Overview and Outcomes:

This three-week Writing Root is designed to provide a transition between Y6 and Y7, ideally taught at the end of upper Key Stage 2.  It allows children the opportunity to engage in a longer work of fiction and to create their own extended fiction writing, based on events that could have happened in “A Beautiful Lie”.  The children will begin by discussing the concept of ‘lies’, collaborating to discuss experiences of lying and (anonymously) having the chance to share times they have told one.  Children discuss whether a lie can ever be beautiful and create their own ‘oxymoronic’ titles.  The text will then be shared with the children, beginning with the prologue, where we learn that the protagonist, Bilal, has told a lie.  As the book is read, the children will write their own chapters, which form part of their own ‘Beautiful Lie’ text, consisting of a prologue, 4 main chapters and an epilogue.  Because of the length of the text, some chapters will need to be shared with children through guided reading or whole-class shared reading opportunities outside of usual Literacy sessions in order to ensure the text is shared at an appropriate pace to keep up with the planned sessions.  Where possible, using class-sets of the text will give children in the upper-part of Key Stage 2 an opportunity to engage directly with the book.

Synopsis of Text:

An extraordinarily rich debut novel, set in India in 1947 at the time of Partition. The main character is Bilal, a boy determined to protect his dying father from the news of Partition - news that he knows will break his father's heart. With great spirit and determination, and with the help of his good friends, Bilal persuades others to collude with him in this deception, even printing false pages of the local newspaper to hide the ravages of unrest from his father. All that Bilal wants is for his father to die in peace. But that means Bilal has a very complicated relationship with the truth...

Text Rationale:

This multi-layered novel is set at an important time in Indian history. Children will engage with the inviting cast of characters and see how the dilemmas and consequences people faced in the past are often still relevant today; many opportunities for debate and discussion will arise. We chose this text for its richness of language (including much culturally significant vocabulary) and complexity of themes, including tolerance, love, religion and family. 

Links and Themes:

India, Partition of India, religion, family, love, loyalty, tolerance, religion

Date written: September 2012