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RSRT Y4 L2 The Song Walker

Literacy Counts

Created on March 6, 2026

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Transcript

Ready Steady Read Together

The Song Walker: Fiction Lesson 2

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?

A vast expanse of nothingness. No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe. Nothing. Just emptiness. Everywhere.

How might this extract link to the illustration?

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From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Today's Question(s)

A) What impression do you get of the setting?

B) How does the author make the character seem vulnerable?

Explore

Let me read today's text

Follow as I read

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I sit up, my arms wrapped around my aching legs, my chin resting on my knees. I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky. Then I twist my head and look behind me. The same. A vast expanse of nothingness. No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe. Nothing. Just emptiness. Everywhere. The wind begins to blow dust off the ground and I hug my legs closer and shut my eyes. Through the pounding of my head I try and think as hard as I can. Think. I need to think. There are three questions… Three questions in my mind that I want to know the answers to right now.

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

The first questions is – obviously – Where am I? I feel as if this place is not the place to which I belong. It is too hot and too empty to be somewhere I belong. The one shoe on my foot does not look right for a place like this. The black dress I am wearing feels too soft for a place like this. Which leads my mind to the second question… What am I doing here? There must be some reason for me to be here. Some reason why I have found myself walking around – one shoe lost – in the middle of…well…nowhere. But it is the third question that worries me the most. Or at least it is my inability to answer the third question that worries me. I close my eyes even tighter and try to block out the landscape. I try to block out my headache. I block out my hunger and my thirst and I try to concentrate. Okay, I think. So… Who am I?

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

I think time has passed again. Night smothers me. Sounds…a flap of leathery wings, chit-chattering creatures, distant howls, snufflings close by. Squeeze my ears and eyes tight after one peep at the cold frieze of stars and violent moonlight. Breathing in and out, heart beating still…dozing in and out of dreams. I am gliding…soaring…screaming… falling… Then… …the sun explodes, forcing my eyes wide to the same picture. Endless red dust before and after. Whimpering, sobbing. Is that my voice? Is that me? Don’t leave me out here to die. Somebody…save me… Save –

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Vocabulary

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Hover for definitions!

heat-haze horizon

vast expanse of nothingness

scrub

smothers

snufflings

frieze

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From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

I will model the first.

Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner

heat-haze horizon

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Find Read Talk

I sit up, my arms wrapped around my aching legs, my chin resting on my knees. I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky.

Reveal Vocabulary

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

heat-haze horizon

Your turn

scrub

Find the word or phrase Read the sentence Talk about it to a partner

vast expanse of nothingness

smothers

snufflings

frieze

Use your text

Explore

Vocabulary Check & Re-read

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Reveal Vocabulary

I sit up, my arms wrapped around my aching legs, my chin resting on my knees. I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky. Then I twist my head and look behind me. The same. A vast expanse of nothingness. No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe. Nothing. Just emptiness. Everywhere. The wind begins to blow dust off the ground and I hug my legs closer and shut my eyes. Through the pounding of my head I try and think as hard as I can. Think. I need to think. There are three questions… Three questions in my mind that I want to know the answers to right now.

Explore

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Reveal Vocabulary

The first questions is – obviously – Where am I? I feel as if this place is not the place to which I belong. It is too hot and too empty to be somewhere I belong. The one shoe on my foot does not look right for a place like this. The black dress I am wearing feels too soft for a place like this. Which leads my mind to the second question… What am I doing here? There must be some reason for me to be here. Some reason why I have found myself walking around – one shoe lost – in the middle of…well…nowhere. But it is the third question that worries me the most. Or at least it is my inability to answer the third question that worries me. I close my eyes even tighter and try to block out the landscape. I try to block out my headache. I block out my hunger and my thirst and I try to concentrate. Okay, I think. So… Who am I?

Explore

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Reveal Vocabulary

I think time has passed again. Night smothers me. Sounds…a flap of leathery wings, chit-chattering creatures, distant howls, snufflings close by. Squeeze my ears and eyes tight after one peep at the cold frieze of stars and violent moonlight. Breathing in and out, heart beating still…dozing in and out of dreams. I am gliding…soaring…screaming… falling… Then… …the sun explodes, forcing my eyes wide to the same picture. Endless red dust before and after. Whimpering, sobbing. Is that my voice? Is that me? Don’t leave me out here to die. Somebody…save me… Save –

Explore

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Fluency

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Let me use my reader's voice...

I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky. Then I twist my head and look behind me. The same. A vast expanse of nothingness. No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe. Nothing. Just emptiness. Everywhere.

What did you notice?

Volume

Pace

Smoothness

Phrasing

Expression

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From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

My Turn
Your Turn

Echo Read

I look out over the red, flat land before me.

A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky.

Then I twist my head and look behind me.

The same. A vast expanse of nothingness.

No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe.

