Resources 5, 6, 7 Write three paragraphs about the ... · Reading AF3 5.1 Developing and adapting...

© Pearson Education Ltd 2008

Canon Fire Medium-term overview

1

Ca

no

n F

ire M

ediu

m-t

erm

ov

ervie

w:

GO

TH

IC

Les

son

L

esso

n c

ov

era

ge

Ass

essm

ent

focu

s

Fra

mew

ork

Ob

ject

ives

(R

ead

ing

) R

eso

urce

s H

om

ew

ork

1

‘Th

e H

eart

of

An

oth

er’

Read

ing

AF

4

6.3

An

aly

sin

g w

rite

rs’

use

of

org

anis

atio

n,

stru

ctu

re,

lay

ou

t an

d

pre

sen

tati

on

Res

ou

rces

1, 2

, 3

, 4

Pla

n a

go

thic

sh

ort

sto

ry

2

‘Th

e T

ell

-Tale

Hea

rt’

Read

ing

AF

3

5.1

Dev

elo

pin

g a

nd

ad

apti

ng

act

ive r

ead

ing

sk

ills

an

d s

trat

egie

s

Res

ou

rces

5, 6

, 7

W

rite

th

ree

par

agra

ph

s ab

ou

t

the

nar

rato

r o

f ‘T

he

Tell

-Tal

e H

eart

’

3

‘Th

e W

riti

ng

on

th

e

Wal

l’

Read

ing

AF

5

6.2

An

aly

sin

g h

ow

wri

ters

’ u

se o

f li

ng

uis

tic a

nd

lit

erar

y fea

ture

s sh

apes

and

infl

uen

ces

mea

nin

g

Res

ou

rces

8, 8

a, 9

,

10

.

Wri

te a

sh

ort

des

crip

tio

n

4

‘Th

e G

ho

st i

n t

he

Bri

de’

s C

ham

ber

’

Read

ing

AF

6

5.2

Un

der

stan

din

g a

nd

res

po

nd

ing

to

id

eas,

vie

wp

oin

t, t

hem

es a

nd

p

urp

ose

s in

tex

ts

Res

ou

rces

11

–1

6,

scis

sors

Wri

te t

wo

par

agra

ph

s ab

ou

t

yo

urs

elf

5

Co

mp

arin

g ‘

Th

e

Wri

tin

g o

n t

he

Wal

l’ a

nd

‘T

he

Gh

ost

in

th

e B

rid

e’s

Ch

am

ber

’

Read

ing

AF

7

6.1

Rela

tin

g t

exts

to

th

e s

oci

al,

his

tori

cal

and

cu

ltu

ral

con

tex

ts i

n w

hic

h

they

wer

e w

ritt

en

Res

ou

rce

17

R

esea

rch

th

e ro

le

and

pla

ce o

f

wo

men

in

Vic

tori

an s

ocie

ty

6

Ass

essm

ent

task

:

com

par

ing

‘T

he

Tell

-Tal

e H

eart

’

and

‘T

he H

ear

t o

f

An

oth

er’

Read

ing

3,

4,

5, 6

N/A

– A

ssess

men

t

Res

ou

rce

18


2 © Pearson Education Ltd 2008

Ca

no

n F

ire M

ediu

m-t

erm

ov

ervie

w:

GR

OW

ING

UP

L

esso

n

Les

son

co

ver

ag

e A

sses

smen

t

focu

s

Fra

mew

ork

Ob

ject

ives

(R

ead

ing

) R

eso

urce

s H

om

ew

ork

1

‘Ch

ick

en’

by

Mar

y

Ho

ffm

an

Read

ing

AF

4

6.3

An

aly

sin

g w

rite

rs’

use

of

org

anis

atio

n,

stru

ctu

re,

lay

ou

t an

d

pre

sen

tati

on

Res

ou

rces

2, 1

9,

20

P

lan

a s

tory

wit

h a

mo

ral

2

‘Th

e D

estr

uct

ors

’

by

Gra

ham

Gre

ene

Read

ing

AF

2

5.1

Dev

elo

pin

g a

nd

ad

apti

ng

act

ive r

ead

ing

sk

ills

an

d s

trat

egie

s

Res

ou

rces

5, 2

1–

23

C

om

men

t o

n t

he

lan

gu

age i

n a

new

spap

er a

rtic

le

3

‘Po

rkie

s’ b

y R

ob

ert

Sw

ind

ell

s

Read

ing

AF

6

5.2

Un

der

stan

din

g a

nd

res

po

nd

ing

to

id

eas,

vie

wp

oin

t, t

hem

es a

nd

p

urp

ose

s in

tex

ts

Res

ou

rces

16

, 2

4,

25

Pla

n t

hre

e n

ew

end

ing

s fo

r

‘Po

rkie

s’

4

‘Bil

ly t

he

Kid

’ b

y

Wil

liam

Go

ldin

g

Read

ing

AF

5

6.2

An

aly

sin

g h

ow

wri

ters

’ u

se o

f li

ng

uis

tic a

nd

lit

erar

y fea

ture

s sh

apes

an

d i

nfl

uen

ces

mea

nin

g

Cla

ss s

et

of

thes

auri

; R

eso

urc

e

26

–2

7

Wri

te t

wo

or

thre

e

sen

ten

ces,

sele

ctin

g

effe

cti

ve

vo

cab

ula

ry

5

Co

mp

arin

g

‘Po

rkie

s’ a

nd

‘B

illy

the

Kid

’

Read

ing

AF

3

5.1

Dev

elo

pin

g a

nd

ad

apti

ng

act

ive r

ead

ing

sk

ills

an

d s

trat

egie

s

Res

ou

rces

28

–3

1

Imag

ine a

nd

dra

w a

char

act

er

6

Ass

essm

ent

task

:

com

par

ing

‘T

he

Des

tru

cto

rs’

and

‘Ch

ick

en’

Read

ing

AF

2, 3

, 4

, 5

,

6

N/A

– A

ssess

men

t

Res

ou

rces

32

–3

3

© Pearson Education Ltd 2008


3

Ca

no

n F

ire M

ediu

m-t

erm

ov

ervie

w:

TH

E W

ILD

L

esso

n

Les

son

co

ver

ag

e A

sses

smen

t

focu

s

Fra

mew

ork

Ob

ject

ives

(R

ead

ing

) R

eso

urce

s H

om

ew

ork

1

‘Th

e C

ats

’ b

y

Ro

ber

t W

esta

ll

Read

ing

AF

3

5.1

Dev

elo

pin

g a

nd

ad

apti

ng

act

ive r

ead

ing

sk

ills

an

d s

trat

egie

s

Res

ou

rces

34

–3

6

Wh

at i

dea

s can

be

infe

rred

fro

m o

ther

wel

l-k

no

wn

fai

ry

tale

s?

2

‘Th

e B

razi

lian

Cat’

by

Art

hu

r C

on

an

Do

yle

Read

ing

AF

4

6.3

An

aly

sin

g w

rite

rs’

use

of

org

anis

atio

n,

stru

ctu

re,

lay

ou

t an

d

pre

sen

tati

on

Res

ou

rce

37

,

scis

sors

Pla

n a

sto

ry i

n

wh

ich

yo

u

wit

hh

old

info

rmat

ion

fro

m

the

read

er

3

‘To

Bu

ild

a F

ire’

by

Jack

Lo

nd

on

Read

ing

AF

6

5.2

Un

der

stan

din

g a

nd

res

po

nd

ing

to

id

eas,

vie

wp

oin

t, t

hem

es a

nd

p

urp

ose

s in

tex

ts

Res

ou

rces

38

–3

9

Pla

n a

sto

ry f

or

thre

e d

iffe

ren

t

aud

ien

ces

4

‘A V

end

ett

a’ b

y

Gu

y d

e M

aup

assa

nt

Read

ing

AF

5

6.2

An

aly

sin

g h

ow

wri

ters

’ u

se o

f li

ng

uis

tic a

nd

lit

erar

y fea

ture

s sh

apes

an

d i

nfl

uen

ces

mea

nin

g

Res

ou

rces

40

–4

4

Sel

ect

a se

ttin

g

app

rop

riat

e to

a

sto

ry

5

Co

mp

arin

g ‘

To

Bu

ild

a F

ire’

an

d ‘

A

Ven

det

ta’

Read

ing

AF

2

5.1

Dev

elo

pin

g a

nd

ad

apti

ng

act

ive r

ead

ing

sk

ills

an

d s

trat

egie

s

Res

ou

rce

45

R

e-re

ad ‘

Th

e C

ats’

and

‘T

he B

razil

ian

Cat’

6

Ass

essm

ent

task

:

clo

se r

ead

ing

of

‘Th

e C

ats

’ an

d ‘

Th

e

Bra

zili

an C

at’

Read

ing

AF

2, 3

, 5

, 6

N/A

– A

ssess

men

t

Res

ou

rce

46


4 © Pearson Education Ltd 2008

Ca

no

n F

ire M

ediu

m-t

erm

ov

ervie

w:

FO

LK

ST

OR

IES

L

esso

n

Les

son

co

ver

ag

e A

sses

smen

t

focu

s

Fra

mew

ork

Ob

ject

ives

(R

ead

ing

) R

eso

urce

s H

om

ew

ork

1

‘Th

e U

gly

Wif

e’ b

y

An

tho

ny

Ho

row

itz

Read

ing

AF

5

6.2

An

aly

sin

g h

ow

wri

ters

’ u

se o

f li

ng

uis

tic a

nd

lit

erar

y fea

ture

s sh

apes

an

d i

nfl

uen

ces

mea

nin

g

Res

ou

rces

47

–4

9

Pro

du

ce a

dis

pla

y

po

ster

on

‘Lan

gu

age

Tec

hn

iqu

es’

2

‘Th

e K

nig

ht’

s T

ale

’

by

Geo

ffre

y

Ch

aucer

(re

told

by

Ger

ald

ine

McC

aug

hre

an)

Read

ing

AF

6

5.2

Un

der

stan

din

g a

nd

res

po

nd

ing

to

id

eas,

vie

wp

oin

t, t

hem

es a

nd

p

urp

ose

s in

tex

ts

Res

ou

rces

50

–5

1

Pla

n t

hre

e en

din

gs

to s

ug

ges

t th

ree

vie

wp

oin

ts

3

‘Th

e T

ink

er’s

Cu

rse’

by

Jo

an

Aik

en

Read

ing

AF

2

5.1

Dev

elo

pin

g a

nd

ad

apti

ng

act

ive r

ead

ing

sk

ills

an

d s

trat

egie

s

Res

ou

rces

52

–5

5

Sel

ect

a q

uo

tati

on

,

wri

te a

rele

van

t

‘po

int’

an

d

‘ex

pla

in’

4

‘Th

e S

tar-

Ch

ild

’ b

y

Osc

ar W

ild

e

Read

ing

AF

4

6.3

An

aly

sin

g w

rite

rs’

use

of

org

anis

atio

n,

stru

ctu

re,

lay

ou

t an

d

pre

sen

tati

on

Res

ou

rces

56

–6

1,

scis

sors

Pla

n t

he s

tory

of

the

nex

t k

ing

, u

sin

g

a li

near

or

circ

ula

r

stru

ctu

re

5

Co

mp

arin

g ‘

Th

e

Kn

igh

t’s

Tale

’ an

d

‘Th

e U

gly

Wif

e’

Read

ing

AF

7

6.1

Rela

tin

g t

exts

to

th

e s

oci

al,

his

tori

cal

and

cu

ltu

ral

con

tex

ts i

n w

hic

h

they

wer

e w

ritt

en

Res

ou

rces

62

–6

3

Mak

e a

dis

pla

y

po

ster

on

‘T

he

Fo

lk-T

ale

Gen

re’

6

Ass

essm

ent

task

:

Co

mp

arin

g t

wo

fo

lk

tale

s

Read

ing

2,

4,

5, 6

, 7

N/A

– A

ssess

men

t

Res

ou

rces

64

–6

6

5 © Pearson Education Ltd 2008 5

The short stories in this collection are organised into four themes: Gothic, Growing Up, The Wild, and Folk Stories. Six lesson plans are given for each themed group. The first four cover each of the four stories in the group, followed by a homework suggestion. It is likely that each of the lesson plans will take two lessons to deliver, in order to allow time to read the story. The fifth lesson in the sequence compares two of the stories from the group. Each lesson in the sequence concentrates on one reading assessment focus:

AF2 Understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts and use quotation and reference to text

AF3 Deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts

AF4 Identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and presentational features at text level

AF5 Explain and comment on writers’ uses of language, including grammatical and literary features at word and sentence level

AF6 Identify and comment on writers’ purposes and viewpoints and the overall effect of the text on the reader

AF7 Relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts and literary tradition

The sixth lesson in the sequence is an assessment task, covering most or all of the assessment foci from the preceding five lessons. You can deliver the lessons singly to focus on a specific reading skill, or in themed groups to cover a range of reading skills, chosen according to the taste and the needs of your teaching groups. There is a wide range of stories in Canon Fire: in their time of writing, in their scope, in their content, in their appeal, in their language use, and in their reading level. Some stories are, of course, more challenging and therefore more appropriate to more able or older year groups; the activities suggested for them reflect this. However, Framework Objectives are referenced in the Medium-term overviews, to show how each lesson plan can meet the needs of all Key Stage 3 teaching groups. I hope that you will find that the breadth of activities offered matches the broad range of stories in the collection, and offers something to engage and stretch all of your students.

Introduction

6

Canon Fire resources

© Pearson Education Ltd 2008 6

Canon Fire edited by Michael Morpurgo ‘Gothic’ Lesson 1

Class: Date: Period:

Lesson coverage: ‘The Heart of Another’ by Marcus Sedgwick

As a result of this lesson:

• all students will be able to: identify the basic structure of the story

• most students will be able to: identify key features used to create the structure

• some students will be able to: identify key features and analyse their contribution to the writer’s intended

effect.

Assessment focus: AF4 – identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts

Resources: Resources 1, 2, 3, 4

Starter

Write the word genre on the board. Ask for definitions: a type of story or film with some key features typical of that

type: characters, setting, plot, etc. Establish the key features of the gothic genre. If students are not familiar with it,

explain that it effectively encompasses the genres of ghost and horror. Use Resource 1 to explore the key features.

Pose the following two questions for paired discussion, one at a time, taking feedback after each:

• What genre does the title of the story lead the reader to expect? (Romance, perhaps?)

• Finding this in a section entitled ‘gothic’, how are the reader’s expectations altered? (A more biological

interpretation of ‘heart’, perhaps!)

Introduction

Ask students to interrupt as you read the story, to predict how it will end. Ask them to identify the clues that suggested

their prediction. Record them on the board. After reading, reflect again on the title of the story. Has it taken on any

previously unsuspected meaning?

Reflect on those clues that proved relevant to the ending. How does a writer produce a story that builds in this way?

Look for responses that show awareness of the importance of careful planning.

Development

Use Resource 2 on OHT to demonstrate the narrative structure: Setting–Conflict–Climax–Resolution. Ask students to

sum up this story in four sentences, one for each phase of that structure.

Ask students to trace the structure of the story: the clues that build towards the ending. Use Resource 3 on OHT to

model one example: the narrator suddenly develops a taste for beer – is this a side-effect of her heart transplant?

