Other Brother

Connecting to prior knowledge

Before you begin teaching this unit, read Other Brother to determine which activities will be suitable for your class. Keep in mind that the story explores family breakdown and mental health, as well as bullying and displacement. Please be mindful of your students’ needs, and consult/provide additional resources and support if anyone in your class has a close association with these experiences.

The following activities are based on the 2012 edition of Other Brother published by Walker Books Australia. The UK edition features different colours, fonts, and author/title placements on the front cover. It also bears a provocation – ‘You can’t choose your family’ – that is absent from the Australian version of the book.

Introduce Other Brother by slowly revealing the cover from top to bottom. First, reveal the lines: ‘From the award-winning author of Cannily, Cannily and Change the Locks’. Ask students if they have heard of these titles, or if they know of any awards for children’s books (they may be familiar with the CBCA Book of the Year Awards).

Next, reveal Simon French’s name. Discuss the font size and type, and ask students whether they think Simon French is the name of the book OR its author. They might express the view that a book’s title is often positioned at the top of the cover in large, salient font.

As you reveal the cover image, ask students to consider why the child’s face is not visible. Are they facing the viewer? Students can stand in the same position and experiment with arm and hand placement. Also note the prominence of the envelope in the centre of the image. You might discuss what the child is doing with the envelope, and the mystery of what is inside and who it is for.

After revealing the rest of the cover, discuss the possible meaning of the title and why it is positioned at the bottom in a different font and size to the author’s name. Revisit this and other predictions after reading the endorsement from Ernie Tucker on the back cover (also available on the listing for the e-book).

Locate and display some of French’s other novels and compare the cover images. You might like to point out the visual similarities between Other Brother, Change the Locks and Cannily, Cannily. Alternatively, display images of the covers as they appear online, OR have the books available in the classroom to encourage students to choose them for independent reading. Examples include:

• Where in the World (2002)
• Change the Locks (1991)
• Cannily, Cannily (1981)

Allocate the blurbs for each of these novels, as well as the blurb for Other Brother, to small groups of students. Each group will read their allocated blurb and identify the types of character(s), setting, possible themes, and other elements that may be present in the book. If they need more information, they can consult some short reviews:

Once students have made some notes, use the jigsaw strategy to reform the groups, placing ‘experts’ on different books together. Have students share their findings within their new groups, and explore whether any connections can be made between French’s novels.

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Exploring the text in context of our community, school, and ‘me’

As a class, read French’s bio. Use Google Earth to locate the Hawkesbury region in NSW, where – according to his publisher – French works as a teacher. Then use Google Earth to locate your school. Compare and contrast the landscapes within and beyond Sydney, and discuss whether this might have influenced French’s writing. Point out that he was born in 1957 and spent much of his childhood in Sydney’s west; how was greater western Sydney different at this time compared to today? The following resources may be useful for your own understanding:

• .id (informed decisions): Western Sydney (LGA) – see ‘settlement history’
• The Dictionary of Sydney: Western Sydney (archived) – see ‘Postwar “Western Sydney”’

Discuss the meaning of the title Other Brother (interestingly, this was changed to My Cousin’s Keeper in the US). Ask students to write a definition of a ‘brother’ from their cultural perspective:

• Most English speakers will understand the term ‘brother’ to mean a male sibling who shares at least one parent with another child. There are many types of brothers: twin brothers, half-brothers, step-brothers, foster brothers, adoptive brothers, godbrothers, and brothers-in-law. The important point is that each family gets to choose how their relationship structure is defined.
• In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the term ‘brother’ also extends to male cousins. This may be a good opportunity to explore First Nations kinship and family dynamics, and how concepts of ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘cousin’, ‘Aunty’, and ‘Uncle’ differ from non-Indigenous cultures.
• If they are comfortable to do so, you can invite students to talk about the dynamics in their own families as a way of understanding what ‘family’ means across diverse cultures.

