ROLLERCOASTERS: Resource Pack www.oxfordsecondary.co.

uk/rollercoasters-resources © Oxford University Press 2016 1

 CONTENTS

Introduction 3

Teaching Highlights 4

Overview for Scheme of Work 5

Plot Summary 6–8

Lesson Plans 9–20

Student Resources 21–31

Self-assessment 32

Further Reading 33

Teaching materials written by Julia Waines

Acknowledgements
The author and publishers are grateful for permission to include the following copyright material in this resource:

Text:
Extracts taken from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. First published 1984.

Images:
© p1: Destinyweddingstudio/Shutterstock; p24: 4.1 Quick Shot/Shutterstock; 4.2: Pavelk/Shutterstock; 4.3: dinozzaver/Shutterstock; 4.4: WichitS/Shutterstock;
p31: World History Archive/Alamy;

We have tried to trace and contact all copyright holders before publication. If notified, the publishers will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions at the
earliest opportunity.

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 The Jungle Book

INTRODUCTION
Summary
The Jungle Book is a collection of stories about animals
and the different ways that they behave and treat each
other. Mowgli is a boy who is adopted by a pack of
wolves and taught how to survive by his wolf family, a
wise panther and a rather bumbling bear. Other stories
are about a brave mongoose who protects a family from
cobras, a white seal who saves his friends and family
from hunters, and the bond between an elephant and a
boy.
Key Themes
Family
Different family structures are represented. Characters
make choices about their place within the family setting
and the stories explore how coping with that can
produce unexpected consequences.
Friendship
Relationships form between unlikely companions and
fluctuate for various reasons. Different aspects of
friendship are represented in various animal
characteristics.
Loyalty
Characters demonstrate loyalty despite difficult
circumstances, even when it poses a risk to themselves.
This loyalty promotes the idea of a ‘greater good’ over
actions for selfish motives.
Bullying
The animal characters show different ways that pressure
can be put on weaker or younger members of the
society, to coerce them into acting in a way that they do
not wish to.
Nature
There is a strong focus on the role that the natural world
plays in everyone’s lives and the impact it has on
humans.
Respect
All the characters show respect for the law, either of the
jungle or the natural law of survival of the fittest.
Level of Challenge
This book is particularly suitable for mixed to high ability
Year 8 students. The language and ideas may be
challenging at times. The novel provides opportunities
for debate about ethical situations, for example the use
of animals for entertainment in circuses; and the extent
to which young people should make their own choices
about lifestyle. It also explores aspects of colonialism in
India during Victorian times, which may challenge
students’ awareness of historical attitudes to different
cultures.
Cross-curricular Links
History – link with aspects of the growth of the British
Empire and colonialism in India
PHSCE – attitudes towards animal hunting and culling
for food or fur
Drama/Dance – representing animal characteristics
through movement
Science – environment; animal behaviour.

Adventure
Characters embark on a range of risky adventures to
seek out ways to find out more about their world and
their own place in it.

Life and death

Life-threatening situations occur in several stories and
link to issues connected with survival and protecting
loved ones from danger.

ROLLERCOASTERS: Resource Pack www.oxfordsecondary.co.uk/rollercoasters-resources © Oxford University Press 2016 3

Teaching Highlights
This Resource Pack contains 12 customizable Lesson Plans and 12 Student Resources to help build a scheme of work.
Teaching ideas include:

 Points of view – Interview Mowgli (Lesson Plan 2)
 Telescope eyes – Creative writing about an animal
feature (Lesson Plan 3)
 Designed to kill – Research on snakes and their
prey (Lesson Plan 4)
 Stop! – Writing advice about how to stop bullying
(Lesson Plan 7)
 Mime it – Portraying drama, without words (Lesson
Plan 9)
 Performance poetry – Presenting a poem as a
group (Lesson Plan 10)
Overview for Scheme of Work
Lesson and focus Skills and outcomes Related resources
Lesson 1: Establishing Understanding and imagining the context and setting of the Resource 1
context novel
Responding to reading about animal characters

Lesson 2: Themes Interviewing Mowgli about life in the jungle Resource 2

Researching treatment of animals in Victorian times and now

Lesson 3: Understanding Exploring the motives of the Monkey-People Resource 3

characters Writing a creative response to a feature of an animal

Lesson 4: Effect of Describing a place to make it sound attractive Resources 4a, 4b

description Character study based on description
Researching ways that snakes capture prey

Lesson 5: Changing Role-playing characters with different views Resource 5

situations Researching links between The Jungle Book and the Scout
movement

Lesson 6: Challenging the Researching the facts about seal culling/hunting Resource 6
status quo Writing an argument on a topic of choice

Lesson 7: Confronting Writing an advice sheet to address bullying behaviour Resource 7

bullies Creating a cartoon strip to tell an original story

Lesson 8: Challenging Creating a safety report on children working with elephants Resource 8
expectations Writing a poem based on Kipling’s descriptive language

Lesson 9: Communicating Dramatizing a scene without using language

Investigating the training and use of animals in war

Lesson 10: Poetry Learning and identifying poetic techniques and understanding Resource 10
their impact
Writing a creative response to a poem

Lesson 11: Writer’s craft Writing an autobiographical account of a childhood event Resource 11
Interviewing Kipling about his ideas and purposes in The Jungle
Book

Lesson 12: Evaluation Evaluating skills developed during this study Self-assessment
Writing a creative response to a theme of the novel sheet
 The Jungle Book

Chapter Plot outline

Mowgli’s Father and Mother Wolf are in a cave with their new litter. A passing jackal tells them that Shere Khan,
Brothers the tiger, is coming to hunt nearby. Outside, the wolves hear movement. It is a ‘man’s cub’ whom Shere
Khan is tracking. Father Wolf brings the baby into the cave. The tiger demands him back but Mother
Wolf defies him in order to keep the boy.
Weeks later, the wolves take their litter, and the child, to the Pack Meeting to ask approval to keep the
boy. Akela, the wolf leader, asks for support from the animals. Baloo, the brown bear, and Bagheera,
the black panther, agree to help bring him up. Shere Khan is angry and vows revenge.
Mowgli lives the next 11 years with the wolves in the jungle. Shere Khan still wants to kill him. He starts
to ingratiate himself with the younger wolves as Akela grows weaker. Mowgli learns from Baloo and
Bagheera about why Shere Khan wants to kill him.
When Akela fails to make a kill in the hunt, his leadership is over. Mowgli is now at risk. At the Pack
Meeting Shere Khan takes charge, even though he is not a wolf. Mowgli challenges him. Akela speaks
to defend the boy. He reminds the pack of the promises they made. Mowgli loses his temper and, using
a fire-pot that he had taken from a village, creates fire that terrifies the pack and Shere Khan. Mowgli
threatens the pack and Shere Khan using a burning branch. He reminds them he is a man and not an
animal. He promises to return when he is older to kill Shere Khan.
Akela, Bagheera and Father Wolf watch Mowgli say farewell to Mother Wolf. Then he goes to the
village. J h g f d

Poem Hunting-Song of the Seeonee Pack – hunting the doe

Kaa’s Flashback. Before Mowgli leaves the wolf pack, Baloo teaches him the Law of the Jungle including the
Hunting Master Words. These enable him to claim help from all the jungle animals. Mowgli gets bored and runs
away from Baloo. He is befriended by the Monkey-People who treat him kindly. Baloo warns him that
the monkeys lie and are not to be trusted. Baloo forbids Mowgli from playing with them. Later, as he
sleeps, the monkeys kidnap him and carry him away into the trees. Mowgli is terrified but lets his friends
know where he is, using the Master Words. Mowgli asks Rann, the kite, to tell Baloo and Bagheera
where he is being taken. They plan to get Mowgli back and ask for help from Kaa, the python. Rann
tells them Mowgli has been taken to Cold Lairs, a deserted jungle city. Kaa and Bagheera set off with
Baloo following.
Mowgli is not happy with the monkeys; he has no food and they are squabbling about him. Kaa and
Bagheera arrive. Bagheera attacks while Kaa sneaks up another way. Mowgli is pushed through a roof
to keep him away from his friends. He calls the Master Word to prevent the cobras from attacking him.
Baloo fights against the monkeys. Kaa scares them into the roof of the buildings. Mowgli and his friends
leave. Kaa hypnotizes the monkeys to make them submit to being eaten. Baloo and Bagheera are also
nearly mesmerized by him.
Mowgli accepts he did wrong in fraternizing with the monkeys and accepts his punishment before going
home to Mother Wolf.

Poem Road-Song of Bandar-log – what the Monkey-People are like

 The Jungle Book

Chapter Plot outline

‘Tiger! The story picks up from when Mowgli went to the village after the Pack Meeting. The villagers are
Tiger!’ scared of Mowgli’s wild appearance, but he looks like a boy who had been stolen by a tiger so Messua,
his mother, offers to care for him.
Mowgli refuses to sleep indoors. His wolf brothers bring him news. For three months Mowgli tries to
learn about being a man, but finds it hard and confusing. He argues with the elders about their
knowledge of the jungle so is sent to look after the cattle in the fields. After some days, his wolf brother
tells him Shere Khan plans to kill him. Mowgli plans how he will kill Shere Khan with the wolves.
Using the cattle and buffalo herd, Mowgli drives Shere Khan from his hiding place and he is trampled to
death by the frantic herds. Mowgli begins skinning the tiger, but is stopped by an elder who
misunderstands and threatens Mowgli. Akela responds to a request to stop the elder bothering him.
The old man thinks Mowgli is a demon in disguise. When the man returns to the village he tells
everyone about the ‘magic’ so when Mowgli returns he is driven away. Everyone, except his mother, is
afraid of him. Mowgli returns to the wolf pack to show the hide of the tiger and stays to live with his wolf
brothers until he is an adult.

Poem Mowgli’s Song – sung at the Council Rock when he danced on Shere Khan’s hide

The White Sea Catch is an old, grey seal, in charge of his beach area, fighting each year to defend it. His wife,
Seal Matkah, would prefer to live somewhere quieter, but knows of nowhere to go. Their son, Kotick, is a
white seal. Kotick witnesses the clubbing and skinning of dozens of four-year-old seals by hunters.
Kotick decides he must find a safer place for the seals to live and breed. He is told only Sea Cow will be
able to tell him of such a place.
Kotick spends five seasons searching, asking all the sea creatures he meets, but does not meet Sea
Cow. Then by chance, Kotick meets a shoal of strange-looking creatures. He realizes these are sea
cows. He follows them to the island where he knows the seals will be safe. At home Kotick is forced to
fight to prove the truth of what he says. When he wins, the seals follow him to the new island where
they settle and breed in perfect safety, without men.

Poem Lukannon – song of the seals when they return to the beaches. The seal national anthem.

‘Rikki-Tikki- Rikki-tikki is a mongoose. He is adopted by a human family when he is half-drowned in their garden.
Tavi’ Rikki-tikki meets Darzee, a bird whose baby had been eaten by Nag, the cobra. Rikki-tikki is attacked
by Nagaina, the cobra’s wife, and escapes to plan how to kill them both. He saves a boy from death by
killing another snake. During the night, Rikki-tikki hears Nag creeping into the bathroom. He watches
Nag fall asleep waiting for the man to come in. Rikki-tikki attacks and kills the cobra. Next day, Darzee
tricks Nagaina into leaving her eggs so Rikki-tikki can destroy them. While he does so, Nagaina goes
into the house to attack the family. Rikki-tikki takes the last egg and draws her away. He follows her
down her burrow and kills her there, then sleeps for the day. He keeps the garden free of cobras from
then on.

Poem Darzee’s Chaunt – sung in honour of Rikki-tikki-tavi

 The Jungle Book

Chapter Plot outline

Toomai of Kala Nag is an elephant who has worked for the same family for 47 years. They are the Toomai. Ten-
the year-old Little Toomai is the youngest to work with elephants. He is already skilled at helping the
Elephants mahouts round up wild elephants. He comes to the attention of Peterson Sahib, the boss. He is told he
cannot help with the round-up until he has seen the elephants dance in the jungle. This is just a myth so
Little Toomai is disappointed.
One night after feeding Kala Nag, Little Toomai realizes that the old elephant is going roaming into the
jungle and asks to go with him. After a long trek through the jungle, more and more elephants gather.
Toomai is present at the ‘dance’ in the jungle where new ground is broken down. At dawn, Kala Nag
takes Toomai back to the camp where he says what he has witnessed. From then on he is called
Toomai of the Elephants.