Perhaps the heart brings something of its former owner with it?

Depending on ability, students can use Resource 3 to work independently or Resource 4 if more support is needed.

Plenary

Does the class think that John, the tutor, really killed several young men to ‘create’ a suitable heart donor? Is the

narrator mad? How many of the story’s details are ‘true’ and how many are due to her madness? Has the writer created

this ambiguity on purpose? What was his intention in doing so?

Distribute APP grids. Students self-assess their level in AF4. Take feedback with supporting evidence.

Homework

Plan a gothic short story: write four sentences using the Setting–Conflict–Climax–Resolution structure. Then think of –

and write down – two or three clues you could give during the story that would help the reader guess how it was going

to end.

Personal teaching notes

7



Gothic Tick the ingredients that you think are typical of the genre.

Setting Characters

A deserted castle A ghost

A beach A mad scientist

A house on a hill A policeman

A graveyard A teenager

A circus An elderly lady

Atmosphere Events

A sunny day A horrible murder

A stormy night Strange noises

Dark and foggy A mysterious visitor arrives

Full moon on a clear night The lights go out

Drizzling and quite chilly A car chase

Props

Candles

A knife

Some fruit

A bunch of flowers

A creaking door

Resource 1

8



‘Little Red

Riding Hood’ ‘Goldilocks’

Setting:

the story is set up

A girl is taking

flowers to her

grandma

A girl is walking

in the woods

Conflict:

a problem arises

She meets a wolf

in the forest

She goes into the

three bears’

house

Climax:

the problem

reaches its peak

The wolf wants to

eat her

The three bears

come back

Resolution:

the problem is

sorted out

A woodcutter kills

the wolf and

saves her

She escapes and

runs home

Resource 2

9



The narrator tells us that: The writer wants the reader to

think that:

Resource 3

10



Which of these statements are clues that build towards the ending of the

story?

Clue

1 The narrator has had a heart transplant

2 The narrator is female

3 The narrator’s tutor thinks she is the best student he has

ever taught

4 The narrator does not get on very well with her parents

5 The narrator wants a glass of beer, even though she has

always hated it

6 The narrator chooses ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ to write about in

her thesis

7 The narrator is very tired after her operation

8 The narrator can suddenly swim, even though she has never

learnt how

9 The narrator wants to go fishing, though she was not

interested in fishing before the operation

10 The narrator starts running to keep fit

11 The number of murders in the area increased just before the

narrator’s operation

Resource 4

11





Lesson coverage: ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allan Poe


• all students will be able to: comment on a character in the story

• most students will be able to: comment on a character and support their comments with evidence

• some students will be able to: comment closely on the evidence, identifying the writer’s intentions.

Assessment focus: AF3: deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts

Resources: Resources 5, 6, 7

Starter

Question: What is the purpose of evidence in a law court? – To prove a case for or against the defendant. Similarly, we

need evidence in the form of quotations to support our views on a text.

Read the first paragraph of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’. Ask volunteers for one word that sums up our first impressions of the

narrator (likely response: mad!). Ask volunteers to identify a quotation to prove it.

What are the qualities of a well-chosen quotation? Look for responses that indicate that it proves the point being made

and is no longer than necessary to do so.

Display Resource 5 on OHT to demonstrate the correct layout of a quotation.

Introduction

Re-read the first paragraph of the story. Ask again: what are our first impressions of the narrator? Ask students to

identify quotations that suggest these impressions and the effect the writer has achieved. Depending on the ability range

of the class – and individuals in it – Resource 6 can be used on OHT to record a whole-class response, or to support

selected students. Look for responses that recognise: the initial exclamation (True!) and repetition (very, very) to

suggest an excitable, perhaps unbalanced state of mind; the use of dashes to suggest a halting speech pattern; the

rhetorical questions confirming that he has been accused of madness; the desperate protestations of sanity.

Development

Read the remainder of the story.

Ask the question: Can we believe this narrator? Is everything they say a reliable interpretation of the events in the story?

Introduce the idea of an unreliable narrator. Explain that, in order to get a true picture of what happened, we have to

bear in mind that the narrator is unreliable and read between the lines, inferring and deducing what the writer intended

us to understand.

Ask students to find three quotations that show the narrator is unreliable – and identify what the writer intended them to

infer. Use Resource 7 to model – and for students to record their responses.

Plenary

Take feedback. The majority of students will select quotations that imply the narrator’s madness. Some may select

quotations that suggest this and more: for example, we are told that the police chatted pleasantly and smiled while the

narrator raves. Can we infer that the police are smiling fixedly while trying to keep him talking?!

Students write a definition of inference in one or two sentences. Take feedback. Look for responses that recognise that

sometimes writers do not directly tell us everything they want us to know. Distribute APP grids. Students self-assess

their level in AF3. Take feedback with supporting evidence.

Homework

Use Resource 7 to write three paragraphs about the narrator of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, using the structure: Point (what

the narrator tells us) – Evidence (quotation) – Explanation (what the writer wants us to infer).


12



A good quotation should:

• prove the point being made

• not be too long.

The writer gives the impression

that the narrator is mad:

“I heard all things in the

heaven and in the earth. I

heard many things in hell.”

Quotation

starts on a new line

Quotation is indented

Quotation

marks open

and close the

quotation

A colon to

introduce

the quotation

Resource 5

13



Quotation What does it suggest? How does it suggest

that?

‘True!’

‘...nervous – very

dreadfully nervous I

had been’

‘but why will you say

that I am mad?’

‘I heard all things in

the heaven and in the

earth. I heard many

things in hell.’

‘observe how healthily

– how calmly I can tell

you the whole story.’

Resource 6

14



Quotation The narrator is telling

us that...

The writer wants us

to infer that...

‘There came to my

ears a low, dull, quick

sound ... It was the

beating of the man’s

heart.’

He has very acute

hearing The narrator is insane

Resource 7

15





Lesson coverage: ‘The Writing on The Wall’ by Celia Rees


• all students will be able to: identify basic features of, and make simple comments on, the writer’s choice of

language

• most students will be able to: identify a range of features, and show some awareness of the effect of the

writer’s choice of language

• some students will be able to: make detailed comments on the writer’s choice of language and comment on

its overall effect in the story.

Assessment focus: AF5 explain and comment on writers’ uses of language

Resources: Resources 8, 8a, 9, 10

Starter

Write the word dog on the board. Show Resource 8a on OHT. Ask students to write down any word that they associate

with it or might use to describe one: it could be a noun, a verb, an adverb or an adjective. Depending on the ability of

the class, display Resource 8 to support and model. Point out that any notes made will support the homework task.

Which of the words gathered have positive associations? Which have negative associations? Encourage students to

subdivide the vocabulary further. Which words suggest fierceness, boldness, faithfulness...? Aim for the point that the

writer’s choice of descriptive vocabulary affects, and so can be used to manipulate, the reader’s response.

Introduction

Read the two opening paragraphs of the story. Identify the vocabulary used to describe the weather and location of the

house (green leaves, sunlight, spring). Then identify the vocabulary used to describe the house (fancy, grandeur,

rotting, hidden, secret). Note that the initial positive becomes increasingly negative. Why has the writer used this

contrast? To emphasise the difference. Use Resource 9 to explore and analyse one particular image that the writer uses

to describe the house. What do the words arching brows suggest about the look of the house? What effect does the

simile have? What effect does the personification have? Look for responses that recognise the actively malevolent

nature of the house.

Development

Divide the class into eight groups. Explain that, as and after you read the remainder of the story, two groups will note

and explore the vocabulary used to describe each of: the house (pages 31–3); the mummified cat (page 35); upstairs

(page 36); the final confrontation (page 44–6). Bear in mind the ability of each group as you assign extracts.

Read the remainder of the story. Give groups five minutes to add to and reflect on the vocabulary they have gathered.

Which is the most effective word in the extract? What effect did the writer want to have on the reader? Which other

words have a similar effect? Are there any that have a different effect? Why has the writer used them? Less confident

readers can be supported with Resource 10.

Plenary

Can the groups identify the mood or response the writer wanted to achieve in each extract? Can they sum it up in just

one word? Take feedback.


Homework

Write one or two paragraphs describing a meeting with a dangerous dog. Identify five words that you selected to have a

specific effect on the reader. For each of these, write a sentence or two explaining the effect you wanted to have.


16



dog What does it

sound like? How does it

move?

What does it

look like?

teeth

tail

sharp

fangs

needles

prowls trots yips howls

runs snarls

skips growls

creeps woofs

Resource 8

17



Resource 8a

18



...the twin roofs of the gables rising like great arching brows, frowning a warning...

Simile

Compares the house to a

human, suggesting...

Personification: suggesting... Suggests the house is...

Resource 9

19



The house

(pages 31–3)

suggests Upstairs

(page 36)

suggests

rottenness

pretty

fairy-tale castle

huge

looming

blackness

overshadowing

deserted

quiet

empty

old

ghostly

bright

halo

Mummified cat

(page 35)

suggests Final

confrontation

(pages 44–6)

suggests

dried-up

mottled

brittle

blue-grey

bone-thin

blunt

shudder

sweating

fight

razor sharp

clutched

bloodstained

Resource 10

20





Lesson coverage: ‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’ by Charles Dickens


• all students will be able to: make simple comments on some characters

• most students will be able to: make some comment on the characters and the writer’s intention in presenting

them

• some students will be able to: comment in detail and with insight on the writer’s intention and how it was

achieved.

Assessment focus: AF6 identify and comment on writers' purposes and viewpoints

Resources: Resources 11–16, scissors

Starter

Display Resource 11 on OHT, masking the second sentence. Can students identify any unfamiliar words? Can they

work out their meaning? Unmask the second sentence. Can students identify any unfamiliar words? Can they now work

out the meaning of the unfamiliar word? What makes the difference? Explain that we can often use the context in which

we come across an unfamiliar word to work out its meaning. Note: dilatory – ‘slow, delaying or wasting time

intentionally’.

Introduction

Explain that the story was written in 1857. Display Resource 12: a glossary for the story. Pause during reading to

establish whether the context of unfamiliar words helps us work out their meaning.

Read the story, asking volunteers to recap periodically to ensure understanding around the class.

Development

Distribute Resource 13 and scissors for students to cut and shuffle the key events of the story and confirm their

understanding. Take feedback and confirm the correct sequence using Resource 14.

Incidental question: why does the writer use the device of the story within the story? Look for responses that recognise:

it allows the typical feature of the ghost’s backstory to be told, unusually, by the ghost himself; it makes this twist more

surprising to the reader.

Explain to students that, although this is a ghost story, it has elements in common with several other genres: a hero, a

heroine, a villain. Ask students to identify which characters represent these roles – and the characteristics they show in

this story, using quotations from the story. They can record their responses on Resource 15.

What response do students think the writer wanted the reader to have to these characters? Use Resource 16 to prompt

students; direct them back to Resource 15 to record their decisions.

Plenary

Take feedback. Does the class agree? If two – or more – students disagree, are they wrong? Aim for the point that

responses to texts vary and, if supported with evidence, are all perfectly valid; although we often look to establish the

writer’s intention, our response to the story will dictate our interpretation of that intention.


Homework

Choose two of the responses on Resource 16. Write two paragraphs about yourself: each one drawing one of the chosen

responses from the reader, e.g. a paragraph to make the reader feel disgust at you; a paragraph to make the reader feel

sympathy for you.


21



The spectral being traversed the

antechamber: initially expeditiously

but ultimately dilatorily.

The ghost crossed the room: at

first very quickly but, in the end,

dilatorily.

Resource 11

22



‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’ – glossary

quaint (page 47) unusual and old-fashioned

noble prospect (page 50) impressive view

bride-cake (page 51) wedding cake

put aside (page 51) rejected

recourse (page 53) source of help

pinching (page 56) miserly

billhook (page 57) a sharp garden tool with a curved blade

closed (page 57) made contact

as lieve (page 57) as gladly

mourning ribbon (page 58) black ribbon worn as a reminder of someone

who has died

alighted (page 59) settled

dwelt (page 59) lived

turned his money (page 60) increased his wealth

fell to (page 61) got to work

anatomised (page 63) dissected

re-hung on an iron hook (page 63) the bodies of hanged criminals used to

be put on public display

edgewise (page 63) with the edge upwards

spiritually troubled (page 64) haunted

recking of (page 65) taking notice of

unserviceable (page 66) useless

Resource 12

23



A storm damages the tree. Scientists want to examine its roots. They dig

and discover the body.

A young man saw everything that the man had done to his wife.

Although doors seem to open and close by themselves, the two visitors

settle in to stay at the house.

Many years ago, a couple were married. They had a weak and helpless

daughter.

One night, one of the elderly men appears and tells them a story.

The elderly man reveals that he is the ghost of the hanged man.

The husband died. The wife remarried – the man she had turned down

before marrying her first husband.

The man kills the young man and buries him under a tree in the garden.

The man married the daughter and bullied her to death.

The man was hanged for murder.

The two visitors are met at the door by six elderly men who suddenly

disappear.

The visitors run away.

The wife died but left him no money in her will – it all went to her

daughter.

The young man promises he will hound the man until justice is done.

Two visitors come to stay at a strange house.

Resource 13

24



1 Two visitors come to stay at a strange house.

2 The two visitors are met at the door by six elderly men who

suddenly disappear.

3 Although doors seem to open and close by themselves, the two

visitors settle in to stay at the house.

4 One night, one of the elderly men appears and tells them a story.

5 Many years ago, a couple were married. They had a weak and

helpless daughter.

6 The husband died. The wife remarried – the man she had turned

down before marrying her first husband.

7 The wife died but left him no money in her will – it all went to her

daughter.

8 The man married the daughter and bullied her to death.

9 A young man saw everything that the man had done to his wife.

10 The young man promises he will hound the man until justice is done.

11 The man kills the young man and buries him under a tree in the

garden.

12 A storm damages the tree. Scientists want to examine its roots.

They dig and discover the body.

13 The man is hanged for murder.

14 The elderly man reveals that he is the ghost of the hanged man.

15 The visitors run away.

Resource 14

25



Character Quotations What the quotations

tell us about them

Our response

to them

Villain

Heroine

Hero

Resource 15

26



Sympathy Hatred Fear Happiness

Disgust Envy Horror Anger

Affection Shock Empathy Surprise

Pity Amazement Sadness Amusement

Resource 16

27





Lesson coverage: Comparing ‘The Writing on the Wall’ and ‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’


• all students will be able to: recognise significant differences between the two texts

• most students will be able to: recognise, identify and make some comment on significant differences between

the two texts

• some students will be able to: comment on how the writers’ differing environments shaped the texts and their

expectations of the reader.

Assessment focus: AF7 relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts and literary tradition

Resources: Resource 17

Starter

What are the features of a typical ghost story? Give students five minutes to list as many as possible. Take feedback.

Compile a class list on the board, organised under the headings: Setting, Events, Characters.

Introduction

Divide the class in two. One half, working in pairs, writes a four- or five-sentence summary of the Rees story; the other

writes a similar summary of the Dickens story. Take feedback, agreeing the outlines and some details among the pairs.

Development

Do students feel that ‘The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber’ and ‘The Writing on the Wall’ are typical ghost stories? Is the

Dickens story very much ‘of its time’? Using Resource 17, ask students to compare the stories by identifying examples

of the listed features in both. Take feedback.

