From the Four Corners: A collection of stories - Pearson Schools

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From the Four Corners: A collection of stories from different cultures and traditions

Edited by Mike Royston

Introduction

From the Four Corners is a New Windmills collection that pairs short stories from the UK with stories from other countries, cultures and literary traditions. Supporting the activities that appear at the end of the collection, these extensive resources include at least one individual lesson plan for each story. In addition, some lesson plans are designed to encourage comparative study of a pair of texts. The lesson plans are accompanied by Student, Teacher and OHT resource sheets that will help students to engage with the stories and assist with your planning. They can be used to supplement your own teaching plans, or to provide extra support for specific teaching points. Together, these resources and those appearing in the book are designed to appeal to a range of learning styles, and incorporate Reading, Writing and Speaking and Listening tasks explicitly matched to Framework Objectives and Assessment Foci.

Resources for From the Four Corners: Individual lesson plans Activity sheets (Student sheets and OHTs) Teachers’ notes

Activities by Mike RoystonThe following pages can be downloaded and printed out as required.

This material may be freely copied for institutional use. However, this material is copyright and under no circumstances can copies be offered for sale.

The publishers gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce copyright material.

FromtheFourCorners

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Teacher’s Notes ©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

KIDS AND PARENTS Lesson 1 60 minutes

Class: Date: Period:

Lesson coverage: Dear Mum, Please Don’t Panic

Lesson aims: 1 To use speech to recount and reflect on personal experience 2 To examine differences between spoken and written narrative 3 To write to inform, explain and describe

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Dear Mum, Please Don’t Panic’knowledge: Experience of analysing style and language

Book activities: Kids and Parents: Activities 1 and 2 – Drawing on personal experience to empathise with the story, then analysing the events in greater depth

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R2, R7, Wr5, Wr6, S&L1, S&L2 R2, R3, R5Year 8: R4, R5, Wr5, Wr6, S&L2, S&L7 Wr1, Wr2, Wr3Year 9: R1, R3, Wr1, Wr11, S&L1, S&L2

Starter: (20 minutes) Ask the class to volunteer stories about accidentally causing damage at home. Encourage colourful anecdote and interaction. Then allow 10 minutes for students to explore the same theme in pairs, taking turns as interviewer and interviewee.

Introduction/ (25 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Development: Sheet 1 – a chart for recording Jack’s accidents in sequence. Students

follow the model to make five further entries on their charts. Support groups who find difficulty in distinguishing one episode from another: help them locate sequence markers in the text.

Plenary: (15 minutes) Take brief feedback from the group activity. Then ask students to compare their spoken narratives in the Starter with the way ‘Dear Mum…’ is shaped and written. For this stage, show OHT 2 – a chart to compare spoken and written stories – and use it to record key points. Guidance on doing this can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 80.

Homework/ Students describe an accident they had at home. They can chooseFollow-on: whether to model their writing on the letter style of ‘Dear Mum…’ or

use a more conventional form.

Resources: Student Sheet 1, OHT 2, Teachers’ Notes, page 80.

Personal teaching notes:

Jack’s accidents

Name: Date:

1 � 3

Goesintomum’s bedroomfortalcum

powder–spillsitalloverthecarpet.

4 5 6

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Student Sheet ©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

11FromtheFourCorners

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StudentSheet ©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

1 Comparing spoken and written stories

Spoken stories Written stories

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OHT ©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

2

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Lesson coverage: Dear Mum, Please Don’t Panic

Lesson aims: 1 To analyse the narrator’s language in a first-person story 2 To use textual quotation to support personal response 3 To improvise a text-based situation

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Dear Mum, Please Don’t Panic’knowledge: Familiarity with the PEE (Point Evidence Explanation)

method of analysis

Book activities: Kids and Parents: Activities 3 and 4 – Analysing narrative language, then taking part in an improvisation

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R8, R14, Wr2, S&L15, S&L16 R3, R4, R5Year 8: R3, R10, Wr3, S&L13, S&L14Year 9: R3, R11, Wr2, S&L11, S&L12

Starter: (10 minutes) Ask the class to demonstrate how to ingratiate themselves with one or more of the following: Mum, Dad, older sibling, grandparent, teacher. Invite impromptu performances in pairs.

Introduction : (20 minutes) Turn attention to Jack’s strategy for getting back into Mum’s good books by writing a letter. Ask: why does he do this rather than explaining to her face? Would you do the same?

Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 3 – a chart for analysing how Jack uses language to conciliate Mum. Groups choose three or more quotations and add them to their charts, together with explanatory comments. Support groups who need help in distinguishing between evidence and explanation.

Development: (20 minutes) Tell students that, working in pairs, they are to plan and perform a role play of Jack’s next meeting with Mum. Advice for conducting this and using peer assessment can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 80.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Review with the class the two main activities in this lesson. The purpose has been essentially the same. Have students learned more from one than the other?

Resources: Student Sheet 3, Teachers’ Notes, page 80.


Chart for analysing Jack’s language

Name: Date:

Comment chart

Quotation 1 Comment

‘AndI’mnotwearingmybrand-new Jackwantstoshowhe’snottotallytrainerstotheparty–likeyousaidI disobedient:hetakessomenoticeofMumshouldn’t’(page1)

Quotation � Comment

Quotation 3 Comment

Quotation 4 Comment

Quotation 5 Comment

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3

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Lesson coverage: One Christmas Eve

Lesson aims: 1 To relate a story to its social and historical context 2 To examine how an author directs response to character and theme 3 To write to imagine, explore and entertain

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘One Christmas Eve’knowledge: Awareness that character is the author’s creation, not a real person

Book activities: Kids and Parents: Activities 5 and 6 – Exploring the story’s social theme and how characterisation is used to convey it


Starter: (10 minutes) Display OHT 4 – a fact sheet about racial segregation in the USA during the mid-twentieth century. Ask students to contrast the facts with the situation in their own part of the UK today.

Introduction : (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 5 – a chart for recording evidence of discrimination in ‘One Christmas Eve’. Groups decide on three more examples to add to their copies of the chart.

Development: (25 minutes) Take feedback. Then distribute to groups Student Sheet 6 – a partly completed spidergram charting Joe’s increasingly distressed feelings. Groups make three further entries. Allow 10 minutes to review with the class how our sympathy for Joe leads us to criticise the attitude of white people in the story.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Use this to set the homework/follow-on below. Specify a length appropriate to students’ abilities.

Homework/ Students write a story about a young person being treated by others as Follow-on: different or inferior. They should base the story on the young person’s

feelings and make a plan accordingly.

Resources: OHT 4, Student Sheets 5 and 6.


1 Fact sheet: Racial segregation in the USA

Afterslaverywasabolishedinthesouthern

statesoftheUSA,the‘JimCrow’lawswere

passed.Theseenforcedstrictsegregation

ofwhiteandblackAmericans.

Inmanystates,whiteandblackpeople

wererequiredto:

– attendseparateschools

– usedifferentleisurefacilities

– sitseparatelyonpublictransportandin

restaurants.

Inmanystates,whiteandblackpeople

wereforbiddenfrom:

– marrying

– livinginthesameneighbourhood

– fightinginthesameregiment.

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4

Racial discrimination in ‘One Christmas Eve’

Name: Date:

Evidence of unequal treatment of black people

1 Joe’smother,Arcie,worksforawell-offwhitefamilyastheir‘maid’.Sheispaidverylittle:‘Shegotonlysevendollarsaweek’(page5).

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3

4

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5

Spidergram of Joe’s feelings

Name: Date:

Joe’s

feelings

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1 eagertoseeSantaClausbeforeheandArciesetout

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5

3

6 4 frightenedwhen‘SantaClaus’wavestherattleathim

6

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TOUGH TEACHERS Lesson 4 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: Excuses, Excuses

Lesson aims: 1 To relate a story’s structure to its theme 2 To explain and justify personal views in discussion 3 To participate in peer assessment of speaking and listening

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Excuses, Excuses’knowledge: Experience of peer assessment

Book activities: Tough Teachers: Activities 1 and 2 – Relating the story to personal experience, then tracing the course of conflict in the story and linking this to its episodic structure


Starter: (10 minutes) Recall the most memorable excuse ever offered to you for not doing school work on time. Students then recount excuses they have made or ‘heard about’. End this stage by challenging the class to devise ‘the perfect excuse’ and try it out in your next lesson.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Tell students they are to trace the conflict between Gerry and Mr Haggarty by filling in a boxing match scorecard (or ‘battle chart’). This is reproduced on Student Sheet 7; distribute it after dividing the class into small groups. Students agree on four further entries, noting the winner of each round, then decide who was i the overall winner, and ii the more skilful opponent.

Development: (15 minutes) Take feedback from the group activity. Encourage a variety of responses. Insist that students justify their ideas by reasoned explanation and text reference. As this stage develops, make students aware of how their work has highlighted the story’s episodic structure. Relate this to the conflict theme.

