One Jandal – Guided Reading and Lesson Overview Pack

One Jandal by Tim Upperton is a warm, humorous poem that begins with a joke about a boy wearing one jandal and develops into a thoughtful message about helping each other. When the narrator recalls a family car becoming stuck in soft sand, the efforts of family members and a passing helper show what cooperation can achieve.

Written in a relaxed, conversational style, the poem combines dialogue, storytelling and reflection. The single jandal introduces the idea of things working together, while the stuck car becomes a way of thinking about difficulties people face. The ending recognises that we can manage many things independently while still valuing people we can turn to for help. Elsie Andrewes’s illustrations reinforce the connection between the opening joke and the beach story.

Designed for Year 3 students, this pack supports retelling, simple inference and understanding a message beyond literal events. Accessible prompts help students explain the joke, identify evidence of cooperation and gratitude, and connect “getting stuck” with familiar situations.

This pack includes:

• An editable, one-page guided reading plan covering comprehension, inference, organisation, language and author’s purpose

• Six editable lesson overview slides with a learning intention and success criteria

• Vocabulary matching and warm-up questions

• Exit questions and a reflection about helping others

• Teacher notes with suggested responses and support for exploring figurative meaning

Suitable for a supported reading programme, with opportunities for partner discussion, expressive reading and oral or drawn responses.

Text: Junior Journal 63, 2022, pages 18–19

Year level: Year 3

Text type: Free verse poetry

Themes: cooperation, community, family, helping others, gratitude, humour, independence, asking for help