Which of the listed features are typical of ghost stories, old and new? Which of the features are relevant only to the time

of writing? Ask students to sort the features into two groups. For reference, use the list on the board from the starter.

Take feedback.

Plenary

Concentrate on the attitudes shown in the story to men, women and marriage. Are the attitudes shown in the Dickens

story old-fashioned? How do the attitudes in the Rees story differ? How does this reflect the times when the stories

were written? Look for responses that recognise different attitudes to women: in Rees’s story, the modern girl avenges

the bullied Victorian girl; in Dickens’s story a man is needed (although he fails!).

Homework

Research the role and place of women in Victorian society. Find out about what they wore, the jobs they did, how they

enjoyed themselves, what rights they had, etc.


28



Examples

Features ‘The Writing on

the Wall’

‘The Ghost in the

Bride’s Chamber’

Very long sentences

Unfamiliar language

Unusual word order

A curse

A ghost

A mysterious house

Blood and gore

Unhappy

relationships

Unsuspecting

visitors

Ruthless men

Strange, mysterious

characters

Unpleasant and

troubled deaths

Weak, overpowered

women

Wrongdoing and

punishment

Resource 17

29





Lesson coverage: Assessment task: comparing ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ and ‘The Heart of Another’


• all students will be able to: identify some simple similarities and differences, supported with some textual

evidence

• most students will be able to: identify and comment on a range of similarities and differences consistently

supported by textual evidence

• some students will be able to: comment in detail on a range of similarities and differences, and how they

reflect the writer’s intentions.

Assessment focus: AF3, 4, 5, 6


Starter

Explain the task to the students: depending on the group’s ability, they should either complete the work on Resource 18,

identifying similarities and differences between the two stories, with examples and comments on the writer’s intention –

or use it as a planning sheet for a formal analytical essay. The former task will allow assessment of reading skill without

writing ability clouding or masking its accuracy in some cases; adding the writing element will, however, benefit future

essay planning and writing.

Introduction

Ask volunteers to recap briefly the two stories. Resolve any issues of memory or understanding. Explain to students, if

appropriate, that they are allowed to refer to their work on the two stories to help them in this assessment.

Development

Students complete the assessment. Emphasise to students that, in the column headed ‘What effect did the writer...’, they

should try to comment on the writer’s choice of language in creating this effect.

Plenary

Distribute APP grids. Do students feel they have done themselves justice across the relevant assessment foci? At what

level would they assess themselves? Take feedback, with supporting evidence.


30



Sim

ila

r (S

) o

r

dif

fere

nt

(D)?

Wh

at

eff

ect

did

th

e

wri

ter

wa

nt

to

cre

ate

? W

hic

h

wo

rds

su

gg

es

t th

is?

Ex

am

ple

fro

m ‘

Th

e

Te

ll-T

ale

Hea

rt’

Wh

at

eff

ect

did

th

e

wri

ter

wa

nt

to

cre

ate

? W

hic

h

wo

rds

su

gg

es

t th

is?

Ex

am

ple

fro

m ‘

Th

e

He

art

of

An

oth

er’

Se

ttin

g

Ch

ara

cte

rs

Eve

nts

Str

uctu

re

Resource 18

31



Canon Fire edited by Michael Morpurgo ‘Growing up’ Lesson 1


Lesson coverage: ‘Chicken’ by Mary Hoffman


• all students will be able to: identify key, physical events in the story

• most students will be able to: identify key events in the story, including character response and development,

recognising their role in the writer’s purpose and intention

• some students will be able to: comment on how key events contribute to the writer’s purpose and intention.

Assessment focus: AF4 identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts


Starter

Ask the class: Who has ever played ‘dare’? Discuss different dares (done or refused), and why we feel obliged to carry

them out. Note the role of peer pressure: fear of losing friends or looking cowardly outweighs the fear of the dare.

Introduce the title of the story. What do students think it might be about? What do they think the outcome will be? What

will be the moral of the story?

Introduction

Read the story. Ask students to interrupt the reading with hands up to suggest how the story will develop/end and, more

importantly, the clues that helped them guess. As you read, note that:

• Clues begin in paragraph one. Why? To build tension/hold reader’s attention from the outset.

• The writer describes the children growing up together with detailed examples: swimming, Power Rangers, etc.

Why? To contrast the innocence of their earlier lives with the danger of the dares.

Development

Look particularly at pages 69–70 (And so it continued ... take on the Terminator.). What is happening in this part of the

story? The dares are escalating. Focus on the opening of the paragraphs. What do students notice? Almost every

paragraph begins with a connective: And... Then... But.... Why? To create a sense of one event leading to another, an

inevitable chain of cause and effect.

Use Resource 2 to explain the Setting–Conflict–Climax–Resolution structure, if not already covered in Lesson 1.

Explain that different phases of a story are intended to have different effects on the reader. Students use Resource 19 to

match what the writer is doing to what she wants the reader to feel:

• Setting: to explain the background to the story – understanding

• Conflict: to build tension in the story – anticipation

• Climax: to release the tension in the story – excitement

• Resolution: to finish off the story – satisfaction.

Ask students to trace the development of ‘Chicken’ as it builds towards its ending, using Resource 20 to record

responses. First, students record the key events in the story. Point out that this may include characters’ reactions and

thoughts as well as physical events. Students then allocate the ‘writer’s purpose’ to each event. Encourage students to

use ditto marks where appropriate. Finally, students allocate one of the four structural phases to each event: setting,

conflict, etc.

Plenary

Take feedback, reaching general class agreement on how the key events fit into the structure of the writer’s intention

and the reader’s response. Why did the story end as it did? Are students/readers expected to take a moral from the

story? Ask students to write it down in one sentence. Take feedback.


Homework

Plan a story with a moral for young people, using the four-part structure, in only four sentences. Tip: start with the

moral, then plan a story that will deliver it.


32



The writer’s purpose and the reader’s response

Writer

To explain the background to the story

Reader

Anticipation

Reader

Excitement

Writer

To release the tension in the story

Reader

Satisfaction

Writer

To finish off the story

Reader

Understanding

Writer

To build tension in the story

Resource 19

33



Key events in the

story

The writer’s purpose Setting, conflict,

climax or resolution?

Resource 20

34





Lesson coverage: ‘The Destructors’ by Graham Greene


• all students will be able to: retrieve some quotations about a character

• most students will be able to: identify effective quotations and use them to comment on a character

• some students will be able to: identify effective quotations, making a range of comments on the writer’s

selection of detail and choice of language in creating a character.

Assessment focus: AF2 understand, describe, select or retrieve information, events or ideas from texts

Resources: Resources 5, 21–23

Starter

Recap how to lay out a quotation (Starter, Lesson 2); display Resource 5 if not already covered. Read paragraph 1 of the

story. Display Resource 21 with the second half masked: a quotation to show the character of Mike. Ask volunteers to

suggest how the quotation can be edited to ‘capture’ his character in the shortest space: cross out on OHT or delete on

whiteboard.

Depending on the ability of the group, either ask students to comment on the now edited quotation – what does it tell us

about Mike? – or reveal the lower half of Resource 21 to model the kinds of comments that can be made, focusing on

either the writer’s selection of detail or choice of language.

Introduction

Read the remainder of the story. Ask for students’ initial reactions and comments. Use the questions on Resource 22 to

guide the students’ initial response; or as a series of questions for students to answer independently then feed back to

you. Note the vocabulary bank to support (rather than guide) students’ responses.

Development

Explain to students that they are going to hunt for evidence on the character of ‘T’ to build a picture of him. Depending

on ability, students can use Resource 23 to support them and/or work in small groups. Emphasise that students should

not ‘get stuck’ on any one particular question, but should move on to one that they can answer with some confidence.

Plenary

Take feedback. Focusing on specific areas/points of the story, compare students’ choice of quotations and their

comments on them. Identify whether comments are about the writer’s selection of detail or choice of language. Which

is the better quotation, which the better comment? Aim to make the point that the selection of the quote dictates the

quality of the comment that follows.


Homework

Find a newspaper article. Identify either a quotation from, or a journalist’s description of, a person featured in the

article. Make three comments about the choice of language used and what it suggests about the person. Make a display

poster of the quotation you selected and your comments on it.


35



‘Mike at the age of nine was

surprised by everything.’

Mike at the age of nine was surprised by everything. ‘If you don’t shut your

mouth,’ somebody once said to him, ‘you’ll get a frog down it.’ After that Mike

kept his teeth tightly clamped except when the surprise was too great.

Use of first name only

suggests young, harmless

boy: compare to names of

other characters, e.g. ‘T’ or

Blackie.

His youth is emphasised.

Suggests he is inexperienced and innocent: everything is new and exciting to him.

Resource 21

36



1 Do you agree with the lorry driver’s comment at the end of the story:

‘...you got to admit it’s funny.’?

2 If so, why? If not, why not?

3 What are your feelings about the character of Mr Thomas at the end of the

story?

4 What are your feelings about the characters of the boys at the end of the

story?

5 Wht are your feelings about the character of ‘T.’ during the story?

6 Does this story have a moral?

7 If so, what is it? If not, what is the purpose of this story?

Vocabulary bank

humorous pity rivalry

admiration sympathy obessive

respect pointless emotionless

disgust futile heartless

vandalism hatred insane

amusement leadership ruthless

Resource 22

37



T.

Quotation This suggests that T. is...

What are we told about T.

when he is first introduced?

(page 76)

What does T. say about Old

Misery’s house? (pages

78–9)

How does T.’s idea of fun

differ from the other gang

members’ ideas? (page 80)

How does T. become leader

of the gang? (page 81)

How do we know T. has been

thinking about this plan for

years? (page 82)

What does T. do when he

finds Old Misery’s money?

(pages 85–6)

What does T. think of Old

Misery? (page 86)

How does Blackie become

the leader of the gang again?

(page 88)

Resource 23

38





Lesson coverage: ‘Porkies’ by Robert Swindells


• all students will be able to: identify the writer’s purpose with some supporting examples

• most students will be able to: identify and comment on the writer’s purpose and how it is achieved

• some students will be able to: comment in detail on the writer’s purpose and how the reader’s response is

manipulated.

Assessment focus: AF6 identify and comment on writers’ purposes and viewpoints


Starter

Explain to students that writers sometimes use spelling and punctuation to reflect the way a character speaks. Show

Resource 24, masking all but example 1. Ask students to: identify the meaning; identify how spelling (’orwight for

alright) and punctuation (the apostrophe showing the dropped ‘h’) are used to reflect accent; guess what kind of accent

this represents (London?).

Reveal example 2. Repeat the same process (posh?). Reveal example 3: ask students to take this standard English

sentence and, using spelling and punctuation, to ‘translate’ it into a different accent. Students may need to change, add

or delete words to complete the effect. Take feedback.

What is the intended effect of this representation of accent on the reader? Frequently, humour.

Introduction

Read the story. Pause to identify the techniques used to represent Billy’s mum’s accent on pages 95–6: spelling

including the additional ‘h’s. What is the intended effect on the reader? Humour.

At the end of the story, ask students to identify the overall intended effect: again, humour. How is it created? Look for

responses that recognise the humour in the character of Piggo and his lies.

Development

Ask students to trace their response to the character of Piggo, using Resource 25. Display Resource 16 to offer students

a range of responses to choose from. Encourage students to think, not only about how they respond to the story, but also

to the character of Piggo, e.g. at times our response to the story may be amusement, but we may also be feeling

sympathy for Piggo. Take feedback.

Focus specifically on the end of the story: Piggo’s humiliation in the cinema and his final lie in the last paragraph. Note

that the writer does not describe Piggo’s friends’ reaction at the end of the story. What might it have been? Ask students

to consider why the writer has ended the story in this way; then write two or three sentences commenting on how the

writer has created this response.

Plenary

Take feedback. Look for responses that recognise how our sympathy for the humiliated Piggo turns to a grudging

respect as he continues his bare-faced lying: we are now laughing with him, not at him.

Would the story have been more effective if the writer had included the friends’ response? Aim for the point that a

funny story needs to end on the punchline.


Homework

Plan three new endings that the writer could have used for ‘Porkies’. For each one, write a sentence explaining how you

think it would affect the reader’s response to the story and to Piggo’s character.


39



Sympathy Hatred Fear Happiness

Disgust Envy Horror Anger

Affection Shock Empathy Surprise

Pity Amazement Sadness Amusement

Resource 16

40



’Ow are you? Orwight?

Ai’m ebsolootli fain.

I am going to the shops later.

Resource 24

41



When we’re told that Piggo... Our response is...

...tells lies

...tells lies to make himself feel

special

...says his cousin is the

queen’s lady-in-waiting

...says his uncle climbed

Everest first

...has his story confirmed by

his dad

...is exposed – his ‘cousin’

turns out to be the Queen of

Tonga

...is exposed again – his

uncle’s flag is not on Everest’s

summit

...says the statue of Alfred the

Great is his grandad’s right-

hand man

Resource 25

42





Lesson coverage: ‘Billy the Kid’ by William Golding


• all students will be able to: make simple comments on a writer’s choice of language

• most students will be able to: comment on the writer’s choice of language, showing some awareness of its

effect

• some students will be able to: comment in detail on the writer’s choice of language, identifying a pattern and

drawing conclusions about the writer’s intended effect.

Assessment focus: AF5 explain and comment on writers’ uses of language

Resources: class set of thesauri; Resources 26, 27

Starter

Display Resource 26 on OHT. Ask students to explore possible replacements for the underlined words, aiming at a

choice of three for each. Students should start by exploring their own vocabulary before using a thesaurus. Note the

connotations of the original choice of language: e.g. squeak suggests surprise rather than pain, something small, like a

mouse. Take feedback. Record students’ suggestions on the OHT. How is the meaning changed by the new

suggestions? Which do students prefer? Why?

Introduction

Read the story. Pause periodically to take questions and ask volunteers to summarise, ensuring understanding around

the class.

Two questions to assess and extend students’ understanding:

What do you think Miss said to the class in her 15-minute sermon?

What has Billy learned by the end of the story that helped him to win the prize for improvement?

Development

Explain that you are going to focus on the writer’s choice of language, particularly in the very descriptive middle

section where the other students gang up on Billy and he runs home. Re-read from At the end of the morning... (page

107) to ...THEY DON’T LIKE ME! (page 109).

Depending on the ability of the group, ask students either to identify interesting and effective use of language in this

extract or use Resource 27 to support them.

Plenary

Take feedback. Do students notice any significant connection between a number of the quotations? Several focus on

sounds: roar, howl, siren, etc. Why? Look for responses that recognise the overall effect the author wanted to create:

loud, disturbing, attention-seeking noise!


Homework

Write two or three sentences describing a fight. Choose three words that you think could be improved. For each one,

think of three alternative choices. In each case, select the most effective vocabulary choice and write a sentence

explaining your choice. What did you want the word to suggest?


43



The classroom silence was shattered by a squeak. He had

_________

_________

_________

scratched her. The teacher glared for a moment before turning

_________

_________

_________

back to her writing on the board. He smiled, purring contentedly.

_________

_________

_________

Resource 26

44



Look at the underlined words in the table below.

Why did the writer choose them? What do they suggest?

Where more than one word is underlined, comment on the connection

between the words and their effect.

Quotation Comment

The girls were ranged behind them, ready to send their

men into the firing line.

