The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

Teaching Notes 1 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

Audience These notes are intended for teaching students in Stages 2 and 3.

Selected Passage This has been selected for explicit teaching throughout the sequence because of the descriptive action sequences and has been included as Appendix 1.

Purpose: The purpose/s you select for students to learn from the book should drive how you teach it.

 Author’s Purpose: o To entertain through the development of fantasy o To introduce the Iron Man * o To develop descriptive action sequence. * o To use words in poetic style - eg. Imagery, visualisatons, effective us of unconventional punctuation o To engage the reader and to develop an empathy with the Iron Man * (in the orientation) o To highlight complex issues such as war and environment o To write a modern fairytale

NB: Ted Hughes is known for his contemporary poetry..

 Purpose for Teaching: Students learn how: o To read text fluently with understanding [R2.6, R2.7, R2.8, R3.6, R3.7, R3.8] o To see how writers create a descriptive action sequence [R2.7, 2.8, R3.7, R3.8] o To write a descriptive action sequence [W2.9, W2.13 W2.14 W3.9, W3.13. W3.14] o How writers use precise language to build images. [W2.14, W2.9, R2.14, W3.14, W3.9, R3.14] o To use precise language to build images. [W 2.9, W2.10, W2.13, W2.14 W3.9, W3.10, W3.13, W3.14] o To develop detailed oral recounts of the text [TL2.4, TL3.4] o To spell identified words and apply spelling generalisations [W2.11, W3.11]

Background Information: (ideas and other activities)

 It’s important to build students’ knowledge they will need to understand the story. It shouldn’t be assumed that students know about things raised in the story, such as what iron is and what beaches look like.

 Developing Background Information is part of LOBO. Teachers should ask themselves “What do I need to teach my students so that they understand this story?”

Notes developed by Peta Bradley, Marianne Bunt, Vicki Holman, Ann Lewis, Susan McMullen, Annette Murdoch, Debbie Roach, Julie Walker, Kerry Watson & Michael Wilson, Armidale 2004 Teaching Notes 2 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes

 For The Iron Man, research and teach students about the things listed below before reading each chapter. This could be integrated with other KLA’s and/or integrated in the teacher’s Literacy session. Sometimes it is just a word that needs explaining. Other times it is a whole topic.

Chapter 1. o Cliffs, sea, coastal weather, waves (swell), beach (rocky, sand), danger o Seagulls, clams, crabs o Iron- metal o Dustbin o Robots

Chapter 2. o Machinery - bull dozers, earth, pushers o Metal things - wire

Chapter 3. o Picnics o Scrap metal yard o What’s an earthquake? o Hillock

Chapter 4 o Stars - space - rockets, astronomers, telescopes, sun o Dragons o Geography - world map for locating the different locations - Gulf of Carpentaria, Europe, Asia o War - rockets.

Chapter 5. o Iron girders, fuel, oil, ships o Engineers o What happens to iron when it is heated and reference to treacle (p56) o Airline o Sphere o Precious stones

KLA Integration:  Visual Arts - painting - space, sea, robots and scraps.  Science & Technology - space, sea, weather  HSIE - locating places on world map

Low Order Book Orientation (LOBO): Here is an order - in 13 sessions - for completing LOBO for The Iron Man.

NB: After Session 1, and before each following session, the teacher will need to revisit LOBO on previous sections read using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle. Preformulating for key points will reduce with sessions as students should start orally recounting the story with detail. A key point in The Iron Man is the changing role of the Iron Man in the story, from almost ‘villain’ to ‘hero’.

LOBO Session 1:

Overall Introduction

This book is about an iron man who suddenly appears on earth. He frightens everyone because his food is scrap metal. This terrifies the small community and they try to get rid of him because he is causing so many problems. They need a plan. The end is absolutely fascinating because it shows how powerful he is when he meets another being who challenges his powers.

Chapter 1: The Coming of the Iron Man

Pg 11, 12

The first chapter in the Iron Man begins with a description of the main character, the Iron Man. He is a huge robot who is taller than a house and his whole body is made of metal iron. His eyes were like car headlamps or headlights and they were searching or looking across the ocean because he had never seen it before. The wind is blowing strongly around him. The Iron Man is standing on the edge or brink of a high rocky cliff with the sea below. He is unaware of the dangers associated with the cliffs. The Iron Man steps off the cliff and falls crashing down at the base of the cliff. As he fell his body noisily smashes against the cliff, breaking into separate pieces. The pieces scatter or spread out into different places onto the sandy beach. Now all that can be heard is the sound of the sea. No-one had seen or heard the Iron Man falling down the cliff. Let’s read this part.

LOBO Session 2 (Begin session by doing LOBO on previous reading session using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle.)

