Stay for Dinner

Connecting to prior knowledge

PAAAR (preview, activate, ask, answer, reflect)

Effective readers continually think of questions before, during, and after reading to assist them to comprehend texts. These questions may be spontaneous and cumulative, with one curiosity leading to the next. They may relate to content, format, language features, organisational structure, themes, events, actions, inferences, predictions, or the author’s intent, OR they may be an attempt to clarify meaning.

When students pose these questions, they are actively engaging with the text as they search for answers. While it will become apparent that not all answers lie in the text, supporting students to self-question is an important reading strategy. This first experience supports learners to engage with ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, and ‘why’ questions based on curiosity and prior knowledge.

Create an anchor chart that lists the prompts you will ask before reading Stay for Dinner with the class. It could look like this:

Respond to the prompts as a class, leaving the ‘reflect’ component until you have read the book. Students could write their questions on sticky notes OR use inside/outside circles to generate dialogic talk. If using the latter method, ask a different question on each rotation rather than repeating the same one.

Now read Stay for Dinner, written by Sandhya Parappukkaran and illustrated by Michelle Pereira, to the class.

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Wow, I never knew!

Re-read Stay for Dinner. Ask students to record any information that was new to them on sticky notes. This may relate to new vocabulary (‘Ammama’ or ‘sadhya’), a cultural practice (eating with specific items such as banana leaves), or even the use of literary devices (onomatopoeia).

Prepare a large sheet of butcher’s paper and ask students to group their sticky notes on the sheet according to topic or theme. For example, responses about new vocabulary can go in one group, responses about characters’ actions can go in another, and so on. Once all the sticky notes have been placed in groups, ask students to give each group a suitable label. This could be ‘interesting words’, ‘how characters eat’, etc. If questions arise throughout this process, write them down on another coloured sticky note or highlight them some way so that students are aware of the answers they are seeking when re-reading the story.

Display the butcher’s paper in the classroom so that students can refer to it in subsequent lessons.

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

Tuning in our thinking

NOTE: For the purpose of tracking page numbers, the first page of the story is considered p. 1.

Explain to students that you are going to read Stay for Dinner and annotate your own connections based on your experiences. Do this by listing page numbers and noting your own reaction. This could include times when you felt the same as Reshma, times when you enjoyed the same foods, and so on.

This next experience can be done individually or in small groups. Provide students with a blank connections grid (PDF, 45KB). Ask them to note instances when they connected to a character, event, response, or action in Stay for Dinner. They should do this using a single coloured marker or pencil. If working in small groups, remind them how to synthesise their ideas OR suggest that they place ticks next to the responses with which multiple people connected.

Now ask students to select another coloured marker/pencil and circle the pages where the words helped them to visualise or create mental images (e.g. the description of Reshma’s family dinner on p. 1, the term ‘keepie-uppies’ on p. 3).

Share the responses as a class. Give students time to discuss any similarities and differences. Refer to the previous experience (Wow, I Never Knew!) to see if any questions have been answered.

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Story detectives

NOTE: Reshma is the main character in Stay for Dinner. Her name is not mentioned in the story, but can be found on the back cover of the book.

Ask students to record a theory about Reshma and what she is feeling about her friends staying for dinner. For example: ‘Reshma is worried that the food her family eats is too different to the food her friends eat.’ Students can write their theories in their workbooks OR on sticky notes.

Re-read Stay for Dinner and ask students to consider the evidence for Reshma’s feelings (as identified by them). They should record at least TWO pieces of evidence for why Reshma feels the way she does.

Have students walk around the classroom. When you say ‘stop’, they should buddy up with the nearest person and present their ideas. Allow time for each person to share their theory and evidence. Repeat this process at least three times so that students are exposed to a range of responses.

Afterwards, ask students to review and refine their theories, adding any other ideas or information that may help to explain Reshma’s feelings.

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Rich assessment task

The previous learning experiences have allowed students to delve into the questions they have about the characters, intentions, themes, actions, and events in Stay for Dinner. Now they are going to explore the things that impact them as they develop their own writing identity.

As a class, visit Sandhya Parappukkaran’s website to learn more about the author and her writing journey (you can also learn how to pronounce her name).

Introduce Parappukkaran’s other books: The Boy Who Tried to Shrink his Name*, Amma’s Sari, and Words That Taste Like Home. Encourage insights and, if possible, locate copies of these books so you can read them to the class (or allow students to explore the books themselves).

