Guided Reading

Guided Reading A Muddle Of Mistakes

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The associated New 2014 National Curriculum Reading Objectives are referenced within the reading Assessment Focus buttons below:

AF1 

Explain and comment on the writer’s use of language including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level

Year 3/4

  • Checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context
  • Read books that are structured in different ways

Year 5/6

  • Check that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context
  • Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader

Questions

  • On page 4, what does, ‘Rain comes before the rainbow…’ mean in relation to mistakes?
  • What do you understand by the word ‘Dreamtime’ on page 5?
  • Why do you think the author has used the words’ bobbing and floating’ to describe Fortitude’s ideas on page 5?
  • What do you understand by the phrase, ‘reach for the stars’? (p5)
  • Have you ever seen a ‘dotted line’ before? If so, when?
  • What does the saying, ‘Strike whist the iron is hot’ mean? Why has it been used on page 6?
  • What is a ‘clanger’? (where could you find out in the book if you were unsure?)
  • What are the different words used for ‘Mistake’ in the book?
  • How is the language used in the story ‘playful’? Find examples.
  • Can you find any examples of a subordinate clause embedded in the middle of a sentence? How do you know?
  • What does the phrase, ‘stretching himself and learning new things’ mean on page 9?
  • What does the word ‘flawless’ mean? (p10)
  • What are ‘Feedback and constructive criticism’?
  • Think of an alternative word for ‘drifted’ on page 16.
  • Think of an alternative word for ‘bulged’ on page 23.
  • What does ‘saturated’ mean on page 23 and why is the cloud being described in this way?
  • Find examples of simple, compound and complex sentences. Explain why the sentence is that type- how do you know?
  • Some of the mistakes are mistakes because of incorrect grammar or punctuation- can you spot which ones these are?
  • What sort of character do you think Fortitude is? How has the author created this impression of him?
  • What sort of characters do you think the mistakes are? How has the author created this impression?
  • Has the author created humour anywhere in the story? If so, where and how?
  • What sort of character do you think the ‘Biggest mistake of them all’ is? How has the author created this impression? Do you think this character comes across differently to the other mistakes, if so, why and is this difference important?
  • Is there a part of the story that is more tense? How has the author created the tension?
  • How is the story ‘imaginative’? What does that mean?
  • What is ‘The Ned’? (p30) Why has the author ended the book in this way? What effect does this have on the reader?

  

AF2

Understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts and use quotation and reference to text

New 2014 National Curriculum –

Year 3/4

  • Retrieve and record information from (non-fiction)

Year 5/6

  • Summarise the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph, identifying key details that support the main ideas.

Questions

  • Where does the story take place?
  • What does Fortitude look like?
  • What do the mistakes look like? (Why has this been used to represent them?)
  • Who are the characters in the book?
  • Why were the letters in ‘Riddle’ mischievous?
  • What happened after the mistakes escaped from the box?
  • How many mistakes did Fortitude make (that we know about) in the story? What were they?
  • What was Fortitude’s biggest mistake?
  • Why did the biggest mistake of all shake the other mistakes hands to show there were no hard feelings?
  • What was the result of Fortitude tying his shoe lace too tightly?
  • When they went to find him, how did the mistakes know they would eventually find Fortitude?
  • What happened when the mistakes found Fortitude?
  • Describe what happened when Fortitude wouldn’t listen to the mistakes?
  • What happened that forced Fortitude to listen to the mistakes?
  • Who eventually got Fortitude to listen?
  • What happened when Fortitude learnt from his mistakes?
  • How did Fortitude feel by the end of the story?
  • What was the final mistake in the book?
  • What other words (nonsense or otherwise) can you make by mixing up the letters in RIDDLES? (see p7)

 

AF3

Deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts

New 2014 National Curriculum –

Y3/4 –

  • Draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
  • Predicting what might happen from details stated and implied

Y5/6 –

  • Draw inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings , thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence
  • Predict what might happen from details stated and implied