Poem Shiv and the Grasshopper – the song that Toomai’s mother sang to the baby

Her The Amir of Afghanistan is visiting the Viceroy in Rawal Pindi. His bodyguard is made up of 800 men
Majesty’s and horses who lack discipline. The horses frequently stampede, causing problems for the other
Servants animals being used by the British Army. A soldier, warned of the coming stampede, runs off, with Vixen
his dog, to find somewhere safer to sleep. He overhears the various animals discussing the ways that
they are each used on the battlefield. A horse and a mule argue over their parentage and have to be
calmed down by an elephant. They discuss their various fears about noise, blood and small dogs. Vixen
asks about the parade the following day. The soldier describes the impressive sight of the manoeuvring
troops on parade and the impact on the Central Asian troops.

Poem Parade-Song of the Camp-Animals

 The Jungle Book: Lesson 1

Lesson 1
 Read pages 1–16 (up to ‘Why should I be afraid?’).
Divide the class into groups of about four to record
Focus: Establishing context (pages 1–16)
what they have learned about the following: Mother
Wolf; Father Wolf; Shere Khan; the Law of the
Objective: To consider the life that Mowgli has in the
Jungle; the man’s cub (Mowgli); the Pack; hunting.
jungle
The groups should make notes about their findings.
Invite each group to feed back to the rest of the class.
Ask peers to use the information from others to
Engage create their own notes.
 Invite students to work as pairs and share what is
known already about The Jungle Book. Prompt with Follow-up
questions if necessary, for example: What are the  Ask students what impression they have of the life
names of the main characters? Who wrote it? What that Mowgli has with the wolves. Invite personal
happens? Move on to discuss what is known about responses to his situation by asking students to
the context of The Jungle Book. Use Resource 1 to consider the pros and cons of that life. Take
encourage recording of information. It may be useful feedback.
to provide research time to complete the questions.  Ask students to look carefully at the description of
Encourage students to share their findings. Point out what Mowgli is taught by the animals and list five
that India was regarded as part of the British Empire things that he learns that they do not know about.
at the time of writing and that many people would be Invite them then to think about things that they have
interested in the stories because they provided a learned about behaviour in society that Mowgli would
‘view’ of life there. Ask students how realistic they not understand. Encourage preparation for a debate
anticipate the stories will be. Expect justification for by asking students to consider which form of
their answers. education strikes them as being more valuable.
Explore
 Give out copies of the novel to the students. Ask
them to look at the cover and identify features which
give clues about the storyline. Discuss the stylistic
features – choices of font, colour, graphics, blurb,
warning, rhetorical question – and their impact on the
reader. Focus on the image of the tiger and ask
students to comment on their impressions of the
character from that image alone. Discuss what
difference it makes to a reader if the main characters
are animals. Ask about other texts they have read
which feature animals as the characters.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 2