* Reading Australia title

Together create a mind map addressing the question: ‘Who is Sandhya Parappukkaran as a writer?’ Use the author’s website, books, and other sources of information to make notes on what she likes to write about, where she gets her inspiration, etc. You can find some useful links under More Resources. Keep a copy of this mind map for future reference.

Now ask students to create their own mind maps addressing the question: ‘Who am I as a writer?’ You could do this using a platform like Little Authors or StoryJumper. Work with students to articulate the success criteria for this task.

At the conclusion of this experience, provide each child with a scrapbook or exercise book. This will act as their seed journal. Encourage them to add their newly completed mind maps to the front of their journals.

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Responding to the text

Playful provocations

Re-read Stay for Dinner, asking students to pay close attention to the way speech is delivered throughout the story. As you read, students could add reflections to their seed journals (see Literature > Rich Assessment Task). Not all speech in the book contains a dialogue tag; see for example pp. 5, 10, and 14, when Reshma’s friends show her to use different utensils.

Discuss how we know which parts of the text are spoken and which parts are narrated.

Now share what a simple script can look like. There are many examples available online (e.g. Arts on the Move). Ask students to rewrite the speech they have identified as a script. They should include relevant stage directions based on the text and illustrations. For example:

CHARLOTTE: Fork in left, knife in right.

CHARLOTTE picks up the knife and fork and shows RESHMA how to hold them.

You could provide a range of props to support this playful experience, including plastic/bamboo cutlery, chopsticks, toy food, paper plates, etc. Support students to act out the scripts they have crafted. They could innovate on these examples or even create entirely new ones.

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Sound effects

Now direct students’ attention to the onomatopoeia in Stay for Dinner. They will notice that it occurs in both the text and the illustrations. Ask students to imagine that they are in the story with Reshma and can hear Ammama burping, cutlery tinging, chopsticks clacking, and spaghetti swishing. Do they hear different sounds? You could conduct this experience like a guided meditation, describing everything in Reshma’s environment and using props to simulate different sounds.

Have students record their ideas about the sounds in the story, reminding them that they need to be able to write the sounds down so that others can read them.

Point out that Sandhya Parappukkaran has NOT used onomatopoeia on every single page. Have students make suggestions for other parts of the story, writing them on sticky notes and placing them on the relevant pages. Then re-read the story with the additional sound effects. Ask students if the excessive use of onomatopoeia enhances or distracts from the story.

Create an anchor chart with a definition of onomatopoeia and some tips for using it effectively in writing. Students could create their own mini anchor charts in their seed journals.

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Exploring plot, character, setting, and theme

Action and reaction

Re-read Stay for Dinner and encourage students to notice the moments when Reshma feels or reacts as if there is a problem. We can imagine her heartbeat quickening when she is worried and slowing when her friends demonstrate inclusion and acceptance.

Prompts for discussion could include:

• How is Reshma reacting?
• How are Charlotte, Phoebe, and Leo reacting?
• What are the characters’ faces doing in the illustrations?
• Does Reshma say anything to demonstrate how she is feeling?
• Do the other characters say anything to share how they are feeling?

Ask students to find a problem in the book that includes both an action and a reaction. Record it like so:

Explain to students that there is a formula here: action + reaction = what happens in the story!

Having multiple copies of the book available will support this learning experience.

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Impact of author choices

Revisit the ‘Who is Sandhya Parappukkaran as a writer?’ mind map from the previous Rich Assessment Task. Tell students that they will be diving deeper into the choices an author makes to position us as readers.

First, discuss point of view and how we can work this out by identifying whether the story is presented in the first, second or third person. If students need a refresher, you can review it through many examples in quality literature or online (e.g. BBC Bitesize). You can also re-read Stay for Dinner and ask students to identify the pronouns that tell us which point of view is being presented.

Explain to students that they will be identifying the narrator of the story and analysing the perspective this narrator offers. In other words, they will be asked to explain why Parappukkaran chose to narrate Stay for Dinner from Reshma’s first-person perspective.

Ask students to create a mind map that responds to some key prompts:

• Who is the narrator?
• What is the narrator’s identity (personality, cultural background, language, interests, curiosities)?

