Big Shift by Jacqui Brown, City or country - which is better?
School Journal Number 2, 2006
WALT:
Comprehension - understand author’s message
Success Criteria:
I can show my comprehension of the text through the activities I complete after reading the text.
I can understand the author's message in the text.
Answer the following questions in red:
Looking at the image on the front page and the title of the text, how do the two support one another?I
recommend that somebody leaves in their family because in the image it shows the kids face sad and the mum has a smirk on her face and I think the dad is waving goodbye
to his kids and wife.And the dad has to stay behind at the farm and the kids and mum move to somewhere.
Where were the family initially living, what do you think life was like living at such a place?
They were living on a farm feeding all the animals and every saturday the kids go watch dad play rugby and when he gets back they do jokes, so I think it would have been really fun over their because they did so many stuff by the frame.But I guess that it just didn’t work out over their because of the mum and dad splitting up.
Where had the boys and mum moved to after his parents split up?
They moved to Wellington because of their mum and dad but the kids got use to the country over their getting waked up at six am because of the rubbish bin coming in the mornings but after, later on they started missing their dad so mum said ‘how about later when dad finishes work we will call him’ so he felt a bit better.
What is a council flat?
A council flat means that it’s a rent house not their house so that means that they
dont pay for much they just pay for power and all that kind of stuff because the council can't pay all of it because they live in it and so that means they can't just stay in the house for free it means you gotta pay as well to live in the house.
Do you think his little sister knew what was happening between mum and dad? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
No because her mum was in the car and the dad has to say goodbye to their kids but their little sister did not know why they split up because she said ‘why can’t dad come to Wellington too’ but I think they didn’t want to tell her because she mts get upset and she might not understand.But her brother was wondering the same thing. If he and mum couldn't live together any more why couldn't he live next door.
What was the young boy wandering?
He was wondering what would he be when he grows up
Why does it say “the morning we left when we were sitting in the car dad through the window and kissed all of us, even mum”? Why did the author mention “even mum separately and say the word even? What is the author implying?
They said even mum because they separated and when parents split up they just normally kiss the kids good bye, but the dad kissed mum too because he wanted to still say goodbye even that they broke up but I think he maybe did it because maybe he still loves her but she said it didn’t work out because they did talk fights too much,and so maybe she is sick of her and him talk fighting.
For what reason would the young boy have cried? how did he deal with his emotions instead of crying?
He was crying because he missed his dad because he did all fun activities so it kept him actived
and he deals with his emotions
Wednesday:
Why was the new place in Wellington not too bad?
Because he was getting use to everything, and he started to play with his new friend and every wednesday they would do laundry every wednesday so they would get a little entertained.
What sound did the young boy even get used to while staying at his new place in Wellington?
He was missing things like family and feeding but then he got use to things in wellington in the city
For what reason do you think it took the young boy a few weeks before he began to miss everything and the ways things were before?
Because it’s different because over in Wellington you meet knew people and it’s different because it’s not dusty and it’s not a farm. In that very moment doing all of these thing with his new friend he was starting to forget about his dad.
What does the word ‘miserable’ mean?
It means that your not happy and you're feeling uncomfortable and you start to miss things so you are miserable.
If you were in the same shoes as this boy how would you feel going through all of this within such a short amount of time - (Use your empathy skills)
Why do you think mum was always checking up on the young boy after he cried and told her how upset he was?Because he was missing all the stuff at the farm like making a joke when dad when he gets home and feeding the farm animals so he is starting to miss thing back then.
What are two things he did like about being in the units? For what reason do you think he liked this?Playing with his girl friend and doing the laundry and play music with his friend and brothers on the deck outside looking at the view.
Thursday/Friday
So far think what emotions is the author making the reader feel by reading this text?
Making them feel sad because if that was you then the author is saying you would feel left out and really sad because they are separated but in the mean time the author makes it a bit better because he starts to be happy because he get use to it in the new country.
Who has the author portrayed as being an upset and sad character, how do you know this?
Judging from the boy stopping a fight and helping Tomo out, what do we know about his personality? That he is a good friend because even though they are big he still made the fight stop but he was nerves but even though he stopped it, he was a bit nerves inside but he is very brave.
What was Tomo? What does this word mean?
It’s a boy that was tagging on the wall having a fight and his name is Tomo because in the book in the text it says he was tall and firm.
For what reason did Tomo, the young boy and Meilai stick together?
Why was Wednesday their favourite day?Because they would do the laundry and play with their friend and brothers and play music and they would go on the deck and look at the view.
What did the boy and Tomo do when they saw some young children tagging? Did they do the right thing? Justify your answer.They did the right thing but a bad thing because because they did the right thing because they stopped it but they did a bad thing because they could of got badly hurt and could of got lost.
How did the boy slowly begin to warm up to being in Wellington?
by playing with his friends and meeting new people and doing the laundry and playing music on the deck looking at the view.
What do you think the author is trying to say in this story - have a think about all of the boy’s feelings and emotions, what helped him get through this rough time?
The thing that makes everything better is they start to do knew stuff with the family
and do the laundry and play with their new friend and brother.