Plenary: (15 minutes) Display OHT 8 – a list of Speaking and Listening objectives for the work done in this lesson. Students use it to make peer assessments. Guidance on doing this can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, pages 80–81.

Resources: Student Sheet 7, OHT 8, Teachers’ Notes, pages 80–81.


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Battle chart for ‘Excuses, Excuses’

Name: Date:

Battle chart: Gerry versus Mr Haggerty

Round Gerry’s tactics Mr Haggerty’s tactics Winner

1 Heclaimsabsencethrough Hegivesadoublehomework illnesswhentheworkwasset forGerrytocatchup

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3

4

5

Overall winner:

7

1 Speaking and listening objectives

1 Makingcontributionstoclassandgroupdiscussion.

� Listeningtoothersandbuildingonwhattheysay(includingquestioning).

3 Justifyingideasbydetailedexplanation,includingtextreferenceandquotation.

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8

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Lesson coverage: Excuses, Excuses

Lesson aims: 1 To consider the purposes of dialogue in narrative writing 2 To experiment with the use of speech verbs in stories 3 To plan and write a further episode to the story

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Excuses, Excuses’knowledge: Awareness of the difference between description and dialogue

Book activity: Tough Teachers: Activity 3 – Examining the use of dialogue in narrative and adding an episode to the story


Starter: (15 minutes) Brainstorm the reasons why writers of stories and novels use dialogue. Collect at least four ideas on the board. Then ask students to suggest a rank order for them and to justify it.

Introduction: (15 minutes) Read aloud the part of the story from ‘The atmosphere was tense’ (page 14) to ‘dictate it to a medium!’ (page 15). Invite comment on the effects of the dialogue here. Establish that, in addition to its other functions, dialogue moves the story forward. Students need to apply this to their own story writing.

Development: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 9 – a list of eight speech verbs from the story. Students locate them in the text, then discuss i what each shows about the mood of the speaker, and ii their effectiveness as description.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Set the homework/follow-on below. Give the class two success criteria: i dialogue should develop the action as well as

character, and ii speech verbs should be original and entertaining.

Homework/ Students write an episode to add to the end of ‘Excuses, Excuses’. In it,Follow-on: Mr Haggerty asks Wayne for the £2 he has won by betting that Gerry

will ‘get away with it’ (page 17).

Resources: Student Sheet 9


Speech verbs in ‘Excuses, Excuses’

Name: Date:

Verb Your comment

squeaked

roared

rasped

seethed

snapped

sneered

beamed

boomed

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9

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Lesson coverage: Father’s Help

Lesson aims: 1 To compare two cultural contexts 2 To use empathy and inference to understand a character’s

behaviour 3 To write in role to inform, explain and describe

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Father’s Help’knowledge: Familiarity with the conventions of a formal letter

Book activities: Tough Teachers: Activities 4 and 5 – Comparing secondary schools in India (in the mid-20th century) and Britain (today), then writing in role as the story’s main character


Starter: (15 minutes) Ask students to give their views of the biggest differences between Swami’s school and their own. List responses on the board. Develop the discussion by asking students to justify their choices.

Introduction: (15 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 10 – a comparison chart for students to list detailed differences between the Indian school in the story and British schools today. They make up to four more entries on their charts. Support students who need help using inference to find a range of points in the text.

Development: (15 minutes) Take brief feedback. Then ask students to give their opinions about how students in India were taught c.1960. Do they think these students would have: learned well; behaved well; respected their teachers; enjoyed school?

Plenary: (15 minutes) Set the homework/follow-on below. Distribute Student Sheet 11 – a planning frame for the letter students will write in role as Swami (Book activity 5). Use the remaining time to i begin planning, and ii revise the setting out of a formal letter. Suggestions for the content of the letter can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 81.

Homework/ Students plan and write Swami’s letter to Mr Samuel.Follow-on:

Resources: Student Sheets 10 and 11, Teachers’ Notes, page 81.


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Comparing schools

Name: Date:

School in India (mid-�0th century) School in the UK (today)

studentshavetostandwhen question-and-answerinclassislessansweringateacher’squestion formal

10

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Planning frame for Swami’s letter

Name: Date:

Address _______________________

_______________________

_______________________

_______________________

Date _______________________

DearMrSamuel,

Iamwritingbecause________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1st main paragraph Explain why you were late for school.

�nd main paragraph Explain why your father wrote his letter and what it said.

3rd main paragraph Explain why you deliberately behaved badly in Mr Samuel’slessons.

4th main paragraph Ask Mr Samuel to accept your apology and promise to be a model student in future.

Yourssincerely,

____________________________________

11

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HOME AND AWAY Lesson 7 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: Kid in a Bin

Lesson aims: 1 To read interpretatively 2 To relate a story’s style to its author’s intentions 3 To plan and write a front page newspaper story

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Kid in a Bin’knowledge: Experience of reading and writing journalism

Book activities: Home and Away: Activities 1 and 2 – Examining the effect of the story’s style on the reader, then writing in role as a journalist

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R2, R7, Wr10, Wr11, S&L1, S&L5 R2, R4, R5Year 8: R3, R10, Wr10, Wr12, S&L5, S&L10 Wr2, Wr5, Wr7, Wr8Year 9: R1, R6, Wr11, Wr12, S&L5, S&L7

Starter: (15 minutes) Brainstorm with the class initial responses to this highly unusual story. Why is Anthony living at McDonald’s? Could anyone really survive in a bin? What are the writer’s purposes? Encourage a range of opinions and establish with students that it is the reader who makes meaning in a story.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 12 – a survival chart to show how Anthony spends a typical day and night. Allow students 10 minutes to fill in the chart. Then lead discussion about the way the author’s matter-of-fact style is deliberately at odds with the disturbing situation he presents. Guidance on this can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 83.

Development/ (25 minutes) Tell students that their homework/follow-on is to write a Plenary: front-page story for the local newspaper following Anthony’s discovery.

Display OHT 13 and use it to analyse key characteristics of journalistic writing. Advice on this is printed in the Teachers’ Notes, pages 81–82. Use plenary time to emphasise that Anthony’s story will be given ‘sensational’ treatment in the press: this should be reflected in the style and layout of students’ writing.

Homework/ Students imagine that Anthony is discovered and write the local Follow-on: newspaper’s front page story about this and how he came to be living

in a bin.

Resources: Student Sheet 12, OHT 13, Teachers’ Notes, pages 81 and 82.



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Survival chart for ‘Kid in a Bin’

Name: Date:

Anthony’s �4-hour survival chart

Eating

Sleeping

Washing and Toilet

Entertainment

Friends

Avoiding discovery

Front-page newspaper story

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13

Coachpassengersgavetheir

driverdirectionsfor200miles

whenhegotlostmomentsafter

settingofffromHeathrow.

Thirtytravellerswerestunned

whentheNationalExpressbusman

pulledovertoconsultamapbefore

hehadgotoutoftheairport.

Theyhadtoshowthedriver

andco-driverhowtogetto

Warwick, Coventry and their final

destination,Bradford.

PasssengerMarkTemple,

49,fromWarwick,said:‘Itwas

amazing.Thecoachwasanhour

andahalflateinleaving.

WehadonlyjustleftTerminal

2whenthecoachstoppedandthe

driverandhisco-driverstartedto

lookatamap.

DRIVEN MAD!Passengers direct lost busman 200 miles

Ihadtogouptothefrontof

thecoachanddirectthedriver

outontotheM4,thentotheM25

andontotheM40forWarwick.

Hehadhand-writtendirections,

buttheymadenosense.Itold

himtostayonthemotorway

untilwegotnearWarwickbut

afterhalfanhourhewentwrong

again.Ihadtodirecthimthrough

OxfordontheA34andbackonto

theM40.’

Lastnightitemergedthat

anotherNationalExpressbus

alsogotlostonthewayfrom

BradfordtoHeathrowvia

Sheffield.

Thecompanyapologisedand

saidregularoperatorshadbeen

unavailableatshortnotice.

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Lesson coverage: Death and the BoyLesson aims: 1 To relate a story to its social and cultural context 2 To identify the characteristics of an oral story 3 To write to explore, imagine and entertain for a young readership

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Death and the Boy’knowledge: Awareness of an oral tradition in story telling

Book activities: Home and Away: Activities 3 and 4 – Establishing a cultural context for the story, then re-presenting it as a narrative for children


Starter: (10 minutes) Ask students to propose a moral for the story. Collect several suggestions on the board. Which of them can be justified most convincingly from the text? Encourage debate and end this stage with a class vote.

Introduction: (25 minutes) Display OHT 14 – a list of characteristics of folk tales. Divide the class into small groups to discuss which of them applies to ‘Death and the Boy’, and how.

