Ready Steady Read Together
The House with Chicken Legs: Fiction Lesson 1
What do you think you know?
What?
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
When?
Book Talk: Let's explore this illustration.
Explore
What do you know and think?
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living.
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Today's Question(s)
Teacher Model Question OnlyWhy does the house keep moving?
A) How is the house and its setting different from normal houses?
B) How does the author show the theme of loneliness in this extract?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of civilization.
It nestles in dark forbidden woods, rattles on windswept icy tundra, and hides in crumbling ruins at the far edge of cities. At this moment it’s perched on a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains. We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
Maybe if it was summer a few of them would wander up here, to picnic and look at the view. They might smile and say hello. Someone my own age might visit – maybe a whole group of children. They might stop near the stream and splash in the water to cool off. Perhaps they would invite me to join them.
“How’s the fence coming?” Baba calls through the open window, pulling me from my daydream.
“Nearly done.” I wedge another thigh bone into the low stone wall.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Baba says the fence is important to keep out the living and guide in the dead, but that’s not why I fix it. I like to work with the bones because my parents would have touched them once, long ago, when they built fences and guided the dead. Sometimes I think I feel the warmth of their hands lingering on the cold bones, and I imagine what it might have been like to hold my parents for real. This makes my heart lift and ache all at the same time. The house creaks loudly and leans over until the front window is right above me. Baba pokes her head out and smiles. “Lunch is ready. I’ve made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too.”
My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose. Jack bounds towards me in an ungainly cross between flying and jumping, lands on my shoulder, and tries to push something into my ear. I shake my head and sigh. “Baba’s made a feast. For two people and a jackdaw.”
I turn and look at the town below. All those houses, snuggled close together, keeping each other company in this cold and lonely place. I wish my house was a normal house, down there, with the living. I wish my family was a normal family too. But my house has chicken legs, and my grandmother is a Yaga and a Guardian of The Gate between this world and the next. So my wishes are as hollow as the skulls of the fence.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
bleak
nestles
edge of civilisation
tundra
barren
thigh bone
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
I will model the first.
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
bleak
Explore
Find Read Talk
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of civilization.
Reveal Vocabulary
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
bleak
Your turn
edge of civilisation
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
nestles
tundra
barren
thigh bone
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of civilization. It nestles in dark forbidden woods, rattles on windswept icy tundra, and hides in crumbling ruins at the far edge of cities. At this moment it’s perched on a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains. We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us. Maybe if it was summer a few of them would wander up here, to picnic and look at the view. They might smile and say hello. Someone my own age might visit – maybe a whole group of children. They might stop near the stream and splash in the water to cool off. Perhaps they would invite me to join them. “How’s the fence coming?” Baba calls through the open window, pulling me from my daydream. “Nearly done.” I wedge another thigh bone into the low stone wall.
Teacher Note: Re-read if time allows.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Text from The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
Reveal Vocabulary
Baba says the fence is important to keep out the living and guide in the dead, but that’s not why I fix it. I like to work with the bones because my parents would have touched them once, long ago, when they built fences and guided the dead. Sometimes I think I feel the warmth of their hands lingering on the cold bones, and I imagine what it might have been like to hold my parents for real. This makes my heart lift and ache all at the same time. The house creaks loudly and leans over until the front window is right above me. Baba pokes her head out and smiles. “Lunch is ready. I’ve made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too.” My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose. Jack bounds towards me in an ungainly cross between flying and jumping, lands on my shoulder, and tries to push something into my ear. I shake my head and sigh. “Baba’s made a feast. For two people and a jackdaw.” I turn and look at the town below. All those houses, snuggled close together, keeping each other company in this cold and lonely place. I wish my house was a normal house, down there, with the living. I wish my family was a normal family too. But my house has chicken legs, and my grandmother is a Yaga and a Guardian of The Gate between this world and the next. So my wishes are as hollow as the skulls of the fence.
Teacher Note: Re-read if time allows.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
What did you notice?
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living.
Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course.
They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate.
But the real, live, living people,
they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
Teacher Model Question OnlyWhy does the house keep moving?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
Dead people...come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But my house has chicken legs, and my grandmother is a Yaga and a Guardian of The Gate between this world and the next.
_____________________________________________
The house moves on from one place to the next so that Baba can help those that are dead to move on to their place of rest.
Reveal Explainer
Teacher Model Question OnlyWhy does the house keep moving?
Teach
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
A) How is the house and its setting different from normal houses?
B) How does the author show the theme of loneliness in this extract?