Pg 13-18

Yesterday we discussed the Iron Man falling off the cliff. Remember at the end of yesterday’s reading everything was quiet and nobody knew that Iron Man had fallen and broken into lots of separate pieces. The next part of the story is set at dawn. Dawn is the time in the morning when the sun rises and the sky changes colour from black to blue. At dawn, seagulls go out searching for food. In the story a seagull finds the Iron Man’s eye. The gulls think it looks like a clam. When the seagull picked up the eye it rolled from side to side looking around as if it was alive. Next a seagull picked up the Iron Man’s hand. The seagull thought it was a strange king of crab because the fingers moved. The Iron Man’s hand picked up the eye. The eye peered or looked intensely around. The hand darted or moved quickly around and began to jab or poke the gulls. The seagulls flew away and the iron man began to put

Notes developed by Peta Bradley, Marianne Bunt, Vicki Holman, Ann Lewis, Susan McMullen, Annette Murdoch, Debbie Roach, Julie Walker, Kerry Watson & Michael Wilson, Armidale 2004 Teaching Notes 4 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes himself back together. We can see his legs and arms but not the body or torso (model on self). When he was nearly back together the Iron Man went searching for the last body part, his ear. He thought the sea had taken his ear so he walked into the sea to find it.

LOBO Session 3

(Begin session by doing LOBO on previous reading sessions using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle.)

Chapter2 Return of the Iron Man

Pg19-25

In the first part of Chapter 2, Ted Hughes introduces us to Hogarth, a farmer’s young son. After going fishing Hogarth has a strange feeling that he is being watched. He feels afraid. He stands on the beach at dusk (evening), looking up again at the rocky cliff and that’s when he first sees the Iron Man. The mystery of the half-eaten machinery leaves the farmers terrified. After much of the village machinery (earth diggers, ploughs, tractors and harrows - maybe helpful to have pictures - these are made of metal) has been eaten by the Iron Man, the village come together to try and capture the Iron Man. Following clues (indicators, signs left) left, the farmers set a trap (a way of capturing the Iron Man.

Illustration pg 22 lights up head - hand reaching out to reader emphasise size, bigger than the tallest tree.

Read pages 19 - 25

LOBO Session 4 (Begin session by doing LOBO on previous reading sessions using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle.)

Pg 25-31

In the last session we were introduced to Hogarth. Ted Hughes tells us that Hogarth had a strange feeling that he was being watched and this made him feel uncomfortable. How do we know that Hogarth feels uncomfortable? (He felt a strange feeling. He felt he was being watched. He felt afraid.)

Ted Hughes portrays a feeling of fear. He describes Hogarth’s Mother growing pale, his little sister crying, his father getting a gun, the locking and bolting of the door, a half eaten tractor in the yard.

What words does Ted Hughes use to portray a feeling of fear within the Hogarths’ family? The author tells us about the villages being frightened and how they needed to set a trap to capture the iron man. What did they make to capture the iron man? (a trap - give more information.)

After the farmers had almost forgotten about the Iron Man he reappears. Hogarth decides to use the trap and lure a red fox into the trap. In doing this he notices that the fox becomes distracted and looks

Notes developed by Peta Bradley, Marianne Bunt, Vicki Holman, Ann Lewis, Susan McMullen, Annette Murdoch, Debbie Roach, Julie Walker, Kerry Watson & Michael Wilson, Armidale 2004 Teaching Notes 5 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes towards the top of the cliff. ‘There, enormous in the blue evening sky, stood the Iron Man on the brink of the cliff, gazing inland. The fox has vanished.’

Hogarth realises the trap isn’t going to work. He has an idea. ‘In his pocket, he had a long nail and a knife,’ In this part of the Chapter we find out how he uses these two items to trap the Iron Man.

Illustrations pg 30 Iron Man - compare to Pg 22. Different character in power - same use of light. Strength of character in illustration. Things turning from Iron Man in control to farmers in control.

Read pgs 25 - 31

Chapter 3 What’s to be Done with the Iron Man. Pg 32 After the Iron Man was buried by the farmers, spring came and the round hill under which he was buried was covered with grass. It became a perfect spot for a picnic.

Pg33 One day a family were in the middle of eating their picnic when they felt a slight rumble under the ground. The father began to explain the effect of earthquakes and their shock waves around the world.

Pg34 Look at this illustration showing how the Iron Man pushed his way through with his giant hand. It shows that all the attempts to kill him had not worked. He was still alive. All the picnic was dragged into the huge crack in the ground.

Pg35 The family ran in terror to their car and drove away. They did not see what was happening behind them as the rest of the Iron Man forced his way out of the ground. The farmers wanted to call the Army to destroy him but Hogarth had another idea.

After eating all the metal things that he could find on the farms, including a lorry which is a truck the farmers drove up to talk to the Iron Man, Hogarth got his attention by clanking a horse shoe on a stone.

Pg 37 Hogarth offered him all the scrap metal he could eat if he stopped eating the farms. Wasn’t this a good idea? It was a better option than calling in the Army. The Iron Man accepted the offer. The farmers

Notes developed by Peta Bradley, Marianne Bunt, Vicki Holman, Ann Lewis, Susan McMullen, Annette Murdoch, Debbie Roach, Julie Walker, Kerry Watson & Michael Wilson, Armidale 2004 Teaching Notes 6 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and Hogarth led the Iron Man to the scrap metal yard where the Iron Man found lots of interesting things to eat.