Questions

  • Describe Fortitude’s reaction/feeling when he saw the mistakes.
  • In what ways does Fortitude show a Growth Mindset and a Fixed Mindset?
  • Why does Fortitude collect his mistakes?
  • On page 6, why are ‘Very serious mistakes’ in a box labelled ‘Private’?
  • Explain why you think the bee is in the story? Does he appear on every page? Why does he appear when he does?
  • Match Fortitude’s feelings / thoughts to parts of the story (how do his feelings change throughout?)
  • If you were to have just 3 pages in the story, which would they be / why?
  • ‘I would like to have Fortitude as a friend.’ Agree or disagree with an opinion. Justify.
  • How do we know Fortitude has learnt from his mistakes?
  • Have you ever had a similar experience to Fortitude? How did you feel?
  • Put yourself in Fortitude’s shoes.
  • Hotseat / interview characters, (Fortitude, banoffee bee, mistakes, the biggest mistake of them all, Riddles with legs)
  • Who do you know who is like Fortitude? Why are they like him?
  • Is red the best colour for the ‘Biggest Mistake of them All’? If so, why? Would you have used a different colour?
  • If Fortitude hadn’t listened to the mistakes, how could the story have ended?
  • What evidence do you have for Fortitude’s feelings at any point in the story?
  • What do you think ‘The Biggest Mistake of them All’ is like? What evidence do you have? Justify your answer.
  • Simple comprehension questions
  • What do you think is happening on page 5? What do you think it means/ is about? (interpret)
  • What happened on page 25? What might this mean? (interpret)
  • Through whose eyes is the story told? (deduce)
  • Do you know what might happen next? (deduce)
  • What do we know about Fortitude already? (deduce/infer) What do we know about him after reading, ‘A Muddle of Mistakes’?
  • What does Fortitude represent? (infer)
  • On page 9, there is one physical mistakes who actually represents two mistakes. Which one is it and what are the two mistakes represented? (deduce/interpret)
  • Why does 100 – 67 = 43 represent a common mathematical error? Why is it a mistake and why has it happened?
  • On page 9, identify why the mistakes are mistakes. (interpret)
  • On some of the pages, a blue thought bubble appears. What is the function of this bubble? Why is it there? (interpret, infer, deduce)
  • On page 6, all of the mistakes are collected and hidden in different ways. There is a box that has, ‘Strike whilst the iron is hot’ written on it. What does this mean and how is this relevant to the story and Mindset ideals? (deduce/interpret)
  • Why do Fortitude’s thought bubbles pop when the mistakes get closer to him? (p17)
  • Why does Fortitude not want to speak to the mistakes first of all?
  • Why is the ‘Biggest Mistake of them all’ named so?
  • What does the word ‘Constructive’ mean in the phrase constructive criticism?
  • What do you think the ‘Mistakes’ are like as characters? Why? (interpret)
  • Describe in your own words why Fortitude does well to listen to the Mistakes. (interpret)
  • What do you think will happen because he does listen to his mistakes? (infer/deduce)
  • If you were Fortitude and you didn’t want to listen to constructive criticism about your own mistakes, how would your friends/family react? (interpret and deduce)
  • What makes the Mistakes are friendly and fun? (deduce/infer- depending on text)
  • Why is it important that the reader considers the Mistakes to be friendly and fun?
  • How did the author suggest that not accepting/listening to feedback and constructive criticism is a problem in learning? (interpret)
  • If someone you know (e.g, a brother or sister) was behaving like Fortitude before he listened, what would you say to them? (interpret)
  • What motives do the Mistakes have in getting Fortitude to listen to them? How do you know this?
  • What is your favourite mistake in the story and why?
  • What was Fortitude thinking before and after he listened to the Mistakes? How do you know?
  • On p28, why did the Mistakes finally disappear ‘in the burst of a bubble’ Why do you think they disappeared in this way- why was this fitting?
  • What does Fortitude learn by the end of the story? How has he learnt these things? (deduce)
  • How else could the story have ended? (interpret)
  • What are the themes in the book?
  • What is one way the author shows you that you don’t have to hide and be embarrassed about your mistakes? (interpret)

 

AF4

Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features at text level

New 2014 National Curriculum references

Year 3/4/5/6-

  • Identifying how language, structure, and presentation contribute to meaning

Questions

  • This book is fiction. What non-fiction feature has the author used in this story book?
  • Not all fiction books include a ‘Glossary’. This is something that is more common for Non-Fiction books. Why has one been included in this book, do you think?
  • Where is a Glossary positioned in a book?
  • What time connective words or phrases can you spot in the story?
  • What connective words or phrases can you spot in the story?
  • Two semi-colons have been used in the story. Can you explain why each has been used?
  • Why have ellipses been used?
  • Why have brackets been used?
  • Find a place where the way the words have been positioned on the page stands out because it is different to the rest of the book – why do you think it has be positioned in this way?
  • Is this story written in a formal or informal way? How do you know? What clues are there?
  • Why do you think the author chose to position page 4 at the beginning of the book?
  • Why are there blue thought bubbles at different places in the story (whose voice might this be?)
  • What do you think about the layout of page 5? Do the images and words need to be positioned in this way or is there an alternative? Does it matter?
  • What different punctuation marks can you spot though-out the book. Explain why these have been used.
  • If you were to pick out Growth Mindset messages directly from the text, which phrases would you choose?
  • If you were to plot the progression of the story as bullet points, what would they be?
  • How is this book ‘playful’ and ‘child-like’?
  • What effect does it make to have some text in a written font and some in the illustrations?