Students can show their thinking about the connections between these pieces of information by drawing lines or arrows. They could even draw connections to the original mind map about Parappukkaran. Ask students how these connections assist with comprehension.

Facilitate a whole class discussion by exploring different parts of the text. Prompts could include:

• How might this scene have been different if another character provided the narration?
• How does the point of view change how we experience the story? What would the language sound like if it was presented in the third person?
• Why might Parappukkaran have chosen to write in the first person?
• How does the narrator’s perspective position us (e.g. what emotions do we experience)?
• How does Reshma’s personality impact the reader?

Create a class anchor chart defining the different points of view. Then ask students to record a description of first-, second-, and third-person narration in their seed journals.

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Rich assessment task

My advice is …

When reading, we often want to provide advice to the character(s) in the story. This is because the author has ensured that we feel empathy, hope, concern, and a range of other emotions towards their characters. Re-read Stay for Dinner and ask students to notice when Reshma acts or thinks in a way that is similar and/or different to the way they would act or think. This is an opportunity to share lessons learned, OR lessons that have been explained to them by their peers, family, community, etc. Remind students to look for a pattern of repeated behaviours so that they can come up with advice that remains relevant throughout the story.

Ask students to consider:

• What is Reshma doing on this page that concerns you OR that you are drawn to?
• Is there a mistake that Reshma is making throughout the story?
• If you could jump into the story right now, what would you say to Reshma?

Have students write a letter to Reshma that provides her with advice to address the area of concern they have identified.

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Examining text structure and organisation

Filing facts

Authors include information to support their main ideas. Re-read Stay for Dinner and ask students to consider if the information on each page is important or interesting. If you have multiple copies of the text, students can follow along and use different coloured sticky notes to differentiate the important parts from the interesting parts.

Ask students to choose a section of the text, strip away the interesting information, and read the remaining words to a partner. The partner will provide feedback as to whether they can visualise the characters, actions, and events based on the information they have received. Discussion prompts could include:

• How do you know if information is important or interesting to a story?
• Does the text you are looking at link to the main idea of the book?
• Why is some information interesting but not important?

Regroup as a class and discuss what happened when the interesting information was redacted. Create an anchor chart that explains the role of important and interesting information. Students should also include this explanation in their seed journals.

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Lessons learned

Up until now, the learning sequences in this unit have mainly focused on Reshma. Students will now turn their attention to the other characters in Stay for Dinner and how they provide guidance or act as role models for Reshma.

Re-read Stay for Dinner and ask students to look for older and wiser characters who might have something to teach Reshma. Note that this may not be explicitly stated in words, but rather modelled in behaviours. As you read, ask students to raise their hand or touch their nose (any action will work) when they believe someone is offering guidance or setting a positive example for Reshma. Students can then record the example on a sticky note.

After reading, place students in small groups and ask them to group their sticky notes as they did for the Wow, I Never Knew! experience (see Literature > Connecting to Prior Knowledge). Discussion prompts could include:

• Who in this story is older and wiser than Reshma?
• Does anyone in the story offer guidance to Reshma, either explicitly (in words) or implicitly (through behaviours)?
• Can you put this guidance into your own words?
• What is the lesson learned here?

Have students set up a table by folding a page in half, labelling the two columns, and adding their ideas. It could look like this:

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Examining grammar and vocabulary

Sounds sensational!

Sandhya Parappukkaran has used several literary devices in Stay for Dinner. Students have already explored onomatopoeia (see Responding > Responding to the Text > Sound Effects) and will now move on to exploring alliteration. Ask them if they can define and/or list examples of this technique. Map their responses on a whiteboard, large piece of paper, or online mind map (e.g. MindMup).

Now have students identify examples of alliteration from Stay for Dinner, such as:

• ‘Squishing splashy curry’ (p. 1)
• ‘pickles and pappadums’ (p. 1)
• ‘clickety-clack’ (p. 10)
• ‘Sauce splatters’ (p. 14)
• ‘blush like a banana blossom’ (p. 22)
• ‘Rice rains’ (p. 23)
• ‘Sambar splashes’ (p. 23)

Working in small groups with copies of the book, students will come up with their own examples of alliteration to add to Stay for Dinner. They should write these on sticky notes and place them on the relevant pages (e.g. a ‘plump pumpkin’ on p. 6, ‘delicious dumplings’ on p. 10). They can also come up with original examples inspired by the themes or message of the book (e.g. ‘crisp croissants’, ‘slippery soup spoon’), and place them on the inside front or back cover.

