My Brother Ben

Connecting to prior knowledge

Outside the book

Display the front cover of My Brother Ben. Talk about the different elements students can see (e.g. a tree, some water, a bird, two children – one jumping in the water, one with a fishing rod). Your copy may have three award stickers indicating that this is a CBCA Notable Book, a Queensland Literary Award Finalist, and a NSW Literary Award Winner.

Ask students what they think about when they see these elements combined with the title. Have them discuss their ideas with a partner.

Point out the name Peter Carnavas, who is acknowledged as the award-winning author of The Elephant. Ask if anyone knows this book and, if so, whether that gives them any clues as to what to expect from My Brother Ben in terms of content or writing style.

Now read the endorsement from Morris Gleitzman:

For everyone whose brother is a hero, even if they don’t know it yet.

Guide a discussion around what it means for Gleitzman to comment on and endorse this book. You may need to familiarise students with him and his work, including his term as Australian Children’s Laureate, if they are not already familiar.

The next activities involve group work. In Year 6, group discussion skills include:

Take some time to review these skills, especially if they are new to the class. You might like to assign each student a role for the upcoming discussion, such as ‘paraphraser’, ‘clarifier’, ‘evaluator’, etc. It may also be useful to have one student act as a facilitator for their group, ensuring that everyone has the time and opportunity to contribute to the discussion.

Break into groups of four to discuss Gleitzman’s endorsement. Prompt students by asking:

• What do you think Gleitzman is saying?
• What is a hero?
• Do you have a brother who is a hero?
• Could a sister or other family member be a hero?

Reconvene as a whole class and invite the small groups to share their thoughts from the discussion.

Now display the back cover of My Brother Ben. Read the blurb (also available on the publisher’s website) and invite students to make connections to their initial thoughts and impressions of the book, as well as share any new expectations they might have.

Read the final sentence, which is printed in a different font:

A timeless story of birds and boats, and of brotherly love that is bigger than a wedge-tailed eagle, bigger than the sky.

Place students back in their groups to discuss this statement.

Finish by asking the whole class:

• Do the visuals and text on the front and back covers intrigue you? Why or why not?
• What aspect of the cover did you find most intriguing (e.g. the visuals, the blurb, Gleitzman’s quote)?
• What type of text do you think this is? Why?
• Does this book remind you of anything else you have read? If so, what?
• Can you identify any themes that might be in this book?
• Is there anything else you have noticed that has made you interested to read this book?

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Inside the book

Open the book and display the endpapers. Ask students what they are thinking now.

Look closely at the birds and ask if anyone can identify them (can they spot the ibis, kookaburra, and magpie?). Create a class chart to record some of the bird names. Display this prominently so you can add to it as students progress through the book.

Turn to the page titled ‘Praise for My Brother Ben’ and read the endorsements aloud. Gleitzman’s has already been discussed. Place students back in their groups and allocate the remaining endorsements from Glenda Millard, Meg McKinlay, and Karen Foxlee. These are all authors with whom students may be familiar.

Ask the groups to discuss and consider the impact of these statements:

• Do they change how you feel about the text? If so, how?
• How do statements like these prepare you to read a text?

Play this short video in which Carnavas introduces My Brother Ben. He says the book is about birds, boats, and brothers. Have students discuss in their groups:

• What are you wondering about now?
• Did the author say something that makes you want to read his book? If so, what?
• Are you sure or unsure that this book will interest you? Why?
• How might the topics of birds, boats, and brothers intersect?

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

Tell students that My Brother Ben is set in Queensland. The blurb mentions ‘Cabbage Tree Creek’ and ‘the Jumping Tree’. Ask students to think about the place where they live. If it was the setting for a story, what features might be important?

Work together to list some of the features of the places where students live (e.g. a local park, a shopping centre, a landmark). Display the list somewhere in the classroom so you can refer back and compare it to the book.

Now ask students to make a personal list of activities they do in these places. With whom do they do these activities – family members, friends, or other people in their lives? Collect the lists for future reference.

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Rich assessment task

Read the Prologue, ‘A Strange Feathered Thing’ (pp. 1–7), to the class. Pause for a moment after the first line, then read on. Ask:

• Does the prologue set the scene for the story?
• Is it important?
• Think about the main points in the prologue:
  • What do you know so far about Luke and Ben?
  • What do you know about their family?
  • ‘All it had wanted to do was fly’ (p. 1) – how did Luke know this?

Individually, students will jot down six points from the prologue that they predict will be important in the rest of the book. Discuss what ideas are already emerging, and what might come next. This can be done using Mindmeister or a similar collaborative tool.

