Grammar

[8] Cautionary Tales

Recapping
Learning:
Autobiographical
writing

Do Now:
Without looking
in your books,
how many of the
features of
autobiographical
writing can you
remember?
New Learning: Before we look at Cautionary Tales,let’s
Cautionary Tales think about all the different types of tales…
Jim, The Boy Who Ran Away by Hilaire Belloc
The Poem on the next series of slides is a
Cautionary Tale. What do you think this
means?

Before reading: Look at the picture. How

do you think this might relate to the
poem?

As you read the poem: Illustrate each

section to show what happens to Jim. (You
can do this in your book or on the
slides.)

After reading: Discuss with a partner

whether you like the poem or not.Give your
reasons. Think about the humour, the
description and the rhyme.
Jim, The Boy Who Ran Away by
Illustrate this section to show what is
Hilaire Belloc (1) happening to Jim.
Jim, The Boy Who Ran Away by
Illustrate this section to show what is
Hilaire Belloc (2) happening to Jim.
Jim, The Boy Who Ran Away by
Illustrate this section to show what is
Hilaire Belloc (3) happening to Jim.
Jim, The Boy Who Ran Away by
Illustrate this section to show what is
Hilaire Belloc (4) happening to Jim.
Jim, The Boy Who Ran Away by
Illustrate this section to show what is
Hilaire Belloc (5) happening to Jim.
Working out the meaning of words from context.

Complete the table below.

1. Find the word in the poem (it will be in bold)
2. Work out the part of speech (based on the context of the sentence)
3. List as many synonyms as you can for the word (BUT they have to be the
same part of speech!)

Word Word class or part of speech (in context) Synonyms (using the same part of speech.)

relate verb tell explain express

foible Adjective Weaker

gradual Adjective A lot and greater

morsal Adjective Bigger and mouthful

reluctant Verb Hesitate

Then find the words in the poem which are NOT at the beginning of a line but
start with a capital letter. What part of speech are they?
Now find the underlined words in the text.
Match them to their correct meaning.
What do you think is the moral or message of “Jim, the boy who ran
away” is?
What do you notice about how the poem is arranged (its form)? Complete
the table with you ideas.

Moral / Message Content / Events Characters Form / Layout

Hilaire Belloc Cautionary Tales
for Children

If you liked the poem from

today’s lesson, follow the link
to Hilaire Belloc’s book of
equally gruesome cautionary
tales!

Cautionary Tales for Children

is a 1907 children's book
written by Hilaire Belloc. It
is a parody of the cautionary
tales that were popular in the
19th century.