Follow this by conducting a ‘Find Someone Who’ activity to tap into students’ own experiences. Start by asking them to find someone who has a brother; they will need to walk around the classroom and question their peers, recording the names AND answers of everyone they talk to. After a set amount of time, change the prompt. Repeat this process until students have recorded responses for some or all of the following prompts:

Now read Chapter 1 to the class. Ask students to think-pair-share to make connections to their own experiences, the title of the book, and other features/information on the front and back covers. Also discuss who French’s target audience might be.

Reread Chapter 1, this time using think-alouds to model how to ask questions and make statements. For example:

Model the process of recording questions and identifying whether they have already been answered in the chapter, OR if the book will answer them later.

Repeat the think-aloud at pivotal points in the story and continue to refine students’ understanding of character development.

In Chapter 1, French introduces several characters and reveals some of their thoughts, actions, and reactions. Split the class into five groups and assign each group a character. Students will track their assigned character through Chapter One, noting what French chooses to tell us AND what inferences we can draw about that person.

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Rich assessment task

Read Chapter 2 to the class. Introduce the concept of a reading portfolio as a place for students to record their questions about the story. Now break the class into small groups and direct them to reread Chapter 2. As they do so, they should record any questions they have about that chapter on sticky notes; collect these and display them for everyone to see. Then, working independently, students will write their own questions in their reading portfolio, identifying if/when the question is answered and providing evidence from the text. This can be repeated for each chapter as you progress through the book. The following template may be useful:

Finish by asking students to form pairs and list any connections between Chapters 1 and 2 of Other Brother, and what they know OR what they have learned about French and his other books. Invite the pairs to share their connections by displaying and discussing them in class.

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Responding to the text

Read Other Brother to the class across several sessions, using think-alouds to model the process of questioning and making connections. If books are available, encourage students to read independently and use sticky notes to record any connections and questions they think of. Be aware that certain events in the text may be triggering for some students, and be prepared to offer additional support if needed.

After reading the text, provide students with a list of character attributes or qualities such as:

Students may like to add other attributes to this list. You can then direct them to draw up three tables – one each for Kieran, Bon, and Julia – to identify how often these characters exhibit different traits. A template has been provided.

Students can fill out the tables individually, then form small groups to share their responses, reach agreement (or not!), and identify supporting evidence from the text. Ask the class which character they think changed the most throughout the story, and which character they identified with or considered the most relatable.

Following this, you might like to ask what all three characters have in common. Guide the discussion to consider broader themes of belonging or not belonging, and being an insider or outsider. Remind students to consider French’s other books as well as his own background, and encourage them to record any connections they can think of.

Revisit students’ previous work and continue to build on the points of discussion from earlier in this unit.

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Exploring plot, character, setting, and theme

Remind students of the features of French’s other books, particularly his focus on rural and fringe settings. Authors are often intimately familiar with the settings they write about, and provide opportunities for the reader to visualise buildings, rooms, landscapes, and climates.

Guide students to draw a map of the town in which Other Brother is set. They can add details as they reread sections of the book, beginning with Guthrie Street (p. 16) in Chapter 2. Other examples from the book include:

Once they have completed their maps, have students mark the locations that are critical to plot and character development. Repeat the mapping exercise for Kieran’s bedroom and the school.

Ask students if they can find any other connections to setting in the text. Read the last two paragraphs on p. 74; link this to other references to Bon’s drawings throughout the book, including on the first half of p. 212. Invite students to discuss the connections between the setting and Bon’s drawings, and the shift between the ‘real’ and ‘imagined’ as a way for him to escape the pressures in his life. Bon’s drawings also become a key way for Kieran to understand and appreciate his cousin.

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Share or brainstorm some themes that are relevant to Other Brother. Ask students to revisit their town, school, and bedroom maps; working in pairs, they will locate places where themes such as friendship and bullying are developed.