...what felt like a roar but

must really have been a pig squeal...

The screams of the little girls went needle sharp

My voice rose in a sustained

howl

My sorrow went before me like a brass band

Grief as shrill and steady as

a siren

...floods, tempests,

hurricanes, rage and anguish

Resource 27

45





Lesson coverage: Comparing ‘Porkies’ and ‘Billy the Kid’


• all students will be able to: identify where the writer is using inference and recognise what is being inferred

• most students will be able to: recognise and comment on what the writer is inferring, using textual evidence

• some students will be able to: comment on and compare the range and purposes of inference.

Assessment focus: AF3 deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts

Resources: Resources 28–31

Starter

Display Resource 28. Ask students to read the various possible descriptions of a boy, then select two details to suggest

he is: (1) disorganised; (2) aggressive; (3) lonely; (4) intelligent. Take feedback. Aim to conclude that a writer’s choice

of language can infer more meaning than it first appears to give.

Introduction

Explain that you are going to look carefully at the titles of the two stories and explore their inferences. Use Resource 29

to record responses.

What does ‘Porkies’ suggest? Look for responses that recognise: abbreviation of pork pies (rhyming slang for lies); the

link to the name of the central character, Piggo, and its derogatory nature.

What does ‘Billy the Kid’ suggest? Look for responses that recognise: a story about growing up, written from an adult

point of view; a link to the writer’s comments at the end of the story – his failure to recognise the significance of events;

the narrator’s change of name at school (from William to Billy – compare Billy the grammar-school boy in ‘Porkies’);

link to the wild-west hero suggesting aggression and lawlessness. Note the use of humour/puns in both titles.

Development

Compare the narrator’s point of view in the stories. Both are told in the first person but the focus of the story is the

narrator in ‘Billy the Kid’; and Piggo in ‘Porkies’ (not the narrator). Resource 30 may support your explanation of this

difficult idea. Both narrators are explicit about their feelings and response to events, but sometimes we have to infer

what the writer is implying about the other children in ‘Billy the Kid’ and the character of Piggo in ‘Porkies’.

Look at the quotations from the two stories on Resource 31. Identify the quotations in which the writer is being explicit

and in which implicit. In the latter case, comment on what the writer is implying.

Plenary

Take feedback. Do all students agree on whether the writer is being explicit or implicit? And on what is being implied?

Why does a writer need to use inference in a first-person narrative? Sometimes, the writer wants to suggest that the

narrator does not have a full understanding of events and other characters; and inviting the reader to infer and interpret

events involves them in the story and engages their interest.


Homework

Imagine and draw a character. Include three details in your drawing that imply what the character is like. Label your

drawing to show what you are inferring – and how.


46



On closer inspection you

might have seen that his

shirt was on inside out and

he was wearing odd socks.

From his pockets spilled

some string, a leaking pen,

a mobile phone in two

pieces and a sandwich

going blue at the edges.

His broad forehead

twitched as though

something important was

going on behind it. Occasionally his lips

parted and a deep sigh

drifted slowly into the air.

He stood alone, staring

down at his feet.

His hands were tattooed

with a mass of cuts, scabs

and scratches.

His shoes were dusty,

scuffed and dented.

He had eyes as sharp as

needles and as piercing as

a pair of searchlights.

disorganised

aggressive lonely

intelligent

Resource 28

47



Porkies [noun]

Abbreviation of ‘pork pies’:

cockney rhyming slang for

‘lies’, e.g. I don’t believe you

– you’re giving me porkies.

Billy the Kid

Famous Wild-West outlaw.

According to legend he killed

21 men before being shot

dead at the age of 21.

‘Porkies’ ‘Billy the Kid’

Resource 29

48



‘Porkies’

‘Billy the Kid’

Piggo

Narrator

Narrator

Resource 30

49



Story Quotation Implicit (I) or

Explicit (E)?

Comment

‘I was difficult’ (page 105)

‘Fighting proved to be just as

delightful as I had thought.’ (page

107)

‘There were whisperings... There

were meetings. There were

conversations which ceased when

I came near.’ (page 107)

‘…a girl in pink and plaits…’

(page 110)

‘Bil

ly t

he

Kid

’

‘Billy Golding, 1919, Prize for

General Improvement’ (page 111)

‘It wasn’t nice, knowing you were

a failure.’ (page 95)

‘If you pointed out that Dick

Barton was a fictional character

he’d wink and tell you that was

Barton’s cover story.’ (page 96)

‘Piggo sat gutted. Crushed dumb.’

(page 103)

‘Pork

ies’

‘See the feller on the horse there:

he was my grandad’s right-hand

man in the Great War.’ (page 104)

Resource 31

50





Lesson coverage: Assessment task: comparing ‘The Destructors’ and ‘Chicken’



evidence





Assessment focus: AF2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Resources: Resources 32, 33a, 33b

Starter

Recap the meaning of ‘the moral of the story’: the message the writer wants to get across to the reader; a lesson for the

reader to learn. Display Resource 32. Ask students to identify the moral in three of Aesop’s fables.

Introduction

Explain the task to students: depending on the group’s ability, they should either complete the work on Resource 33,

identifying similarities and differences between the characters, events and morals (or absence of moral) in the two

stories – or use it as a planning sheet for a formal analytical essay. The former task will allow assessment of reading

skill without writing ability clouding or masking its accuracy in some cases; adding the writing element will, however,

benefit future essay planning and writing.



Development

Students complete the assessment. Emphasise to students that, wherever possible, they should try to comment on the

writer’s choice of language in the quotations they select.

Plenary




51



[

Fables The Tortoise and the Hare

A tortoise and a hare decided to have a race. The race began and the hare

had nearly finished before the tortoise had barely begun. The hare was so

confident he settled down for a sleep. When the hare awoke, he found he had

slept so long that the tortoise had overtaken him and won the race.

The moral of the story is:

______________________________________________________________

The Ant and the Dove

An ant went to the river for a drink of water but unfortunately fell in. He was

close to drowning when a dove in a tree overhanging the river noticed,

plucked a leaf and let it fall so that the ant could climb aboard. Later, a bird

catcher came to the wood, saw the dove and started laying a trap. The ant,

remembering the dove’s kindness, stung the bird catcher in the foot. The bird

catcher cried out in pain and the dove escaped.


______________________________________________________________

The Fox and the Grapes

A thirsty fox was walking through a vineyard when he noticed some grapes

hanging overhead. He decided they would be just the thing to quench his

thirst so he jumped but could not reach them. He took a run up but still could

not reach them. He jumped and jumped but still could not get the grapes. ‘I’m

sure they’re sour,’ he said to himself as he wandered off, still thirsty. ‘I’m glad

I didn’t eat them.’


______________________________________________________________

Resource 32

52



How do the writers of these two stories present the characters, their actions

and any moral to the reader?

‘Chicken’ ‘The Destructors’

Choose one

character from

each story. Find a

quotation that tells

you about them.

Write a sentence

about each

character, based

on your quotation.

Comment closely

on the quotations

you have chosen.

Write two or three

sentences

comparing the two

characters. Are

they similar or

different? How?

Write a sentence

or two comparing

the characters’

actions in the two

stories: are they

similar or

different? How?

Resource 33a

53



What do the two writers think about their characters’ actions – are they good, bad, stupid or something else?

How does the writer suggest this?

Is there a moral to the story?

If so, what is the moral?

How does the writer present the moral to the reader?

Can you make any connection between the character you wrote about and the moral of the story?

Resource 33b

54



Canon Fire edited by Michael Morpurgo ‘The Wild’ Lesson 1


Lesson coverage: ‘The Cats’ by Robert Westall


• all students will be able to: recognise some inferred meanings at specific points in the text

• most students will be able to: identify and link some inferred meanings from the text overall

• some students will be able to: comment on the writer’s use of inference in adding layers of meaning to the

story.

Assessment focus: AF3 deduce, infer or interpret information, events or ideas from texts


Starter

Explain to students that, although they may be familiar with exploring the connotations of specific words to deduce or

infer a writer’s implied meaning, sometimes a reader needs to infer ideas from a text. Display Resource 34. Remind

students of the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’: an apparently foolish young boy climbs a giant beanstalk, does battle

with a giant and returns with a fortune in gold. The resource shows how this can suggest a metaphor for growing up.

Ask students to complete the centre of the first Venn diagram using words and phrases that link the two circles: how

does the beanstalk suggest growing up? Look for responses that recognise: growing up is a difficult journey, an

unknown destination, full of unknown dangers...

Ask students to explore and complete the other comparisons on the resource.

Introduction

Read the first four paragraphs of the story. Ask students to use their skills of inference and deduction to comment on the

narrator’s attitude to the cat. Note the use of purely negative language: blotched, gouts, big, fat, cold, claws.


Development

Explain to students that they are going to explore the role of the cats in the story. If they are very able, ask students to

identify relevant passages in the text where cats are mentioned or featured – or use Resource 35 to support this activity.

Working in pairs, what links can students find between the narrator’s relationship with her husband and the appearance

of the cats? They can indicate this by drawing arrows and writing notes on Resource 34. Take feedback.

What ideas is the writer inferring to the reader through the appearances and references to the cats? Offer a hint: note the

link between the narrator and dogs, and Harry and cats. What qualities does each partner share with their preferred pet?

Students can use Resource 36 to list the characteristics of the two humans and the two animals; then search for any

common ground.

Plenary

Take feedback. Look for responses that recognise the cats as some kind of symbol for Harry’s infidelity and the dogs as

a symbol of her ‘hounding’ him for it. Ask students to write two or three sentences explaining what the cats symbolise.

Take feedback.


Homework

Think of two or three other well-known fairy tales. What ideas can be inferred from them? Create three new Venn

diagrams like those in Resource 34. For example, what might the wolf represent in ‘Little Red Riding Hood’? What

does Prince Charming represent in ‘Cinderella’?


55



Jack and the Beanstalk: a story about growing up

A giant beanstalk,

growing from the earth, through the clouds to a far-off, mysterious land

The journey from childhood to adulthood

A giant who grinds men’s

bones to make his bread

The dangers and battles of

adolescence

Jack returns home with gold –

and a hen that lays golden eggs

Resource 34

56



A fat, blotchy tabby sits on the stairs, making the narrator feel uncomfortable.

Harry thinks the tabby cat looks like Mirabelle.

Mirabelle nearly ended the narrator’s

relationship with Harry.

Mirabelle died.

The narrator sees a long-haired white cat playing in the shrubbery.

Harry thinks the tabby cat looks like Suki.

Harry had an affair with Suki’s owner. Suki died.

The narrator sees a large ginger cat on top of the garden wall.

The narrator sees five cats lying on or around Harry.

The narrator tries to hit the tabby cat – but it seems to be a ghost.

The narrator finds Harry with the tabby cat on his lap. Harry says goodbye and disappears into thin air.

Harry likes cats. The narrator likes dogs.

Harry says that he and his wife (the narrator) have: ‘stopped hurting each other ... like an old cat and an old dog who’ve got too old for the game.’

Resource 35

57



Harry Narrator

Cats Dogs

Resource 36

58





Lesson coverage: ‘The Brazilian Cat’ by Arthur Conan Doyle


• all students will be able to: recognise that the writer has withheld information to build tension

• most students will be able to: identify the information the writer has withheld

• some students will be able to: connect and comment on the kinds of information the writer withholds.

Assessment focus: AF4 identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts, including grammatical and

presentational features at text level

Resources: Resource 37, scissors

Starter

Explain to students that they are going to read a story that is like a puzzle – a game between the reader and the writer.

Offer students two games of hangman: one where you have already written in the answer – and one with the more

traditional blank lines! Which would they prefer to play? After the game, note the importance of: achieving the solution

to the puzzle; receiving clues along the way (the letters being filled in); the tension of the hanged man’s scaffold

growing during the course of the game.

Introduction

Read the story. Distribute copies of Resource 37 and scissors. Students cut up boxes into ‘event cards’ and sequence

them in the correct order. Take feedback, using the letters at the top of each box. Answer: F, I, A, D, M, L, C, K, H, B,

J, E, G, N, O.

Development

Point out that this story is like a detective story (which Conan Doyle is more famous for writing), with clues that only

make sense at the end of the story. Ask students to identify information that the writer withholds until the end of the

story to maintain tension and prevent the reader guessing the true nature of events. Look for responses that recognise

that events E, G, N and O have been withheld.

Ask students to re-sequence the events so that they make perfect sense chronologically but entirely spoil the tension that

the writer has created. The new order might be: F, I, A, O, D, E, M, N, L, C, K, G, H, B, J.

Plenary

Point out that there are other clues during the course of the story. Ask students to divide the event cards into clues and

non-clues. Answer: events D, M and H (only because it suggests that King is quite keen to kill the narrator!) are all

clues that only make sense once the ending is revealed.

Take feedback.

What kind of information does the writer withhold? Look for responses that recognise that it is not characters’ actions

but the motivation for their actions.


Homework

Plan a story in which you, or a character, achieve something, positive or negative. Organise it in five to ten ‘events’.

Decide which information you will withhold until the very end to keep the reader guessing. Re-sequence your ‘events’

to show the order in which they will appear in your story.


59



D Everard King’s wife

is rude to the narrator: she

strongly hints that she wants him to

leave immediately.

C The narrator asks Everard King to lend him some

money.

F The narrator has no money: he needs to borrow some or he

will go bankrupt.

A The narrator’s

cousin, Everard King, invites him to

stay.

E King’s wife comes

to visit the narrator. She says that she tried to make him leave the house,

knowing what was in store!

B The narrator

manages to survive a night in the cat’s cage but is badly

injured.

L Everard King

shows the narrator his ferocious Brazilian cat.

I The narrator’s uncle is Lord

Southerton. He is very rich but very

mean.

J The cat has tasted human blood – and savages Everard

King to death.

G The narrator

learns that his uncle has died

and he has inherited his title

and money.

K Everard King says he will do anything he can to help the narrator out of his

financial difficulties.

H Everard King

takes the narrator to see the cat

again – and locks him in the cage

with it.

M Throughout the narrator’s visit,

King receives lots of telegrams.

N It is revealed that King was bribing

Lord Southerton’s valet to send

information about his health.

O Everard King would

inherit Lord Southerton’s money if the narrator died.

Resource 37

60





Lesson coverage: ‘To Build a Fire’ by Jack London


• all students will be able to: identify key differences between two texts

• most students will be able to: identify key differences and comment on the writer’s intentions

• some students will be able to: comment in detail on the author’s intentions and viewpoint.



Starter

Reveal the following situation (personalised or anonymised as you feel appropriate), step by step. How do students feel

about the people involved?

Another teacher stole my lunch ... because he had no money ... because he was burgled at the weekend ... because he

left his front door wide open ... because he left in such a hurry, rushing his wife to hospital.

Why does our response to this teacher change? Look for responses that recognise that our responses to characters rest

on morality (what we believe to be right or wrong) and circumstances (which might mitigate their actions). More

importantly, our response can be manipulated by a writer as they unfold events.

Introduction

Explain to students that the story you are going to read is set in the Yukon: a territory in the far north-west corner of

Canada, which lies partly within the Arctic Circle. Even in more sheltered areas of the Yukon, summer temperatures

rarely rise above 16°C; winter temperatures can drop to –50°C.

