This term, Grade 7 Phase 3 students are studying a unit based on an abridged version of Roald Dahl’s Matilda. One of the summative tasks will be to write a comparison-contrast essay based on two characters from the novel.
In order to prepare for this, students learned about both physical and character traits and used these to describe their teachers on posters, which they presented

Next, students broadened this concept, focusing on the characteristics, traits and behaviours they felt made good parents, in their opinions.
In groups, they created “Checklists for Good Parents”, discussing ideas and giving examples of specific traits and behaviours.

After this, each group rotated to other tables to view their peers’ ideas. As groups, they used symbols to mark the ideas they most agreed with.
As a class, we then used the most popular ideas to distil a list of the characteristics and traits we associate with good parents, some of which are showing self-control, working hard and understanding their children’s interests.
In this activity, students had the opportunity to share ideas from their own lives. They also had the chance to debate ideas with which they disagreed. Throughout the lesson, they were practising their speaking and listening skills, and well as learning new vocabulary words relating to personal characteristics and behaviour.
Next, students will read about Matilda’s parents, and see if these fictional characters meet any of the specifications of the class checklist. The characteristics students noted today will also be useful in providing ideas for their comparison-contrast essays in a few weeks.