Pg38 Let’s look at this illustration to see what the Iron Man is eating. The Iron Man was so happy to be eating these yummy things that he was constantly happy and healthy - no longer rusty. He even ate all the pieces of chrome on a stove. Chrome is a shiny kind of metal like stainless steel.

LOBO Session 7

(Begin session by doing LOBO on previous reading sessions using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle.) Chapter 4. The Space Being and the Iron Man

Pgs 40-42 This section tells us about how suddenly one of the stars in the sky began to grow. It was bigger and bigger and was rushing towards the word. Ted Hughes said that it was approaching faster than a bullet and that it would be like an express train hitting a gold fish bowl. Everyone was really worried but then suddenly something strange happened.

LOBO Session 8

Pgs 42-44 In the last session we read about how worried the people became as the star approached the earth. We know that the star stopped. Then another strange thing appeared. First there was a little black speck in the middle of the giant star. Looking through their telescopes the astronomers could see its dreadful silhouette against the star. Hughes talked about the shape writhing its body.

By the fifth night the astronomers were able to identify that it was flying out of the star and towards the earth. After a few more nights it became so big it filled the sky. It was definitely flying towards the earth. Then one night it landed - covering an entire continent. The result of this was felt right around the world and the monster glared out over all the countries.

NB. After reading….use the world map to determine the size of the dragon - art work.

LOBO Session 9

Pgs 44-47 Remember how the huge dragon had landed on Earth, covering Australia and how he was gazing over the entire earth.

Nobody knew what was going to happen. Hughes continues to give us information about the size of the dragon.

Finally the monster delivered its message. It asked to be fed any living things. The people of the world got together to discuss how they could satisfy this appetite. They realised they couldn’t so the only solution was to declare war on the monster in a grand combined operation. They used all their weapons against the dragon

LOBO Session 10

Pgs47-49 Remember how the war was organised and how the humans were so confident that they could solve the problem?

Nothing the humans did had any affect. The dragon gave the people one week to prepare his meal otherwise he would start to destroy the cities and the towns. Everyone was in fear - Hughes described this as ‘they began to lament’

A little boy, Hogarth, heard their concerns. He had a wonderful idea - he believed that the Iron Man could save them. He visited the Iron Man and told him of their problems and how he, too, was in danger. He asked the Iron Man for his help.

Suddenly the Iron Man came up with a stupendous idea.

LOBO Session 11

(Begin session by doing LOBO on previous reading sessions using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle.) Chapter 5 The Iron Man Challenge. Pg 50-54 (up to third line)

In this chapter we find what the Iron Man’s plan is. He is taken to pieces and transported on airlines to Australia. An airliner is another word for a large aeroplane. He was so big his separate pieces wouldn’t fit on just one airline. At the same time, ships sailed from China and Japan to Australia, loaded with iron girders and fuel oil that the Iron Man needed for his plan. Some engineers were also brought to put him back together. Now the Iron Man challenges the Space Dragon to a test of strength; to see who is the strongest. Because the Space Dragon is so huge, and the Iron Man seems tiny to him as he peers down, he thinks the challenge will be easy. But if the Space Dragon loses the challenge he has to become the Iron Man’s

Notes developed by Peta Bradley, Marianne Bunt, Vicki Holman, Ann Lewis, Susan McMullen, Annette Murdoch, Debbie Roach, Julie Walker, Kerry Watson & Michael Wilson, Armidale 2004 Teaching Notes 8 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes slave. The Iron Man shames the dragon by saying how miserable and cowardly he would be if he refused. The Space dragon agrees to the challenge. The challenge is that the Iron Man lies on a bed of iron girders with a fuel oil fire underneath him. The Space Dragon watches with shock as the Iron Man lies over the fire and becomes hotter and hotter. He becomes so hot that he changes colour and becomes white-hot. Later in the chapter it will be the Space Dragon’s turn to do the challenge. Let’s read this part of the story about the Iron Man’s challenge. LOBO Session 12 (Begin session by doing LOBO on previous reading sessions using the preformulating > questioning > reconceptualising cycle.) Pg 54-57 We remember the Iron Man’s challenge. How he was brought to Australia in separate pieces, put back together and how he challenged the Space Dragon to a contest of strength. The Iron Man was heated up on a bed of fire and survived. Now, in the next part of chapter 5 we find out about what happens to the Space Dragon when it’s his turn to feel the heat. Instead of lying on the iron girders - because he’s so big - the Iron Man tells him he must fly to the sun and lie on it. This frightens the Space Dragon but he can’t lose the challenge, so he goes. All the Earth watches as he flies away, lands on the sun and begins to glow before disappearing into the sun itself. He becomes white-hot like the Iron Man did. The Space Dragon returns back to Earth and lands with a bump, but more heavily than he did the first time he landed. But he did not look the same. He was wizened (like he was old) and black and scorched from the sun’s heat. But he had survived! He had done the challenge and so he roared. The Iron Man though had not finished. He asked the engineers to build a much bigger fire in the trough under the iron girders. Smoke billowed and the Iron Man laid himself on the raging fire again. He became afraid though because this fire was much hotter and more dangerous than the first. He got so hot as the flames grew fiercer and fiercer that he felt his ear starting to melt, just like treacle [show children treacle or golden syrup]. But the Iron Man couldn’t let the Space Dragon know how scared he was. He just grinned and pretended that he was enjoying the flames. The engineers thought they’d put too much fuel oil in, but the Iron Man survived.