In 1896, gold was discovered in the Yukon; in the winter/spring of 1897/8, an estimated 30,000–40,000 people braved

the cold and inhospitable landscape to seek their fortunes and prospect for gold. The story was published in 1908. Read

the story.

Development

Explain to students that you are going to compare this story with an earlier version that London wrote in 1902. The full

text is available on the Internet at: http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/Uncollected/tobuildafire.html/;

key “to build a fire” 1902 into any search engine.

Depending on time and the ability of the group, read the 1902 version of the story and ask students to identify any key

differences; or refer to Resource 38 which gives the opening and ending of the story. Resource 39 sums up some key

differences between the two versions, suggesting some of the author’s decisions in rewriting the story. Ask students to

comment on why they think the author may have made these decisions.

Plenary

Point out to students the last row of the table on Resource 39. Who do they think were the target audience for the two

magazines? How has the writer adapted the story for these audiences?

Then, more importantly, what was the author’s purpose in writing the two versions? Look for responses that recognise:

the 1902 version was an adventure tale of a hero overcoming adversity; the 1908 version was something more sinister

and disturbing, perhaps the failure of man against the forces of nature.


Homework

Think of a well-known story – perhaps a fairy tale. Write a short plan of how you might make it appropriate and

appealing for three different audiences: very young children; 8–11-year-olds; teenagers.


61



‘To Build a Fire’ – Jack London, 1902

The opening

The ending

For land travel or seafaring, the world over, a companion is usually considered desirable. In the

Klondike, as Tom Vincent found out, such a companion is absolutely essential. But he found it

out, not by precept, but through bitter experience.

‘Never travel alone,’ is a precept of the north. He had heard it many times and laughed; for he

was a strapping young fellow, big-boned and big-muscled, with faith in himself and in the

strength of his head and hands.

It was on a bleak January day when the experience came that taught him respect for the frost,

and for the wisdom of the men who had battled with it.

He had left Calumet Camp on the Yukon with a light pack on his back, to go up Paul Creek to

the divide between it and Cherry Creek, where his party was prospecting and hunting moose.

The frost was sixty degrees below zero, and be had thirty miles of lonely trail to cover, but he

did not mind. In fact, be enjoyed it, swinging along through the silence, his blood pounding

warmly through veins, and his mind carefree and happy. For he and his comrades were certain

they had struck ‘pay’ up there on the Cherry Creek Divide; and, further, he was returning to

them from Dawson with cheery home letters from the States.

An anxious five minutes followed, but the fire gained steadily. Then he set to work to save

himself. Heroic measures were necessary, such was his extremity, and he took them.

Alternately rubbing his hands with snow and thrusting them into the flames, and now and again

beating them against the hard trees, he restored their circulation sufficiently for them to be of

use to him. With his hunting-knife he slashed the straps from his pack, unrolled his blanket,

and got out dry socks and footgear.

Then he cut away his moccasins and bared his feet. But while he had taken liberties with his

hands, he kept his feet fairly away from the fire and rubbed them with snow. He rubbed till his

hands grew numb, when he would cover his feet with the blanket, warm his hands by the fire,

and return to the rubbing.

For three hours he worked, till the worst effects of the freezing had been counteracted. All that

night he stayed by the fire, and it was late the next day when be limped pitifully into the camp

on the Cherry Creek Divide.

In a month's time he was able to be about on his feet, although the toes were destined always

after that to be very sensitive to frost. But the scars on his hands he knows he will carry to the

grave. And – ‘Never travel alone!’ he now lays down the precept of the North.

Resource 38

62



In the 1902 version... In the 1908 version... Why did the writer

decide to make

these changes?

At the start of the

story, the narrator

tells us it is good to

have a companion

when travelling

At the start of the

story...

The main character of

the story is a man

called Tom Vincent

The writer suggests

that Tom is arrogant

and perhaps foolish

The writer suggests

that the main

character is...

Th

e b

eg

inn

ing

The writer tells us

where Tom was

travelling from, where

he was going and why

Tom works hard to

survive

The writer gives us

lots of detail about

what Tom does in

order to survive

Th

e e

nd

ing

Tom survives and

learns a lesson

• The 1902 version was published in Youth’s Companion magazine

• The 1908 version was published in The Century magazine

Resource 39

63





Lesson coverage: ‘A Vendetta’ by Guy de Maupassant


• all students will be able to: identify and make simple comments on the writer’s choice of language

• most students will be able to: identify and comment on the connotations of the writer’s choice of language

• some students will be able to: make comments on the writer’s specific language choices and identify

significant patterns of language use.

Assessment focus: AF5


Starter

Write the words pathetic fallacy on the board. Ask for a definition: the atmosphere or setting of a story reflects the

mood of the characters or events. Display or distribute Resource 40. Which details of setting would suit a ghost or

horror story? Why? Look for responses that recognise that a miserable setting reflects a miserable story – negative

matches negative; and on a more complex level, ghost and horror stories are about disrupting our expectations of

acceptable behaviour or the physical world with unacceptable acts and the apparently impossible. Disturbing weather

reflects this.

Ask students to ‘match the weather to the romantic story’. Take feedback, reiterating the definition of pathetic fallacy.

Introduction

Read the first two paragraphs of the story. Explore the details the writer gives of the setting. Ask students to predict

what kind of community this story is set in – and what kind of story this is likely to be. Use Resource 41 to support and

guide: ask students to comment on the specific connotations of the underlined words – and as a whole, what one word

would sum up the vocabulary selection. Look for responses that suggest violence, intimidation, destruction.


Development

Explain to students that they are going to identify one sentence in which the writer describes Antoine, his mother, her

dog, and Nicolas Ravolati – and in that one sentence, underline and comment on one word that they feel is particularly

effective or telling in the description. Students can record their responses on Resource 42. Less confident students can

be supported with Resource 43, in which quotations are provided.

Plenary

Take feedback. Do students agree on the connotations of identified vocabulary and how they affect our perceptions of

the characters?

Ask students: What do we learn about Nicolas Ravolati? Virtually nothing. Why? He is not a significant character in the

story, only in its plot: the story focuses on the son and, in particular, his mother.


Homework

Find a picture of a place or setting, e.g. from a magazine or the Internet. What kind of story would you set in this place?

Label five key features that make you think this. For each one, think of one word or phrase to describe the feature.

Write five sentences about these five key features, using the word or phrase you chose. (Resource 44 can be used as a

homework sheet.)


64



A ghost story or horror story should include...

A cold, dark castle Clouds

A deserted mansion Thunder and lightning

A nice warm caravan Fog

Sunshine Drizzle

Moonlight Heavy rain

A howling wind A slight breeze

Describe the weather that would suit the stages of this romantic story.

Event Weather

Boy meets girl: they fall in love

Girl has to go away

Boy stays in all day, talks to no

one

Girl returns; marries boy

Resource 40

65



On the white mountain-side the collection

of houses makes a whiter patch. They

look like the nests of wild birds clinging

to the rock looking down on this

dangerous channel into which few ships

venture. The wind harasses the sea

remorselessly ... it roars down the strait,

stripping the land bare on both sides.

Patches of whitish foam round the black

tips of the countless reefs, which pierce

the waves in every direction, look like

torn sheets floating and drifting on the

surface of the water.

Resource 41

66



Character Quotation Comment

Antoine Saverini’s

body is brought to

his mother

Antoine’s dog

The widow Saverini,

Antoine’s mother,

trains her dog to

attack a dummy: it

tears the face to

pieces

Resource 42

67



Character Quotation Comment

Antoine Saverini’s

body is brought to

his mother

‘The young man...

looked asleep; but

there was blood

everywhere – on his

shirt... on his

waistcoat, on his

trousers, on his face

and on his hands.’

Antoine’s dog

‘The animal never

stopped howling,

standing at the foot

of the bed, with head

stretched out

towards her master

and tail between her

legs.’

The widow Saverini,

Antoine’s mother,

trains her dog to

attack a dummy: it

tears the face to

pieces

‘The old woman,

motionless and

silent, watched the

dog with tense

excitement.’

Resource 43

68



1. Find a picture of a place or setting, perhaps from a magazine or the

Internet.

2. What kind of story would you set in this place?

3. Write down five key features of the place or setting that make you think

this.

4. For each one, think of a word or phrase to describe the key feature.

5. Write five sentences about these five key features, using the words or

phrases you have chosen.

Key feature of

the setting

A word or

phrase to

describe it

A sentence describing the key

feature using the chosen word or

phrase

1

2

3

4

5

Resource 44

69





Lesson coverage: Comparing ‘To Build a Fire’ and ‘A Vendetta’


• all students will be able to: retrieve a quotation that supports a point of view

• most students will be able to: retrieve quotations as evidence to support and develop a point of view

• some students will be able to: comment in some detail on how a carefully selected quotation supports a point

of view.



Starter

Ask volunteers to recap the story of ‘To Build a Fire’. Give students three minutes to find a quotation from ‘To Build a

Fire’ in which the writer describes the setting (the landscape, the weather, etc). Take feedback. Ask students: how

difficult was it to find a relevant quotation? Hopefully the response will be: not very. Why? Because the writer

emphasises the harsh, cold conditions in which ‘the man’ is struggling to survive throughout the story – there are a lot

of quotations to choose from.

Introduction

Ask students to decide: Who do we, the reader, blame for the deaths of ‘the man’ in ‘To Build a Fire’ and Nicolas

Ravolati in ‘A Vendetta’? Give students five minutes to record their response in pairs, using Resource 45. Take

feedback on each story and on each possible blameworthy character in turn. Have any students changed their minds

now that they have heard each others’ thoughts?

Development

Focus students on ‘A Vendetta’. Ask them to find a quotation from the story that supports their decision on who is to

blame for the death of Nicolas Ravolati. Take feedback on each possible blameworthy character in turn. Ask the class to

evaluate the evidence: do they agree? Why?

Follow the same sequence for ‘To Build a Fire’. As a longer and less tangible text, this is a more challenging activity.

Direct less confident students to the paragraph beginning But he was safe… on pages 167–8, where the narrator tells us

the advice of the old-timer on Sulphur Creek – which the man sneers at and chooses to ignore.

Plenary

Ask students to recap the importance of evidence when talking or writing about a text: not just in deciding who is

‘guilty’ but when making any comments on a text. To emphasise the point, ask students to name who is least blameable

for the deaths in the two stories. Why? In both cases, it is likely to be because there is no evidence to support any

attribution of blame.


Homework

In the next lesson, you will be completing an assessment task focusing on two short extracts from ‘The Cats’ and ‘The

Brazilian Cat’. Re-read both stories to remind yourself of the context from which these extracts will be taken.


70



Who do we

blame for the

death of...

Rank these

three in order of

blame

Explain your decision

The man

The dog

‘the man’ in

‘To Build a

Fire’?

The weather

The mother

Himself

Nicolas

Ravolati in

‘A Vendetta’?

The dog

Resource 45

71





Lesson coverage: Assessment task: close reading of ‘The Cats’ and ‘The Brazilian Cat’


• all students will be able to: identify some features of the text in some assessment foci

• most students will be able to: comment on a range of features across most assessment foci

• some students will be able to: comment in detail on a variety of features across all assessment foci.

Assessment focus: AF2, 3, 5, 6

Resources: Resource 46a, 46b

Starter

Explain the task to students: Resource 46 asks them to comment on two specific paragraphs taken from the two stories,

using questions that focus on four assessment foci; and then to note any comments on links, connections, similarities or

differences between the two extracts.

Introduction



Ask students to closely re-read:

‘The Cats’: fourth paragraph on page 112, from I hate cats. to ...in time with its purring.

‘The Brazilian Cat’: first paragraph on page 152 from It was so quick... to ...and crouched for another spring.

Development

Students complete the assessment questions.

Plenary




72



Co

mp

are

yo

ur

two

an

sw

ers

. C

an

yo

u s

po

t a

ny lin

ks,

sim

ilari

tie

s o

r

diffe

ren

ce

s in

th

e

wri

ters

’ d

escrip

tio

ns o

f th

e a

nim

als

?

‘Th

e B

razili

an

Ca

t’

by A

rth

ur

Con

an

Do

yle

‘Th

e C

ats

’

by R

ob

ert

We

sta

ll

Ch

oo

se

th

ree

wo

rds o

r

ph

rase

s th

at

yo

u th

ink

are

eff

ective

in

th

is

pa

rag

rap

h.

Fo

r ea

ch

of

tho

se

thre

e

wo

rds o

r p

hra

se

s,

exp

lain

wh

y y

ou

th

ink

the

wri

ter

ch

ose

to

use

the

m.

Wri

te d

ow

n a

sh

ort

qu

ota

tio

n th

at

you

th

ink

be

st

su

ms u

p t

he

wa

y

the

wri

ter

de

scribe

s t

he

ca

t.

Exp

lain

wh

y y

ou

ch

ose

tha

t p

art

icu

lar

qu

ota

tio

n.

As

se

ss

me

nt

Fo

cu

s

AF

5:

co

mm

en

t o

n

lan

gu

ag

e

AF

2:

us

e

qu

ota

tio

n

Resource 46a

73



Co

mp

are

yo

ur

two

an

sw

ers

. C

an

yo

u s

po

t

an

y lin

ks,

sim

ilari

tie

s o

r d

iffe

ren

ce

s in

th

e

wri

ters

’ d

escrip

tio

ns o

f th

e a

nim

als

?

‘Th

e B

razili

an

Ca

t’

by A

rth

ur

Con

an

Do

yle

‘Th

e C

ats

’

by R

ob

ert

We

sta

ll

Wh

at

ca

n y

ou

de

du

ce

ab

ou

t th

e c

ha

racte

r o

f

the

na

rra

tor

from

th

is

extr

act?

Wri

te d

ow

n a

qu

ota

tio

n to

su

ppo

rt

yo

ur

de

du

ctio

n.

Lo

okin

g a

t yo

ur

an

sw

ers

to

th

e a

bo

ve

qu

estio

ns,

ho

w w

ou

ld

yo

u d

escribe

th

e

na

rra

tor’

s a

ttitu

de

to

the

ca

t?

Wh

at

eff

ect

do

es t

he

wri

ter

wa

nt to

cre

ate

by

pre

se

nting

th

e c

at

in

this

wa

y?

As

se

ss

me

nt

Fo

cu

s

AF

3:

de

du

cti

on

AF

6:

wri

ter’

s

pu

rpo

se

s

Resource 46b

74



Canon Fire edited by Michael Morpurgo ‘Folk stories’ Lesson 1


Lesson coverage: ‘The Ugly Wife’ by Anthony Horowitz


• all students will be able to: identify some of the highlighted language techniques used by the writer

• most students will be able to: identify, define and comment on the effect of some of the highlighted language

techniques used by the writer

• some students will be able to: identify, define and comment in detail on the effect of all of the highlighted

language techniques.

Assessment focus: AF5 explain and comment on writers’ use of language


Starter

Display Resource 47. Explain that writers use the five senses in description – and in the story they are about to read, the

writer uses mainly the senses of seeing (sight) and hearing (sound).

Ask students to match these and the other language techniques to the relevant examples by drawing a line between

them. Point out that some examples display more than one technique. For each term, ask volunteers for a verbal

definition and comment on the effect it can have.

