Lucky Undies: YEAR 1 - English - Explore

Little J feels lucky when he wears a new pair of yellow undies. After Old Dog destroys them, he loses his confidence. Big Cuz saves the day with the remnants of the undies made into a sweat band, and Little J finds confidence to play the basketball game and win the day.

Explore - Discuss features of plot, character and setting in different types of literature and explore some features of characters in different texts

Theme - CHARACTER

After viewing Little J & Big Cuz, episode 3, ‘Lucky Undies’, engage students with the following activities to support their understanding of Little J’s sense of luck and superstition.

As a class, re-watch Little J & Big Cuz, Episode 3 ‘Lucky undies’, and ask students to concentrate on the role of Old Dog. Have students describe what they think the type of dog he is. Using a Socratic Circle method, quiz students on how they know this. Seek reasons for students’ responses by explaining Old Dog’s actions, expressions and movements. Additional resource:

Ask students to explore the relationship between Old Dog and Little J in the story. Question students to define how the actions of Old Dog contribute to the dilemma and the solution in the story. Introduce the students to the concepts of ‘protagonist’ (hero) and ‘antagonist’ (adversary/rival). Have students explain how the actions of Old Dog affect the actions of Little J and the outcome of the story.

Read or view a selection of books and nursery rhymes, or view video stories where the hero is affected by circumstances brought about by another character who is seemingly their friend, e.g. Tiddalick The Frog, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, etc. Suggested resources include:

Introduce students to the puppet tradition of ‘Punch and Judy’. As a class, watch a Punch & Judy performance, e.g.

Discuss with students the traditional story elements of Punch and Judy puppetry. Explore the difference between what is acceptable story telling in the past to how writers construct stories for today’s audiences.