Find the answers
Text mark
Acceptable Answers
its appearance and ability to move
Text Mark Evidence - has chicken legs - stands up...walks away - leans over - skulls of the fence
A) How is the house and its setting different from normal houses?
its purpose
Text Mark Evidence keep out the living and guide in the dead
Text Mark Evidence - bleak place - dark forbidden woods -windswept icy tundra - a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains
uninviting/inhospitable places
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence - lonely...edge of civilisation - real, live, living people, they all stay in the towns and villages far below us
isolated and lonely places
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - still haven’t seen anyone living - real, live, living people, they all stay in the towns and villages far below us - cold and lonely place
lonely and isolated place
B) How does the author show the theme of loneliness in this extract?
Text Mark Evidence - someone my own age might visit - invite me to join them
yearning for friends
Text Mark Evidence - what it might have been like to hold my parents for real - makes my heart lift and ache (missing my parents)
orphaned
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence - wish my house was a normal house down there with the living - wish my family was a normal family
desire for a normal life
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which picture is the best match for the word 'barren'?
Which One's Right?
Who is Jack?
A Marinka's brother
B their pet jackdaw
D the house with chicken legs
C Marinka's father
Find Me
What type of food is shchi?
“Lunch is ready. I’ve made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too.”
My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose. Jack bounds towards me and lands on my shoulder. I sigh. “Baba’s made a feast. For two people and a jackdaw.”
Discuss then check
cabbage soup
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Tick Me
Why does Marinka like to fix the fence?
Tick one
A It keeps out the living and guides in the dead.
B She wants to remove the bones that are stuck in it.
Check
C It makes her feel close to her parents.
Click if correct
D It keeps her pet, Jack, from escaping.
Tick Me
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
join a book club.
Reveal
Talk to others about books you've read to get new perspectives.
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y6 L1 The House with Chicken Legs
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Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
The House with Chicken Legs: Fiction Lesson 1
What do you think you know?
What?
Who?
Why?
Where?
How?
When?
Book Talk: Let's explore this illustration.
Explore
What do you know and think?
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living.
How might this extract link to the illustration?
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Today's Question(s)
Teacher Model Question OnlyWhy does the house keep moving?
A) How is the house and its setting different from normal houses?
B) How does the author show the theme of loneliness in this extract?
Explore
Let me read today's text
Explore
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of civilization. It nestles in dark forbidden woods, rattles on windswept icy tundra, and hides in crumbling ruins at the far edge of cities. At this moment it’s perched on a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains. We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us. Maybe if it was summer a few of them would wander up here, to picnic and look at the view. They might smile and say hello. Someone my own age might visit – maybe a whole group of children. They might stop near the stream and splash in the water to cool off. Perhaps they would invite me to join them. “How’s the fence coming?” Baba calls through the open window, pulling me from my daydream. “Nearly done.” I wedge another thigh bone into the low stone wall.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Baba says the fence is important to keep out the living and guide in the dead, but that’s not why I fix it. I like to work with the bones because my parents would have touched them once, long ago, when they built fences and guided the dead. Sometimes I think I feel the warmth of their hands lingering on the cold bones, and I imagine what it might have been like to hold my parents for real. This makes my heart lift and ache all at the same time. The house creaks loudly and leans over until the front window is right above me. Baba pokes her head out and smiles. “Lunch is ready. I’ve made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too.” My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose. Jack bounds towards me in an ungainly cross between flying and jumping, lands on my shoulder, and tries to push something into my ear. I shake my head and sigh. “Baba’s made a feast. For two people and a jackdaw.” I turn and look at the town below. All those houses, snuggled close together, keeping each other company in this cold and lonely place. I wish my house was a normal house, down there, with the living. I wish my family was a normal family too. But my house has chicken legs, and my grandmother is a Yaga and a Guardian of The Gate between this world and the next. So my wishes are as hollow as the skulls of the fence.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
bleak
nestles
edge of civilisation
tundra
barren
thigh bone
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
I will model the first.
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
bleak
Explore
Find Read Talk
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of civilization.
Reveal Vocabulary
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
bleak
Your turn
edge of civilisation
Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner
nestles
tundra
barren
thigh bone
Use your text
Explore
Vocabulary Check
Explore
Reveal Vocabulary
My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night and walks away from where we’ve been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of civilization. It nestles in dark forbidden woods, rattles on windswept icy tundra, and hides in crumbling ruins at the far edge of cities. At this moment it’s perched on a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains. We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us. Maybe if it was summer a few of them would wander up here, to picnic and look at the view. They might smile and say hello. Someone my own age might visit – maybe a whole group of children. They might stop near the stream and splash in the water to cool off. Perhaps they would invite me to join them. “How’s the fence coming?” Baba calls through the open window, pulling me from my daydream. “Nearly done.” I wedge another thigh bone into the low stone wall.
