The Terotero
- That the killing, preparation, and taste of some food can be difficult for some people to understand.
- That being part of a whānau or wider family group is important.
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b) Second, find details in the text about: "Being part of a whānau or wider family group is important." Quote, or give a brief description of the details:
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c) Which of the sentences below tells you the main idea? Tick one box. You should use both of the groups of details you have gathered above to find the main idea of the text.
| Killing animals is cruel and repulsive. Terotero tastes foul. | |
| Whānau means you've got all these people around who care about you. | |
| It's traditional for some families to kill their own meat for celebrations – especially pork. | |
| When you're part of a family, you sometimes have to do things you don't want to do. |
- Remind students that the main idea is what the author wants readers to understand is important and valued in the text as a whole.
- Explain to students that Part a) assesses if they can find details relating to the killing, preparation, and taste of some food being offensive.
- Explain to students that Part b) assesses if they can find details relating to the importance of being part of a whānau or wider family group.
- Explain to students that Part c) assesses if they can find the main idea of the text.
- You may need to explain that when you give a "quote" you copy the exact words from the text, and when you give a "description" you explain a part of the text in your own words.
- Explain that as long as they can justify their responses, their ideas will be accepted.
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Ensure that students understand what is meant by "giving a quote" (e.g., you copy the exact words from the text), and by "giving a description" (e.g., you explain a part of the text in your own words).
- The task can be done individually or in groups. Responses can be discussed by a teacher and student only, or within larger groups.
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Consider how the text should be presented to your students, to support effective comprehension of the text. It might be read by independently by students, presented as a shared or guided text, or presented through a combination of these approaches.
- use comprehension strategies
- evaluate and integrate ideas and information
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Possible responses that support: The killing, preparation, and taste of some food can be offensive.
General responses such as "Page 4 Gross stuff" were not accepted unless specific details were included alongside.
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| Page 5 |
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| Page 6 |
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| Page 6-7 |
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| Page 7 |
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Possible responses that support: Being part of a whānau or wider family group is important.
General responses such as "Page 5 They're all helping" were not accepted unless specific details were included alongside.
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| Page 2 |
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| Page 4 |
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| Page 5 |
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| Page 5-6 |
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| Page 6 |
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| Page 7 |
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NOTE: Your students may find details not listed above. These lists are guides only; they are unlikely to be complete. Your students may disagree with some of the details listed or with each others details. Regard disagreement as an opportunity for discussion.
Answer to c) The correct main idea: When you're part of a family, you sometimes have to do things you don't want to do.
This resource was trialled by 111 students. The trial involved Y10 students from five secondary schools.
Part a) Finding details
Most students were able to find at least five details relating to: The killing, preparation, and taste of some food can be offensive.
This is probably because The killing, preparation, and taste of some food can be offensive is supported by details the reader experiences through their senses. When readers see, hear, smell, taste, and touch through description and dialogue they are very likely to become actively engaged with the text. They become participants in the text rather than passive observers; and active readers are far more likely to comprehend text at a high level. The table below categorises the sense details noted by trial students for Part a):
| Sense | Page | Excerpts from student responses |
| Sight |
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
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| Hearing |
3
3
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| Smell |
3
3
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| Taste | 6 |
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| Touch |
3
4
4
4
6
6
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Part b) Finding details – Only a small group were able to find more than two details relating to: Being part of a whānau or wider family group is important.
In contrast to a), Being part of a whānau or wider family group is important is supported by relatively few sense details (and those that are present are less graphic than those in a) so are probably less likely to be noted). In cases like this, where readers lack sufficient opportunities to experience text through their senses, the ideas in the text do not come alive; they remain as ideas rather than being transformed into something readers can experience. The relative lack of sense details probably resulted in students being less actively engaged with b) than a). The table below categorises the sense details noted by trial students for Part b):
| Sense | Page | Excerpts from student responses |
| Sight |
5
5
6
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| Hearing |
No hearing sense details were noted. |
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| Smell | NA | |
| Taste | NA | |
| Touch |
2
5
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All students overlooked hearing sense details. The volume and tone of Mum's voice, and the speed with which she speaks, are all indications of her strength of feeling about the importance of whānau. The table below lists the hearing sense details not noted by trial students:
| Hearing |
2
2
5
5
5
6
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Vicky's perception – Only a small group appeared to appreciate that Vicky's perception is limited.
Students may also have struggled to find details relating to Being part of a whānau or wider family group is important because as readers they have experienced the story through Vicky's eyes only. Whilst Vicky resists the idea of whānau, at least at the beginning of the story, students may not emphasise with the idea, presented only in the adults' perspectives in this story, of the importance of whānau. We learn about whānau from Mum in particular, but much of what Mum says and does in relation to this topic is not appreciated by Vicky. It appears trial students may have uncritically accepted Vicky's perception, without realising its limitations.
Part c) Finding the main idea
Almost all students correctly chose When you're part of a family, you sometimes have to do things you don't want to do. Almost all of those who were not correct did not choose any of the four options.
It is likely that the trial students, in general, understood the process of collecting details, grouping them, and combining those groups to find the main idea since, when four choices of main idea were presented to them, almost all were able to make the correct choice (although it must be noted that this does not necessarily mean students can independently carry out this process). If, however, you believe your students did struggle with the process of finding the main idea see the section "Working with Students".
Students who struggled when there were few sense details in the text:
It could be argued that this text does not have enough sense details for young readers to adequately comprehend the presented idea of the importance of whānau. With your students, explore what sense details are included and excluded, and how this impacts their perception of the idea: the importance of whānau. This should involve discussing that no text is perfect, and that limitations in one area should not lead to the rejection of a text as a whole. You may wish to add sense details to the text that relate to the importance of whānau. These should not centre on Vicky because this would interfere with the author's presentation of Vicky as someone who is not yet mature enough to fully appreciate whānau. Instead, they should centre on Mum – the character most strongly associated with the importance of whānau. For example, the scene at the top of page 5 where Mum is peeling potatoes might be enhanced by the addition of more sense detail. Ask your students, "what detail could we add about her eyes/mouth that would show us more about how she is feeling...Could we add something about the way she touches or looks at someone?" Not all senses may be appropriate to this context, and too many details could ruin the text. Also remember to show, e.g., "Mum leaned over the back of her chair and flung her arms around Aunty Hine, potato and peeler still in her hands" not tell, e.g., "Mum was so excited to see Aunty Hine that she forgot to put down the potato and peeler when she hugged her".A further next step could be to list all the characters' names, and next to each name, write any evidence from the text suggesting whānau is important to them.
Students who struggled with sense details related to a character's voice:
Students need to be able to recognise not just the more graphic sense details such as "freaky-looking pink and green things", but also the more subtle ones such as those to do with a character's voice. Make use of the table above (listing the hearing sense details overlooked by the trial students). Ask your students what the author is showing us through the tone and volume of Mum's voice and the speed with which she speaks, for example, when she "hissed", "shouted", "whispered", and talked "flat out".
Students who struggled to appreciate that Vicky's perception is limited:
Readers of The Terotero perceive the action through the author's objective description and through Vicky. Hers is the only mind we have access to. For example, when the author writes, "But Mum wasn't listening, and anyway, when she was in one of her nostalgic moods, there was no point arguing with her", it is Vicky's thoughts we read. In contrast, we are never privy to Mum's thoughts. Those trial students who struggled to find details relating to being part of a whānau or wider family group is important may have done so because their reading was dominated by Vicky's perception, and Vicky is not particularly interested in the idea of whānau. She is, in fact, preoccupied with her objections to the terotero, and with BJ – "He'd looked like one of those superfit league players – and he still did…" (p.3) and "He was so nice." (p.7).This group of students would benefit from learning about Point of View. In the context of fiction, Point of View is not synonymous with "opinion". Rather than thinking of Point of View as an opinion or belief, think of it as "vantage point", and ask yourself, "Which character is watching the scene?" In The Terotero, Vicky is watching the scene, so she is the point of view character. But, significantly in this case, the point of view character's perception may be limited, or even flawed. These students probably don't appreciate that it is their job as readers to critically evaluate characters, not to blindly accept what they say, do, and think. Talk to your students about the things Vicky notices (e.g., BJ, and the terotero) and also about the things she overlooks (e.g., the importance of whānau to her mum).
Students who struggled with the process of finding the main idea:
The resource links below will support you in deciding the next learning steps for students who you believe struggled with the process of finding the main idea, i.e., finding details, grouping them, then combining those groups in order to find the main idea. It may be necessary to re-assess students using these resources in order to establish their exact needs.
- For students who noted details that could not be justified as relating to a) The killing, preparation, and taste of some food can be offensive and/or b) Being part of a whānau or wider family group is important: See Close Encounters (1) (Level 4).
- For students who struggled to combine groups of details to find the main idea in c): See Close Encounters (2) (Level 5).
- For students who struggled to distinguish between important and minor ideas in c): See Close Encounters (1) .
- For students who relied too heavily on their background knowledge when finding details in a) and/or b) and/or finding the main idea in c): See Close Encounters (1) .