End this stage by taking brief feedback. Then focus discussion on the key features of an oral story. Guidance on this can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 82.

Development/ (25 minutes) Tell students that for the rest of this lesson and forPlenary: homework/follow-on they are to produce a version of ‘Death and the

Boy’ for readers aged 7–8. Distribute Student Sheet 15 – the publisher’s brief for the story. Take students through this to ensure the activity is clearly understood. Then ask pairs to exchange ideas about a suitable format and style. End the lesson with a general sharing of ideas.

Homework/ Students write and illustrate a version of ‘Death and the Boy’ for Follow-on: children. If possible, they should use a computer.

Resources: OHT 14, Student Sheet 15, Teachers’ Notes, page 82.


Some characteristics of folk tales

Astrong,singleplotwhichoftentakestheformofajourney,aquestoratrial.

Alocalsettingwithsymbolicovertones.

Actionthatleadstoconflict,oftenofaviolentkind.

Caricaturesratherthanfullyroundedornaturalisticcharacters.

An‘everyman’herowhogainswisdomorenlightenmentbytheendofthestory.

Anexplicitmoralormessage.

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14

15 Publisher’s brief for a new version of ‘Death and the Boy’

Name: Date:

Target group: – Childrenaged7–8

Number of pages: – 6pagesofA4size

Layout of each page: – Approx.50wordsofwriting

– 1colouredillustration

Language and style: – Vocabularysuitedtoages7–8

– Variedsentencestructures

– Mixtureofdescriptionandspeech

Story title: – Createanewtitleifyouwish

Overall effect: – Exciting!Fast-moving!

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Lesson coverage: Kid in a Bin and Death and the Boy

Lesson aims: 1 To compare the themes of stories from different cultures 2 To examine how stories are matched to their readerships 3 To write to analyse, review and comment

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Kid in a Bin’ and ‘Death and the Boy’knowledge: Experience of comparing texts

Book activity: Home and Away: Activity 5 – Comparing the action, characters and themes of stories from different cultures


Starter: (15 minutes) Tell students that ‘Death and the Boy’ is among the most familiar and enduring of all African folk tales. Why should its appeal be so strong?

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 16 – a set of statements linking ‘Death and the Boy’ with ‘Kid in a Bin’. Groups enter responses to show how far they agree with each statement, and why. Advise them that some statements apply to plot, some to character and some to narrative technique. Support students who find difficulty with technique.

Development: (15 minutes) Take feedback from the group activity. Concentrate on i the theme/message of each story, and ii the way each story’s style is conditioned by its target audience.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Review the learning achieved in the lesson. Then distribute and read through Student Sheet 17 – a planning frame for the homework/follow-on activity.

Homework/ Students use their planning frame to write an analytical essay: ‘What Follow on: similarities and what differences can you find between the stories?

Which one do you prefer, and why?’

Resources: Student Sheets 16 and 17.


16Sta

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en

ts l

inkin

g ‘

Death

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d t

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‘Kid

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Dat

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ree

Rea

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Both

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Nei

ther

sto

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tic

4

Both

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have

a

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oral

or

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5

Ther

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Planning frame for your essay

Name: Date:

Thisplanningframeisfortheessayquestion:‘Whatsimilaritiesandwhatdifferencescanyoufindbetweenthestories?Whichonedoyouprefer,andwhy?’

Introduction Arethestoriesmoresimilarthandifferent,orviceversa?Givethreepointsofcomparison.

1st main paragraph Comparethenarratives(plots).Bringoutonesimilarityandonedifference.

�nd main paragraph Comparewhathappenstothecentralcharacters.Withwhichonedoyoufeelmoresympathy?

3rd main paragraph Saywhichstoryyouprefer.Givethreereasons.

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TALL STORIES Lesson 10 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: The Old Woman Who Lived in a Cola Can

Lesson aims: 1 To adopt different reading strategies for different purposes 2 To examine how an author creates and conveys character 3 To develop a personal viewpoint about a story’s theme

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Cola Can’knowledge: Experience of reading inferentially

Book activities: Tall Stories: Activities 1 and 2 – Considering the actions of the characters in the story and the ideas that the author is using them to illustrate

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R2, R12, Wr2, S&L1, S&L12 R2, R3, R4, R5Year 8: R4, R5, Wr3, S&L1, S&L10Year 9: R1, R3, Wr2, S&L1, S&L10

Starter: (10 minutes) Ask the class for responses to the Old Woman’s house moves. Why does she move so often? Why is she never happy? Why does the author leave her back where she started? Introduce the idea of a fable. Establish that ‘The Old Woman…’ is a non-naturalistic story with representative characters and a moral.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 18 – a flow diagram for tracking the Old Woman’s moves. Groups make four more entries, discussing as they do so i the social levels through which she climbs, and ii her materialistic values and why she holds them. This activity requires both literal and inferential reading: support students who need help with the latter.

Development: (20 minutes) Display OHT 19 – a prompt sheet for examining the role of the ‘flash young man’ in the story. In class discussion, move students towards seeing him as ad-man, tempter, salesman, devil, etc. Encourage students to make sense of his role by reading interpretatively and having the confidence to defend their interpretations.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Draw conclusions about the story on the basis of the group and class discussions. End by making explicit the three reading strategies used in the lesson – literal, inferential, interpretative – and summarising their purposes.

Resources: Student Sheets 18 and 19.


18 Flow diagram of the Old Woman’s moves

Name: Date:

Old Woman’s home Old Woman’s complaints about it

Colacan Toosmall–tooshabby–toocoldinwinter,too hotinsummer

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The role of the ‘flash young man’

Whatdoestheauthorsuggestbycallinghim‘flash’?

Howhashemadehismoney?Howdoeshemakealotmoreasthestorygoeson?

Listthreewaysinwhichhemakeshimselflikeabletotheoldwoman.

Whatdoyouthinkarehismotivesforhelpingher?

Howdoeshislanguagereflecthisroleinthestory?Lookathisuseofslangandthewayherepeatscertainphrases.

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19

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Lesson coverage: Sharlo’s Strange Bargain

Lesson aims: 1 To examine how a story reflects its social context 2 To recognise a story’s theme in other literature 3 To write a genre story

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’knowledge: Familiarity with the concept of genre

Book activities: Tall Stories: Activities 5 and 6 – Relating the story to its social and cultural context, then writing a horror story


Starter: (10 minutes) Tell students that their homework/follow-on to which this lesson leads is to set the story within its Caribbean context and write a horror story based on its ending. Ask the class to recall films or stories they know about making a bargain with the devil. Establish that this is a common theme in literature, especially in folk tales: cite the Faust story.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Distribute Student Sheet 20 – a chart for recording features of ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’ that are distinctively West Indian. Focus on i the dialect spoken by Zakky and Sharlo, ii crops and foods native to the Caribbean, and iii ‘obeah’ or sorcery. Explain that the element of horror features prominently in West Indian folk stories and songs, normally associated with ‘obeah’ and often treated as burlesque.

Development: (25 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Ask them to imagine the scene in which the devil comes for Sharlo and to plan to write it as a horror story. During this stage display OHT 21 – features of the horror genre. Students should first share ideas, then plan their individual stories on paper using ‘Sharlo…’ as a model.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Formally set the homework/follow-on below.

Homework/ Students write the story of what happens to Sharlo the night after he Follow-on: tells his secret to Zakky. They should make their descriptions as horrific

and frightening as they can.

Resources: Student Sheet 20, OHT 21.


20 West Indian elements in ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’

Name: Date:

Example Comment

Usesofdialect

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Referencestocropsandfood

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Descriptionsof‘obeah’

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

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An evil character (or evil characters)

A highly dramatic

ending

Violent or

bloodthirsty events A lurid style

An atmosphere of strangeness and/or

the supernatural

A strong feeling of

fear which builds up

as you read

Features of horror stories

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21

Horror!

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Lesson coverage: ‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Cola Can’ and ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’

Lesson aims: 1 To examine the nature of fable 2 To become conversant with the terms ‘symbol’ and ‘allegory’ and

apply them correctly 3 To write to analyse, review and comment

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Cola Can’ and knowledge: ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’ Some awareness of what a fable is

Book activities: Tall Stories: Activities 3, 4 and 7 – Identifying the elements of fable in two stories, then comparing them as examples of the genre


Starter: (20 minutes) Display OHT 22 – a chart for recording the typical features of a fable. Read aloud the version of Aesop’s ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ printed in the Teachers’ Notes, page 84. Then ask students to identify the features and fill in the chart: ensure students are not overwhelmed by detail. Establish that ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’ can be categorised as a West Indian fable.

Introduction / (25 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Distribute Student Development: Sheet 23 – a chart for recording how Sharlo’s bargain changes him.

Groups make two or three further entries, including quotations. Allow 10 minutes for this.

In class discussion, turn attention to the similarities between ‘The Old Woman…’ and ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’. Display OHT 24 and record on it at least three clear links between the two stories. Guidance for this can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 82.