Teacher Note: Re-read if time allows.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Text from The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
Reveal Vocabulary
Baba says the fence is important to keep out the living and guide in the dead, but that’s not why I fix it. I like to work with the bones because my parents would have touched them once, long ago, when they built fences and guided the dead. Sometimes I think I feel the warmth of their hands lingering on the cold bones, and I imagine what it might have been like to hold my parents for real. This makes my heart lift and ache all at the same time. The house creaks loudly and leans over until the front window is right above me. Baba pokes her head out and smiles. “Lunch is ready. I’ve made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too.” My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose. Jack bounds towards me in an ungainly cross between flying and jumping, lands on my shoulder, and tries to push something into my ear. I shake my head and sigh. “Baba’s made a feast. For two people and a jackdaw.” I turn and look at the town below. All those houses, snuggled close together, keeping each other company in this cold and lonely place. I wish my house was a normal house, down there, with the living. I wish my family was a normal family too. But my house has chicken legs, and my grandmother is a Yaga and a Guardian of The Gate between this world and the next. So my wishes are as hollow as the skulls of the fence.
Teacher Note: Re-read if time allows.
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Fluency
Explore
Let me use my reader's voice...
We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
What did you notice?
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
My Turn
Your Turn
Echo Read
We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living.
Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course.
They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate.
But the real, live, living people,
they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Sound like a reader!
Stand up!
Choral Read
We’ve been here two weeks and I still haven’t seen anyone living. Dead people, I’ve seen plenty of those of course. They come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But the real, live, living people, they all stay in the town and villages far below us.
Explore
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Strategy Focus
Explore
Strategy: Read Between the Lines
Teacher Model Question OnlyWhy does the house keep moving?
Be a detective and look for clues!
Teach
Let me show you
Reveal Text Marks
Dead people...come to visit Baba and she guides them through The Gate. But my house has chicken legs, and my grandmother is a Yaga and a Guardian of The Gate between this world and the next.
_____________________________________________
The house moves on from one place to the next so that Baba can help those that are dead to move on to their place of rest.
Reveal Explainer
Teacher Model Question OnlyWhy does the house keep moving?
Teach
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Strategy Stop
What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?
Teach
Your Turn
A) How is the house and its setting different from normal houses?
B) How does the author show the theme of loneliness in this extract?
Find the answers
Text mark
Acceptable Answers
its appearance and ability to move
Text Mark Evidence - has chicken legs - stands up...walks away - leans over - skulls of the fence
A) How is the house and its setting different from normal houses?
its purpose
Text Mark Evidence keep out the living and guide in the dead
Text Mark Evidence - bleak place - dark forbidden woods -windswept icy tundra - a rocky ledge high in some barren mountains
uninviting/inhospitable places
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence - lonely...edge of civilisation - real, live, living people, they all stay in the towns and villages far below us
isolated and lonely places
Acceptable Answers
Text Mark Evidence - still haven’t seen anyone living - real, live, living people, they all stay in the towns and villages far below us - cold and lonely place
lonely and isolated place
B) How does the author show the theme of loneliness in this extract?
Text Mark Evidence - someone my own age might visit - invite me to join them
yearning for friends
Text Mark Evidence - what it might have been like to hold my parents for real - makes my heart lift and ache (missing my parents)
orphaned
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
Text Mark Evidence - wish my house was a normal house down there with the living - wish my family was a normal family
desire for a normal life
Quiz Time
Start
Picture Me
Which picture is the best match for the word 'barren'?
Which One's Right?
Who is Jack?
A Marinka's brother
B their pet jackdaw
D the house with chicken legs
C Marinka's father
Find Me
What type of food is shchi?
“Lunch is ready. I’ve made a feast of shchi and black bagels. Enough for Jack too.” My stomach rumbles as the smell of cabbage soup and freshly baked bread hits my nose. Jack bounds towards me and lands on my shoulder. I sigh. “Baba’s made a feast. For two people and a jackdaw.”
Discuss then check
cabbage soup
From: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018. Licensed under CLA. Do not share.
Tick Me
Why does Marinka like to fix the fence?
Tick one
A It keeps out the living and guides in the dead.
B She wants to remove the bones that are stuck in it.
Check
C It makes her feel close to her parents.
Click if correct
D It keeps her pet, Jack, from escaping.
Tick Me
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
join a book club.
Reveal
Talk to others about books you've read to get new perspectives.
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson © 2018 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.