Let’s return to the reading house, this time, thinking about the ‘cement’ – that may hold the house together – background knowledge.
My Year 5 class have now finished Chapter 1 of The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie. We’re questioning and making inferences about the world of the central character Daniel – narrowing in on specific details from the story:
‘The shop was a cave of wonders… Intricate wooden clocks and mirrors of varying size and splendour covered the walls…There were porcelain dolls and wooden soldiers; rusted swords; stuffed animals; columns of books as high as the ceiling; jewels that seemed to glow with a silvery light.’
My first question: ‘what is your first impression of the emporium?’
In order to respond to this question, my students will need to make successful coherence inferences: they will have to construct their understanding of the text based on the grammar, syntax and vocabulary.