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PQC (praise, question, check)

Have each group join up with another group and share their new alliterations. Ask the groups to provide feedback using the following framework:

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Bringing it to life

Parappukkaran also uses personification throughout Stay for Dinner. Gather any props you used during the Playful Provocations experience (see Responding > Responding to the Text) and add a range of utensils and serving dishes, such as sujeo, fondue forks, gravy boats, corn holders, a tagine pot, etc. You could even ask students to bring in some (child-safe) utensils/dishes from home to include in this experience.

Re-read Stay for Dinner, asking students to listen for examples when the author describes something non-human using human characteristics. This might include:

• Various foods ‘jostling for space’ (p. 1)
• Peas ‘escaping’ (p. 6)
• Chopsticks ‘gathering’ (p. 10)
• Dumplings ‘skipping’ (p. 10)
• Forks ‘spinning’ (p. 14)
• Meatballs ‘bouncing’ (p. 14)

Ask each student to select a utensil or dish from the prop collection. Allow time for them to explore the prop and create a sentence that uses personification to describe how it might come to life. Alternatively, if props are not available, have students explore an online catalogue for a kitchenware or grocery store and select an item as stimulus for their writing.

Finish by creating an anchor chart about alliteration and personification. Students can copy the anchor chart into their seed journals.

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Rich assessment task

Getting the lowdown!

Ask students to come up with some questions they can use to collect information about their family’s favourite foods. They should draft a set of open-ended questions (i.e. questions that will yield more than a ‘yes’ or ‘no’) in their seed journals. For example:

• What is your favourite food and when did it become your favourite?
• What rituals or routines are associated with food in your family?
• Can you describe a strong memory associated with your favourite food?
• What recipes do you really enjoy cooking and/or eating?

Students should share their draft questions with a partner for feedback, and make any suggested changes. Make sure you review the questions before they are finalised. Students can then take their questions home and interview one or more family members, recording the responses in their seed journals.

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Personal issues and social actions

In Stay for Dinner, we encounter Reshma’s personal issues. She is concerned that the differences in her family will perhaps confuse her friends. This personal issue can reflect a bigger social issue around acceptance and cultural difference. In this next experience, students will identify Reshma’s personal issues and consider if there is a bigger social issue at play.

Re-read the book and ask students to consider what personal issues Reshma experiences. Have the class form inside/outside circles, similar to the earlier PAAAR experience (see Literature > Connecting to Prior Knowledge). The outside circle will identify one of Reshma’s personal issues, and the inside circle will connect this to a bigger social issue. The outside circle will then rotate two places. Repeat this process several times so that students suggest four or five social issues. You could then trade roles and have the inside circle suggest the personal issues and the outside circle the social issues.

Suggest to students that the name of the book, Stay for Dinner, could be part of a slogan that addresses a social issue and encourages change across the community. Demonstrate how the themes discussed in the inside/outside circles can be expanded into slogans. For example:

• Stay for dinner: get to know your community!
• Stay for dinner: connect with friends and have fun!
• Stay for dinner: be yourself and be proud!

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From start to end!

Ask students how the book starts and ends. Did they notice that the book starts with Reshma saying that she loves dinnertime with her family, and ends with the same statement (with the addition of her friends)? Discuss why this is important to the story and why Sandhya Parappukkaran may have chosen to do this. Wrapping up a story by demonstrating the main character’s growth often endears them to the reader.

Other discussion prompts could include:

• What else could Reshma say to wrap up the story?
• What are the last words you would want to hear from Reshma?
• Could another character provide the final words of the story?
• What is the main point of the story? Has it been addressed in the final words?

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Rich assessment task

Students will weave together their learning over the course of the unit by creating a one-page text that introduces their family’s favourite recipe. Using their seed journals, which will contain notes about literary devices and the responses from their family interviews, students will draft and then publish a piece of writing that describes their chosen recipe and its significance within their family.

Remind students to:

• Write in the first person
• Use alliteration
• Use personification
• Include onomatopoeia
• Include information from their family interviews
• Include a slogan about a social issue (‘Stay for dinner: [slogan here]’)

Students’ writing can be published in a class book and added to your class and/or school library.

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