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Chapter 1
Teaching Michael Morpurgo
The book chosen for this unit of work is Kensuke’s Kingdom. For teachers who have not used this book with children before, it is a beautifully written and intensely moving island adventure story. For those who have, use the framework and ideas presented in Part 1 of this chapter with one of the other books discussed in Part 2. Few children will be familiar with the experience of living on a 42-foot yacht in the midst of seething, rolling seas, sharks and leaping dolphins. Even fewer will know what it is like to live on a deserted island with only a dog for company. Their imaginative involvement in the story will therefore be heightened by visual displays of photographs and paintings of island settings, oceans, large yachts and atmospheric pictures of storms at sea. The trial workshops took place with two Year 6 classes but the story is suitable for children within the Year 5 to Year 8 age range, though not exclusively so.
Synopsis of Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom
Michael is just 11 years old when his ordinary life suddenly becomes extraordinary. When both his parents lose their jobs at the local brickworks, his father scrapes together all his savings and, with a blind leap of faith, decides to buy a large yacht so they can sail round the world. All goes well until Stella, their pet sheepdog, bored with the sea and the restrictions of the boat, decides to chase Michael’s football around the deck. He tries to coax her away from the bow, but she will not come. The boat lurches violently in a strong gust of wind and they are tossed into the towering waves. After a terrifying ordeal in the dark and freezing sea, Michael and Stella find themselves washed up on a deserted island. The island has a haunting, desolate beauty, but there is no water and no food, and thousands of eyes seem to be peering to Michael through the trees. They are not alone. This is Kensuke’s kingdom and he hates intruders. He banishes Michael to the other end of the island and forbids him to make a fire to aid his rescue. What follows is a remarkable tale of sorrow, survival and forgiveness in which the solace of friendship becomes as important as the love of lost families.
Preparation
This story lends itself very well to cross-thematic work in geography, the natural world, marine animal life and conservation (Kensuke’s love of the orang-utans and his protection of them from marauding hunters, for example, is a powerful theme in the plot). Some relevant classroom displays in advance of reading the story would make it possible for the children to make meaningful conceptual connections with the narrative, including a glossary of terms such as winch, jib and rudder (see p. 28). A display that includes a picture or poster of a large yacht with all the parts clearly labelled will help the children understand the realities of living at sea which Michael and his parents experienced. It will also help them to visualise just what it takes for Michael’s family to keep the yacht steady in stormy weather. A large-scale map of the world on which the children can plot the voyage of the Peggy Sue as the story progresses will enhance their understanding of navigational geography and seafaring danger spots as well as helping them feel that they are part of Peggy Sue’s voyage.
Some time spent practising the different voices in the story will make the reading more dramatic and interesting. There are only five key characters: Kensuke, who speaks in broken English with a Japanese accent; Michael; Stella; and Michael’s father and mother. Note that the name ‘Kensuke’ is pronounced ‘Kenskee’, not ‘Kensook’. I had this point verified by Michael Morpurgo during one of his Children’s Laureate lectures at the Royal Society of Arts. At a book signing event he met a Japanese child called Kensuke who explained to Michael how his name was pronounced. This chance encounter provided the idea for the title of the book.
Reading the Story
Each time you assemble the class for a reading of the story, display on the interactive whiteboard one of the several screensavers indicated in the ‘Teaching resources’ section on p. 28. There are sufficient choices here for you to be able to vary them to suit the particular part of the story you have reached. They also come accompanied with atmospheric sound effects, which, if not too loud, will provide a dramatic soundscape to the reading of the story.
The story is sufficiently well signposted for you to know when to introduce knowledge about sailing a large yacht, the plotting of the Peggy Sue’s voyage and the unexpected weather changes that occur at sea. Many children will be interested too in Michael’s log of the sighting of basking sharks, dolphins, water turtles and flying fish. This would be a good time to introduce further knowledge about these and other marine creatures.
