War Horse Lesson 9: Top thorn - PowerPoint

Lesson Nine of the 'War Horse' series invites students to delve deeper into Michael Morpurgo's poignant narrative, focusing on the character of Topthorn. The lesson's primary objectives are to encourage students to make predictions about the concluding part of the novel, to engage with the text by reading and discussing chapters 13 and 14, and to craft a detailed character profile of Topthorn. As the lesson begins, students are prompted to contemplate the feelings and potential fate of Joey and Topthorn, who are depicted as being tasked with the arduous work of hauling heavy artillery guns for the German army.

Throughout the session, students are instructed to pay particular attention to the characterisation of Topthorn, analysing the narrative up to the end of chapter 14. They are tasked with compiling all the information they've gathered about Topthorn, considering Morpurgo's portrayal and the horse's relationship with Joey. To aid in constructing their character profile, students are provided with sentence starters to help articulate their thoughts and impressions. As a plenary, the students read their paragraphs aloud to the class, opening the floor for constructive feedback, discussing the strengths of their work and exploring opportunities for enhancement.