The Iron Man then pointed to the sun to let the Space Dragon know it was his turn again. The Space Dragon used his colossal - meaning very big - wings to fly back to the sun. He didn’t laugh this time though because he remembered how terrible it was the first time.

All the people on Earth watched again as he flew to the sun, lay there and became part of the sun once again. The people couldn’t see him any more and wondered if he had melted into the sun. Let’s read this part of the story.

LOBO Session 13

Pg 58-62 At the end of the last section, the Iron Man and the Space Dragon had both been badly heated again. The Space Dragon had seemed to disappear and melt into the sun.

Now the Space Dragon returns, but much more slowly than before. He lands on Earth with an even heavier bump than before, because he is so tired, and people are knocked off their bikes. Look at the illustration on page 58. The Space Dragon looks like an exhausted and changed monster. His skin is crisped and the fat in his body has been changed into precious jewels like rubies and emeralds.

The Iron Man wants to continue. He shouts “Round three!” We’ll find out in this part of the chapter whether the Iron Man wins the challenge of strength or if the Space Dragon continues on and wins. We also find out in the end of this chapter that the Space Dragon was really a star spirit, who could only fly and make music called ‘the music of the spheres’ which is the music of space. The Space Dragon only wanted to eat Earth because he was excited by all the noise he heard on Earth; the noise of battling shouts from wars and people fighting.

The Space Dragon ends up singing for the Earth and living in the moon. His music stops people from fighting and ends up bringing peace to Earth. The Iron Man becomes a hero to the people on Earth and they send him lots of presents of metal to eat.

We’ll now read the end of the story.

Reading of the Text  After LOBO, read the section of text without interruption.  There are 13 reading sessions, as indicated by the LOBO sessions. The chapters are quite long and complex so they have been broken up into smaller, more manageable reading sessions.  Students should have their own copies of the text to follow along.

High Order Book Orientation (HOBO):

 The selected text for HOBO is from pp.11-12 (see Appendix 1).  The first HOBO should commence after the Session 1 LOBO and reading.  HOBO is completed each day after that session’s LOBO and reading.  The selected text should be displayed on an Overhead projector. Each student should have a copy of the text and a highlighter. Following is a suggested sequence for completing HOBO on the selected text:

Session Section of text 1 Paragraph 1 2 Paragraph 2 3 Paragraph 3 4 Paragraph 4 5 CRRRAAAASSSSSSH! …he crashed and crashed and crashed 6 His iron legs fell off …His great iron head fell off. 7 All the separate pieces .. A few rocks tumbled with him. 8 Rest of the selected text. Provide a nes copy of the text to each students. Highlight (with a diffeent colour each session) parts of the selected text that relate to: 9 Movement/action of the iron man 10 Sounds 11 Descriptions of the iron Man 12 The setting 13 The wind (one colour) the sea (different colour)

 Before starting the highlighting in HOBO, the teacher needs to complete a LOBO on the selected text (for Session1).  Before each of the next sessions, the teacher should complete a LOBO on the previous paragraphs/sections using preformulation, question and reconceptualisation cycle.

Here is an example of a HOBO lesson - a sample script - for Session 7 (including initial LOBO):

(P=Preformulation, Q=Question, A=Answer, R=Reconceptualisation, T=Teacher)

HOBO Session 7: All the separate pieces tumbled, scattered, crashing, bumping, clanging, down on to the rocky beach far below. A few rocks tumbled with him.

P: So far we’ve found out who the Iron Man is and what he looks like. Q: What does the Iron Man look like? A: (Children give answers. Should be with detail by this stage.) R: (Put answers together, demonstrating longer oral recounts.) P: We’ve also found out where the Iron Man is and what happened to him.