Nothing. Just emptiness. Everywhere.

Explore

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Sound like a reader!
Stand up!

Choral Read

I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky. Then I twist my head and look behind me. The same. A vast expanse of nothingness. No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe. Nothing. Just emptiness. Everywhere.

Explore

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Strategy Focus

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Strategy: Read Between the Lines

A) What impression do you get of the setting?

Be a detective and look for clues!

Teach

Let me show you

Reveal Text Marks

I sit up, my arms wrapped around my aching legs, my chin resting on my knees. I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky.

Reveal Explainer

The words ‘look out over’ and ‘flat’ suggest that the character can see far into the distance. This implies that the environment is large, wide and open. The word ‘red’ suggests that, instead of seeing greenery from plants or trees, she can only see sand or rock. This makes the landscape seem barren and lifeless.

A) What impression do you get of the setting?

Teach

From: The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.

Strategy Stop

What else could you use to answer today's question(s)?

Teach

Your Turn

A) What impression do you get of the setting?

B) How does the author make the character seem vulnerable?

Pairedreading first
Find the answers
Text mark

Explore

Acceptable Answers

Text Mark Evidence - a heat-haze blurring the sand - it is too hot - night smothers me

hot and oppressive

Text Mark Evidence - a vast expanse of nothingness - no buildings - no cars - no trucks - no bridges - no electricity pylons - no power stations - no railway tracks - no roads - no people - nothing…just emptiness…everywhere - it is too…empty to be somewhere I belong

isolated and uninhabited

A) What impression do you get of the setting?

dry and arid

Text Mark Evidence - the wind begins to blow the dust off the ground - endless red dust before and after

Text Mark Evidence a flap of leathery wings, chit-chattering creatures, distant howls, snufflings close by

home to / risk from wild animals

Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers

Text Mark Evidence - night smothers me - the cold frieze of stars and violent moonlight - the sun explodes, forcing my eyes wide

aggressive or dangerous

Practise & Apply

Text Mark Evidence - my arms wrapped around my aching legs - I hug my legs closer and shut my eyes - I close my eyes even tighter - squeeze my ears and eyes tight

reacts protectively or defensively

Acceptable Answers

Text Mark Evidence - the pounding of my head - I try to block out my headache - I block out my hunger and thirst

physically weak and unwell

B) How does the author make the character seem vulnerable?

Text Mark Evidence - where am I - what am I doing here - there must be some reason why I have found myself walking around…in the middle of…well…nowhere - who am I - is that my voice…is that me - I think time has passed again

sense of confusion or lapse of memory

Go to the next slide for more...

Text Mark Evidence - through the pounding of my head I try and think as hard as I can - think…I need to think - I try to block out the landscape - I try to block out my headache - I block out my hunger and my thirst - I try to concentrate

struggle to focus or concentrate

Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers

Text Mark Evidence - I feel as if this place is not the place to which I belong - it is too hot and too empty to be somewhere I belong - the one shoe on my foot does not look right for a place like this

out of place / ill-equipped

Acceptable Answers

Text Mark Evidence - it is the third question that worries me the most - it is my inability to answer the third question that worries me

anxiety and fear

B) How does the author make the character seem vulnerable?

Text Mark Evidence - a vast expanse of nothingness - night smothers me

small person contrasted with large or powerful things

Text Mark Evidence sounds…a flap of leathery wings, chit-chattering creatures, distant howls, snufflings close by

surrounded by unseen danger / animals

Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers

Text Mark Evidence - I am…screaming, falling - whimpering, sobbing

emotional upset

Text Mark Evidence - don’t leave me out here to die - somebody save me

direct plea for help

Quiz Time

Start

Picture Me

Which image is the best match for ‘scrub’?

Find Me

Find two words that suggest that the land is ‘wide’:

I sit up, my arms wrapped around my aching legs, my chin resting on my knees. I look out over the red, flat land before me. A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky. Then I twist my head and look behind me. The same. A vast expanse of nothingness. No buildings. No cars. No trucks. No bridges. No electricity pylons. No power stations. No railway tracks. No roads. No people. No lost shoe.

2 Discuss then check
1 Discuss then check

expanse

vast

Which One's Right?

A heat-haze horizon blurring the sand and scrub up into the sky. Which answer best completes the sentence? This suggests the view looks…

B) clear.

A) foggy.

C) desolate.

D) distorted.

Tick Me

Night smothers me. What is this an example of?

Tick two:

A) hyperbole

B) metaphor

Check

C) personification

Click if correct

A) hyperbole

Feedback: Who did what well?

FindRead Talk

EchoRead

ChoralRead

ReadingStrategy

Answers & Text Marks

Other...

To be a book lover, you could...

connect with characters.

Reveal

Consider how the characters feel and what you'd do in their situation.

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 Song Walker by Zillah Bethell © 2023 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.