Now allocate sections of the text to small groups of students. Ask each group to reread their allocated scene, then take on the roles of the characters involved and create a freeze frame of a key moment (one group member may act as a director, if needed). Examples include:

• Julia talking to Kieran after the skirt incident (pp. 146–147)
• Kieran and Bon riding through town in the middle of the night (pp. 181–184)
• the television crew interviewing the kids at school (pp. 205–208)
• Bon and Kieran talking at the lookout (pp. 239–242)

Give the groups time to prepare their freeze frame before presenting it to the rest of the class. Their peers can guess which scene they are reenacting. Tap the frozen students on the shoulder and ask them questions about their role in the scene. For example:

• How are you feeling?
• Have your feelings changed because of this situation?
• Are you worried about anyone? If so, why?
• What do you want to happen next?

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Rich assessment task

Ask students to form pairs or small groups and choose ONE of the scenes from the freeze frame activity. They should discuss the following:

• How would you feel in this situation?
• What do you think should have happened?
• What would you do if you were involved?

Afterwards, students can independently compose a written response describing how they would feel AND what actions they would take if they found themselves in the same situation as the characters from Other Brother. It may be helpful to explore the notion of perspective, or seeing things from alternative points of view, before students begin (Learning For Justice also has a useful classroom resource on showing empathy).

Remind students to continue adding to their reading portfolio as they progress through the book. Monitor their progress, particularly as they add evidence about how their questions are answered.

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Examining text structure and organisation

Other Brother consists of 20 chapters. After reading the entire book, ask students to estimate the duration of the story. Get them to write their answers on sticky notes (e.g. two weeks, six months, three years), then collect the responses. Read them out and display them for future reference.

Split the class into pairs or small groups, and allocate each pair/group one to two chapters (you may need to adjust the numbers according to the size of your class). Students will reread their assigned chapter(s), recording the timeframe of the events and any evidence for this. You could model this process using Chapter 1, which specifies that two years pass before the beginning of Chapter 2 (p. 15).

Afterwards, each pair/group will share their findings with the rest of the class, including any evidence for the passage of time in their assigned chapter(s). Work together to add up all the timeframes and compare the result to student’s original predictions. Discuss whether these were initially correct, and/or whether they were surprised by the results. Also discuss how French establishes time in his writing (e.g. direct references to time of day, movement between settings,  references to mealtimes).

Create a timeline of events using a tool like Timepath, OR sticky notes and butcher’s paper. Identify when French slows down or speeds up time and discuss why he would do this.

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Examining grammar and vocabulary

Together, reread the beginning of Chapter 1 (p. 7) and ask students to share what they notice about the language. Among other features, they may identify that the text is written in the first person. If you ask them how they know this, they may refer to the pronoun ‘I’. Record all instances of ‘I’ on the page and discuss how French uses first person narration as a tool to directly connect the reader to Kieran’s speech, thoughts, and feelings. Ask students what effect they think this has on the reader.

Tell students that pronouns also have an important function in making links across a text. Together, identify the personal pronouns (we, he, she, him) and possessive pronouns (his, my, her) on p. 7 and write down who or what is being referred to. This works best if you use a different colour for each character (e.g. blue for Bon; green for Kieran; red for Mum). Some of these connections may not be immediately obvious, as Bon’s name and connection to Kieran are not mentioned until the third paragraph on p. 8. Point out the repetition of the word ‘my’ and discuss what this says about Kieran’s feelings towards Bon at the start of the book.

In pairs or small groups, students will identify the pronouns and connections to each character on p. 8, para. 4. They should then comment on how the use of the first person, the links created by the pronouns, and the repetition of pronouns help to establish the relationship between Kieran and Bon.