Plenary: (15 minutes) Summarise i the key features of fable, and ii the ways in which both stories are modern examples of this ancient genre. Then set the homework/follow-on below. Highlight the three headings used in Book Activity 7a.

Homework/ Students write a comparison between the ‘The Old Woman…’ and Follow-on: ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’ as fables. They should produce three or four

paragraphs, quoting from the text to back up what they say.

Resources: OHT 22, Student Sheet 23, OHT 24, Teachers’ Notes, page 82.


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22 Typical features of a fable

Kinds of

plot

Kinds of

character

Kinds of

ending

Purposes

of a fable

23 Sharlo’s Strange Bargain

Name: Date:

Sharlo: how his bargain changes him

Hebecomeslazyandstopsworkingaltogether:‘Butfromthatsametimehestoppedcultivatinghismountainlandsordoinganyotherwork’(page52).

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FromtheFourCorners

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24 Links between ‘The Old Woman…’ and ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’

Plot

Characters

Theme / Moral

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BIG BULLIES Lesson 13 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: The Ghost Train

Lesson aims: 1 To judge the effectiveness of an author’s descriptive language 2 To analyse the use of verbs in description 3 To write to inform, explain and describe

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘The Ghost Train’knowledge: Experience of reading inferentially

Book activities: Big Bullies: Activities 1 and 2 – Evaluating the effectiveness of the author’s style, then writing to describe


Starter: (15 minutes) Ask pairs of students to read the first four paragraphs of the story aloud. Then discuss with the class three examples of precise description which appeal to the reader’s senses of sight, sound and smell. Make the point that descriptive writing is enriched by sensory detail.

Introduction: (25 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 25 – a chart for analysing the author’s choice of verbs in a section of ‘The Ghost Train’. Students discuss the effectiveness of the verbs, then enter comments on their charts. Support groups who need help in identifying/responding to imagery and the effects of sound. End this stage with a sharing of ideas.

Development/ (20 minutes) Set the homework/follow-on below. Emphasise the needPlenary: to choose language precisely, especially verbs. Allow students to start

drafting. Work with individuals who i have a limited vocabulary, and ii find difficulty in anticipating their reader’s response.

Homework/ Students write a description of a visit to a fairground or theme park. Follow-on: They should use their five senses to convey a detailed impression of

what it was like.



25 Use of verbs in ‘The Ghost Train’

Name: Date:

Writer’s choice of verb Possible alternative Your comments on the writer’s choice

rumbled rushed

stalked glided

clanked rattled

swooped descended

cackled roared

gaped yawned

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Lesson coverage: Greek myths

Lesson aims: 1 To research the history and literature of an ancient culture 2 To use the Internet to locate and retrieve information 3 To write an information booklet for an audience of peers

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Polyphemus the Cyclops’knowledge: Experience of using an internet search engine

Book activities: Big Bullies: Activity 3 – Researching material about Greek myths and using it to produce an information booklet

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R1, R2, Wr11, Wr12, S&L7 R1, R2, R6Year 8: R2, R3, Wr10, Wr11, S&L5 Wr2, Wr3, Wr6, Wr8Year 9: R1, R2, Wr9, Wr12, S&L2

Note: For this lesson students require internet accessStarter: (10 minutes) Ask the students what they know about Greek myths

by offering them prompt words: for example, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Mount Olympus, Achilles, The Odyssey. Then tell them that for this lesson and for homework/follow-on they are to research and write A Modern Reader’s Guide to Greek Myths for people their age. Distribute Student Sheet 26 – a planning table for the activity.

Introduction / (40 minutes) Students work individually on computers to find and Development: retrieve information, using key words from the planning table. Help

them to i select relevant items and separate them from the irrelevant, ii highlight, merge, cut and paste text, and iii print out what they have found by the end of this stage.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Distribute Student Sheet 27 – instructions for producing the information booklet. Go through it to ensure the activity is clearly understood, then set it for homework/follow-on. The scope of this activity makes it suitable for a double homework/follow-on.

Homework/ Students draw on the information they have found on the Internet to Follow-on: create a booklet on the Greek myths for their own age group. Each

heading on the planning table should introduce a double-page spread in the booklet so that there will be six pages in all. If possible, students should produce the booklet on a computer.

Resources: Student Sheets 26 and 27



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Greek myths: planning table

Name: Date:

THE GREEK GODS

WhatdidtheancientGreeksbelieveabouttheirgods?

WhowereZeus,PoseidonandHades?

Whatpowersdidthegodshave?Giveexamples.

THE GREEK HEROES

Whowerethe‘heroes’?

Whatconnectiondidtheyhavewiththegods?

WhydidOdysseusbecomethemostfamous‘hero’ofall?

THE ODYSSEY

WhatseriesoflinkedstoriesdoesThe Odysseytell?

BrieflyoutlinethestoriesofitheSirens,andiiCalypso.


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Instructions for your Greek myths booklet

Name: Date:

Useacomputer.

Eachofthethreeheadingsintheplanningtable(StudentSheet26)shouldintroduceadouble-pagespread.

Foreachdouble-pagespread,combinewritingandillustrations.YouwillfindsomeillustrationsontheInternet:download,copyoradaptthem.Otherscanbefoundinreferencebooks.

Sub-headingswillassisteasyreading.

Writeinastraightforward,factualstyle.Keepyourwritingconcise.Rememberyouarewritingforpeopleofyourage.

CheckyourspellingofGreeknames.

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Lesson coverage: Polyphemus the Cyclops

Lesson aims: 1 To conduct shared analytical reading of a passage from a story 2 To use film techniques to enhance descriptive writing 3 To write to imagine, explore and entertain

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Polyphemus the Cyclops’knowledge: Experience of analysing the language of description

Book activity: Big Bullies: Activity 4 – Analysing the descriptive language of a passage in the story, then writing in a similar vein


Starter/ (25 minutes) Read aloud the passage on pages 66–67 of the book, fromIntroduction: ‘When evening came…’ to ‘…who crouched trembling against the wall’.

Discuss with the class the film techniques used by the author to create vivid description. Guidance on this stage of the lesson can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, pages 82–83.

Development/ (35 minutes) Tell the students that for the rest of the lesson and for Plenary: homework/follow-on they are to write their own version of a passage

from ‘Polyphemus the Cyclops’. They should concentrate on three film techniques, namely i long shots, ii zoom-ins, and iii extreme close-ups. Distribute Student Sheet 28, a writing frame for this.

Students begin drafting. At your discretion let them work in pairs or small groups. Support students who need help in ‘seeing with the camera’s eye’. Stop the class once or twice to allow volunteers to read out work in progress. End by formally setting the homework/follow-on.

Homework/ Students write their own versions of the passage from ‘Polyphemus the Follow-on: Cyclops’. They should make the description vivid by concentrating on

small visual details.

Resources: Student Sheet 28, Teachers’ Notes, pages 82–83.


28 Writing frame for your description

Name: Date:

Paragraph 1:Polyphemus returns to the cave

Visualdetails

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Keywords

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Paragraph �: Polyphemus gets drunk

Visualdetails

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Keywords

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 3: Polyphemus’s eye is put out

Visualdetails

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Keywords

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

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FromtheFourCorners

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GANGS AND DARES Lesson 16 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: Chicken

Lesson aims: 1 To contribute personal views and experiences to class discussion 2 To debate a citizenship issue 3 To write in role to inform, explain and describe

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Chicken’knowledge: Experience of role writing

Book activities: Gangs and Dares: Activities 1 and 2 – Discussing teenage gangs, then writing in role as a gang-member in ‘Chicken’


Starter: (15 minutes) Provoke class debate by suggesting that teenage gangs should be banned by law. Adopt a suitable role to do this: for example, a magistrate on a campaign to stamp out anti-social behaviour. The purpose is to help students consider their own and other people’s attitudes to gangs.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 29 – a chart for recording reasons why teenagers form or join gangs. Allow focused discussion for 10 minutes, then ask groups to apply their findings to the members of the Inliners gang in ‘Chicken’. How true to the reality of gangs is the story?

Development: (20 minutes) Take brief feedback from the group activity. Then tell students that their homework/follow-on is to write two entries in a ‘dare diary’ kept by one of the Inliners. Ask them in pairs to select dares from different parts of the story and discuss how to write them up, using the three headings in Book Activity 2. Students then begin drafting individually.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Formally set the homework/follow-on below. Emphasise that the activity requires a balance between writing to describe and writing to inform and explain.

Homework/ Students imagine they are members of the Inliners gang. They should Follow-on: choose two dares from different parts of the story and write about them

in their diaries using three headings: i Particular dare done, ii Reasons for doing it, iii How successful it was and why.



