Big Shift

Big Shift by Jacqui Brown, City or country - which is better? Both because sometimes the country is fun and then the city

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? The mum and her children are moving while the dad stays behind and the kids look sad that they are leaving and the mum looks abit angry and that the little one looks confused and sad at the same time.  

Where were the family initially living, what do you think life was like living at such a place? The family was living on a sheep farm, I think living on a sheep farm will be tiring because you wake up do the sheep. It will be such a hard time doing everything and then feeding all of them and do the stuff that makes them healthy.

Where had the boys and mum moved to after his parents split up? The mum and her kids has moved to a council flat after the mum and the dad has splitted up.

What is a council flat? A council flat is like a rent house and that it is not your house but you just live in it and when you pay the council pays the rest of it.

Do you think his little sister knew what was happening between mum and dad? Use evidence from the text to support your answer. She didn’t know what was going on between her mum and her dad but she wondered the same thing. If he and mum couldn’t live together anymore.

What was the young boy wandering? That they were just going somewhere or maybe just going to get something and then come back.

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”? They were leaving and the dad was giving them a kiss to say good bye and even the mum. Why did the author mention “even mum separately and say the word even? Because how they separated and they thought they were never going to kiss each other.   What is the author implying? That maybe the father wants to still be with the father but the mother says no.

For what reason would the young boy have cried? Because he really missed his father but not only because of that it is also the place that are living in he said that “ it is like there’s no room to breath” how did he deal with his emotions instead of crying? He went outside for a little look and look at people and see what they were doing and what they were up to and he like being noisey.

Wednesday:

Why was the new place in Wellington not too bad? Because they got used to everything what was happening over there and they also had new friends that they meet and they play with them.

What sound did the young boy even get used to while staying at his new place in Wellington? Rubbish truck in the morning and when it makes the annoying sound he wakes up.

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? Thing befor was really different to where they are living now, now it is really different, they have friends to play with now and they get to meet knew people.  

What does the word ‘miserable’ mean? Means that you are upset because of something or you are uncomfortable.

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) I will feel really sad for what has happened and I will probably cry all night but maybe someday I will get over it and carry on.

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 things that he always does with his dad and how he missed his dad making his own tea and his dad telling him jokes after when he come back from work.

What are two things he did like about being in the units? play with his friends and doing their laundry on wednesday.  For what reason do you think he liked this? Because they didn’t do those things when they were living on the sheep farm and they get to out out on wednesday.   

Thursday/Friday

So far think what emotions is the author making the reader feel by reading this text? Feel sorrying for the kids and for the dad how he is alone and also the young one.

Who has the author portrayed as being an upset and sad character, how do you know this? The young boy because how he told his mum that he misses his dad when he comes back from work and does things with him and when the dad jokes around with him.

Judging from the boy stopping a fight and helping Tomo out, what do we know about his personality? A good friend because even when Tomo was big and it was dangerous stopping the fight he still did stop the fight.

What was Tomo? Tomo was foreign.  What does this word mean? foreign means for example tomo was born in Australia and he went to New Zealand and then know he is a foreign because he is in New Zealand when he was born in Australia.

For what reason did Tomo, the young boy and Meilai stick together?

Why was Wednesday their favourite day? Because they get to go out and do the laundry and while they wait for the laundry the practice playing their instrument and sometimes they forget about the laundry and then that why people go and tell them to get their laundry.

What did the boy and Tomo do when they saw some young children tagging? They stopped them but it could be dangerous because they would  have got hurt by them. Did they do the right thing? Justify your answer. Yes because it would have got worse and one of them might have end up in hospital.

How did the boy slowly begin to warm up to being in Wellington? By play with his friends and meeting new people and making more friends and getting to know people and the place and get to do new things.

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? He was really sad when they arrived there but when they were their for a while they all got used to everything and he and played with his friends and so new things.