Q: So where was he and what happened to him there? A: (Children give answers. Should be with detail by this stage.) R: (Put answers together, demonstrating longer oral recounts.) P: Last time Ted Hughes told us how the Iron Man fell apart. He said that his legs fell off, his head fell off, and other parts fell off. Q: How did he fall apart? A: (Accept a number of answers) R: That’s right! The Iron Man didn’t just fall off the cliff and went to pieces. He crashed into rocks on the way down and bit by bit, piece by piece, he fell apart. First his legs, then his arms, hands, ears, eyes and finally his head fell off. P: To make that part of his writing even better, Ted Hughes wrote that part in a very particular way. He wrote about each part falling off on a separate line. Bit by bit the pieces fell off the Iron Man so he wrote it bit by bit. Q: Why did Ted Hughes write each part of the Iron Man falling apart on a separate line? A: ‘Cause he fell apart bit by bit. (Accept a number of answers) R: Great! At the end of each line we read we pause before reading the next part. This delays the breaking of each part, which would happen as the Iron Man fell down the cliff and hit one rock, then the next and the next. It’s a very clever way of putting the picture in our heads of the Iron Man falling apart piece by piece. It’s a better action sequence than if he wrote ‘His iron legs fell off, then his arms, then his hands, his ears, etc.’ It’s a much better description of what happened. T: Now we’re going to look at the part where Ted Hughes tells us how all the separate pieces got down to the beach below. It is a part where Ted Hughes uses a lot of action words to tell us how all the pieces that fell off were moving and the sounds they made. First, we’ll read the part we’re going to work on today. (Read HOBO Session 7 passage) T: We’re going to look at this part to learn how we can write using lots of action words. P: First, Ted Hughes tells us that the Iron Man was in lots of pieces, in separate pieces. Q: What words does he use to tell us that the Iron Man was not in one piece? A: All the separate pieces. R: Terrific! Let’s highlight All the separate pieces. The Iron Man wasn’t just in a few pieces, but in lots of separate pieces and it was all of these pieces, not just a few, that Ted Hughes next describes how they were moving and the noises they made.

P: Next, the author uses two words to describe how all of the separate pieces fell down the cliff. They tumbled and scattered. Q: What two words tell us how the separate pieces fell down? A: Tumbled and scattered. R: Well done! Highlight tumbled and scattered. Tumbled tells us that the pieces must have rolled over and over like this (demonstrate with hands) and scattered means they fell in different directions apart from each other (demonstrate by dropping a handful of something like pencils or counters). So Ted Hughes used these words to give us an exact picture of how the pieces fell.

P: Next, he tells us what sounds the pieces made as they tumbled down the cliff and scattered. They were crashing, bumping and clanging. Q: What words did he use to describe the sounds? A: Crashing, bumping, clanging. R: Great! Highlight crashing, bumping, clanging. So, as all the separate pieces tumbled and scattered, they also made noises as they hit the rocks and snags. They crashed, bumped and clanged. They would make so much noise because the Iron Man is very big and iron makes a lot of noise when it hits things (try to demonstrate, such as hitting a saucepan lid against something).

P: So Ted Hughes used a series of words to describe the action of the pieces. What were the five action words he used? A: Tumbled, scattered, crashing, bumping, clanging. R: Terrific! Let’s circle each of those. So, the sounds happened as the pieces tumbled and scattered. It all happened quite quickly, one after the other.

P: To make it seem like it was quick, Ted Hughes used commas between each word so they were read one after the other. If he used ‘and’ between them, it would have slowed down the action.\ Q: How did the author make the action quick? A: Used commas. R: Right! Let’s circle each of the commas. You use commas when there is a series of things happening quickly.

P: Next, we find out which way the Iron Man was falling and where to. He fell down on to something. Q: Which way did he fall? A: Down R: Good! Highlight down. Remember, the Iron Man walked off a cliff so all the pieces that broke off must of fallen down the cliff.

P: Then we find out that the pieces finally land on the beach. On to tells us that they have finally landed. Q: Which words tell us that the pieces have landed? A: On to. R: That’s right! Highlight on to. These words tell us that the pieces have finally stopped falling and have landed somewhere.

P: We then find out where the pieces have fallen on to. It is a beach. Q: What beach have the pieces fallen on to? A: The rocky beach. R: Well done! Let’s highlight the rocky beach. The rocky beach is where the pieces land after going to pieces on the fall down the cliff. It’s the beach below the cliff. P: But it’s not a sandy beach. Q: What word tells us what sort of beach it is? A: Rocky. R: Good. Circle rocky. This tells us exactly what sort of beach it is. Instead of soft sand, there would probably be lots of sharp and bumpy rocks, and when the pieces fell on them they’d probably scatter and make lots of noise - crashing, bumping and clanging - before becoming still and silent.

P: The last thing we find out in this sentence is where the rocky beach is. The cliff is high and at the bottom of the cliff is the beach. The beach is far below the cliff. Q: Which words did ted Hughes use to tell us where the rocky beach is? A: Far below. R: That’s right, far below. Highlight these words. Remember, in the third paragraph, Ted Hughes wrote that the Iron Man was on the brink of the high cliff (point out to students), so when he wrote far below he meant the rocky beach was far below the cliff. He wrote it this way to make us imagine, and know, that it was a very high cliff that the Iron Man fell down, which would explain why he broke into so many pieces. If it was only a small cliff, the Iron Man might have hit rocks and snags only a few times and so might break into only a few, large pieces. But Ted Hughes wanted the Iron Man to break into lots of separate pieces because it would help him tell the next part of the story where the Iron Man puts himself together again. So it needed to be a high cliff for this to happen, and the rocky beach would mean even more pieces fell off.