29 Teenage gangs

Name: Date:

Showwhetheryouagreewitheachreasonbygivingitamarkoutof5,where:

1=Don’tagree,3=Agreeuptoapoint,5=Agreestrongly.

Reasons why teenagers form or join gangs Mark out of 5

Soasnottobeleftoutofthe‘incrowd’

Toprovetoyourselfandothersyouaretough

Togiveyourselfabiggeridentitythanyoucanhavewithjustabestfriend

Toprotectyourselfagainstbullies

Becauseit’shumannaturetogoroundingroups

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FromtheFourCorners

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Lesson coverage: Poinsettias

Lesson aims: 1 To interpret a story in relation to its social and cultural context 2 To examine the importance of a story’s setting to its theme 3 To identify and comment on an author’s use of symbolism

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Poinsettias’knowledge: Familiarity with the concept of symbolism

Book activites: Gangs and Dares: Activities 3 and 5 – Exploring the ways in which the

story reflects its social and cultural context and considering the use of symbolism in writing


Starter: (15 minutes) Contextualise the story by briefly reviewing i the circumstances that led to Nelson Mandela’s presidency, and ii the separatist history of South Africa. Some information is provided in Book Activity 3.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 30 – a prompt sheet for commenting on i the differences between the way white people and black people lived at that time in South Africa, ii the way white people treat black people in the story. As groups work, draw their attention to the author’s description of setting and the way this helps her to convey her social/moral theme. End this stage by asking students: does the story suggest that, post-Mandela, there was one South Africa or two?

Development: (20 minutes) Introduce the concept of symbolism. Ask students what significance writers have found in traditional symbols like a grinning skull and a rose surrounded by thorns. Then draw attention to the author’s use of i the poison snake and the chameleon in the story’s first 20 lines, and ii the blood-red poinsettias in the story’s final paragraph. What wider significance could these symbols be seen to have? Are they well-chosen?

Plenary: (5 minutes) Ask students to say in one sentence what they have learned from the story about life in South Africa at the time when this story was written. Take responses until time runs out.




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Racial inequality in ‘Poinsettias’

Name: Date:

CommentonthequotationsbelowandtrytothinkaboutithedifferencesbetweenthewaywhitepeopleandblackpeoplelivedinSouthAfricaatthattime;andiithewaywhitepeopletreatblackpeopleinthisstory.

‘Rebeccahadlethervisitherdim,tinyroomintheservants’quartersatthetopoftheirblockofflats’(page82).

‘Acurtainacrossonecorneroftheroom.Rebecca’scupboard.Anorangecratetablenexttothebed,onwhichstoodaphotoofRebecca’sfourchildren’(page83).

‘PleaseBaas,thisboyhaslearnthislesson.Hewon’tdoitagainBaas.IwillspeaktohimBaas!’(page89).

‘Theboy’scriespiercedherears.Shewasshiveringallover.Herstomachheaved’(page89).

‘“TellyourfatherI’msatisfiedwiththefence.”BeforeVeronicacouldeventhinkwhattosay,hepattedherhairlightlyandwalkedon,upthestepsandintothehouse’(page90).

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Lesson coverage: Chicken and Poinsettias

Lesson aims: 1 To use role play to explore character and theme 2 To conduct peer assessment of speaking and listening 3 To write to inform, explain and describe

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Chicken’ and ‘Poinsettias’knowledge: Experience of peer assessment

Book activities: Gangs and Dares: Activities 4 and 6 – Drawing on the texts to conduct role play in preparation for writing a personal letter or newspaper report

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R6, R7, Wr10, Wr11, S&L15, S&L17 R2, R5, R6Year 8: R5, R8, Wr10, Wr12, S&L14, S&L16 Wr2, Wr4, Wr6Year 9: R2, R7, Wr9, Wr11, S&L11, S&L12,

Starter: (15 minutes) Tell students that, with a partner, they are to role play either an interview between a news reporter and Alfie at the end of ‘Chicken’ or a conversation between Veronica and Marika at the end of ‘Poinsettias’. Distribute Student Sheet 31 – instructions for both role plays, one of which students in pairs should choose now.

Introduction / (30 minutes) Pairs plan and rehearse their role plays. Support those whoDevelopment: dry up quickly: help them to bullet-point a short list of key questions/

responses to use during their performance.

Combine each pair with another. Display OHT 32 – a list of Speaking and Listening criteria for assessing the role plays. One pair will watch and assess the other, then be assessed themselves. Assessors use the criteria on the OHT. Allow 3–5 minutes for each role play and 5 minutes for assessments to be made and delivered.

Plenary: (15 minutes) Use this to set the homework/follow-on below. Distribute Student Sheet 33 – a planning frame for the two written activities, one of which students should choose now.

Homework/ Students should:Follow-on: write a front-page story about the accident at Silbury Cuttings with the

headline ‘Schoolboys in Railway Line Drama’ or in role as Veronica, write a personal letter to Rebecca describing her

dare and how she did it.

Resources: Student Sheet 31, OHT 32, Student Sheet 33.


31 Preparation for the role plays

Name: Date:

Chicken

AplaysAlfie.Bplaysareporterfromthelocalnewspaper.

Thereporterwantsinformationforhisfrontpagestory‘SchoolboysinRailwayLineDrama’.

Thestorysays,‘ThelocalpaperstriedtoturnAlfieintoahero’.

Thestorysays,‘He[Alfie]feelsnothingbutguiltaboutwhathappened’.

Poinsettias

AplaysVeronica.BplaysMarika.

Marikaisfullofquestionsaboutwhathappenedduringthedare.

ThestorytellsusthatVeronicafeelsguiltyaboutwhathappened.

ThestorytellsusthatVeronicaalsofeelsasenseofsatisfactionatdoingthedare.

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Speaking and listening objectives

1 Adoptingandstayingincharacter.

� Conveyingcharacterrealistically.

3 Remainingtruetothestory.

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32

33 Planning frame for your writing

Name: Date:

Chicken Poinsettias

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Headline and Paragraph 1:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Address, greeting and Paragraph 1:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Last paragraph:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Last paragraph and signing off:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Main body of story:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

Main body of letter:

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

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BEST OF ENEMIES Lesson 19 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: The New Boy

Lesson aims: 1 To use shared reading to analyse the opening of a story 2 To trace the relationship between the story’s main characters 3 To write in role to imagine, explore and entertain

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘The New Boy’knowledge: Experience of annotating the language of a passage

Book activities: Best of Enemies: Activities 1, 2 and 3 – Tracing the development of the central relationship in the story, then writing about it in role


Starter: (10 minutes) Ask students to explain how it feels to be ‘new’. How do newcomers to a school or a neighbourhood get treated? At what point, and for what reasons, do newcomers become accepted?

Introduction: (20 minutes) Analyse with the class the opening section of the story as far as ‘Just then the bell went’ (page 92). Display OHT 34 – a list of features of a good opening. Lead class discussion on how far the passage meets the criteria on the OHT.

Development: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 35 – a partly completed chart for tracing the relationship between Tam and Colin. Students make up to four more entries. Support those who find difficulty with cause-and-effect, particularly in column 3.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Use this to set the homework/follow-on below. Highlight the three prompts in Book Activity 3: students need to bring out: i Colin’s personality, ii his general impressions of the students and teachers, and iii his feelings about himself and Tam.

Homework/ In role as Colin, students write an account of the first day at their newFollow-on: school.

Resources: OHT 34, Student Sheet 35.


Features of a good opening

Name: Date:

Getstheactionunderwayquickly

Introducesthemaincharacters,makingthemsoundinteresting

Establishesthetoneofthestory(e.g.serious,humorous,tragic)

Createssuspenseandmakesyouwanttokeepreading

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34


55


Relationship between Tam and Colin

Name: Date:

What Tam does How Colin reacts Consequences

MocksColin’saccent Goesquietandwon’trise Tamthinkshe’sputColin (pages91and92) tothebait(page92) down(page92)

ShowsoffintheEnglish Givesamuchbetter Tamishurtanddecidestolesson(page93) answerthanTam(page93) ‘sortoutthenewboy’

(page94)

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Lesson coverage: The Fight

Lesson aims: 1 To compare the social context of a story from abroad with British society today

2 To debate a citizenship issue 3 To analyse the way an author directs the reader’s sympathy

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘The Fight’knowledge: Some awareness of regional prejudice in the UK

Book activities: Best of Enemies: Activities 4 and 5 – Exploring the theme of social conflict in the story and in different cultures

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R9, R14, Wr2, Wr3, S&L8, S&L14 R2, R5, R6Year 8: R6, R16, Wr1, Wr3, S&L7, S&L10Year 9: R6, R11, Wr1, Wr2, S&L5, S&L9

Starter: (15 minutes) Tell students this story deals with social prejudice in present-day India. Vijay thinks himself superior to Anil because of his Punjabi background. Ask students their views about social prejudice in the UK. Do people in some parts of the country look down on others because of: where they live, the way they speak, their education, the jobs they do?