Lesson 2
Follow-up
Focus: Themes (pages 16–29)  Violence is an integral part of this book. Students
may find the aggression between and towards the
Objective: To consider how Kipling presents ideas animals surprising or disturbing. Point out that in
about living in society Victorian times it was a more accepted part of life
than nowadays. Animals are now treated with greater
respect, though may still be used in scientific and
Engage medical research. Direct students to use their
knowledge from life/media/other texts to write an
 Ask students to discuss in pairs what they article to describe how treatment of animals in 21st-
understand by ‘loyalty’, ‘trust’ and ‘revenge’. Create century UK has changed since those times. Use this
agreed definitions from the ideas the group provides writing as a springboard for debate about how further
and display in front of the class. Then invite students, work could be done in this area to prevent
in small groups, to choose one of the three words violence/mistreatment of animals. Some students
and create a series of freeze-frame scenes to may wish to take the opposing view and should be
represent it. Show to the class. Discuss how each encouraged to also explore ways to present their
series of freeze frames conveys the meanings and views without feeling marginalized.
evaluate their success.
 There have been many examples of children brought
Explore up by animals. They may be called ‘wild children’ or
 Ask students to read from page 16 ‘It was one very ‘feral children’. Discuss the meanings of these terms.
warm day…’ to page 20 ‘…he bounded away.’ Challenge students to consider which animal they
Return to the topics of loyalty, trust and revenge that would opt to be ‘adopted’ by if given the chance.
were discussed in the Engage activity, and ask Invite students to write a first-person account of living
students to link each of those concepts with with the animal of their choice and exploring the
something said in that section of text. Discuss how different ‘lessons’ they would have to learn in order to
Kipling brings these feelings out from what is said survive with them.
between the characters. Model how to write about
the feeling of trust, using the PEE (Point, Example,
Explanation) structure as shown on Resource 2. Ask
students to write their own paragraph, then share it
with a partner, offering constructive advice for
improvement.
 Read to the end of the section (page 29). Point out
that Mowgli learns more about his human side in this
section. Ask students to work on an interview scene
for Mowgli, to be conducted after he has run away
from the jungle. Questions should focus on the
differences between his life in the jungle and his life
with man, the difficulties each presented and his
feelings about leaving the jungle behind. Students
could script this or improvise, depending on their
confidence with drama activities.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 3
Lesson 3
Focus: Understanding characters (pages 31–44 to ‘…
Kaa the Rock-python.’)
Objective: To identify how different characters are
presented to the reader
Engage
 Invite students to reflect on the nature of friendship.
Ask students to write, in pairs, a list of at least five
attributes of true friends. Follow up by asking them to
share these with another pair and refine the list into
an agreed five between them. Share with the class.
Discuss whether it is possible to compile a similar list
of attributes of people who are not true friends.
Explore
 Baloo and Bagheera have agreed to educate Mowgli.
Ask students to look at the opening section (pages
31–35) for what they have taught him so far. Discuss
why these lessons are necessary to Mowgli as a
human. What impression does Kipling give of their
feelings towards the boy while they do all this?
Following on from the Engage activity, ask students
to consider whether Baloo and Bagheera would be
considered as friends of Mowgli. Using their list from
earlier, students should write a paragraph explaining
their views of the nature of the relationship between
the characters.
 Focus on the Bandar-log (Monkey-People), reading
from pages 38–41. Ask students to consider in what
ways their behaviour might be seen as a)
mischievous or b) malicious. Resource 3 may be
useful to record ideas. Encourage students to use
quotes to support their points. Having looked at what
they do, ask students whether they think Baloo was
right to warn Mowgli against the Bandar-log. Then
ask why Mowgli changes his mind about them.
Encourage students to select a suitable quote to
support their points.
Follow-up
 Rann, the kite, is described as having ‘telescope
eyes’ (page 42) and he can watch Mowgli and the
Bandar-log until they are far away. Discuss the effect
of the metaphor. What sort of vision does the kite
have? Ask students to consider how useful it would
be to have similar eyes themselves. What would they
like to be able to watch from a far distance? Invite
students to write a creative response to having
‘telescope eyes’. This could be in the form of a
description of how they use them, a poem about what
they can see or a play about the consequences of
spying on someone who is a long way away.
Students may suggest other ways of responding to
the idea, including non-fiction research.
 Baloo and Bagheera respond in quite different ways
to the kidnap of Mowgli. Look again at the
conversation on pages 42–44. Ask students to work
in pairs and read the section like a script, with each
taking a role. Encourage them to experiment with
tone and pace for effect; some may also wish to
include actions. Move on from that to improvise the
conversation they plan to have with Kaa, to persuade
him to help them get Mowgli back. Students should
aim to stay in role based on what has been learned
about the two characters from the earlier reading in
role. Share with the class.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 4
Lesson 4
Focus: Effect of description (page 44 from ‘They found
him…’ to page 68)
Objective: To understand the ways that description
can make an impact on a story
Engage
 Display or copy Resource 4a. Direct students to look
at the images and think about the features they find
attractive in each. Sort students into four groups
depending on which place they would prefer. Ask
each group to put together a description of their
location which can then be presented to the rest of
the class to persuade them it would be the best place
to live.
Explore
 Kipling does not describe Kaa all at once. Ask
students to look at the different ways that Kaa is
described, both before he actually appears in the
scene and after. What impression does Kipling
appear to be giving of the snake and his personality?
How is he made to seem both dangerous and
helpful? Based on their close reading of the text, ask
students to create a character fact file. Resource 4b
may be useful for students who require a structure.
 The description of the fight with the Bandar-log
(pages 56–60) shows that the monkeys outnumber
the other animals very heavily, yet they do not win.
Ask students to read over the description of what
happens and pick out three key moments which they
believe result in the monkeys losing. Direct them to
copy out the description of those moments and write
a short account with each, explaining why they think
it is an important part. Discuss the impact the
detailed description has on the reader.
Follow-up
 Direct students to re-read the sections from page 51
‘In the Cold Lairs…’ to page 52 ‘…on their sides’ and
page 54 ‘There was a ruined … black velvet
embroidery.’ Ask them to try to imagine what is being
described before trying to draw either a specific
section of the city or just one part. Encourage them to
use the text to create, as closely as possible,
something which resembles the description. Ask for
annotations from the text to be included. These could
form the basis of a display at a later date. Ask
students to reflect on what the descriptions add to
their understanding of the events and situation.
 Show students extracts from the cartoon version of
The Jungle Book, where Kaa the snake is seen trying
to hypnotize Bagheera and Mowgli. Ask students to
research information about the ability of snakes to
capture prey. Kipling describes Kaa as ‘fascinating’
the animals who observe him to the point where they
have no will to resist. Ask students to locate factual
information about how snakes catch their food and
prepare a short presentation on the topic. It may be
useful to allocate specific types of snake (such as
python, cobra, rat-snake, rattlesnake) to different
students to avoid overlap.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 5