Responding to Kensuke’s Kingdom
The following activities can be done during the course of story reading along with the other cross-curricular work already mentioned, or after its completion. As is stated at the beginning of Chapter 2, teachers can make selections from the lesson objectives to plan individual lessons, a series of lessons or a coherent unit of work. The activities can also be done in any order, but my preference is to leave the writing and drawing activities until after the drama work. The quality of the stimulus and information given before the story will unquestionably heighten the children’s ability to engage imaginatively and cognitively with its content.
The discussion on questioning written texts on p. 83 in Chapter 3, Part 1 applies equally to this text. It is highly advisable to read it before selecting questions for the discussion activity. Encouraging the children to move gradually from reporting what happened in the story to an analysis of its deeper meanings, patterns and connecting themes is the key to ensuring that they gain greater insight and understanding about the book as well as the points it raises about the unfathomable bond that can exist between animals and human beings. The model for questioning written texts is presented here too, on this occasion with some exemplifications from Kensuke’s Kingdom. You are advised to make a selection for any one session that follows progressively from the content–narrative–structure framework.
A model for questioning written text
- Broad questions that focus on general impressions of the story as a whole. For example, What did you find interesting about the story? Which parts of the story did you enjoy most? Which parts puzzled you?
- Questions about the characters and the parts they play. For example, Which character did you find most interesting? Who was the most important character?
- Searching for puzzles in the story and those parts you did not like or understand. For example, Why did Stella seem to want to stay close to Kensuke even though she did not know him and he had just been very angry with Michael?
- Questions about narration and point of view. Who is telling the story – the author or a character in the story? From whose perspective is the story written? Does it change or remain the same throughout the story?
- Identifying patterns or links in the story. For example, Why does Kensuke hate Michael’s presence on the island so much? Why is Michael so angry with Kensuke? What are the key differences between Kensuke’s and Michael’s relationship with the island?
Arrange the seating so that children are next to a partner they work well with for the group discussion and interaction activities. If an expectation of maximum pupil involvement is set from the outset, it will help to use a paired discussion strategy for the first two or three activities at least. In the first few teacher-directed questions, I have indicated where paired and whole class interactions might best take place. The remaining questions leave this to teachers’ judgement and discretion.
- Why did you find the story interesting? Give at least two reasons. Discuss in pairs first. Share some responses with the whole class.
- Tell your partner why you enjoyed the story. Give three reasons. Share one or two different sets of reasons with the whole class.
- Which part of the story did you enjoy most and why? (Paired activity).
- Were there any parts of the story that puzzled you or that you did not understand?
- Do you think that Michael’s dad was right to risk everything he had to sail around the world? Discuss in pairs or in small groups using evidence from the story to back up your opinions. Write down all the things for and against his decision. Share some of the responses with the class.
- Divide the children into small groups and assign each of them one of the following characters: Michael, Mother, Father, Stella and Kensuke. Each group is to contribute all they know from the story about their assigned characters. One person from each group is to share their knowledge of the different characters with the rest of the class.
- Which character interested you most? Give reasons for your choice.
- Who do you think is the most important character in the story?
- Do any of the characters in the story remind you of people you know in your life? If so, which character are you referring to and what qualities do they have in common?
- Who is telling the story? Does the same person tell the whole story from beginning to end or only parts of it?
- Why does Kensuke hate Michael so much when he first arrives on the island?
- What grounds does Kensuke have for claiming that the island is his?
- List the skills and qualities that enabled Kensuke to survive so well on the island.
- If Kensuke hated Michael’s presence on the island so much, why did he care for him after he had been stung by the deadly jellyfish?
- What are the qualities in Kensuke’s character that eventually led Michael to respect and like him?
- Michael and Kensuke gradually form a very close relationship with each other. What makes this happen? Think especially about what they both did to win each other’s respect and friendship.
- What does the book teach us about friendship and trust? Think about the relationships between adults and children and humans and animals that are portrayed in the book. (A timed small-group discussion is suggested for this more challenging thinking and speaking activity).
- What were some of the thoughts ...