P: Now, as the Iron Man was falling down the cliff, from rock to rock and snag to snag, a few rocks also fell with him. Q: What fell with the Iron Man? A: A few rocks. R: Right. Highlight A few rocks. These must have been small rocks that the Iron Man fell on and caused to fall of the cliff.

P: Finally, Ted Hughes writes what these rocks did when the Iron Man bumped them. They also tumbled with him as he fell. Q: What did the rocks do? A: Tumbled with him. R: Excellent! Highlight tumbled with him. As the Iron Man was tumbling, then these rocks were also tumbling with him at the same time.

T: Now, let’s read up to here.

Fluent Reading

 After each HOBO session, it is important for students to practice reading the selected text up to the point dealt with in that session. The aim is to have students read the text fluently and expressively. There are a variety of ways to do this. Here are some examples:

 Teacher reads and students follow.  Students read with teacher.  Students take turns reading parts each (allow students ‘the right to pass’).  Students read in small groups.  Students read in pairs to each other (less able students read with teacher).  Small groups listen to the story on tape, following along in their books.  Copies taken home for students to practice reading.  Students practice reading with an aide.  Readers theatre.

 NB: The teacher will need to provide appropriate support for these different methods. Some students may not be able to read in some of the above situations.

Other Reading Activities

Other activities can be done with the text that are not part of the explicit Scaffolding Literacy teaching method, but which support student knowledge and understanding of the text. Some activities could be (though in no particular order):

 Identify and discuss book conventions such as the: title, author, publisher, spine, blurb, title page, etc.  Cloze activities on parts of the selected text.  Paragraph reconstruction (paragraphs cut up and mixed, students reorder).  Visualisations of the Iron Man, the cliff and/or the Iron Man in pieces on the beach (though it is suggested that this is done after Transformations when students have extensive knowledge about the text. This is recommended if the whole (selected) text is to be transformed for writing a long piece of text in Text patterning. However, if the teacher is only going to transform a small part of the text, then the visualisations could be done after the HOBOs (sessions 1-8) are completed).  Discuss what clues the cover of the book gives the reader about what the story might be about.  Create a new book cover (do after HOBOs on what the Iron Man looks like).  Ask students to make predictions about what might happen in the next part of the story (best done after reading session (before HOBO).  Discuss who the intended audience might be.  Students identify which part of the story they like best and why. They could write and illustrate it.  Read some poems by Ted Hughes. Look for use of similar techniques he uses to write action sequences. (This could also be done with other parts of texts in The Iron Man.)  Compare Ted Hughes’s style of writing action sequences with another author that students have studied, eg. Paul Jennings. Discuss why they wrote the way they did (ie. The purpose - eg. quick action compared to building suspense).

 Use the Internet to do an author profile on Ted Hughes.  Watch the movie The Iron Giant (only after finishing reading the novel). Discuss the similarities and differences between the movie and the book. Complete a chart on these. Discuss why the movie might have been different (eg. audience, concepts, storyline) and which the students preferred and why.

Transformations

 The teacher needs to decide whether they are going to text pattern the whole selected passage (see Appendix 2 for an example) or only part of the text (see Appendix 3 for example). This will determine what section/s they will transform. The sections would be the same as those suggested for the HOBO sessions.

 The purpose of transformations is to teach students why and how the author made the choices he did.

 Even if only one section is going to be text patterned, more than one section may be transformed. Not every transformed passage has to go on to writing.

 On completion of HOBO for the passage to be transformed, begin transformation activities.

 Students should be very familiar with the text and have considerable knowledge to bring to the activity. Preformulations should be brief during transformations.

Following is an example for transformations for the first sentence in the section from HOBO Session 7:

All the separate pieces tumbled, scattered, crashing, bumping clanging, down on to the rocky beach far below.

Transformation 1: (following HOBO Session 7)

 Have the sentence written on cardboard strips, placed on a sentence board.  Read the sentence aloud and indicate where it was taken from.  Make the initial cuts using leading questions as indicated below (and done in HOBO). If students can’t answer questions, then you will need to preformulate first (if they have a lot of difficulties, repeat HOBO on section).  Do the whole sentence in one session.

All the separate pieces tumbled , scattered , crashing , bumping , clanging , down on to the rocky beach far below .

Transformations:  Remove down on to the rocky beach far below and place full stop after clanging. Ask students to read and if it makes sense. Ask them what’s missing and what is no longer known [exactly where the pieces fell to]. Explain that even though the sentence made sense, the author wanted us to know exactly where the pieces ended up landing, so this is why he wrote down on to the rocky beach far below. Turn over card.

