Year 4/5MG Literacy/Inquiry
Lion - A Long Way Home
by Saroo Brieley
As part of the senior Inquiry, ‘Care for Kids’ the students are listening to their teacher read the Young Reader’s Edition text ‘Lion - A Long Way Home,’ a true story that explores the different passages of his life, such as a poor, happy child living with his family in India, a lost, frightened child living on the streets of Kolkata, then adopted and living with a new family in Tasmania, and as a young adult searching for his home town on Google Earth.
We read this excerpt from the text - ‘Lion A Long Way Home.’
“My brothers and I were creative about finding things to eat, like lots of kids in our neighbourhood. Sometimes it was
as simple as throwing stones at mangoes, trying to knock one down from someone’s trees. At other times, we were more adventurous. Walking home one day, we decided to take a back way through someone fields and came across a large hen house, with armed guards patrolling it. Guddu thought we could safely grab some eggs, so we made a plan.”
Students were encouraged to reflect on the text and respond by making connections to their own lives.
How is Saroo’s understanding of right and wrong different from yours?
Marina - Saroo’s understanding of right and wrong is different from mine because he thinks stealing food is ok. He thinks if he needs the food that it's ok to steal because he needs it. I know that stealing is wrong, and if I need food I can just go to the shop and buy some. I obey the law but he doesn't and does what he needs to survive.
Oscar -
Saroo
Right: Taking food from other’s house
Wrong: Not having food
Me
Right: Saving money for food
Wrong: Taking food from other’s house
Kathy- Saroo’s understanding of right and wrong is different to mine because he didn’t have enough food to eat and he had to steal to survive. Mine on the other hand is different because I live in a country where every child has food and I don’t need to steal to get food .
Why do you think Saroo thinks as he does about taking food wherever he can find some?
Marina - I think Saroo acts the way he does because he wasn't taught another way. He only knows how to survive using that method. He is poor and can only survive by stealing. He doesn't know that's wrong but he does it anyway.
Kathy- Saroo thinks like he does because it's normal to him because he has to do it because that's his way of survival, he also didn’t have an education because his family couldn’t afford it so he didn’t know what was the right thing or the wrong thing to do .
Why did the children need to make a plan to safely grab some eggs?
Marina - They had to make a plan because the guards were guarding the chicken coop in case anyone wanted to come and try to steal some. So without a plan they would definitely get caught. If they were to get caught they could go to jail or have to pay a fine.
Oscar- The children needed to make a plan to safely grab some eggs because they needed a smart way to get past the armed guards and in a safe way, without being caught.
