Video: Comprehension: 'The Drum', a tale from India

﻿Hello there everybody. It's good to see you. My name's Ray. And today, we're going to read a story. The story, is about a little boy, and he wants a drum, more than anything. We'll read through together, and I'm going to ask you some questions, to see if you understand the story. Are you ready? First, let's look at what we might need to read our story together. Then, we will look at how to get the room ready, so that we can read the story in the best way. And after that, we'll get ready to read together. Let's take a look, at what you might need for this lesson. Not very much, just your ears for listening. We might also have some questions later on. So grownups, it might be useful, to have any relevant symbols or signs, ready to go. We will be asking, "what" questions, we will be asking "who' questions and I might sneak in a "why" question, just for that extra challenge, as well. If you have, a drum, about the place, or something drum like, maybe that tin pan, or a top hat, or an empty cardboard box, then that will be useful too, because you might want to play some games with the drum, but it also, gives you an object, something physical and concrete to link your story to. This isn't so much a sensory story, the purpose here is comprehension. So, a real object is sometimes nice, to secure that. Right, are we ready, to begin? Getting the room ready, for learning, I would recommend reducing distractions within the room. That might mean closing the curtains, so that we can't see the street outside. It may mean turning off a fan. It may mean turning off an overhead light, or the television, but as well as preparing the room, we must prepare the children to be ready for learning as well. Some children will require a run around outside first, to exercise their hands maybe, to begin. Perhaps a snack, perhaps an opportunity to change position, to take splints off, whatever, is the best position for them to be learning, you will know that best. Really important to create some interest, that curiosity and anticipation for the child, by sharing the resources that you've gathered together. Talking about what might happen, show the excitement. If you model how excited you are to begin, then that will be infectious and the child would be really interested in the lesson coming up. So, press pause while you get the room ready, make sure that you take the opportunity to prepare yourself, as well and we'll begin very shortly. It's time to begin. So let's get ready. Look, listen, and let's learn together. Here we go! Let's listen to our story. The name of this story is, The Drum, just like my drum here. This is a folk tale, from a place called India and if you are listening to me, right now, in the UK, India, is a very, very long way away, but, just like us, little boys in India, always want something to play with. So, this story, is about a little boy and his drum. Let's see what happens. There once was a lady who lived with her son. They were very poor. Their clothes were torn and the boy had nothing to play with. The boy had a secret wish. He wanted a drum. His mother was going to sell grain at the market. "Is there anything that you would like?" she asked. "A drum! A drum!" said the boy. Ooh, here's a question. What does the boy want? Hmm. What does the boy want? Can you show me, by pointing at the pictures? What does the boy want? A drum? A stick? Hmm. A drum? A stick? What does the boy want? A drum! Were you right? Very good. Let's continue, with the story. The boy's mum was sad, because she knew, she could not sell enough grain to buy a drum. On the way home she bumped into a strange little man by the side of the road. "Why are you sad?" asked the strange little man and the woman told him. The strange man gave the woman stick of wood. "This is a magic stick." he said. Mum gave the magic stick to her son, and the boy said, "thank you!" and he went out to play. He met an old woman who was trying to light a fire so that she could cook some bread. "Why are you sad?" asked the boy. "My wood is too wet and it will not burn." said the old woman. And the boy gave her his magic stick. The old woman started the fire and the old woman said, "thank you!" and gave the boy some bread. The boy met a lady with a baby who was crying. "Why is your baby crying?" he asked. "He is hungry." said the lady and the boy gave her the bread. Oh, ooh, this is a tricky question. Question number two. Why is the baby crying? Why is the baby crying? Hmm. Is the baby hungry, or cold? Hungry, cold? Can you point at the screen for me? Why is the baby crying? Show me. Because the baby is hungry. Well done. Let's continue. The baby ate the bread and the lady said, "thank you!" and gave the boy a large pot. The boy came to a river and a man and a woman were yelling. "Why are you yelling?" asked the boy. "The woman has broken my pot," said the man "and I need it to wash clothes." The boy gave the man his pot and the man said, "thank you!" and gave the boy a coat for being so kind. The boy met a man who was only wearing his underwear and he was cold and wet. "Why are you cold and wet?" said the boy and "Where are your clothes?" "I have been robbed," said the man "and pushed in the river." The boy gave the wet and cold man the coat and the wet and cold man said, "thank you!" and he gave the boy his horse. Now the boy and the horse walked down the road and they saw a wedding party but no music was playing and everyone looked sad. "Why are you sad?" asked the boy. "The groom cannot get to the wedding. We have no horse." The boy gave the groom the horse and the groom said, "thank you!" and gave the boy, the drum. Hmm. Who gave the boy the drum? Who gave the boy the drum? Hmm. Mother, groom? Who gave the boy the drum? Mother, groom? Choose. Who gave the boy the drum? The groom. Well done! The boy was so happy. He had always wanted a drum and he ran all the way home. That strange little man was right. That stick really was a magic stick. The End. Thank you for coming to share with me, this story about a boy and his drum. It's been lovely to see you. I know you've worked hard, but I hope you've also enjoyed yourself, but don't go anywhere, because in a moment I'm going to share with you some ideas, where you can do some more things, with this story, that will help with learning, but will also be fun. So for me for now, thank you again. Goodbye. And I hope to see you soon. Okay, what else can we do with this story? The outcomes that we're looking for here, is the understanding from the story, the comprehension, which is led by some very simple questions. "What" and "who" questions. The "why" and the "how" questions are much more difficult to answer. If we want to keep our questions simple, we stick with "what" and "who", and we allow the children, to point at the page and point at the pictures. Repetition is key. The more you read the story, the better the child will understand it. Some drama in your readings, some excitement, some real thrill in the voice will help. And if you are going to ask a question, rather than saying, who did "whatever", then present two options at the end. So, who did it? Was it John? Or was it Jane? And keep that language simple. If you want to make it harder then make those questions open ended, add in the "why" or the "how". I've also left you the opportunity in this story to have the child articulate the "Thank you." This is a repeated phrase that happens over and over and I've prompted it with just a couple of taps inexpert taps on my drum. So, that's another way in which you could read the story. The child could also take the opportunity to write their own description of a drum if you have one, at home or a drumlike item, that you've chosen to accompany the story. Then why not find the describing words? What colour is it? What's the texture like? What's it made out of, et cetera. And of course, for further learning, why not have a look at some other tales perhaps from India, some other folk tales from your own country and add this questioning method into the story. The "who", and the "what". Why not play the drum? Play some rhythms, copy and repeat, a hundred things that you could do there. So, I hope you have had a lovely time and I look forward to seeing you again. Thank you and bye for now.

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Completed: Comprehension: 'The Drum', a tale from India

In this lesson, we read a story and pause for comprehension questions which will allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the text with single word answers (presented initially as a choice of two). This lesson models questioning to support understanding of texts and benefits from adult input.

Communication and Language

Comprehension: 'The Drum', a tale from India

Video

Lesson Complete