Introduction: (25 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 36 – a ‘whose side are you on?’ chart for students to record their responses to Anil and Vijay respectively. Emphasise that the author is not neutral in his treatment of them: the activity involves identifying how we as readers are directed to feel sympathy/antipathy. Support groups in developing text-based responses. Guidance can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 83.

Development/ (20 minutes) Take feedback from the group activity. Focus on thePlenary: author’s technique: how does he shape our feelings towards the two

boys?

Spend the final 10 minutes broadening discussion to address the issue which gives the story its theme: can social prejudice ever be overcome? What would it take? Ask the class to make suggestions until time runs out.




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Anil versus Vijay: whose side are you on?

Name: Date:

Anil Vijay

Findsthepoolandthinksofitashis ChallengesAnilforthe‘ownership’alone:‘helaynakedonarock’ ofthepool:‘Thisismypool.Ididnot(page99) inviteyoutoit’(page99)

FromtheFourCorners

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Lesson coverage: The New Boy and The Fight

Lesson aims: 1 To compare the themes of two stories from different cultures 2 To argue a case and support it with textual evidence 3 To write to analyse, review and comment

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘The New Boy’ and ‘The Fight’knowledge: Experience of using reference and quotation to support personal

response

Book activity: Best of Enemies: Activity 6 – Writing an essay comparing the central relationships in ‘The New Boy’ and ‘The Fight’


Starter: (15 minutes) Tell students that for this lesson and for homework/follow-on they are to compare the relationships described in the two stories: the first between Tam and Colin, the second between Anil and Vijay. Take initial responses. These are likely to focus on similarities: make a quick list on the board.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 37 – a set of comparative statements about the stories. Groups decide which they agree with and which they do not. Insist that they cite evidence from the texts before committing themselves. Support students who find difficulty in holding two stories in mind at the same time.

Development: (20 minutes) Take feedback from the group activity. As discussion proceeds, draw out three or four comparative points on which students agree. Use these to make a paragraph plan with them for the homework/follow-on essay. Ensure that one point of comparison concerns the plot, one the characters and one the social context.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Formally set the homework/follow-on below. Students use their plans to make each paragraph comparative.

Homework/ Students compare the relationships described in these stories, noting Follow-on: what similarities and what differences they find.




5�


Statements about the stories

Name: Date:

1 Bothstoriesareaboutracialprejudice.

� Bothstoriesareaboutregionalprejudice.

3 Vijayin‘TheFight’isasimilarcharactertoTamin‘TheNewBoy’.

4 Eachpairofboysisonfriendlytermsbytheendofthestory.

5 ‘TheFight’isabetterstorythan‘TheNewBoy’.

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CAUGHT IN BETWEEN Lesson 22 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: On the Bench

Lesson aims: 1 To read inferentially to interpret a story 2 To examine how a story’s style shapes the reader’s response to its

theme 3 To write to analyse, review and comment

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘On the Bench’knowledge: Experience of analysing narrative technique

Book activities: Caught in Between: Activities 1 and 2 – Exploring how the author’s way of telling the story is integral to its meaning


Starter: (15 minutes) Ask the class to consider the first two letters in the story and infer what Gary’s family situation is. Highlight the nature and purpose of inferential reading: reading between or behind the lines to discern a bigger picture than the narrative gives us.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Ask students in pairs to consider and make notes on five more of Gary’s letters/e-mails/phone calls. These should be chosen from different parts of the story and include the last one. The purpose is to work out what is happening between Mam and Dad as the story proceeds. Support pairs who need help in making inferences from the text. Take brief feedback at the end of this stage.

Development: (15 minutes) Display OHT 38 – three prompts for discussing the author’s narrative technique and judging its effectiveness. Annotate the OHT and ensure that students record key points: they will be needed for homework/follow-on. Guidance on conducting this stage of the lesson can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 83.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Summarise what has been learned about the author’s technique and his purpose in using it. Emphasise how our response is shaped by i the first-person narrative style, ii Gary’s language and tone, and iii the absence of an authorial voice. Then set the homework/follow-on below.

Homework/ Students describe Stephen Potts’s narrative technique in ‘On the Bench’.Follow-on: They should consider what are its main effects on them as readers.

Resources: OHT 38, Teachers’ Notes, page 83.


Narrative technique in ‘On the Bench’

Show how the author makes us feel:

weknowGaryverywellbytheendofthestory

criticalofDad

thereisabiggerstorythatGarydoesnotfullyunderstand

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38

FromtheFourCorners

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Lesson coverage: She

Lesson aims: 1 To examine an author’s treatment of oppressive parenting 2 To relate a modern story to the tradition of fairy tale 3 To interpret a story allegorically

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘She’knowledge: Knowledge of Cinderella

Book activities: Caught in Between: Activities 3 and 4 – Exploring the story’s cultural theme by reading it as a contemporary fairy tale


Starter: (15 minutes) Ask the class to recount between them the story of Cinderella. They should then identify three links between it and this story. Write these on OHT 39 and leave them displayed throughout the lesson.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 40 – a chart for recording examples of Dorine’s treatment of Gogi. For this, students need to read both literally and inferentially. Support those who find difficulty with the latter. End this stage by taking brief feedback.

Development: (20 minutes) Take class discussion back to the story’s Cinderella theme. How might Cinderella have recommended itself to her as a framing device for ‘She’, a story about oppression and inequality within the family? Add to OHT 39. As this stage develops, consider differences as well as similarities between the stories.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Summarise what has been learned about i allegory, and ii the use of fairy tale to help tell a realistic modern story.

Resources: OHT 39, Student Sheet 40.


Links between ‘She’ and the Cinderella story

Cinderellahasastepmother DorinebecomesGogi’s

whotreatshercruelly stepmotherandisnasty

andspitefultowardsher

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39


64


Dorine’s attitude to Gogi

Name: Date:

Quotation Point

‘No,you’renot,’[goingtothe ShepicksonGogiunfairlybathroom]shesaid.’Notbefore youwashupthesedishes.’(page112)

‘Thisgirl’sjusttoodamnlazy…’ ShecomplainsloudlyaboutGogi–(page112) criticisingher

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Lesson coverage: On the Bench and She

Lesson aims: 1 To judge the appropriateness of stories’ titles 2 To make clear notes in preparation for an essay 3 To write to argue

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘On the Bench’ and ‘She’knowledge: Experience of independent note-making

Book activity: Caught in Between: Activity 5 – Examining how each story’s title relates to its characters and themes, then writing a discursive essay

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R12, R14, Wr15, Wr16, S&L1, S&L14 R2, R4, R5, R6Year 8: R10, R11, Wr13, Wr14, S&L10, S&L11 Wr4, Wr5, Wr6, Wr7Year 9: R7, R11, Wr13, Wr17, S&L2, S&L10

Starter: (15 minutes) Tell students that for this lesson and for homework/follow-on they are to write a comparative account of the suitability of the stories’ titles. Ask the class for initial responses and list them on OHT 41. Keep this displayed throughout the lesson.

Introduction: (15 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Students discuss and make notes on how relevant/effective ‘On the Bench’ is as a title. They should find points for and against. Take feedback. Add responses to OHT 41.

Development: (15 minutes) Lead a class discussion about the appropriateness of ‘She’ as a title. Follow the guidance in the Teachers’ Notes, pages 83–84 and argue the case ‘for’ yourself; encourage students to argue against. They need to continue note-making during this stage.

Plenary: (15 minutes) Draw together the main lines of argument. Use OHT 41 to summarise them. Remind students of the conventions of an argued essay, then set the homework/follow-on below.

Homework/ Students write an essay on how well each story’s title relates to its plot, Follow-on characters and themes. They should use quotation to back up the points they make.

Resources: OHT 41, Teachers’ Notes, pages 83–84.


Comparisons between ‘On the Bench’ and ‘She’

On the Bench She

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41

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YOUNG AND OLD Lesson 25 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: Who’s Afraid?

Lesson aims: 1 To use speech to recount and reflect on personal experience 2 To exchange personal views in small groups and class discussion 3 To justify opinions by referring closely to the text

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Who’s Afraid?’knowledge: Experience of finding personal relevance in literature

Book activity: Young and Old: Activities 1 to 3 – Analysing character and relationship in the story


Starter: (15 minutes) Ask students about their relationships with their grandparents. The bond can be very close. Why? Encourage students to generalise from the examples they give.

Introduction: (15 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 42 – a partly completed chart for recording responses to Great-grandmother’s character. Students make at least two further entries, using inference and interpretation: for this activity they need to go beyond the literal. Support those who have difficulty in i inferring, and ii finding suitable text references.

Development: (20 minutes) Take brief feedback from the group work. Then turn attention to the relationship between Great-grandmother and Joe. Ask: how does the author make us aware of the parallels between them? How does the story’s title apply to each of them, although in different ways?

Plenary: (10 minutes) Distinguish between ‘plot’ and ‘character’ in a narrative. Establish that the action normally develops through the characters’ relationships. Ask students to exemplify from ‘Who’s Afraid?’.




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Impressions of Great-grandmother

Name: Date:

Impression Textual reference

1 Physicallyveryfrail ‘shehadbecomeblindinoldage. Whethersheheardmuchwas doubtful’(page120).

‘Forasecondhefeltherweakly pullaway’(page122).

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Lesson coverage: A Game of Cards

Lesson aims: 1 To judge the importance to a story of its cultural context 2 To examine the ways in which an author portrays character 3 To use diagrammatic notes to clarify and deepen response

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘A Game of Cards’knowledge: Experience of making diagrammatic notes

Book activities: Young and Old: Activity 4 – Exploring character and characterisation in the story, then relating this to its cultural context


Starter: (15 minutes) Ask the class to identify details in the story which show it is set in a Maori community. Focus on social conventions, language and traditions. Suggest that the author’s intention is for Nanny Miro to typify this community. Ask for evidence: make a quick list of points on the board.

Introduction: (15 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 43 – a partly completed charactergram for Nanny Miro. Students agree on four further points and enter them. Take brief feedback at the end of this stage.

Development: (20 minutes) Distinguish with the class between ‘character’ and ‘characterisation’: what a person is like and the way in which the author portrays them. Exemplify this from the story.

Refer students back to the charactergram which currently records only points about character. Help them to add comments on characterisation. Guidance for this can be found in the Teachers’ Notes, page 84.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Ask students to think of Nanny Miro as the embodiment of the Maori people: note the consonance of names. If this view is taken, what is the story about? How does the author make his theme moving?




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Lesson coverage: Who’s Afraid? and A Game of Cards

Lesson aims: 1 To compare two authors’ methods of presenting character 2 To develop a personal response to character 3 To write to describe, inform and explain

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Who’s Afraid?’ and ‘A Game of Cards’knowledge: Familiarity with the form and style of an obituary

Book activity: Young and Old: Activity 5 – Expressing a personal response to Great-grandmother or Nanny Miro in the form of an obituary

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R4, R14, Wr10, Wr11, S&L4, S&L5 R2, R4, R5, R6Year 8: R11, R16, Wr5, Wr10, S&L5, S&L10 Wr2, Wr3, Wr7, Wr8Year 9: R7, R12, Wr9, Wr10, S&L2, S&L5

Starter: (15 minutes) Ask students which of the main characters in these stories they like/admire more. Relate this to the authors’ presentation: for example, are the characters sentimentalised? Then tell students that for the lesson and for homework/follow-on they are to write a newspaper obituary for Great-grandmother or Nanny Miro.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Distribute Student Sheet 44 – a typical newspaper obituary. Analyse its style and structure. Guidance for doing so is printed in Teachers’ Notes, page 84. Students will use this as a model for the written homework.

Development: (20 minutes) Divide the students into small groups. They discuss each main character and make notes for the obituary. Explain that if ‘the facts’ about either character (e.g. their exact age) are not given in the story, students are free to invent them. Emphasise that a 200-word limit means i selecting material carefully, and ii highlighting the main qualities of character at the outset.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Use this to set the homework/follow-on below. Answer any queries that have arisen about the form and style of an obituary.

Homework/ Students write a 200-word obituary for Great-grandmother or NannyFollow-on: Miro, bringing out their main qualities of character.




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A newspaper obituary

Name: Date:

Stewart ‘Smudger’ Smith

Stewart ‘Smudger’ Smith, who died yesterday aged 82, was one of the first stand-up comedians to make a name for himself on British television. Between 1951 and 1958 he appeared regularly on light entertainment programmes and starred in an early sitcom, SouthEnders.

During the 1960s, Stewart Smith turned his attention to acting on the stage. He was cast mainly in crime thrillers, including plays by Agatha Christie, and became well known in theatres throughout the home counties.

By middle age, Smith had found fame and fortune playing the Dame in pantomime. He was always in demand, especially in seaside towns on the south coast, and made a speciality of wearing outrageous comic costumes. He did not retire until the mid-1990s, boasting that he had performed to three generations of the same families.

A devoted husband and father, he spent his last years tending his large garden at home in Eastbourne and enjoying his four grandchildren. He leaves a wife, Kate, two sons and a daughter.

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ODD ONE OUT Lesson 28 60 minutes


Lesson coverage: Gender roles and relationships

Lesson aims: 1 To consider the issue of gender equality 2 To use role play to investigate gender stereotyping 3 To write to argue

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Baby X’knowledge: Experience of improvisation and role play

Book activities: Odd One Out: Activities 1 and 2 – Exploring gender issues, first through role play, then in formal debate

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: Wr15, Wr16, S&L1, S&L11, S&L15 Wr3, Wr4, Wr6, Wr8Year 8: Wr13, Wr14, S&L1, S&L12, S&L14Year 9: Wr13, Wr17, S&L1, S&L9, S&L12

Starter: (15 minutes) Tell students the theme of this lesson: exploring gender roles and relationships. To establish some of the issues, ask students whether they think British society still discriminates between males and females. Lead this discussion in role as someone who believes complete equality between the sexes has been achieved.

Introduction: (15 minutes) In pairs, students plan and act out one of the three scenarios in Book Activity 1. They do this in front of another pair. Afterwards each pair should comment on the content of the other’s work: for this lesson, leave aside assessment of Speaking and Listening.

Development: (20 minutes) Hold a class discussion on gender stereotyping. Base this on the three topics suggested in Book Activity 2 – teenage magazines, careers advice and birthday cards – but allow discussion to range widely. Near the end of this stage, ask the same question about gender discrimination with which the lesson began.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Set the homework/follow-on below. Remind students about the conventions of writing argument. They should draw material from this lesson for some of their points but not be limited to it.

Homework/ Students write an essay entitled ‘Discrimination between males and Follow-on: females in our society is a thing of the past’, indicating how far they

agree with this.


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Lesson coverage: Baby X

Lesson aims: 1 To examine the theme of gender stereotyping in a story 2 To identify and evaluate an author’s use of satire 3 To write to analyse, review and comment

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Baby X’knowledge: Some understanding of satire

Book activities: Odd One Out: Activities 3 and 4 – Analysing the ways in which an author uses satire to criticise gender stereotyping, then writing an essay on this theme

Framework Objectives: Assessment Foci:Year 7: R6, R8, Wr18, Wr19, S&L5 R3, R4, R5, R6Year 8: R4, R10, Wr16, Wr17, S&L5 Wr3, Wr4, Wr5, Wr6Year 9: R6, R12, Wr16, Wr17, S&L5

Starter: (15 minutes) Agree with the class a definition of satire: for example, ‘making fun of something the author believes to be wrong in order to criticise it’. Distinguish satire from sarcasm: satire uses humour to enlighten; sarcasm uses it only to mock. Brainstorm with the class the satirical targets of ‘Baby X’. Make a quick list on the board. End this stage by asking students to identify the story’s basic theme.

Introduction: (20 minutes) Divide the class into small groups. Distribute Student Sheet 45 – a partly completed chart for recording examples of gender stereotyping in ‘Baby X’. Students make up to four more entries. Take feedback for 5 minutes at the end of this stage.

Development: (15 minutes) Display OHT 46. Turn discussion to i the way Baby X subverts gender stereotyping by its unusual behaviour, and ii the effect of this on ‘Other Children’. Annotate the OHT as students offer responses. Then consider what solutions to the problem of gender stereotyping the author is proposing.

Plenary: (10 minutes) Set the homework/follow-on below. Distribute Student Sheet 47, a writing frame for the essay, and take students through it.

Homework/ ‘Baby X’ might be considered as a satire on how society distinguishes Follow-on: between the sexes, using humour to illustrate serious issues. Students

write an essay discussing how far they agree with this, quoting from the text to support what they say.

Resources: Student Sheet 45, OHT 46, Student Sheet 47.



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Examples of gender stereotyping in ‘Baby X’

Name: Date:

Incident/Comment What this shows

WhenMrJonesgoesshopping, Manufacturersencouragehefindsthatbabyclothesand parentstotreattheirmaleandtoysareseparatedinto‘Boys’ femalechildrendifferentlyand‘Girls’ frombirth

‘Now,Tracy…Littlegirls Adultsteachyoungchildrenmustn’thitlittle…’(page134) howtobehaveinlinewith genderexpectation

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46 Baby X and ‘Other Children’

Howdo‘OtherChildren’inthestorystartbehavingagainsttype?

Givefourexamplesandcommentonwhattheyshow.

Examples Comments

1

2

3

4


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Name: Date:

Paragraph 1

Examplesofhowthestorymakesfunofgenderstereotypes:

1 ________________________________________________________________

� ________________________________________________________________

3 ________________________________________________________________

Paragraph �

Explanationofwhatpointsthestoryismakingin1,2and3above:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Paragraph 3

Examplesoftheuseofhumourinthestory:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Conclusion

Howeffectivedoyoufindthesatireinthisstory?

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

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Lesson coverage: Baby X and another story from the collection

Lesson aims: 1 To compare two stories with related themes 2 To examine the different forms that prejudice can take in different

cultures 3 To write to analyse, review and comment

Prior learning/ Pre-reading of ‘Baby X’knowledge: Familiarity with other stories in the collection

Book activity: Odd One Out: Activity 5 – Comparing ‘Baby X’ with another story about discrimination and prejudice


Starter: (20 minutes) Tell students that they are to compare the theme of ‘Baby X’ with a story from another culture. In pairs, students scan the collection and consider suitable choices. Suggest they limit themselves to three.

Introduction/ (35 minutes) Take feedback from the pair work. Collect on the board a Development: list of suggested stories, together with reasons for choosing them.

Review the completed list. Then ask students to work individually drafting a comparison between ‘Baby X’ and their chosen story. Make available Student Sheet 48 to provide a frame for this, although they can choose to work without.

Plenary: (5 minutes) Formally set the homework/follow-on below and answer any questions about it.

Homework/ Students write a comparison between ‘Baby X’ and a story from another Follow-on: culture, noting the similarities and differences they find.




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Name: Date:

1 Themes of ‘Baby X’

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Author’s main techniques in ‘Baby X’

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

� Themes of your chosen story

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Author’s main techniques in your chosen story

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

3 Similarities between the two stories

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Differences between the two stories

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

General conclusion

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Teachers’ Notes Lesson 1 KIDS AND PARENTS

Comparing written and spoken narratives

Written stories are typically:

organised around a planned sequence of events

tightly structured and linear in shape

formal or semi-formal in style

grammatical.

Spoken stories are typically:

organised around the speaker’s recollections/imaginings

loosely structured and diffuse in shape

colloquial or informal in style

semi-grammatical or ungrammatical.

Lesson � KIDS AND PARENTS

Conducting and assessing the role plays

Allow 5 minutes’ preparation time, 5 minutes for each pair to perform and 5 minutes for peer assessment.

One pair assesses another and is assessed in turn.

The three Speaking and Listening criteria are:

(a) adopting and staying in character

(b) conveying character realistically

(c) remaining true to the story.

Write these on the board in advance of the performances and ensure they are understood.

Instruct pairs to give a mark out of 5 for (a), (b) and (c) – 15 in total. They should use a scale where: 1 = Didn’t succeed, 3 = Succeeded quite well, 5 = Succeeded extremely well.

Lesson 4 TOUGH TEACHERS

Peer assessment of Speaking and Listening in this lesson

Instruct the class at the start of the lesson that peer assessment of Speaking and Listening will occupy the last 10–15 minutes.

Either before the lesson or after the Development stage, write on the board the three Speaking and Listening criteria:

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Teachers’ Notes ©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

(a) making a contribution to class and group discussion

(b) listening to others and building on what they say, including questioning

(c) justifying ideas by detailed explanation, including reference to the text.

For the Plenary, divide students into pairs. One partner uses the Speaking and Listening criteria to assess the other. Instruct them to give a mark out of 5 for (a), (b) and (c) – 15 in total. They should use a scale where: 1 = Didn’t succeed, 3 = Succeeded quite well, 5 = Succeeded extremely well.

Lesson 6 TOUGH TEACHERS

The content of Swami’s letter

Swami might explain:

how his father and mother took different views about his ‘headache’ – the root cause of all his difficulties

why he exaggerated Mr Samuel’s reputation for strict discipline

how his father sent him to school ‘as a kind of challenge’ (page 19)

how he had to behave badly in class so that Mr Samuel would bear out his father’s claims in the letter

how the shock of having to give the letter to Mr Samuel himself proved too much and made him run away.

Lesson � HOME AND AWAY

The content and style of ‘Kid in a Bin’

Discuss:

The drama and danger of Anthony’s situation – for example, his mother’s recent death from skin cancer, his complete conviction that everyone should stay out of the sun at all times, the serious health risks he runs by living as he does.

The author’s low-key style, which makes Anthony’s way of life sound normal and everyday – for example, matter-of-fact statements describing extraordinary circumstances (‘Inside the bin, Anthony eats one of the three Junior Burgers he prepared the night before’, page 28). Demonstrate that the majority of sentences are grammatically simple and follow an unelaborated Subject Verb Object pattern.

The effect of presenting a distressing/disturbing situation in an understated style. Show how this heightens the reader’s sense of shock. The author’s purpose is to alert us to the consequences of global warming and the danger of our ‘fast-food’ lifestyles.

Characteristics of journalistic writing

Use OHT 13 to highlight the following features:

the pun in the headline

the way paragraph 1, together with the sub-head, answers ‘wh’ questions

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the use of hyperbole: ‘travellers were stunned’, ‘It was amazing’, etc.

the use of short paragraphs, each of which deals with a different phase or aspect of the story

the way interviews are used (a) to tell the story, (b) to guide the reader’s response.

Lesson � HOME AND AWAY

Key features of an oral story

Highlight the following features:

a strongly episodic structure

the frequency of dialogue

the recurrence/repetition of key words and phrases

the use of spoken language forms which are held in common with the audience

direct address to the reader (‘And one day, they say, the eye will blink for you’, page 41).

Lesson 1� TALL STORIES

Aesop’s fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’

The Hare never stopped making fun of the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise. The Tortoise retorted ‘You might be able to run as swiftly as the wind, but in a race I could beat you fair and square’. The Hare, who thought this was absurd, took up the challenge.

On the appointed day, Fox chose the course and fixed the distance. The Hare soon took an enormous lead. Then, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, he lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and on and crossed the winning line just as the Hare was waking up. Slow but steady wins the race.

Links between ‘The Old Woman Who Lived in a Cola Can’ and ‘Sharlo’s Strange Bargain’

The central character progresses from adversity to prosperity and back again.

The characters are type figures and their fates point a moral.

In each story there is a fairy godmother and a tempter figure.

Both stories have a similar message: selfishness and greed lead to ruin.

Lesson 15 BIG BULLIES

Film techniques used to enhance description

Explain:

a wide-angle long shot

a tracking shot

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Teachers’ Notes

a close-up

an extreme close-up

a zoom-in

a dissolve.

Look for examples of these in the story.

Lesson �0 BEST OF ENEMIES

The author’s presentation of Anil and Vijay

Use the quotations below to examine how we are made to feel sympathetic to Anil and antipathetic to Vijay.

Anil

His limbs were supple, and his dark body glistened in patches of sunlit water (page 99).

‘Not very good,’ said Anil. ‘You should have more practice. See, I will do it again!’ (page 103).

‘Yes, who would dare?’ said Anil, smiling with the knowledge that he had won the day (page 104).

Vijay

‘What are you doing here, mister?’ (page 99)

‘You must teach me. If you do not teach me, I will thrash you’ (pages 103–4).

‘One day I will be Mister Universe!’ said Vijay, slapping his thighs (page 104).

Lesson �� CAUGHT IN BETWEEN

Narrative technique in ‘On the Bench’

Give examples of the way in which the author:

employs a first-person narrator

mixes letters with phone calls and e-mails

uses language and syntax typical of a nine-year-old boy

progressively arouses the reader’s antipathy to Dad

gives us insights into Dad’s and Mam’s relationships which Gary does not fully grasp.

Lesson �4 CAUGHT IN BETWEEN

The appropriateness of ‘She’ as a title

‘She’ expresses Gogi’s hatred of her stepmother: she cannot bring herself to use Dorine’s name.

FromtheFourCorners

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©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

Teachers’ Notes

Gogi is still grieving for her own mother: she refuses to accept Dorine as a substitute ‘mom’, hence the distancing term ‘She’

Dorine behaves in such a cruel way to Gogi that she is almost inhuman: this is well represented by the impersonal ‘She’.

The story is partly about the competition between Dorine and the two girls for Big Red: a ‘She’ stands at two points of this triangle.

Lesson �6 YOUNG AND OLD

The author’s characterisation of Nanny Miro

Nanny Miro’s character is conveyed through:

the narrator’s highly subjective and partisan viewpoint

her own drily humorous remarks

her close relationships with her husband and Mrs Heta

the context of the Maori community, which she epitomises.

Lesson �� YOUNG AND OLD

The form and style of an obituary

Use OHT 46 to demonstrate:

the mixture of fact and opinion, with a bias towards fact

the formal structure with a chronological frame

the terse factual style

the summative first paragraph.

FromtheFourCorners

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©HarcourtEducationLimited,2007

Documents

From the Four Corners: A collection of stories - Pearson Schools