PDF lesson plan and posters
KS2
Years 3-6
From the gruesome Twits to the loveable BFG, there are Roald Dahl characters that have enchanted children for generations. The wisdom in Dahl’s writing is the perfect way to help children think about people’s hidden depths.
In this lesson, pupils have the opportunity to explore three quotes from Roald Dahl characters about appearances and making first impressions.
These form the basis of a PHSE lesson considering how the people we meet in stories and real life can have hidden depths that might just surprise us.
After reflecting on the implications of this, children will then go on to create a set of guidelines to help us not jump to conclusions.
Dahl quotes
“The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Billy and the Minpins
“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” – The Twits
“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, as long as somebody loves you.” – The Witches
What children will learn:
- Consider how conclusions based on appearances can sometimes be wrong
- Think about their own attitudes to others, both in stories and real life
- Create multifaceted characters and describe them effectively
This download contains:
- PDF lesson plan
- Three printable PDF posters for The Twits, The Witches and Billy and the Minpins
Starter activity
To frame the ideas that you will introduce, ask the children to think about whether a character in a story has ever surprised them.
Have they ever assumed that a character will behave in one way and then been proved wrong? Has a character ever turned out to be very different from how they were presented originally?
Collect ideas and sort them into examples that could be true in real life (for example, a character who seems very selfish, but then chooses to help another character) and those that are purely from fiction (for example, an ordinary character who turns out to have magical powers).
James Clements is an education writer and researcher. Browse more resources for Roald Dahl Day.
