Kaspar by Michael Morpurgo - Teaching Resources (KS2)

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Kaspar Prince of Cats This is one of 16 activities to try during Michael Morpurgo Month, each of which explores an extract from a different book written by the world famous author. The books are grouped into four themes: natural world, animal adventures, tales retold, and times of war. All the activities can be usedt as either a quick starter or a longer lesson and provide a great opportunity to develop children’s comprehension and vocabulary - not to mention a love of Michael Morpurgo’s books.

Kaspar Prince of Cats

Kaspar the cat first came to the Savoy Hotel in a basket and Johnny Trott was the bellboy who carried all of Countess Kandinsky’s things to her room.

But Johnny didn’t expect to end up with Kaspar on his hands forever. Pretty soon, events are set in motion that will take Johnny - and Kaspar - all around the world, surviving theft, shipwreck and rooftop rescues along the way. Because everything changes with a cat like Kaspar around. After all, he’s Prince Kaspar Kandinsky, Prince of Cats, as far as anyone knows, the only cat to survive the sinking of the Titanic...

Using the resource This resource shares a scene where Kaspar, prince of the cats, arrives at The Savoy Hotel with his owner, the Countess Kandinsky.

After reading the text, there are suggested discussion activities considering: • Careful reading, making inferences from the text • Author’s craft and effective features of character description through use of effective vocabulary Depending on time and the needs of your class, you may want to work through all of these interrelated activities or focus on just one.

There is also a sheet with a writing challenge based on the extract. For Kaspar Prince of Cats it focuses on narrative point of view. This could be used as a short classroom activity or as homework to consolidate the learning in the teaching session.

After reading and discussing the extract some children may be inspired to read the book itself. You could read it aloud as a class novel or direct children to where they can find a copy to read themselves: the book corner, school library, local library or a local bookshop.

Teacher’s notes for the PowerPoint Slide 2 • Share the front cover and blurb to introduce the book and give context.

• Ask children if anyone has read the book before. Does the blurb make them want to read on?

Slide 3 • Tell the children that 14-year-old Johnny Trott is a bellboy at The Savoy Hotel, an expensive hotel in London. One day he is given the job of carrying Countess Kandinsky’s belongings and her cat into the hotel.

• Read aloud together (either with the

teacher reading aloud and children following, children reading together as a class or children reading together in pairs).

• Ask the children:

- Who is telling the story? (Johnny Trott, a bell boy)

- Who is in charge, Mr Freddie or Johnny? (Mr Freddie, because he clicks at Johnny) - Does the cat like traveling in his basket (no, he is wailing and yowling)

• Ask the children to talk to a partner.

Based on the opening extract, the blurb and the front cover, what do they think will happen next? Share predictions as a class.

Slide 4

• Ask the children for their suggestions

as to what this phrase might mean. Are there any words that they know? Or can the context help them to decide?

• Ask the children whether this is a good

phrase to describe the noise the cat was

making? Challenge them to justify their answers.

• What might it tell you about the cat,

especially the phrase ‘almost human’?

• Ask the children to practise reading the phrase aloud. Ask them whether they think the whole phrase is more powerful than the individual words. Draw out its poetic properties – the rhythm of the sentence, the alliteration (tremulous tunefulness)

Slide 5

• Display the words in the classroom

– either on a working wall or near the whiteboard. Set the class the challenge of using the words in their conversation or writing this week.

Slide 6

• Return to the front cover and blurb.

• Ask the children if they would like to

read Kaspar Prince of Cats having looked at this extract in detail and thought about Michael Morpurgo’s skillful writing.

• Point children to where they can find a

copy (either any copies you have in the classroom, the school library, or suggest the local library or a bookshop).