 Move down on to the rocky beach far below to the start of the sentence. Repeat process, asking why the author didn’t start like this [where the pieces landed would have been what happened last, so that’s why it was written last. It keeps the action in order.]. Reorder cards.

 Turn over scattered. What don’t we know? [How the pieces landed on the beach, all apart.]

 Turn over crashing, bumping, clanging. What don’t we know? [What sounds the pieces made.] Why did Ted Hughes include these words? [Because the pieces would have made a lot of noise as they fell and he wanted to give us a good image of the action.]

Transformation 2: (following HOBO Session 7)

 Use the cut up sentence from the previous session.  Read the sentence together.  Make the second cuts using leading questions as indicated below.

Second Cuts: All the separate pieces tumbled , scattered , crashing , bumping , clanging , down on to the rocky beach far below .

Transformations: Remove separate. What don’t we know? [What the pieces were like.] Remove far below. Why did Ted Hughes include this? [Wanted to emphasise how high the cliff was, which would cause the Iron Man to break into so many pieces.].

Spelling Syllabus outcomes addressed: W2.11, W3.11 Phonological knowledge: initial consonant blends: sp, cr, cl, sc Visual knowledge: visual memory of letter patterns: ight, ate, each, ble Morphemic knowledge: suffixes s, ed, ness, ing Etymological knowledge:

Check that students can read the words both in context (in the sentences) and out of context (on words cards).

Select words according to the needs of your students. Each student will need a small white board to practice writing spelling words.

Small common words – do chunking with these words, with the expectation that the students will spell the words independently at the end. [NOTE: Revise words regularly and model handwriting at the same time.] than, man, stood, very, all taller = t/all/er lift(ed) = l/ift right = r/ight space = sp/ace forward = f/or/w/ard darkness = d/ark/n/ess house = h/ou/se = h/ouse separate = s/ep/ar/ate = sep/ar/ate piece(s) = p/ie/ce = p/iece beach = b/ea/ch = b/each rocky = r/ock/y tumble(d) = t/um/ble scatter(ed) = sc/att/er crash(ing) = cr/ash bump(ing) = b/ump clang(ing) = cl/ang

Joint Reconstructed writing Purpose: To write the text just as the author did and to put the spelling words back into context. To reinforce the techniques the writer used to create the descriptive action sequence. Use brief preformulations to prompt students as in the Passages: Taller than a house, the Iron Man stood at the top of the cliff, on the very brink, in the darkness.

All the separate pieces tumbled, scattered, crashing, bumping, clanging, down on to the rocky beach far below. A few rocks tumbled with him.

Preformulation: When Ted Hughes described how the Iron Man went down the cliff he talked about All the separate pieces. First he told us how many pieces. That’s right. It was ‘All’ and it is the start of the sentence so ‘all’ has to have a capital letter. Let’s write ‘All.’

Then TH told us about the all the pieces. They were separate. Remember separate was one of our spelling words so let’s have a go at writing it. The first chunk is ‘sep’, then the ‘ar’ chunk and finally the ‘ate’ chunk. (As you say the chunks, write them on the board a little after the students.)

Continue preformulating through the passage. Read the text when you are finished for meaning and spelling.

Text Patterning

Syllabus outcomes addressed: W2.9, 2.10, 2.13, 2.14/W3.9, 2.10, 3.13, 3.14 The purpose for this section is to write a descriptive action sequence and to use precise language to build images.

Provide the students with a purpose: ‘We are going to write a descriptive action sequence just as TH did. We are going to use his sentences as a model for what we write.’

Session 1: Have some cardboard cards ready (in a different colour to the sentence cards).

Read sentence in text and have the sentence on transformation board for class to see. Have a chart ready on whiteboard with spaces for key words to be written in and spaces for the punctuation.

Preformulate to identify what words TH used in the passage.

P: TH tells us what the sentence was about. He said, “All the separate pieces.’ Q: What does this sentence tell us? A: What the sentence is about R: Yes. IN the first part of the sentence he tells us what or who it is about. Let’s write that on the chart.

P: Then TH uses 2 words to tell us how that thing or person moved. Q: What do the next words tell us? A: How it moved. P Great. He wrote two words to described how it moved. Let’s write ‘How it moved’ on the chart.

P: Then he uses three words that tell us the sounds it made as it moved. Q: What do the next words tell us? A: The sounds it made R: That’s right. He uses three words with commas in between to tell us the sorts of sounds it made as it moved. We’ll write sounds 1, 2 & 3 on the chart.

P: Finally in the sentence he tells us where it moved to. Q: What do the last words tell us? A: Where R: That’s right. TH tells us not only where the person/object moved to but which direction that was as well, down. We’ll write ‘where’ for the last section.

Brainstorm ideas for a new text. List these on the chart. Students select new text and then write in own books. When the students are confident about the pattern, allow them the option of creating their own text, working with you or selecting text from the brainstorm lists.