Introduction

Read the story. Ask students to interrupt and identify any of the language techniques highlighted in the starter as you

come across them in the story, e.g. repetition: further and further...darker and darker page 184; sight: you could have

mistaken it for an enormous human skull (page 185); sound: the sound of metal scraping against metal (page 185);

onomatopoeia: the crunch of footsteps on gravel (page 185); list/alliteration: Luxury, loyalty, immortality, independence

(page 186).

Pause to discuss the effect they have.

Development

Ask students to complete Resource 48, finding examples from the story of the language techniques already discussed –

preferably examples that have not already been found! – and comment on the effect the writer wanted to create in using

them. Note that students’ completed copies of Resource 47 will support the homework task.

Plenary

Take feedback. Work towards class definitions of the terms, recording them on the board, or on Resource 49, either on

OHT or students’ own copies. The latter will support the homework task.


Homework

Produce a display poster headed ‘Language Techniques’, showing the six techniques discussed in this lesson. For each

one, include a definition, an example from ‘The Ugly Wife’ and a comment on its effect. Try to use presentation, e.g.

symbols, pictures, different fonts, to reflect the meaning of the writer’s, and your own, words.


75



‘Who’s been sitting in my chair?’ said Father Bear. ‘And who’s been sitting in my chair?’ said Mother Bear.

Alliteration

The snake hissed and slithered, scouring the soil with its skin.

Sight

Her eyes glowed like distant stars.

Repetition

The floorboards creaked as one foot walked on them, the other foot scraping as it dragged behind him.

Sound

The saucepans clattered to the ground.

List

The baker’s sold every kind of cake: chocolate éclairs, currant buns, iced buns, custard slices and heaps of doughnuts piled to the ceiling.

Onomatopoeia

Resource 47

76



Technique Example Effect

Sight

Sound

Onomatopoeia

Alliteration

Repetition

List

Resource 48

77



Technique Definition

Sight

Sound

Onomatopoeia

Alliteration

Repetition

List

Resource 49

78





Lesson coverage: ‘The Knight’s Tale’ by Geoffrey Chaucer (retold by Geraldine McCaughrean)


• all students will be able to: identify the writer’s viewpoint at some points in the text

• most students will be able to: comment on the writer’s viewpoint throughout the text

• some students will be able to: comment in detail on the writer’s viewpoint from the text as a whole.



Starter

Display Resource 50, masking the final paragraph. Read through and explain to students the background to The

Canterbury Tales, from which this story has been taken and retold. Ask students to see how much of the Middle English

they can recognise and/or translate. Ask volunteers to have a guess at a modern English translation. Reveal the correct

translation.

Introduction

Clarify the definition of chivalry: a code of conduct for knights, insisting on bravery, honesty, fidelity, courtesy,

protection and help for the vulnerable, especially women, regardless of personal cost.

Read the opening of the story, up to the point where Palamon and Arcite are taken prisoner. Check to ensure

understanding: Duke Theseus has led the Athenians into battle and taken the City of Thebes. Two cousins have been

wounded and taken prisoner by the Athenians; their names are Palamon and Arcite.

Development

Distribute Resource 51. Explain to students that they should scan the story as they work on the sheet to identify the

results of the events listed. This is intended to check and reinforce their understanding of the story. Having established

the result of each event, they should focus on what the writer is suggesting. For example, when both cousins fall in love

with Emily, having seen her through their cell window, perhaps the writer is suggesting that these two men, or perhaps

all men, fall in love at the sight of a beautiful face and should not be so foolish.

Take feedback on the writer’s viewpoint, event by event. Finally, ask students to draw an overall conclusion on the

writer’s viewpoint. Look for responses that suggest that the writer may feel that love (and perhaps rivalry and chivalry)

can make us act in foolish and dangerous ways that we will regret once its first flush has passed.

Plenary

Explain to students that, in Chaucer’s original version of the tale, Palamon and Emily are quite happy to marry each

other – though a little sad at the death of Arcite. What does this suggest might be key differences between Chaucer’s

and McCaughrean’s viewpoints? Look for responses that recognise that McCaughrean seems to be emphasising that

fighting and killing are not the best way to resolve disputes – and the end never justifies the means. Chaucer, or at least

knights in Chaucer’s time, may have believed that chivalrous behaviour and the love of a noble woman could justify

almost anything.


Homework

How would you have ended the story? Think of three different ways the story could have ended to suggest these three

viewpoints: (1) women should not marry men who fight over them; (2) men should not fall in love with women just

because they are pretty; (3) love at first sight is not always true love.


79



The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales was written in the fourteenth century by Geoffrey

Chaucer.

Thirty people are travelling to Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of

Thomas Becket. To help pass the time on this long journey, it is agreed that

each of the pilgrims will tell four stories: two on the way and two on the way

back. Chaucer describes each of the pilgrims and recounts their introductions

to their stories, but it is the tales that make up the majority of the text.

Chaucer uses the pilgrimage idea as a kind of frame to hold all the stories

together.

In fact, Chaucer only wrote 24 of the proposed 120 tales: perhaps because

he died before he could finish them all.

The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English, which was the language

spoken in England between about AD 1100 and 1500. This is what the

opening of the ‘Knight’s Tale’ looks like in Middle English:

Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,

Ther was a duc that highte Theseus;

Of Atthenes he was lord and governour,

And in his tyme swich a conquerour

That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.

... which can be translated as:

Once, as old tales tell us,

There was a duke who was called Theseus;

He was lord and governor of Athens,

And in his time such a conqueror

That there was none greater under the sun.

Resource 50

80



The result is... The writer is suggesting

that...

Palamon and Arcite see Emily

Arcite is pardoned and freed

Palamon remains in prison

Arcite gets a job as Emily’s

servant. He is happy just to

touch the chair she has sat on

Palamon escapes and bumps

into Arcite

Theseus finds them arguing.

They say it is love for Emily

that has made them argue

The cousins prepare for the

joust, both happy at the

thought of winning Emily

Palamon kills Arcite. ‘What

have we done?’ he asks as his

cousin dies

Palamon does not recognise

Emily amongst the other

women. He finds them all

pretty

Emily does not want to marry

Palamon. She has a voice like

the teeth of a comb clicking

Theseus wants his sister-in-law

to marry a chivalrous knight –

even though he cannot get his

name right

Resource 51

81





Lesson coverage: ‘The Tinker’s Curse’ by Joan Aiken


• all students will be able to: select a relevant quotation

• most students will be able to: select and comment on relevant quotations

• some students will be able to: select and make a range of comments on relevant quotations.



Starter

Read the story up to the point where the tinker is killed. Explain to students that this lesson will help them organise their

writing about texts, using a method of structuring paragraphs called Point–Evidence–Explanation (PEE). Display

Resource 52. Read the exemplar PEE paragraph. Talk through the role of each part of the paragraph. Note that the three

comments are part of the ‘explanation’. Ask students to attach the labels to the paragraph. Display the correct answers

on Resource 53.

Introduction

Read the remainder of the story. Discuss the criteria of the perfect quotation. Remind students of the starter from

Growing Up, Lesson 2, if you have covered this. Look for responses that suggest that a quotation should not be too long

and should only be chosen if you have thought of a comment to make on it!

Development

Explain to students that they are to complete Resource 54: a table to support structuring Point–Evidence–Explanation

(PEE) paragraphs. The points are given; students need to find a relevant quotation and write an effective explanation

trying to comment on one or more of: the writer’s choice of detail or language, or their intention.

Plenary

Take feedback. Does the class agree that the quotations selected are valid? Are the comments made as full and as

effective as possible? Does it matter that different students have selected different quotations and made different

comments, possibly drawing different conclusions? Emphasise the importance of a personal response and that, if

comments are based on relevant evidence, there are numerous ‘correct’ answers.


Homework

Issue Resource 55. Select a quotation, then write a relevant ‘point’ and ‘explain’ for your chosen ‘evidence’. Beware –

some quotations are much easier to comment on than others!


82



The tinker does not deserve the way he is treated by the robber and his wife: ‘…a light shone in the window of the little house, which cheered the tinker, who was hungry, and weary…’ (page 200) The light shining in the window suggests that the house is welcoming. Describing it as ‘a little house’ makes it seem harmless and unthreatening. The tinker is calling to sell his goods but is also in need of food and rest. Telling us this, the writer is perhaps trying to make us feel sorry for the tinker – and even sorrier once he has been ruthlessly killed.

Evidence

A quotation to prove it

Explanation How the quotation has

made me think this What I think

Point

Comment on a detail the writer

has included

Comment on the writer’s choice of

language

Comment on the writer’s intention

Resource 52

83



The tinker does not deserve the way he is treated by the robber and his wife: ‘…a light shone in the window of the little house, which cheered the tinker, who was hungry, and weary…’ The light shining in the window suggests that the house is welcoming. Describing it as ‘a little house’ makes it seem harmless and unthreatening. The tinker is calling to sell his goods but is also in need of food and rest. Telling us this, the writer is perhaps trying to make us feel sorry for the tinker – and even sorrier once he has been ruthlessly killed.

Evidence

A quotation to prove it

Explanation

How the quotation has made me think

this

Comment on a detail the writer has included

Comment on the writer’s choice of language

Comment on the writer’s

intention

What I think

Point

Resource 53

84



Point Quotation Comment

The tinker does not

deserve the way he

is treated by the

robber and his wife.

The robber and his

wife are cruel and

ruthless.

The husband is a

kind and loving man

before his daughter

is born.

Helen is not so

simple-minded as

the other children

first think.

Andie wants to marry

Helen at the end of

the story.

Resource 54

85



Quotations

‘the wife had given birth to her baby, but now lay dead and cold, killed by the tinker’s curse.’ (page 202)

‘the tinker’s ghost came up out of the water, playing a wild and grieving tune on his pipes.’ (page 202)

‘Helen used to watch the other children wistfully, longing to be allowed to join in their games…’ (page 203)

‘Now the doctor was wise and famous, head of a great College of Medicine.’ (page 205)

Helen’s father: ‘The girl’s a fool, useless at her work Deaf as a post, never hears a word’ (page 207)

Point

Evidence

Explanation

Resource 55

86





Lesson coverage: ‘The Star-Child’ by Oscar Wilde


• all students will be able to: identify some relationship between the key events of the story

• most students will be able to: identify the connection between, and structure of, cause and effect in the story

• some students will be able to: comment on the structure of the story and its effect.

Assessment focus: AF4 identify and comment on the structure and organisation of texts

Resources: Resources 56–61, scissors

Starter

Explain to students that although the story was written around a hundred years ago, it uses some archaic (old, outdated)

English. Display Resource 56. Talk through the difference between thee and thou then ask students to complete the

translation task using the glossary at the top of the sheet. Take feedback. If time allows, ask students to write their own

sentences using the vocabulary.

Introduction

Display Resource 57 (a glossary) for reference. Read the story. Ask students to summarise the Star-Child’s experiences

in the story. Look for responses that recognise that the story is in three phases: a selfish early life; punishment for that

selfishness; redemption. Explain that you are going to look at the first two phases and that they can be divided into

causes and effects. Resource 58 shows six key events; note that they are numbered to show the order in which they

appear in the story. Ask students to cut out the cards and match them in pairs under the headings of cause and effect.

Take feedback; Resource 59 shows the correct answers. Ask students to comment on the circular nature of this part of

the story – the Star-Child’s evil actions rebound on him in reverse order.

Development

Ask students which event in the story begins the Star-Child’s redemption. Look for responses that recognise that it is

when he is sold as a slave. Resource 60 shows the sequence of events, again numbered in chronological order. Ask

students to cut out the cards and match them under cause and effect. Take feedback. Resource 61 shows the correct

answers. Ask students to comment: note the more linear nature of this part of the story – the Star-Child’s good actions

are repaid instantly. Does this suggest the moral that bad deeds will catch up with you sooner or later but good deeds are

repaid straightaway?

Plenary

The story ends happily initially – but the happiness does not last. Ask students to work in pairs and think of at least two

reasons why this might be. Take feedback. Too many bad deeds cannot be undone with good deeds? The real world is

not a fairy tale – actions do have consequences that cannot be escaped?


Homework

In note form, plan the story of the next king – the one we are told came after the Star-Child and ruled evilly. What are

his evil actions? What are the consequences? Do they come back to him in a linear or a circular structure?


87



A quick guide to archaic English

thee you

thou you

thy your

thine yours

hast have

art are

shalt shall

doth does

‘Thee’ and ‘thou’ both mean ‘you’ – but ‘thou’ is used as the subject of a

sentence (the thing or person ‘doing’ the verb) and ‘thee’ is used as the object

of a sentence (the thing or person the verb is being done to). So...

Translate these sentences into modern English.

I love thee.

Thou art the man I love.

Hast thou loved any other man?

Art thou good and true?

Shalt thou love me all thy life?

Dost thou love me?

Then I am thine.

I am talking to thee

Thou art talking to me?

verb

Object: the person being talked to

Subject: the person doing the talking

Resource 56

88



‘The Star-Child’ – glossary

art are

byre barn

carlot peasant or countryman

changeling a fairy child

comeliness beauty

doth does

haggard wood or copse

halbert battle axe

hast have

hence from here

shalt shall

tarrieth lives or is staying

thee you

thine yours

thou you

thy your

wherefore why

wise way

wroth angry

Resource 57

89



Cause Effect

1. A woodcutter adopts a Star-

Child but the boy grows up

proud, cruel and selfish. He

throws stones at the poor

and laughs at the ugly.

2. The Star-Child blinds

moles, throws stones at

lepers.

3. The Star-Child is reunited

with his mother but rejects

her because she is a

beggar.

4. The Star-Child has the face

of a toad and the skin of a

snake. Realising that this is

a punishment for his cruelty

to his mother, he goes in

search of her.

5. The mole – and other

animals – cannot help the

Star-Child find his mother

because of his cruelty: he

blinded the mole, clipped

the linnet’s wings, etc.

6. People laugh at the Star-

Child’s ugliness and throw

stones at him.

Resource 58

90



Cause Effect

1. A woodcutter adopts a Star-

Child but the boy grows up

proud, cruel and selfish. He

throws stones at the poor and

laughs at the ugly.

2. People laugh at the Star-

Child’s ugliness and throw

stones at him.

3. The Star-Child blinds moles,

throws stones at lepers.

4. The mole – and other animals

– cannot help the Star-Child

find his mother because of his

cruelty: he blinded the mole,

clipped the linnet’s wings, etc.


with his mother but rejects

her because she is a beggar.

6. The Star-Child has the face of

a toad and the skin of a

snake. Realising that this is a

punishment for his cruelty to

his mother, he goes in search

of her.

Resource 59

91



Cause Effect

7. The Star-Child frees a

trapped hare.

10. The Star-Child’s beauty

returns.

8. Three times the hare helps

him find the gold that his

master demands.


with his beggar mother.

He kisses her feet.

9. Three times the Star-Child

gives the gold to a leper.

12. The beggar woman and

the leper are transformed

into a king and queen: the

Star-Child’s parents.