 

AF5 

Explain and comment on the writer’s use of language including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level

Year 3/4

  • Checking that the text makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and explaining the meaning of words in context
  • Read books that are structured in different ways

Year 5/6

  • Check that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context
  • Discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader

Questions

  • On page 4, what does, ‘Rain comes before the rainbow…’ mean in relation to mistakes?
  • What do you understand by the word ‘Dreamtime’ on page 5?
  • Why do you think the author has used the words’ bobbing and floating’ to describe Fortitude’s ideas on page 5?
  • What do you understand by the phrase, ‘reach for the stars’? (p5)
  • Have you ever seen a ‘dotted line’ before? If so, when?
  • What does the saying, ‘Strike whist the iron is hot’ mean? Why has it been used on page 6?
  • What is a ‘clanger’? (where could you find out in the book if you were unsure?)
  • What are the different words used for ‘Mistake’ in the book?
  • How is the language used in the story ‘playful’? Find examples.
  • Can you find any examples of a subordinate clause embedded in the middle of a sentence? How do you know?
  • What does the phrase, ‘stretching himself and learning new things’ mean on page 9?
  • What does the word ‘flawless’ mean? (p10)
  • What are ‘Feedback and constructive criticism’?
  • Think of an alternative word for ‘drifted’ on page 16.
  • Think of an alternative word for ‘bulged’ on page 23.
  • What does ‘saturated’ mean on page 23 and why is the cloud being described in this way?
  • Find examples of simple, compound and complex sentences. Explain why the sentence is that type- how do you know?
  • Some of the mistakes are mistakes because of incorrect grammar or punctuation- can you spot which ones these are?
  • What sort of character do you think Fortitude is? How has the author created this impression of him?
  • What sort of characters do you think the mistakes are? How has the author created this impression?
  • Has the author created humour anywhere in the story? If so, where and how?
  • What sort of character do you think the ‘Biggest mistake of them all’ is? How has the author created this impression? Do you think this character comes across differently to the other mistakes, if so, why and is this difference important?
  • Is there a part of the story that is more tense? How has the author created the tension?
  • How is the story ‘imaginative’? What does that mean?
  • What is ‘The Ned’? (p30) Why has the author ended the book in this way? What effect does this have on the reader?

 

AF6

Identify and comment on the writer’s purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect

New 2014 National Curriculum

Year 3/4

  • Discuss words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination

Year 5/6

  • Check the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context
  • Distinguish between statements of fact and opinion
  • Provide reasoned justifications for their views

Questions

  • Where is this story set? Why did the author choose this setting?
  • What do you think the writer’s purpose is? How do you know?
  • What did the writer intend by (phrase /sentence /incident… etc)?
  • There is a change in Fortitude in the story. When do things seem to change?
  • What is the purpose of the naughty RIDDLE as a set of characters?
  • Where and why has the author used humour?
  • Look at the captions in blue thought bubbles. Why are they there? Why does the writer choose to include them?
  • What impression do you think the writer wants to give of Fortitude/The Biggest Mistake of them All? Why? What effect does this have on other characters?
  • What effect does the author want to have on the reader from reading page 6?
  • What is the author’s purpose on p10/11 in relation to the plot?
  • From the first three pages of the story, what is the writer’s opinion of mistakes/learning? How does this affect the story/plot/characters/setting etc?
  • By using the words, “Let Fortitude feel clever by hiding his mistakes from him!” what effect has the author had on the reader?
  • How is ‘Muddle of Mistakes’ similar/different to ‘I Can’t Do This’ (KJ Walton’s first picture book) What effect does this have on the reader?
  • Whose viewpoint is being presented here?
  • What does the writer want to persuade you to do/think/believe?
  • Who is the book speaking to?
  • Can you tell what the author thinks?