Short Writing plan examples

Who or What? How it moved 1 , How it moved 2 , Sound 1 , Sound 2 ,

All the separate pieces tumbled , scattered , crashing , bumping , The wild pig ran , bolted, , screeching , grunting , The boisterous teenagers pranced , galloped , laughing , joking , Our backyard hens scratched , pecked , clucking , squawking ,

Sound 3 Where End of sentence clanging , down to the rocky beach far below . crashing , through the underbrush . chattering , through the streets of town . muttering , across the smelly (aromatic) compost heap . .

Writing plan for a longer piece of writing based on the HOBO passage Structure Text Who (or what) Race car Where Race track Noise Engine roared Description & action 1 Glass – light glinted 2 Sleek red metal gleamed 3 Exhaust – smoke blew Noise Crowd cheered Problem Tyre blew Do Tried to gain control What happened 1 Tyre squealed, zig-zagged, crashed into wall

2 Car spun and flipped 3 Flipped and flipped 4 Parts flew off – bonnet, tyres, glass, metal Sequence of actions Spin, flip, crash, break, slow Last action Stopped Noise Groan then hush of crowd Description at end Crumpled heap

New text: Faster than the others, the race car sped around the race track, hugging the edges, showing its dominance. The engine roared from beneath its bonnet. Its glass windows glinted light as it approached the bend. Its sleek red body gleamed as it streaked around. Its shimmering metal pipe plumed smoke as it took the straight. The crowd screamed and cheered. The driver pushed on harder. Then the driver felt the pop of a tyre. He hit the brake and tried to turn the swaying car away from the barrier. As he fought, the crowd heard the squeal of the tyres – to, fro, left, right, as the car swerved, ultimately into the barrier. CRRRAAAASSSSSSH! Bouncing off the wall the car spun and flipped. CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! From belly to roof, metal to tyre, flipping slowly. And as the car flipped and flipped and flipped Its bonnet flew off. Its glass windows shattered and rained. Its red body tore and ripped, and its tyres bounced away. Its shiny exhaust fell off. What was left continued spinning, flipping, smashing, breaking, slowly along the smooth black race track At last it stopped. Then Silence. Only the groan and hush of the crowd, and the distant hum of more cars approaching the straight, where bits and pieces of the red racing car lay scattered, before a silent and crumpled heap.

Example Teaching sequence LOBO Read HOBO Transformations Chunking Joint Text reconstruction patterning Day 1  Overview of the Read  LOBO on whole  Para. 1 of HOBO text chapter 1 section selected – pp text.  Orientation to 11-12: Taller than  Taller than a chapter 1 a house … silent house/,/ the Iron and unmoving. Man stood/at the  LOBO on para 1. top of the cliff/,/  HOBO para. 1 on the very brink/,/ in the darkness/./  Remove Taller than a house.  Remove on the very brink Day 2  LOBO from Ch. Ch. 2 up  LOBO on selected  Para. 1 of HOBO Stood > st/ood 1 using preform. to where HOBO text, text – further cuts Very > v/ery Cycle Iron Man  LOBO using preform.  Taller than / a  Orientate Ch 2 up goes back Cycle on para 1 house/,/ the Iron to where Iron to the sea  LOBO on para 2 Man / stood / at Man goes back to p. 24  HOBO on para 2 the top / of the the sea p. 24 cliff/,/ on the/ very brink/,/ in the darkness/./  Remove very  Inserts for a house

LOBO Read HOBO Transformations Chunking Joint Text

reconstruction patterning Day 3  LOBO on chps. 1 Read rest  LOBO on selected  Para. 1 of HOBO Revise stood & 2 using of chapter HOBO text. text – further cuts. and very preform. Cycle 2  LOBO using preform.  Taller / than / a  Orientation for Cycle on para 1 and house/,/ the / taller > t/all/er rest of chapter 2 2. Iron / Man / than > th/an  LOBO on para 3.. stood/at the top of man > m/an  HOBO para. 3 the cliff/,/ on the/ very / brink/,/ in / the/ darkness/./  Remove iron.  Exchange to read in the darkness, on the very brink.  Inserts for darkness Day 4  LOBO onCh. 1 & Ch. 3 up  LOBO on selected  Para. 4 of HOBO Revise taller, 2 using preform. to 2nd last HOBO text, text – further cuts than, man Cycle paragraph  LOBO using preform.  And/his right lifted > l/ift  Orientate Ch 3 up on pg 35 Cycle on para 1-3 foot/,/ his right > r/ight to second last  LOBO on para 4 enormous /iron space > sp/ace para. On pg 35.  HOBO on para 4 right foot/,/lifted / - up/,/ out/,/ into space/,/ and the Iron Man / stepped forward/,/ off the cliff/,/ into nothingness/.

Notes developed by Peta Bradley, Marianne Bunt, Vicki Holman, Ann Lewis, Susan McMullen, Annette Murdoch, Debbie Roach, Julie Walker, Kerry Watson & Michael Wilson, Armidale 2004