Lesson 5
Follow-up
Focus: Changing situations (pages 69–96)  Conflict between adults and Mowgli occurs all
through this section. Ask students to look at the ways
Objective: To consider how stories can have more that adults ‘put down’ Mowgli for various reasons and
than one meaning list the insults they use against him. What effect do
these have on Mowgli? What ‘message’ does Kipling
seem to be giving about attitudes to children in his
Engage time? Direct students to imagine they are another
village child and write a diary entry for the day Shere
 Provide students with copies of Resource 5. Explain Khan is killed. They should describe and explain their
how many words can have more than one meaning, perceptions of what happens and what is said/done
depending on the contexts in which they are used. to Mowgli.
Some words can be both nouns and verbs. Allow five
minutes for pairs to work on finding as many  Kipling became a close friend of Lord Baden-Powell,
meanings for the words as they can. Encourage them the founder of the Scout movement. Encourage
to recognize the different word classes, i.e. identify students to research the links between The Jungle
which are nouns and which are verbs. Take feedback Book and Scouts. Some students may have been
on the range of suggestions for each word. Discuss members of Cubs and be able to explain the ways in
how it’s not just words that can have more than one which the names and customs of a Cub pack reflect
meaning. Point out that stories too can have multiple the ways that Mowgli and the other characters are
meanings. For example, Aesop’s fables have a literal presented. Ask students to consider why Baden-
meaning as a story, but also illustrate a more general Powell decided to base his organization on a
point or greater truth about life and behaviour. collection of stories about a jungle. What positives
have they taken from these stories that are also
Explore found in the good things done by the Scout
 Ask students to consider the situation Mowgli is in movement worldwide? Invite feedback to the class
when he leaves the wolf pack. What problems does about findings.
that cause him from the outset? Invite them to look at
the early part of this section and identify his
difficulties. What impression does Kipling give of the
attitude of the villagers towards him? Explain that the
story has at least one metaphorical meaning too.
Suggest that one meaning might be to do with
acceptance of people in society who have lived
elsewhere. What other meanings can be suggested?
 At the end of the section, the villagers drive Mowgli
away as they believe he turns into an animal and is a
sorcerer. How do we respond to things we do not
understand or fear? Point out that most of the
villagers are prejudiced against Mowgli. In pairs, role-
play a discussion between a villager and Messua,
Mowgli’s mother, where they explore their different
attitudes to him.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 6
Lesson 6
Focus: Challenging the status quo (The White Seal)
Objective: To understand the way Kipling uses his
stories to teach moral lessons
Engage
 Invite students again to use prior learning to explore
what Aesop’s fables were. Some students may be
familiar with the stories but not know their origins.
Ask students if they know the tales such as The Boy
Who Cried Wolf or The Goose That Laid Golden
Eggs. Invite retelling and then explanation of the
‘moral’. Check that students understand what is
meant by a story having a moral. Ensure they do not
confuse the idea with ‘morale’. In pairs ask them to
discuss why stories with a moral are used and what
purpose they serve. Take feedback and clarify that
many of Kipling’s stories have a moral.
Explore
 In pairs, look at the way Kipling builds up the
atmosphere of the island especially in the first half of
the story. Ask the students: What impressions do you
get of what the island is like for the seals? Look
closely at the descriptions of the place, the behaviour
of the male seals, the way the baby seals are looked
after, how the seals treat one another. Move on to
look at the description of the killing of the young
seals. How does Kipling make this unpleasant and
uncomfortable reading? Invite students to suggest
what moral Kipling is trying to teach through this
story.
 Ask students to draw a timeline which shows the way
that Kotick developed from a newborn pup to finding
the perfect island. Important meetings or events
along the way should be marked. Resource 6 may
be useful as a starting point. Quotes should be
included to support points. Discuss why Kipling made
the journey and ‘work’ done by Kotick take so long.
What lesson is a reader expected to learn from the
behaviour of the white seal?
Follow-up
 Kotick faces a situation he cannot accept and
decides he must do something to change things for
the better. Invite students to share what they consider
to be injustice in their own life experience. Ask for
solutions to the problems/issues they have identified.
(Avoid this turning into a political debate on issues
current in the news, such as immigration. Instead,
focus on ideas such as testing cosmetics on animals;
being obliged to wear school uniform.) Give students
the chance to write an argument piece where they
expound what they consider to be the problem and
then explain how they would set about solving it.
Remind students of the forms of language used for
argument texts, for example: rhetorical questions,
imperative verbs, appeal to audience by using
second person.
 Seal culling and other forms of animal hunting are
emotive issues. Ask students to reflect on their own
responses to the account in this text. Query the
response to a similar description of the killing and
skinning of Shere Khan earlier. Were the emotional
responses the same? Pose the question as to why a
reader may view both events in different ways.
Provide opportunity for research into an aspect of the
general topic of animal hunting. Students may wish to
look at something closer to home, such as deer or
badger culling. Some students may prefer to use the
information to debate the opposing view, i.e. in
support of hunting, and should be encouraged to
present their views equally.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 7
Lesson 7
Focus: Confronting bullies (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi)
Objective: To consider how Kipling presents ideas
about dealing with bullying
Engage
 Invite students to share their feelings about being
bullied. This may need careful handling to avoid
distress to some who have experienced this. Ask
students why they think Kipling may have written
about such an experience, set in an animal world.
Explain that Kipling himself may have been bullied as
a young child. Invite students to consider how that
might have affected his decision to write about the
topic. Which animal do students think would be
chosen as the bully? Discuss in pairs and share
choices with the class.
Explore
 Focus on the character of the mongoose. Consider
the ways that description has been used to make it a
character which is admired. Invite students in pairs to
use sticky notes to write three phrases which give a
clear impression of admirable aspects of Rikki-tikki.
These should be shared with another pair and
explanations for the choices discussed. Ask students
what lessons about bullying Kipling appears to be
giving through this character. They should use the
phrases identified and discussion as a basis for
writing a paragraph explaining their understanding of
the issue as found in this story.
 Question students about their perceptions of Nag and
his wife. Can they identify any reasons for the way
they behave towards the other characters? Suggest
that they are trying to protect their own life and that of
their children. Does that justify their actions? Link
with the Engage activity and consider in what ways
their behaviours are similar to/different from bullies.
Challenge students to write an advice sheet for the
cobra family to help them deal with their bullying
behaviour and build better relationships with the
other animals.
Follow-up
 Invite students to consider how Kipling used animals
he was familiar with to create his stories. Challenge
them to plan and write a short story intended for a
younger reader, to help them deal with bullying,
which features animals they are familiar with.
Consider how the ‘smaller’ creatures in Rikki-Tikki-
Tavi band together to help each other defeat a
common enemy. Suggest this may be a suitable
model for their story. Allow enough time for planning,
drafting, writing and possibly illustrating.
 Using the Internet, show students part (or all) of an
animated version of this story. One good example is
narrated by Orson Welles. Invite students to create
the next section of the story by choosing sections of
text and drawing appropriate images to accompany
their text. Some students may find Resource 7 useful
for this task. These could form the basis of a display.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 8

Lesson 8
Follow-up
Focus: Challenging expectations (Toomai of the  Invite students to imagine that they were the boy
Elephants) Toomai being taken into the jungle by Kala Nag.
There are several places where he appears to be in
Objective: To consider how personal choices are danger or at risk, but he is returned home safely after
important seeing the elephants ‘dance’. This was meant to be a
myth, not real. Ask them to work in threes and enact
a scene where young Toomai is telling his father and
Engage the Sahib what happened. The adult characters
should try to react in appropriate ways for their roles.
 Invite students to consider how expectations of
children have altered over the years. Ask if anyone  Much of the language in this text is very descriptive
has a family tradition of working in a particular area and vivid, especially in relation to the jungle scene.
and, if so, if this route is one they are likely to adopt Ask students to combine some of the phrases and
as well. This may need sensitive handling. What is words from the text to make up a poem or song for
known by students about Victorian expectations of the elephants which reflects their feelings about
children and their ‘careers’? Challenge students to being together and sharing the ‘dance’. Encourage
consider at what age children should be allowed to students to consider the use of rhythm to emphasize
work nowadays. Expect justification for their answers. the footfall noise and possible onomatopoeia to add
depth to the sound. Share these through reading
Explore aloud.
 Look at pages 155–159, which describe how the
Toomai family have kept Kala Nag for so many
years, so that now even the child is able to control
the elephant. Ask students to re-read the section as if
they were modern day safety inspectors, and in pairs
pick out what aspects of the work they would
consider to be unsafe for a child to be involved in.
Invite them to write up their findings in the form of a
report. Resource 8 may be useful to support this
activity.
 Elephants were considered as a vital part of the
economy in India and are still regarded as a national
symbol. How does Kipling present the elephants in
the different locations? Look at the ways Kala Nag
behaves while he is ‘working’ and then contrast with
what he is like when he leaves to go into the jungle
for the night. Why does he return to his ‘captivity’ the
following day? Ask students to think about the
symbolism of the elephants in the context of the
story. What could they be representing? Ask them to
write up their ideas and share them with a partner.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 9

