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Year 7 - English

Analysing and emulating Baum's use of unknown characters in 'The Wizard of Oz'

Step into the unknown: fiction reading and creative writing

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils develop their fiction reading and creative writing by reading extracts from famous fiction and then emulating key techniques in their own writing. They start by securing and extending their knowledge of key sentence grammar, before reading and emulating the extracts.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to analyse how Baum introduces the reader to unknown characters in 'The Wizard of Oz' and emulate those ideas to create your own unknown character.

Key Notes

  • Dorothy meets three companions on her way to Oz: the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man and the Lion.
  • Baum uses language to show the reader that Dorothy is not frightened by meeting any of these characters.
  • When creating your own unknown character, you need to consider how your language will make the reader perceive them.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • infer: to form an opinion or guess that something is true because of the information that you have
  • connotations: a feeling or idea that is suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning
  • character: a person in a novel, play, or film
  • perceive: to attain awareness or understanding of
  • create: to cause something to exist, or to make something new or imaginative

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • That meeting someone unknown in a strange place will always be scary.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Dorothy meets three companions on her way to Oz: the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man and the Lion. Baum uses language to show the reader that Dorothy is not frightened by meeting any of these characters.

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

to form an opinion or guess that something is true because of the information that you have.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: That meeting someone unknown in a strange place will always be scary. Correction: Instead of feeling scared, you might also feel excited or intrigued and you can use language to have this effect on the reader.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 7 English guide library.