Split the class into two halves. Assign one half to identify Kieran’s feelings throughout Chapter 1 and the other half to identify Bon’s feelings. Students will need a broad vocabulary for this activity; a feelings wheel may come in handy. Chapter 1 spans eight and a half pages (pp. 7–15), so you might advise them to form smaller groups and tackle two to three pages each. They can then work together to fill out the following table for their assigned character:

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Rich assessment task

Revisit the discussion about brothers and the ‘Find Someone Who’ activity from the beginning of the unit (Literature > Exploring the Text in Context of Our Community, School, and Me). Recap the different views of what a brother is, and ask students if they can now explain what French meant by the title Other Brother.

Now ask students to reread Chapters 1 and 20. Provide them with a list of statements about the development of Kieran and Bon’s relationship, and ask them whether the statements are true or false. For example:

• Kieran and Bon didn’t like each other at the beginning of the novel.
• Bon was jealous of Kieran.
• Kieran and Bon did not become best friends.
• Kieran and Bon would be ‘brothers’ forever.
• Kieran and Bon are believable characters.

Encourage students to justify their decisions with reference to the text. Alternatively, you could split the class into small groups and have them film a two-minute elevator pitch outlining their ideas and justifications for each statement.

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Writing in the first person helps readers to view events through the narrator’s eyes and understand their thoughts and feelings. Remind students of how French uses the first person, along with repeated personal and possessive pronouns, to show Kieran’s initial reaction to Bon at the start of Other Brother. Ask students if they can recall a time when they had similar feelings; invite them to share if they are comfortable to do so. Then ask them to write about this experience (real OR imagined) using first person narration to place the reader in their shoes. Encourage them to use personal and possessive pronouns and repetition to demonstrate their feelings. Regroup as a class to discuss and share responses.

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Have students form small groups and select a new passage from Other Brother (this should be different to the scene they selected for their freeze frame; see Responding > Exploring Plot, Character, Setting, and Theme). They are to reread their chosen section of text and work together to develop a reader’s theatre. Each group will produce a script and assign characters and/or a narrator. If using a narrator, they should decide if this will be Kieran, given that the story is told from his first-person perspective.

Once students have developed and practised their scripts, they should perform them for the rest of the class. Props and staging are not required; the emphasis is on the use of voice and gestures to convey meaning to the audience.

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Show students some examples of postcards. Explain that, prior to smartphones and social media, people used postcards to send their friends and families short messages or greetings from their holiday destinations.

Reread the final pages of Other Brother (pp. 243–244) and discuss why Julia chose to send Bon and Kieran a postcard. What might she have written? Remind students that postcards have limited space. You could also discuss what would not have been on the postcard (i.e. is there anything Julia would want to protect or keep private?).

Use Canva or a similar platform to design Julia’s postcard. Try to recreate the imagery described on p. 243. Complete the postcard by jointly constructing Julia’s message to the boys. Then have students form pairs to design their own postcard (physical or digital) and respond to Julia as either Bon or Kieran. They could then exchange postcards with another pair and create a second postcard from Julia in response to the message they have received. They should think carefully about the image on this new postcard and consider whether Julia might have moved to another place OR remained by the beach.

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Rich assessment task

Ask students to imagine that, after a few months away, Julia returns to town. Set up a progressive brainstorm by writing questions on pieces of butcher’s paper and arranging them around the classroom. Groups of students can then respond to the questions for a set amount of time before rotating to a new station. Suggested questions include:

• In what setting would Julia reunite with Kieran and Bon?
• How would Kieran feel about seeing Julia again?
• How would Bon feel about seeing Julia again?
• How would Julia feel about seeing Kieran and Bon?
• What would Julia be expecting to happen?

Display and discuss the responses, then ask students to individually compose a scene in which Julia, Kieran, and Bon meet again. They can write from any character’s point of view, but their piece should meet the following criteria:

• The scene is written in the first person
• The characters meet in a familiar setting in town
• The feelings of all characters are evident (either literally or inferred)
• The characters are believable

After writing and proofreading their work, students can self- and peer-assess their responses based on the above criteria.

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