Lesson 9
Follow-up
Focus: Communicating (Parade-Song of the Camp-  Kipling’s animals are different species but they share
Animals) a common view and common language. Link back to
the Engage activity. What message might Kipling be
Objective: To explore the impact of knowing other suggesting by making the animals have so much in
languages common though they are all different? Divide the
class into groups and ask them to dramatize a scene
where none of them share a common language but
Engage have to carry out a task (for example, prepare a
meal, take a journey). Encourage them to explore
 Ask students to spend three minutes writing a list of how ideas can be communicated without speaking or
all the situations they can think of when knowing a writing using words. Ask them to feed back on what
foreign language may be useful. Share with a partner they felt and found out about language by doing the
and then try to identify jobs where it would be activity.
necessary to know a foreign language. Move to focus
on the non-English languages known by students.  Fictional animals talking is a common idea now, but it
Invite any who are bilingual (or trilingual) to share was rare in Kipling’s time. Invite students to consider
how that knowledge impacts on their thinking, what animals known to them (for example, a pet, a
speaking and dreaming. What advantages do they relative/neighbour’s dog, an animal they know a lot
have over those who cannot speak a different about) would say if given the opportunity to do so.
language? Ask them to imagine that they acquire the ability to
speak to and understand animals and write a short
Explore conversation with that creature. Would the
 Focus on the range of animal characters in this conversation be about what the animal is expected to
section. Divide the class into groups and allocate do or about another matter completely? Share stories
each one a different animal character. There may by reading aloud.
also be scope for including Vixen the dog, and the
narrator, though he is human, depending on how
many groups you can create. Ask students to pick
out clues and information from the text about ‘their’
creature’s work, role, attitudes, etc. How has Kipling
shown there is a hierarchy among the animals? What
lesson might he be trying to teach the reader by
using animals who have different personalities? (If
students need prompting, suggest they consider the
personalities of their friends. Are they all similar?
Draw out the benefits of having friends with different
personalities.)
 Discuss how our attitudes in the 21st century differ to
those of Kipling’s time. In war, we no longer use
animals in the same way. Invite students to compare
ideas about whether it is acceptable to use animals in
war zones at all. What examples do they know of
where this happens? What is known about how
animals are trained to work in war zones? Invite
students to research information about how animals
are trained to communicate with their ‘handlers’ and
how they work. Feed back information and
encourage students to share their views. Extend
more able students by challenging them to suggest
why attitudes towards animals have altered so much.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 10
Lesson 10
Focus: Poetry (Various poems throughout the book)
Objective: To link the themes of the poems with the
short stories
Engage
 Invite students to identify where the poems occur in
relation to the stories. Allow about two minutes for
scanning through the book. Follow up by asking if
students can compare the various poems and identify
how the poems might be similar or different. Ask
them to look at the structure as well as the content of
the poems. What do these poems add to the book?
Why do they think Kipling included them?
Explore
 Focus on ‘Mowgli’s Song’ (pages 94–96). In small
groups, ask students to read the poem between
them. Encourage them to identify how the poem
explains what happened in a different way to the
story. Ask them to explain what difference that makes
to the reader and what impact it has. The last section
contains the repetition of the question ‘Why?’ Can
students suggest the reason Kipling may have written
it like that and what he was trying to suggest about
Mowgli’s state of mind and feelings then?
 Use Resource 10 to reinforce knowledge of some
poetic terms, drawing on ‘Mowgli’s Song’ for
examples of the techniques. Encourage students to
respond to the final question and use responses as a
springboard for looking at the form and structure of
the poem. Ask students how far it conforms to what
they ‘normally’ expect from a poem (for example,
rhymes, regular beat). Discuss how the style Kipling
has used enables the reader to understand more
about Mowgli’s feelings. Use this work to construct
PEE paragraphs reflecting the learning about the
poem.
Follow-up
 Working in small groups, students should be
allocated one poem each (excluding ‘Mowgli’s Song’)
so that no one has the same text. Instruct students to
prepare an oral presentation of their poem using their
voices either solo or combined for impact on the
audience. Encourage use of individual, paired and
group speaking as well as suggesting variety in pace
and tone to convey the characters of the different
speakers for each one. Allow rehearsal time before
each group delivers their performance to the class.
Discuss the response to working in such a way and
how it helped them to understand the poem.
 Invite students to look through all the poems in the
book and to choose one that they like. Offer the
opportunity to respond to the poem in a creative way,
i.e. using the poem as a starting point to produce
work which may or may not be directly linked to the
text but may have used only a single image or
phrase. Responses that could be suggested include:
artwork, short story, another poem, video, play,
illustration, comic strip. Allow enough time for
completion, possibly as more than one homework,
and set aside time to present these to the class.
Reflect on feelings about being given an ‘open’ brief
and what students liked/disliked about the process.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 11
Lesson 11
Focus: Crafting stories
Objective: To consider how Kipling created and wrote
The Jungle Book
Engage
 Invite students to consider what is meant by ‘writer’s
craft’. Explain that with many books now it is possible
to obtain information about how and why writers
created their stories. It may be useful to show a short
video, for example one of Tim Bowler’s Bolthole
Bulletins or Robyn Opie Parnell talking about ‘How to
Write a Children’s Book’. Ask students to suggest
what the difficulties are with understanding these
things when thinking about Kipling’s craft.
Explore
 Provide students with Resource 11, a partial
biography of Kipling’s early years. Ask them to read it
through and answer the comprehension questions
which follow. Discuss what they have learned about
his early life. Ask if they are surprised by any of the
account. Invite them to suggest why Kipling was able
to write so much and in such detail about India and
the animals there, even though he was English, went
to school and lived much of his adult life in England.
 Ask students if they can recall an experience from
early childhood. Suggest that these early
experiences often ‘stay’ in our minds for many years,
especially when emotions are involved. If
appropriate, offer a personal recollection and suggest
the impact it had upon you. Invite students to share,
in pairs, their recollections and consider the ongoing
effects they have. Encourage sharing some
recollections and effects with the whole class. This
could also be a written task as an autobiographical
account. Encourage students to keep the focus on
their emotional response to the event.
Follow-up
 Kipling’s biographer, Charles Carrington, records that
Kipling was willing to experiment with writing styles
and techniques and was very influenced by other
writers he admired. However, many of his stories
feature a monologue with a central character
speaking in first person. Invite students to revisit The
Jungle Book to see how many stories fit this pattern.
Encourage experimentation with language by
challenging them to try to rewrite a passage in a
different ‘voice’, i.e. write in first person rather than
third. This could eventually lead on to a discussion in
class about the difficulties and issues presented by
doing this, and the impact it has on understanding a
text.
 Many of the events in The Jungle Book have a basis
in things Kipling learned or saw. For example, he
visited a deserted city called Amber on which he
based Cold Lairs where the Bandar-log take Mowgli.
He also read reports of wolves bringing up children in
the wildest areas of India. Having read The Jungle
Book what questions would students pose to Kipling
if he was alive to answer them? Encourage students
to write down up to five questions. If done as a
homework task, these questions could be taken into
class the following day, where students in pairs could
take on the role of interviewer and Kipling. The
questions should be put and answered in role, based
on what has been learned from the biography extract
and the reading of the book, plus any background
reading done.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 12
Lesson 12
Focus: Evaluation
Objective: To reflect on progress made as reader,
writer and thinker
Engage
 Allow students a minute of quiet thinking to reflect on
what has been learned through reading the book.
Encourage consideration of themselves as
participants in the activities as well as what has been
learned from the themes/characters of the book. Ask
students to share their thoughts, in pairs, and to
agree one main ‘lesson for life’ and one essential
‘progress in English’ that studying this book has
given them. Take feedback and discuss how
students have arrived at those choices.
Explore
 Kipling deals with some difficult themes in the text.
Ask students to identify a theme they consider to be
important (it may help to suggest some: importance
of family/friends; ways to deal with problems in life; a
sense of not belonging). Which story/poem do they
think best exemplifies that theme? Why have they
chosen that text? In small groups of students who
have chosen the same story, ask them to write a
short presentation about their theme and how it is
explored in their chosen text.
 Ask students to consider whether they think a book
as old as The Jungle Book and set in a country so far
away has anything to say to modern young people.
Invite them to discuss, in pairs, whether they think it
is still relevant and provide justification with their
feedback. Follow up by asking which aspects they
found most/least accessible and why. Do they think
the book has anything to say to adults or is it really a
children’s book? Challenge them to write a ‘blurb’ in
30 words for a version to be marketed to adults.
Follow-up
 Students complete the Self-assessment sheet
either independently or with support, to identify the
aspects of work they have done during the course of
reading the text. Invite feedback to inform future
readings of the book. Which parts did students
enjoy/dislike working on? What parts would they
have enjoyed being able to spend longer carrying
out? Make notes for subsequent work.
 Students should be encouraged to follow up reading
by selecting another book from the suggested list.
Group reading may be appropriate if possible to
provide a forum for discussion about the texts.
Encourage students to read more widely and choose
texts by the same author or linked by theme.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 1