You can also examine the range of formal and informal language in the Prologue. Discuss the following examples, ranking them from most (1) to least (3) formal language, and from closest (1) to greatest (3) social distance:

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Responding to the text

Decide how you will read My Brother Ben. If practical, the language and gentle storytelling would make for an excellent read-aloud over the next four to five weeks. You can stop to engage in various teaching and learning activities along the way.

As you read, add any birds mentioned to your class chart – this will become useful towards the end of the unit.

After reading at least to the end of Chapter 6 (pp. 34–37), start mapping the relationships in the text. Display this work prominently and encourage students to keep adding information as it is revealed.

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Exploring plot, character, setting, and theme

Setting

Luke and Ben live near Cabbage Tree Creek on ‘the outskirts of town’ (p. 18). Together, list any details about this area that Carnavas has revealed. For example:

• The creek is narrow in some parts and wide in others (pp. 11–12)
• There are fish in the creek (p. 15)
• There are lots of birds in the area
• It is surrounded by bushland (pp. 14–15)
• There are lagoons and forests nearby that are good for birdwatching (p. 31)

Point out that Cabbage Tree Creek is a real place in Queensland. Visit the Loose Outdoors website, highlight some interesting points from the text, and view the photos. Together, decide if this is the place Carnavas is describing in the text.

The next activities involve group work. Refer to the discussion skills from the Literature section (under Connecting to Prior Knowledge) and assign roles for the upcoming discussion as needed.

In their original (or in new) groups of four, students will review the places and activities from their shared and individual lists (see Literature > Exploring the Text in Context of Our Community, School, and ‘Me’). Consider any similarities and/or differences with the book. In particular, have them consider:

• What are some popular activities people do in your area?
• What places and activities did your group members describe that you would like to see and/or do?
• If Luke and Ben lived in your area, what would they be doing after school?

Reconvene as a whole class to compare areas and ideas.

Themes

Continue reading at least to the end of Chapter 15 (pp. 74–76). Ask students to identify the themes that have emerged so far. For a snowball share, they can discuss their ideas in pairs and gradually combine until they have a group of eight. Come together as a whole class and record the themes identified. Possibilities include:

• Birds
• Boats
• Brothers
• Family
• Friendship
• Individuality
• Trust

Display the list somewhere in the classroom and invite students to add ideas as you continue reading and discussing the text.

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Rich assessment task

Reread the message from Aunty Gem in the Field Guide to Australian Birds (p. 4). Invite students to discuss the message in groups of three or four. Prompt them to examine Gem’s word choice, particularly her use of verbs (note that she has used the word ‘open’ three times in one sentence).

Now ask students to individually write a reflection on Gem’s words. Prompt them to recall what they first thought of when they read the note. Also ask them to consider what Gem might have meant by ‘dark days’ and ‘the world opens itself’. Stress that this is a personal response to be shared only with the teacher.

Later in the book, Gem tells Luke:

‘You gotta fly your own path, little bird. Do what you want to do.’ (p. 92)

As a class, reflect on what birds might mean to Gem and how she lives her life.

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Examining text structure and organisation

Finish reading My Brother Ben.

Afterwards, ask students to comment on Carnavas’ style, focussing on the structure of the book. It is written in past tense and in the first person. Students would have noticed the short chapters, the small illustration at the beginning of each chapter, and the sketches throughout as different birds are mentioned. Ask:

Do you think birds are used as metaphors in My Brother Ben? If so, how?

Have students think-pair-share before expanding into a whole class discussion.

The bird sketches

Turn through the book, pausing on some of the pages with labelled bird sketches:

Ask:

What do these sketches add to the text?

Once students have had a chance to put forward and discuss their ideas, suggest that the sketches add authenticity. Discuss what this could mean and ask:

• What might Carnavas have been seeking to do by including the sketches?
  • Students may comment on their educational value, or their connection to the book Luke is working on.
• Imagine reading the book without the sketches. What, if anything, would be missing?

Technical language

Another feature of Carnavas’ writing is his use of technical language to describe the landscape and environment. This creates effective imagery (e.g. the ‘deep channels and secret inlets’ on p. 11). Ask students to find other examples of technical language in Carnavas’ descriptions (e.g. ‘the mouth of the creek’ that ‘spilt into the bay’ on p. 43).

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Examining grammar and vocabulary

Figurative language

My Brother Ben is rich in figurative language and description. If multiple copies of the book are available, distribute them to small groups of students and have them identify some examples. Collate their findings and display a list somewhere in the classroom.

If multiple copies are not available, pick out some examples of personification (giving human qualities to non-human things), metaphor (comparing two things by saying one thing is another), and simile (comparing two things by saying one is like another), and have small groups of students discuss and identify each one. Examples include (but are not limited to):

What bird would you be?