Resource 60

92



Cause Effect

7. The Star-Child frees a trapped hare.

8. Three times the hare helps him find the gold that his master demands.

9. Three times the Star-Child gives the gold to a leper.

10. The Star-Child’s beauty returns.

11. The Star-Child is reunited with his beggar mother. He kisses her feet.

12. The beggar woman and the leper are transformed into a king and queen: the Star-Child’s parents.

Resource 61

93





Lesson coverage: Comparing ‘The Knight’s Tale’ and ‘The Ugly Wife’


• all students will be able to: identify some connections between the two stories

• most students will be able to: recognise and comment on some connections between these two stories, and

others, as features of the folk-tale genre

• some students will be able to: recognise and comment in detail on a range of connections between these two

stories, and others, as features of the folk-tale genre.

Assessment focus: AF7 relate texts to their social, cultural and historical contexts and literary tradition


Starter

Ask students to skim-read and remind themselves of the two tales. Ask volunteers to retell the stories in four or five

sentences – and other volunteers to add any forgotten details.

Ask students to spend five minutes in pairs, thinking of other folk or fairy tales they have come across. Take feedback,

recording a list on the whiteboard. Can students connect any from this list with the two tales they have read? ‘No’ is a

perfectly acceptable answer: the purpose here is not to define the genre but to provide a list of folk tales for later

reference.

Introduction

Distribute Resource 62. Ask students to write down as many things as they can about the character, settings and events

in these two tales. Take feedback. Can students recognise any connections between the two stories?

Development

Ask students to record any connections on Resource 63, then add details from any other folk tales (listed on the

whiteboard from the starter) that display similar characteristics. For example, the male protagonists of both stories are

brave, chivalrous, and courteous to women; similar to Prince Charming in ‘Cinderella’, the princes in ‘Sleeping Beauty’

and ‘Snow White’, etc.

Plenary

Explain that these similarities (and in this case one difference) between the stories are common features or

‘conventions’ of the folk-tale genre. Which of these conventions also apply to ‘The Star-Child’ and/or ‘The Tinker’s

Curse’? Give students five minutes to record their thoughts in pairs. Take feedback.


Homework

Make a display poster headed ‘The Folk-Tale Genre’ showing all the features you can think of. Give examples from

stories you know and illustrate them.


94



‘The Ugly Wife’ ‘The Knight’s Tale’

King Arthur Palamon

Gawain Arcite

Queen Morgan le Fey Emily

The Black Knight Theseus

The Ugly Woman The prison tower

The castle of Tarn Wathelyne

Resource 62

95



‘The Ugly Wife’ ‘The Knight’s Tale’ Other folk tales

Men

Women

Love and marriage

A challenge or task

Magical transformations

Goodies and baddies

Settings

Endings

Resource 63

96





Lesson coverage: Assessment task: comparing two folk tales



evidence





Assessment focus: AF2, 4, 5, 6, 7


Starter

Distribute Resources 64 and 65.

Explain the task to students: Resource 64 explains the stages of the task that students need to complete. Resource 65

(the Planning Sheet) gives students space to gather their ideas and evidence. Display Resource 66 on OHT to support

students who are less confident about the points they could make.

Introduction

Having recapped ‘The Ugly Wife’ and ‘The Knight’s Tale’ in the last lesson, ask students to skim-read and remind

themselves of ‘The Star-Child’ and ‘The Tinker’s Curse’. Ask volunteers to recap the tales in four or five sentences –

and other volunteers to add any forgotten details. Emphasise that students can choose any two of the four folk tales they

have studied to write about in their essay.

Development

Students complete the Assessment task. You may feel that the remainder of this lesson should be given for planning and

another lesson used to complete the essay writing.

Plenary




97



The task 1. Choose two of the folk tales you have studied. You are going to write an

essay comparing them. The title is:

A comparison of ______________by _____________

and ________________ by_______________.

2. Use the table on the planning chart to help you plan what you will say

about four different features of the stories.

a First, write the names of your chosen stories at the top of the

planning chart.

b Next, plan the points you will make.

c Then, for each point, choose the quotation or detail from the story

that you will use as evidence.

3. You can now start writing your essay. You need to begin with an

introduction. In your introduction, give a summary of each story in two or

three sentences and then state whether (but not how) you think they are

similar or different.

4. Next, you need to write your PEE paragraphs in which you will compare

the four different features of the stories.

5. Lastly, you need to write your final paragraph – the conclusion. Give your

opinion of the two stories, then comment on their differences and

similarities.

6. Finally, you should check your essay thoroughly for accuracy: spelling,

punctuation and sense.

Resource 64

98



Evid

en

ce

Sto

ry 2

:

Po

int

Evid

en

ce

Sto

ry 1

:

Po

int

AF

4:

Th

e

str

uctu

re o

f th

e

sto

ry

AF

5:

Th

e

write

r’s c

hoic

e

of la

ng

uag

e

AF

6:

Th

e

write

r’s

vie

wp

oin

t

AF

7:

Th

e

conventions o

f th

e g

enre

Note that AF2: using quotations will be assessed throughout the task as a

whole.

Resource 65

99



Help!

Structure

• Do the characters in the story have anything in

common?

• Do the characters deserve what happens to them?

• Are the two stories’ endings similar or different?

Language

• Focus on one paragraph in each story where you

think the writer’s choice of language is really

effective. Try to comment on the details and the

words the writer has chosen.

Viewpoint

• Do the writers like or approve of the characters

and their actions in these stories?

• What is the moral of each of these stories?

Conventions

• Do these stories use some of the conventions of

folk tales?

• Are there any differences in the conventions they

use?

• Are they similar to any other folk tales that you

know?

Resource 66

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent

Gu

idel

ines

– R

ead

ing

A

F2

A

F3

A

F4

A

F5

A

F6

U

nder

stan

ding

, des

crib

ing,

se

lect

ing

or r

etri

evin

g in

form

atio

n, a

nd u

sing

qu

otat

ions

Ded

ucin

g, in

ferr

ing

or

inte

rpre

ting

info

rmat

ion,

ev

ents

or

idea

s fr

om t

exts

, e.

g.

• T

he

con

no

tati

on

s o

r

asso

cia

tio

ns

of

a w

ord

or

ph

rase

• C

omm

enti

ng o

n ch

arac

ters

an

d th

eir

mot

ives

•

Iden

tifyi

ng th

e im

plic

atio

ns o

f ev

ents

in

the

plot

of

a st

ory

Iden

tify

ing

and

co

mm

enti

ng o

n t

he

stru

ctu

re a

nd o

rgan

isat

ion

of

tex

ts, e

.g.

• C

hara

cter

and

plo

t de

velo

pmen

t •

The

eve

nts

whi

ch a

wri

ter

choo

ses

to f

ocus

on

in a

st

ory

• T

he o

rder

in w

hich

eve

nts

unfo

ld

• H

ow th

e w

rite

r bu

ilds

to a

n en

ding

•

The

way

s in

whi

ch p

lot c

an

refl

ect t

he w

rite

r’s

idea

s or

th

emes

Exp

lain

ing

and

co

mm

enti

ng o

n w

rite

rs’

use

of

lang

uage

, e.g

. •

How

a w

ord

or p

hras

e af

fect

s th

e re

ader

’s

resp

onse

to a

n ev

ent o

r ch

arac

ter

• T

he e

ffec

t of

the

wri

ter’

s ch

oice

of

sent

ence

leng

th

• F

igur

ativ

e la

ngua

ge:

sim

ile,

met

apho

r,

pers

onif

icat

ion

• P

atte

rns

or s

truc

ture

s in

the

wri

ter’

s ch

oice

of

lang

uage

•

Dif

fere

nces

in la

ngua

ge

use,

e.g

. bet

wee

n tw

o ch

arac

ters

or

narr

ator

s

Iden

tify

ing

and

co

mm

enti

ng o

n w

rite

rs’

purp

oses

and

vie

wpo

ints

, an

d th

e ov

eral

l eff

ect

of t

he

text

on

the

read

er, e

.g.

• P

rese

ntat

ion

of c

hara

cter

, in

cide

nt o

r id

eas

• W

rite

rs’

choi

ces

in

lang

uage

and

str

uctu

re

whi

ch r

evea

l vie

wpo

int

and

infl

uenc

e th

e re

ader

•

The

mor

al, p

oint

or

purp

ose

of a

sto

ry

• H

ow a

wri

ter

expl

oits

or

man

ipul

ates

the

conv

entio

ns o

f ge

nre

L3

•

Som

etim

es I

can

fin

d po

ints

whi

ch h

elp

me

answ

er q

uest

ions

.

• S

omet

imes

I f

eel u

nsur

e ab

out w

heth

er it

is th

e ri

ght

poin

t.

• S

omet

imes

I u

se q

uota

tion

s w

hich

hel

p m

e pr

ove

wha

t I

thin

k.

• I

use

quot

atio

ns to

exp

lain

w

hat t

he w

rite

r is

say

ing.

• S

omet

imes

I c

an w

ork

out

wha

t a c

hara

cter

is th

inki

ng

or f

eelin

g be

caus

e of

so

met

hing

they

say

or

do.

• S

omet

imes

I f

ind

it

diff

icul

t to

read

bet

wee

n th

e lin

es a

nd w

ork

out t

he

wri

ter’

s op

inio

n.

• I

can

iden

tify

som

e of

the

key

even

ts in

a te

xt.

• S

omet

imes

I f

ind

it

diff

icul

t to

expl

ain

why

the

wri

ter

has

chos

en to

do

this

.

• S

omet

imes

I c

an id

enti

fy a

w

ord

or p

hras

e w

hich

the

wri

ter

has

chos

en f

or a

re

ason

. •

Som

etim

es I

can

exp

lain

w

hy th

e w

rite

r ha

s ch

osen

to

do

this

.

• I

can

usua

lly

iden

tify

wha

t th

e w

rite

r th

inks

abo

ut a

n in

cide

nt, c

hara

cter

or

idea

. •

I c

an s

ay w

hat I

thin

k

a

bout

it.

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent G

uid

elin

es –

Rea

din

g

A

F2

A

F3

A

F4

A

F5

A

F6

L4

•

I ca

n fi

nd s

ome

poin

ts in

th

e te

xt w

hich

hel

p m

e an

swer

que

stio

ns.

• I

can

som

etim

es f

ind

quot

atio

ns w

hich

hel

p m

e pr

ove

wha

t I th

ink.

•

I us

e qu

otat

ions

to

com

men

t on

wha

t the

w

rite

r is

say

ing.

• I

can

usua

lly

wor

k ou

t w

hat a

cha

ract

er in

a s

tory

is

like

by

look

ing

at w

hat

they

do

or s

ay in

dif

fere

nt

part

s of

the

stor

y.

• I

can

usua

lly

wor

k ou

t the

w

rite

r’s

opin

ion

even

whe

n it

is n

ot c

lear

ly s

tate

d.

• S

omet

imes

I c

an s

ay

exac

tly w

hich

par

t of

the

text

hel

ped

me

wor

k it

out

.

• I

can

iden

tify

how

the

wri

ter

has

orga

nise

d th

e po

ints

in a

text

or

the

even

ts in

a s

tory

. •

I ca

n so

met

imes

com

men

t on

why

the

wri

ter

has

deci

ded

to d

o th

is.

• I

can

iden

tify

som

e of

the

choi

ces

the

wri

ter

has

mad

e in

the

lang

uage

they

ha

ve u

sed.

•

I ca

n us

uall

y th

ink

of a

re

ason

why

the

wri

ter

has

mad

e th

ose

choi

ces.

• I

can

iden

tify

wha

t the

w

rite

r th

inks

abo

ut a

n in

cide

nt, c

hara

cter

or

idea

•

I ca

n us

uall

y ex

plai

n ho

w I

w

orke

d ou

t the

wri

ter’

s vi

ewpo

int.

• I

can

usua

lly

say

wha

t ef

fect

the

wri

ter’

s vi

ewpo

int h

as o

n th

e re

ader

.

L5

•

I ca

n us

uall

y fi

nd a

ll th

e po

ints

whi

ch w

ill h

elp

me

answ

er q

uest

ions

. S

omet

imes

I f

ind

thes

e po

ints

in d

iffe

rent

par

ts o

f th

e te

xt.

• I

can

usua

lly

find

qu

otat

ions

whi

ch p

rove

w

hat I

thin

k.

• I

som

etim

es u

se q

uota

tion

s to

com

men

t on

som

e of

the

choi

ces

the

wri

ter

has

mad

e.

• I

can

read

bet

wee

n th

e lin

es to

com

men

t on

a ch

arac

ter

in a

sto

ry o

r th

e w

rite

r’s

opin

ion,

eve

n w

hen

it is

not

cle

arly

st

ated

. •

I ca

n us

uall

y ex

plai

n m

y de

duct

ions

usi

ng e

vide

nce

from

dif

fere

nt p

arts

of

the

text

.

• I

can

iden

tify

the

mai

n ev

ents

in a

sto

ry a

nd th

e w

ays

in w

hich

the

char

acte

rs c

hang

e.

• I

can

iden

tify

the

key

idea

s in

a te

xt a

nd th

e or

der

in

whi

ch th

e w

rite

r ha

s pu

t th

em.

• I

can

usua

lly

expl

ain

why

th

e w

rite

r ha

s m

ade

thes

e de

cisi

ons.

• I

can

iden

tify

a ra

nge

of

diff

eren

t lan

guag

e fe

atur

es

whi

ch th

e w

rite

r ha

s ch

osen

to u

se.

• I

can

expl

ain

why

the

wri

ter

has

mad

e th

ese

choi

ces.

•

I ca

n so

met

imes

com

men

t on

the

effe

ct o

f th

e w

rite

r’s

lang

uage

cho

ice

on th

e re

ader

.

• I

can

iden

tify

wha

t the

w

rite

r th

inks

abo

ut a

n in

cide

nt, c

hara

cter

or

idea

an

d w

hat t

hey

wan

t the

re

ader

to th

ink

abou

t it.

• I

can

usua

lly

find

som

e ev

iden

ce to

sho

w w

hat t

he

wri

ter

has

done

to g

et th

eir

view

poin

t acr

oss

to th

e re

ader

. •

I c

an u

sual

ly e

xpla

in h

ow

th

e w

rite

r ha

s in

flue

nced

the

read

er’s

vie

wpo

int.

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent G

uid

elin

es –

Rea

din

g

A

F2

A

F3

A

F4

A

F5

A

F6

L6

•

I ca

n fi

nd a

ll th

e po

ints

w

hich

hel

p m

e an

swer

qu

esti

ons.

I o

ften

do

this

by

col

lect

ing

info

rmat

ion

from

dif

fere

nt p

arts

of

the

text

, or

from

two

or m

ore

text

s.

• I a

lway

s ch

oose

quo

tatio

ns

care

fully

to p

rove

exa

ctly

w

hat I

thin

k.

• I

alw

ays

use

quot

atio

ns to

co

mm

ent o

n th

e ch

oice

s th

e w

rite

r ha

s m

ade.

• I

can

anal

yse

a te

xt o

r pa

rt

of a

text

and

wor

k ou

t the

di

ffer

ent m

eani

ngs

whi

ch

the

wri

ter

is im

plyi

ng.

• I

alw

ays

use

evid

ence

to

expl

ain

my

dedu

ctio

ns.

• I

usua

lly

try

to c

omm

ent

on th

e w

rite

r’s

mea

ning

s an

d ho

w I

wor

ked

them

ou

t.

• I

can

iden

tify

how

eve

nts

and

char

acte

rs d

evel

op a

nd

chan

ge in

a s

tory

. •

I can

iden

tify

how

a w

rite

r ha

s se

quen

ced

thei

r po

ints

or

idea

s in

a te

xt.