Resource 1
Context chart

Complete the sections below. The first one is done for you.
The last is blank for you to pose your own question.

Questions What is known What you’d like to know

When was The Jungle First published in 1894 (from front Where did Kipling get his ideas
Book written? page of book) from?

What is a ‘jungle’?

Where in the world do

jungles exist?

Which animals live in

jungles?

Are all the stories about

the jungle?

How were foreigners

treated in the Victorian
era?

Why would someone from

England know so much
about India?

How were Victorian

attitudes to animals
different to ours?
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 2

Resource 2
Writing about themes

Look at the paragraph below. It has been annotated to show you how it is constructed.

Opening
sentence to
explain what
Kipling shows that Bagheera trusts Mowgli because when
feeling is being
shown and by they are talking about Mowgli being a man, Bagheera says
whom.
Exact quote from
‘There is no one in the jungle that knows that I, the text which is
an example of
Bagheera, carry that mark…’ The panther has shown the feeling
described.

Mowgli something that he has not let anyone else know

about. He expects that Mowgli will keep it to himself.

Comments
which give more
explanation of Using the words ‘no one’ indicates that it is a private
how the words
make the reader
think and how matter as you only tell someone something private if you
the feeling is
being
demonstrated.
really trust them.

Now write a paragraph of your own about one of the key feelings: loyalty, trust, revenge.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 3

Resource 3
Behaviour of Bandar-log

Complete the table to show your opinions of the Bandar-log. Use quotes to support your views.

Behaviour which is mischievous

The monkeys give Mowgli nice things to eat: ‘they gave me nuts’

Behaviour which is malicious

Do you agree with the warnings Baloo gave Mowgli about the Bandar-log? Explain your reasons.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 4

Resource 4a
Images of places

Look carefully at these scenes. Decide what is appealing about each one. If you had to choose to live
in one, which would you choose, and why?
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 4

Resource 4b
Character fact file

Use the information in the text to complete the fact file.

Name

Species

Habitat

Appearance

Likes

Dislikes

Hunting method

Hunting ability (out of 10)

Reason for score

Preferred prey

Risk to other species?

Personality
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 5

Resource 5
Words with more than one meaning

How many meanings do you know for each of these words? Write in as many as you can think of.

bat

set

cast

play

fast

stroke

screen

Now find three other words in the text that you think have more than one meaning. Write them on the
lines below and challenge your partner to write in the different meanings.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 6

Resource 6
Timeline of Kotick’s journey

Use the timeline to plot how Kotick developed from a newborn pup to finding the perfect island. Mark important events and note quotations
where appropriate.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 7

Resource 7
Storyboard version of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

Think carefully about what happens next in the story. Choose eight quotations to represent eight different stages. Write each one into a different
box and then draw an image to show what is happening.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 8

Resource 8
Safety report

Imagine you are a health and safety inspector. You have visited the Toomai family to check on
whether it is suitable for a child to be involved in working with the elephants. Complete the form with
your findings based on the text you have read.

Visit by

Visit to

Date Time

Activities observed

Safety issues

Compulsory actions

Recommendations before next visit

Signed
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 10

Resource 10
Poetic terms

Match up these poetic terms with their correct meaning. Use the examples to help you.