Towards the end of the book, Aunty Gem asks everyone what bird they think they would be. Read Chapter 38, ‘Apostlebirds’ (pp. 162–165), aloud to the class.

Together, review the class bird chart (see Literature > Connecting to Prior Knowledge) and add any birds students may have missed from the book. Pose the same question Gem asked:

If you were a bird, what would you be?

Invite students to write a sentence or two to explain their choice, then find/draw a picture of their selected bird. If desired, they can choose a bird that is not mentioned in the book. You can share students’ work digitally using a tool like Flipsnack or similar.

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Rich assessment task

Return to the page of ‘Praise for My Brother Ben’ and highlight the following comment from Meg McKinlay:

I didn’t know I needed a book about brothers, birds and boats; now I wonder how I was ever without it.

Ask students to consider this statement now that they have read the whole book. Do they agree with McKinlay? Why or why not? Working individually, they will write three paragraphs in response to McKinlay’s comment, drawing on their personal understanding of the text.

Next, have each student reflect on their response to the text using the 3-2-1 reflection routine. This process supports students to think about:

• What they know after reading the book
• What lingering questions or puzzles they have about any aspect of the book
• What still challenges them, i.e. something they don’t understand yet

If desired, you can create a discussion board using a tool like Padlet so that students can post a question or challenge they still have. Spend some time sharing ideas around these questions and challenges. Assess students’ understanding of the text as a whole and other connections they make as part of these discussions.

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Recap the themes in My Brother Ben (see Responding > Exploring Plot, Character, Setting, and Theme). Students may mention birds, brothers, family, friendship, and others. Use the ‘what makes you say that?’ routine to encourage them to explain their thinking. For example:

• Ben has a great love of birds, triggered by an encounter with a magpie at the beginning of the book, as well as his aunt’s interest in birdwatching.
• Birds help Luke to deal with his family situation.

As you record students’ ideas, you can probe for more information by asking what quote or moment from the book made them say that.

Bird research

Remind students that there is a bird on the cover (Maggie), birds on the endpapers, and a range of species mentioned throughout the text. Quickly brainstorm any birds students can remember from the book (e.g. emerald dove, pied currawong, royal spoonbill, crested pigeon, brown thornbill, powerful owl), then review the class bird chart from the Literature section (under Connecting to Prior Knowledge).

Place students in groups of four or five and ask them to select a bird from the book to research. Carnavas mentions dozens of species, some being quite common (e.g. the Australian magpie) and others less well-known (e.g. the apostlebird, white-bellied sea eagle, darter, and blue-faced honeyeater).

Encourage students to choose a bird that they would like to know more about. This may be one from their own local area. The following Australian websites will help the groups get started:

• BirdLife Australia – Find a bird
• The Australian Museum – Bird factsheets
• Birds in Backyards – Bird finder
• Australia’s Wonderful Birds

Each group must decide the best way to present their research to teach the rest of the class about their chosen bird. They can choose any multimodal presentation mode, including a PowerPoint, a Padlet or other digital tool, a chart with key points, a Q&A, etc.

Each group will prepare and deliver a three- to five-minute presentation on their chosen bird. Afterwards, invite the class to consider what they thought was the most interesting and persuasive presentation mode.

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Quiz time

Back in groups, invite students to design a quiz based on My Brother Ben and their learning throughout this unit. They should aim to write six questions consisting of fill-in-the-blanks, short answers, multiple choice, or a combination of the three. Remind students to construct their questions and answers carefully, using correct grammar and spelling.

Provide and discuss the following example before breaking into groups:

Ben moved out of the bedroom he and Luke shared because:

a) It had a better view
b) Luke had upset him
c) Their mother made him move

Students should take turns recording the questions, starting with one group member before passing to the next. Alternatively, you can use a collaborative tool like Etherpad to allow group members to collaborate simultaneously.

Once the groups have finalised their questions, have them swap and complete another group’s quiz. Reconvene as a whole class to discuss the most successful questions and why they worked.

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Rich assessment task

In 2022, My Brother Ben won the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature at the NSW Literary Awards. Display and read the first paragraph from the judges’ comments, which describes the text as ‘deftly written’ and ‘well constructed’. Tell students that there are two more paragraphs after this, but do not reveal what they say.

In groups of three, students will discuss what the judges may have said in the rest of their comments. They will then individually write their own two paragraphs to follow on from the first. They should consider what they might say if they were judging this book for a literary award. Prompt them to think about aspects such as:

Encourage students to proofread and edit their work carefully. Invite them to share their writing with a partner or with the rest of the class. Finish by reading the actual judges’ comments and comparing them to what students wrote.

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