Ask the class to close their eyes and read this aloud:

• Imagine this class is on a plane on a trip to America. You have been flying over the sea for miles. The plane starts to judder and then drops suddenly. You crash. The plane shakes violently and breaks apart. You are flung from your seat and black out.

• You come to and pick yourself out of the wreckage. All you can see is broken metal and smoke. As you clamber over the seats you can see sand and hear the sound of the sea. You are on a desert island.

• Your first thought is to find a teacher but as you search you realise there are no adult survivors, only some of your classmates. Are you excited or starting to panic? Are you worried about how you are going to survive? As you look around you start to wonder:

Who will take charge? Who will build safe shelter and find food? Who and what will you miss from home the most? Who do you know and who do you not trust at all?

Stranded – how did you get on?

• In groups of 4 discuss responses to this:

Were you frightened? Did you think you would manage on your own? What would you eat and drink? Where would you sleep? How long do you think you would survive without

any adult help? Would it actually be really fun?

• Now tell the class your thoughts

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Analysis of opening scenes

Make notes on the following:

• What clues we are given about the social class of the characters involved and the time period in which the story is set

• How tone and mood are created through visual images and sound effects

• How the plot is conveyed to the audience

Lord of the Flies is set on a desert island in the aftermath of a plane crash. The survivors are a group of schoolboys, and Ralph is elected as leader. His faithful helper is Piggy who looks after the “little ’uns” and Jack, the head of a choir, becomes the leader of a hunting party.

Read chapter one. Here we meet Ralph, Piggy and Jack. For each character, compile all we learn about them, using quotations. Consider:

AppearancePersonalitySocial backgroundThe way they treat othersThe way others treat them

• Their existence becomes driven by a number of symbols:

The conch shell which allows the holder to speak and therefore gives him power

The fire signal which must always be maintained at the top of the mountain; this brings both death and the hope of new life

The pig which must be hunted and killed in order for the boys to survive

The beast which begins as an unnamed fear and evolves into the ‘Lord of the Flies’