Repetition Putting two opposite points of view forward to show that the speaker may be
confused. ‘…my heart is heavy…my heart is very light..’

Rhetorical Using adjectives to make characters or things more interesting. ‘the great bull-
question buffaloes, the blue-skinned herd bulls with the angry eyes.’

Alliteration Words which are spelt in a way to copy the sound being made. ‘Hsh!’ or ‘Ahoo’

Onomatopoeia Words which give instructions to the reader or listener. ‘Come to me,
Lone Wolf…’

Image Using the same words more than once to emphasize an idea. ‘...would kill—
would kill!’

Description Using words which suggest strong feelings and emotions. ‘My heart is heavy
with the things that I do not understand.’

Simile Saying one thing, but really meaning the opposite. ‘There is a great assembly
in his honour.’

Irony Using the same initial sounds at the start of words for emphasis. ‘Waters of the
Waingunga, whither went Shere Khan?’

Emotive Creating a picture in the mind of the reader; it may be something which is
language physically impossible. ‘I am two Mowglis…’

Imperative Comparing two things by using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. ‘…as the snakes fight in
verbs the spring.’

Contradiction Asking a question that the speaker answers themselves; a question that may
have no answer. ‘..when wilt thou drink again?’

What impact does the language of the poem have on you? Do you like it? Why or why not? Write
your comments below.
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 11

Resource 11
Biography of Kipling’s early life

Rudyard Kipling
When Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born, India was a different country to
the one we know nowadays. It included not only the part we call India
today, but also Pakistan, Bangladesh and a part of Burma. It was all under
the control of the British Empire and that is the reason why Kipling’s family
were in Bombay. John Kipling, Rudyard’s father, worked in a new art
college there and had sailed out only one month after getting married to
Alice, Rudyard’s mother.
Rudyard was born on 30 December 1865 in Bombay and was given his
unusual name after the place where his parents first met; at a picnic near
Rudyard Reservoir in Staffordshire.
In those days, it was unusual for mothers in the upper class to bring up
their own children. In England, Rudyard would have had a nanny, so in
India, the servants in the house were also expected to bring up Rudyard.
He had his own ayeh (the Indian word for ‘nanny’) as well as the other
household servants to look after him. Because Rudyard spent nearly all
his time with the servants, all people from the local area, he did not just
learn how to speak English, he was spoken to and learned to answer in
the local language – Hindustani. He became so used to talking in
Hindustani that when he was with his parents he had to be reminded to
speak English to them!
As well as learning to talk to the servants, Rudyard was taken to many
places by them. Sometimes he went to Hindu temples, sometimes he went
to the markets; he saw and experienced many things that he would never
have done if he had been in the care of an English nanny. He heard local
legends and stories about animals who were gods and could speak to
each other. He was spoilt and doted on by the servants who cared for him
with great affection. All these experiences had a strong impact on
Rudyard.
Unfortunately, these happy times did not last, and when he was six
Rudyard and his little sister were taken back to England, but not to live
with their family. They were placed in foster care with strangers. Rudyard
later remembered it as a terrible and frightening time. He recalled being
bullied by the foster carer’s teenage son, and said later he had been
beaten for small misdemeanours. It is difficult to know if these things really
happened – how many people clearly remember all the things that
occurred when they were only six? For Rudyard Kipling, though, these
days were always linked with feelings of being an outsider.

1 Write down three differences between modern India and the country we know today.
2 Why might you think Rudyard’s name is romantic?
3 How did being brought up by servants affect Rudyard?
4 Do you think being looked after by servants would be a good way to grow up? Explain your
answer.
5 How might what Rudyard learned from the servants have influenced him when he became a
writer?
6 In what way might Rudyard’s experiences when he was six link to the stories in The Jungle Book?
 The Jungle Book: Lesson 12

Self-assessment

I can do I can do I need to

Skill You practised this when: this very this quite practise
well well this
Choose words to create a
certain effect in my writing

Write about different

characters and their
behaviours

Take on a role and show

how the character might act
or speak

Read extracts of the text and

look for different writing
techniques

Carry out research into some

of the facts used in the novel

Take part in a presentation

about an aspect of the story

Use imaginative skills to

create a piece of original
writing

Debate my opinions on a
topic and share my ideas
with others

Provide advice about ways

to deal with others

Use Kipling’s words to create

my own poem

Write in first person to

recreate an aspect of the
story

Learn about how life

experiences can affect a
story

Take part in an oral

performance of a poem

Further Reading
Into that Forest by Louis Nowra
A powerful story of two girls, lost in the Tasmanian
wilderness, then rescued and adopted by two
Tasmanian tigers that teach them how to survive in the
animal world. The girls’ transformation into savage
hunters, then their agonizing journey back into
civilization, is both haunting and utterly believable.
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
These stories are similar to The Jungle Book, though
addressed more to the reader directly because these
were the stories Kipling told his own children. They deal
with tricky and puzzling questions such as why the
elephant has such a long trunk and how the leopard got
his spots. They are witty and fanciful tales which are
light-hearted reads.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
When a colony of rabbits is threatened, some of them
decide to leave and find a safer place to live. This book
is their adventure as they move across the English
countryside, having to negotiate dangers such as a busy
road and predators. Each rabbit has its own personality
and characteristics that you will quickly recognize in
people you know. This is not only a great story, but a
modern fable about the value and importance of home
and family.
The Jungle Book
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
When Mrs Durrell decides she is tired of the miserable
English winter, she takes her family to live in Corfu.
Young Gerald discovers a whole world of unusual and
exciting animals to observe and even take as pets.
However, his eccentric family also provide some
amusement to the Greek locals as they move from villa
to villa seeking the perfect home. This is the first part of
a series of autobiographies written by the world famous
founder of Jersey Zoo.
The Dark Portal (Deptford Mice Trilogy) by Robin Jarvis
Two innocent mice tumble into all sorts of difficulties
when they venture into the sewers to retrieve a lost
charm and find their father. What they discover there
has the potential to destroy not only their little world, but
endanger the lives of many others too. Jupiter, an evil
presence, is worshipped by the rats who will do anything
he commands. This spooky tale with witchcraft
continues to surprise the reader right to the end. A great
first book in the series.