendations.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to discuss the main ideas of 'When Stars are Scattered'.

Key Notes

  • 'When Stars are Scattered' is a graphic novel memoir of Omar Mohamed's experience of living in a refugee camp in Kenya.
  • Omar and his brother, Hassan, have lived in Dadaab refugee camp for seven years.
  • Omar's brother, Hassan, has complex needs which are depicted and handled sensitively.
  • Gender inequality is noted in the early chapters; inequality is an important theme of the text.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • graphic novel: A graphic novel is a type of text combining words and images in long-form, sequential art panels.
  • refugee: Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.
  • theme: A theme is a big idea, topic or message that recurs within a story.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may consider the text as telling Omar's story in one continuous narrative.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

'When Stars are Scattered' is a graphic novel memoir of Omar Mohamed's experience of living in a refugee camp in Kenya. Omar and his brother, Hassan, have lived in Dadaab refugee camp for seven years.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'graphic novel'

A graphic novel is a type of text combining words and images in long-form, sequential art panels.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may consider the text as telling Omar's story in one continuous narrative. Correction: The graphic novel has two significant jumps in time, page 114 (two years later) and page 221 (four years later). The afterword and author's note both describe what happened to Omar after arriving in the United States.

More Lessons In This Unit

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