feelings: when they feel part of a group and when they feel excluded from a group.įollowing the first reading of The Lost Thing, students are given time to reflect on their initial response using the Think, Puzzle, Explore activity.for the above, what is required to belong to each group.groups each student were born into and continue to belong to (e.g.This can either be done on paper or, for those teachers wishing to employ digital learning tools, an online mind-mapping application like or Popplet. To get students thinking about different aspects of belonging, a mind map can be crafted. One of the central themes teachers can explore is belonging. Display these or store them until the focus of study is on the social and physical setting of The Lost Thing, which will involve a discussion of utopias and dystopias. Once identified, the categories can be used to stimulate more ideas for students. These categories can be named during initial discussions about what students have included in the displays. These depictions can include words, colours or images that relate to urban places, technology, people, relationships, values, nature, activities or food. Students are to depict a “perfect” world on one side/half while the other side/half will depict an oppressive world (definitions of oppressive should be examined). A2) in half or join two A3 pages together alternatively, the front and back of an A3 page could be used. Priming for later exploration of utopias and dystopias Each student expresses what they remember feeling about the book and what they find most memorable/interesting/enjoyable about it. Students are invited to bring in picture books from their younger years, either from home or borrowed from the library. Introductory activities Picture books from childhood

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan