1. Imagine you were homeless...
What are the problems and
dangers that homeless
people face?
Nowhere to wash, shower,
or brush your teeth.
Nowhere to sleepLimited money to buy food
Clothes become dirty, tatty
and worn
Cold weather (rain and
snow)
Accosted by drunks
What would be your
biggest fear?

2. Lesson 3 – Looking for Shelter

3. By the end of the lesson
ALL of you will be able to identify how a writer
establishes and develops characters
MOST of you will be able to select appropriate
and effective vocabulary WAF 7
SOME of you will be able to deduce, infer or
interpret information, events or ideas from texts
RAF 3

4. Your starter…. Copy this but use a dictionary to check the meaning of the
words underlined and change them to something that a Year 6 student
could understand. It is the “Mission Statement” of a charity called Shelter.
Shelter believes we all have a right to a
decent, secure and affordable domicile so
that we can work and link with others around
us. Shelter works indefatigably to prevent
and alleviate homelessness. We propose
solutions and we influence politicians,
decision makers and public opinion to
ameliorate the lives of homeless people. We
work closely with governments to persuade
them to pass new legislation to help
homeless and badly housed people.

5. One key sentence
On page 10, Shelter says “They abolished National
Service, and they’ve put me where I can’t turn
garbage into men anymore…”
If we can understand what that sentence is all about
we can really start to understand the character of
Shelter.

6. National Service
From the end of
World War 2 in 1945
until 1963 every man
in England had to do
MILTARY SERVICE at
the age of 18, usually
for two years.

7. Call –up papers
This meant that on his 18th
birthday every boy received a
letter (like the one on the
right) telling him to “report for
duty”. You had to join the
army, the air force or the navy
and serve for two years. You
were only let off if you were
disabled or had a serious
medical condition. If you
refused you were sent to
prison.

8. Sergeant Majors
Shelter was a Sergeant Major whose job was to
train the eighteen year olds and make them into
soldiers. Since most of the men did not want to
be in the army in the first place, the Sergeant
Majors had to be very tough! During basic
training, usually 6 weeks, they had to produce a
unit of smart, disciplined soldiers.

9. Turning …….
Into ………

10. Read on to the end of page 18
Now you have much more information about
Shelter. In your book answer these questions:
1. Shelter has made a false identity for himself.
Describe some of the things he has done to create
this identity. (the way he dresses and speaks, for
example).
2. On page 10, he says “but I can clean up the
garbage, can’t I?” What does he mean?
3. Why does Shelter think he has to “clean up” the
streets?

11. Are you able to...
...identify how a writer establishes and develops
characters
...select appropriate and effective vocabulary
WAF 7
...deduce, infer or interpret information, events
or ideas from texts RAF 3

12. What do you think Shelter would
look like in a film adaptation?