• I

can

com

men

t on

the

effe

ct th

e w

rite

r w

ants

to

have

on

the

read

er a

nd h

ow

thei

r ch

oice

of

stru

ctur

e an

d or

gani

sati

on h

elps

ac

hiev

e th

is.

• I

can

reco

gnis

e an

d na

me

a ra

nge

of d

iffe

rent

lang

uage

fe

atur

es.

• I c

an e

xpla

in a

nd c

omm

ent i

n de

tail

on th

e ef

fect

the

wri

ter’

s la

ngua

ge c

hoic

e ha

s cr

eate

d.

• S

omet

imes

I c

an s

ee a

pa

tter

n in

the

wri

ter’

s ch

oice

of

lang

uage

in a

text

an

d co

mm

ent o

n w

hy th

e w

rite

r ha

s ch

osen

to d

o th

is.

• I

can

wor

k ou

t wha

t the

w

rite

r th

inks

abo

ut a

n in

cide

nt, c

hara

cter

or

idea

ba

sed

on c

lose

ana

lysi

s of

th

e w

rite

r’s

choi

ce o

f la

ngua

ge.

• I

can

clea

rly

expl

ain

the

effe

ct o

n th

e re

ader

and

co

mm

ent o

n ho

w th

e w

rite

r ha

s cr

eate

d it

.

L7

•

I alw

ays

choo

se m

y po

ints

ca

refu

lly, m

akin

g su

re th

ey

help

me

answ

er q

uest

ions

ac

cura

tely

. Som

etim

es I

co

ncen

trat

e on

a p

artic

ular

w

ord

– an

d so

met

imes

I

look

at a

few

par

agra

phs

to

wor

k ou

t wha

t the

wri

ter

thin

ks.

• I

alw

ays

use

quot

atio

ns to

co

mm

ent c

lose

ly o

n th

e ch

oice

s th

e w

rite

r ha

s m

ade.

•

I al

way

s ch

oose

quo

tatio

ns

care

fully

to p

rove

exa

ctly

w

hat I

thin

k –

and

som

etim

es I

ref

er to

oth

er

text

s to

sup

port

or

prov

e m

y po

int.

• I

can

anal

yse

a te

xt o

r pa

rt

of a

text

and

wor

k ou

t the

di

ffer

ent l

ayer

s of

mea

ning

w

hich

the

wri

ter

is

impl

ying

. •

I ch

oose

evi

denc

e ca

refu

lly

to e

xpla

in m

y de

duct

ions

. •

I al

way

s tr

y to

com

men

t on

the

wri

ter’

s m

eani

ng b

y co

nsid

erin

g di

ffer

ent

poss

ible

inte

rpre

tati

ons

and

wei

ghin

g up

evi

denc

e fr

om

diff

eren

t par

ts o

f th

e te

xt.

• I

can

com

men

t on

the

effe

ct th

e w

rite

r’s

choi

ce o

f st

ruct

ure

and

orga

nisa

tion

is

inte

nded

to h

ave

on th

e re

ader

. •

I ca

n co

mm

ent o

n ho

w

effe

ctiv

ely

the

wri

ter

has

used

str

uctu

re a

nd

orga

nisa

tion

to a

chie

ve th

is

effe

ct.

• I

can

com

men

t pre

cise

ly

and

in d

etai

l on

lang

uage

w

hich

the

wri

ter

has

chos

en f

or e

ffec

t. •

I ca

n re

cogn

ise

and

com

men

t on

how

the

lang

uage

a w

rite

r ha

s ch

osen

con

trib

utes

to th

e ov

eral

l eff

ect o

f th

e te

xt o

n th

e re

ader

.

• I

can

com

men

t pre

cise

ly

and

in d

etai

l on

how

the

wri

ter

has

used

lang

uage

an

d ot

her

feat

ures

to

infl

uenc

e th

e re

ader

’s

resp

onse

. •

I so

met

imes

com

men

t on

a ra

nge

of e

vide

nce

from

di

ffer

ent p

arts

of

a te

xt

expl

aini

ng h

ow i

t sho

ws

the

effe

ct th

e w

rite

r w

ants

to

cre

ate

and

the

read

er’s

re

spon

se to

it.

• I

am b

egin

ning

to r

eali

se

how

wri

ters

cho

ose

cert

ain

tech

niqu

es in

thei

r w

riti

ng

beca

use

of th

e ef

fect

they

ca

n ha

ve o

n th

e re

ader

.

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent

Gu

idel

ines

– W

riti

ng

A

F1

A

F2

A

F3

A

F4

W

riti

ng im

agin

ativ

e, in

tere

stin

g an

d th

ough

tful

tex

ts

Pro

duci

ng t

exts

whi

ch a

re

appr

opri

ate

to t

ask,

rea

der

and

pu

rpos

e

Org

anis

ing

and

pre

sent

ing

who

le

text

s ef

fect

ivel

y…

Con

stru

ctin

g pa

ragr

aphs

and

us

ing

cohe

sion

wit

hin

an

d b

etw

een

para

grap

hs

L3

•

I tr

y to

cho

ose

good

poi

nts

and

idea

s to

put

in m

y w

riti

ng.

• I

som

etim

es u

se a

djec

tive

s to

add

de

tail

to m

y id

eas.

•

I us

uall

y kn

ow w

hat I

wan

t to

say

in m

y w

ritin

g bu

t som

etim

es m

y id

eas

chan

ge o

nce

I’ve

sta

rted

.

• I

try

to s

tick

to th

e pu

rpos

e fo

r w

hich

I a

m w

riti

ng.

• S

omet

imes

I f

ind

it d

iffi

cult

to u

se

the

righ

t str

uctu

re in

my

wri

ting

. •

I tr

y to

mak

e m

y w

riti

ng s

uit i

ts

purp

ose.

• I

try

to o

rgan

ise

the

info

rmat

ion,

id

eas

or e

vent

s in

my

wri

ting

by

putti

ng th

em in

ord

er.

• S

omet

imes

I f

ind

it d

iffi

cult

to

deci

de o

n th

e be

st o

rder

for

my

idea

s.

• I

try

to m

ake

sure

my

open

ing

and

endi

ng s

uit w

hat I

am

wri

ting.

• S

omet

imes

I o

rgan

ise

my

sent

ence

s in

to p

arag

raph

s.

• S

omet

imes

I li

nk th

e id

eas

in m

y se

nten

ces,

but

I d

on’t

use

co

nnec

tives

ver

y of

ten.

•

Som

etim

es it

is d

iffi

cult

for

rea

ders

to

fol

low

the

idea

s in

my

wri

ting

beca

use

I do

not

alw

ays

link

them

.

L4

•

I us

uall

y ch

oose

rel

evan

t ide

as o

r po

ints

in m

y w

ritin

g.

• S

omet

imes

I w

rite

in d

etai

l abo

ut

my

idea

s us

ing

adve

rbs

and

adje

ctiv

es.

• I

don’

t usu

ally

cha

nge

my

idea

s or

po

int o

f vi

ew o

nce

I’ve

sta

rted

w

riti

ng.

• I

usua

lly

rem

embe

r an

d st

ick

to th

e pu

rpos

e fo

r w

hich

I a

m w

riti

ng.

• I

usua

lly

choo

se th

e ri

ght s

truc

ture

to

sui

t the

pur

pose

of

my

wri

ting

. •

I us

uall

y ch

oose

the

way

I w

rite

to

suit

the

purp

ose

of m

y w

riti

ng.

Som

etim

es I

for

get w

hat e

ffec

t I

wan

t to

have

on

the

read

er.

• I

usua

lly

orga

nise

the

info

rmat

ion,

id

eas

or e

vent

s in

my

wri

ting.

I

usua

lly

mak

e su

re m

y op

enin

g an

d en

ding

sui

t wha

t I a

m w

ritin

g.

• I

usua

lly

stru

ctur

e m

y w

riti

ng b

y pu

tting

thin

gs in

the

orde

r in

whi

ch

they

hap

pene

d.

• S

omet

imes

I f

orge

t to

link

my

para

grap

hs o

r us

e co

nnec

tives

to

help

the

read

er f

ollo

w m

y id

eas.

• I

usua

lly

deci

de o

n th

e or

der

in

whi

ch I

wil

l put

the

sent

ence

s in

m

y pa

ragr

aphs

. •

I us

e so

me

conn

ecti

ves

to l

ink

the

sent

ence

s in

my

para

grap

hs –

but

I

ofte

n us

e th

e sa

me

conn

ectiv

es,

e.g.

also,

first, next

, then.

•

I s

omet

imes

link

my

para

grap

hs

a

nd u

se c

onne

ctiv

es to

hel

p th

e

r

eade

r fo

llow

my

idea

s.

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent

Gu

idel

ines

– W

riti

ng

A

F1

A

F2

A

F3

A

F4

L5

•

I ch

oose

rel

evan

t ide

as o

r po

ints

in

my

wri

ting

and

som

etim

es I

add

m

y ow

n id

eas.

•

I ch

oose

my

idea

s an

d th

e w

ay I

w

rite

abo

ut th

em to

sui

t the

type

of

wri

ting

I a

m d

oing

. •

I us

uall

y st

ick

to th

e po

int w

hen

I am

wri

ting

. Som

etim

es m

y id

eas

chan

ge w

hen

I th

ink

abou

t the

m a

s I

am w

ritin

g.

• I

alw

ays

rem

embe

r an

d st

ick

to th

e pu

rpos

e fo

r w

hich

I a

m w

riti

ng.

• I

alw

ays

choo

se th

e ri

ght s

truc

ture

to

sui

t the

pur

pose

of

my

wri

ting

an

d so

met

imes

ada

pt it

to s

uit a

pa

rtic

ular

task

. •

I al

way

s ch

oose

the

way

I w

rite

to

suit

the

purp

ose

of m

y w

riti

ng a

nd

to k

eep

the

read

er in

tere

sted

.

• I

orga

nise

the

info

rmat

ion,

idea

s or

ev

ents

in m

y w

riti

ng c

lear

ly. I

ca

refu

lly d

ecid

e ho

w I

wil

l or

gani

se m

y se

nten

ces

into

pa

ragr

aphs

. •

I us

uall

y pl

an th

e w

hole

pie

ce o

f w

riti

ng b

efor

e I

begi

n, th

inki

ng

abou

t how

my

idea

s re

late

or

conn

ect t

o ea

ch o

ther

. •

I us

uall

y lin

k m

y pa

ragr

aphs

usi

ng

conn

ectiv

es to

hel

p th

e re

ader

fo

llow

my

idea

s.

• I

deci

de th

e be

st w

ay to

put

my

info

rmat

ion

or id

eas

into

pa

ragr

aphs

. •

I us

e di

ffer

ent w

ays

to li

nk m

y se

nten

ces

toge

ther

in a

par

agra

ph.

Som

etim

es I

use

con

nect

ives

, so

met

imes

pro

noun

s an

d so

met

imes

I r

efer

bac

k to

pre

viou

s id

eas.

•

I tr

y to

wri

te e

ach

para

grap

h so

that

it f

its in

to th

e fi

nish

ed p

iece

of

wri

ting.

L6

•

I al

way

s us

e m

y ow

n id

eas

in m

y w

ritin

g, c

hoos

ing

them

to s

uit t

he k

ind

of

wri

ting

I a

m d

oing

and

the

audi

ence

I a

m w

ritin

g fo

r.

• I

alw

ays

stic

k to

the

poin

t in

my

wri

ting

. I c

an u

sual

ly m

atch

the

way

I

wri

te to

sui

t wha

t I a

m w

ritin

g ab

out o

r to

sui

t the

dif

fere

nt v

oice

s in

a

stor

y.

• I

usua

lly

use

the

righ

t lev

el o

f fo

rmal

ity f

or th

e pu

rpos

e an

d au

dien

ce I

hav

e ch

osen

for

my

wri

ting.

Som

etim

es I

dec

ide

to v

ary

the

leve

l of

form

ality

in

a pi

ece

of w

riti

ng to

hav

e a

part

icul

ar e

ffec

t on

the

read

er.

• I

alw

ays

orga

nise

the

info

rmat

ion,

id

eas

or e

vent

s in

my

wri

ting,

th

inki

ng a

bout

the

effe

ct I

wan

t to

have

on

the

read

er.

• I

help

the

read

er f

ollo

w m

y id

eas

in

a va

riet

y of

way

s: I

use

co

nnec

tives

, cle

ar o

peni

ng

sent

ence

s in

par

agra

phs,

and

link

s be

twee

n pa

ragr

aphs

.

• I

alw

ays

orga

nise

and

wri

te

para

grap

hs s

o th

at th

ey h

elp

my

wri

ting

ach

ieve

wha

t I w

ant t

o sa

y an

d ho

w I

wan

t to

say

it.

• I

care

fully

cho

ose

conn

ecti

ves

(and

ot

her

links

bet

wee

n se

nten

ces)

bot

h to

con

nect

my

idea

s an

d fo

r th

e ef

fect

on

the

read

er I

wan

t to

achi

eve.

L7

•

I am

con

fide

nt th

at I

can

wri

te f

or a

wid

e ra

nge

of p

urpo

ses

and

audi

ence

s,

choo

sing

my

idea

s an

d th

e w

ay I

wri

te to

sui

t the

m.

• I

alw

ays

know

wha

t kin

d of

‘vo

ice’

I w

ant t

o ac

hiev

e in

my

wri

ting

, and

I

usua

lly

achi

eve

it.

• I

alw

ays

choo

se m

y le

vel o

f fo

rmal

ity a

nd th

e w

ay I

wri

te b

ecau

se o

f th

e ef

fect

I h

ope

it w

ill h

ave

on th

e re

ader

.

• I

alw

ays

orga

nise

the

info

rmat

ion,

id

eas

or e

vent

s ve

ry c

aref

ully

in

my

wri

ting

to s

uit i

ts p

urpo

se a

nd

to a

chie

ve a

spe

cifi

c ef

fect

on

the

read

er.

• I

try

to c

ontr

ol th

e re

ader

’s

resp

onse

by

deci

ding

the

orde

r in

w

hich

I w

ill r

evea

l eve

nts,

or

rele

ase

info

rmat

ion,

to th

em.

• I

deci

de o

n th

e ef

fect

I w

ant m

y w

riti

ng to

ach

ieve

then

pla

n th

e st

ruct

ure

of e

ach

para

grap

h to

sui

t it

. •

I c

an u

se a

ran

ge o

f te

chni

ques

, su

ch a

s va

ryin

g th

e le

ngth

of,

or

sent

ence

type

s in

, a p

arag

raph

, to

achi

eve

diff

eren

t eff

ects

.

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent

Gu

idel

ines

– W

riti

ng

A

F5

A

F6

A

F7

A

F8

V

aryi

ng s

ente

nces

for

cla

rity

, pu

rpos

e an

d e

ffec

t

Wri

ting

wit

h t

echn

ical

acc

urac

y of

sy

ntax

and

pun

ctua

tion

…

Sele

ctin

g ap

prop

riat

e an

d e

ffec

tive

vo

cabu

lary

Usi

ng c

orre

ct s

pel

ling

L3

•

I us

uall

y w

rite

in s

impl

e se

nten

ces.

•

I of

ten

use

conn

ectiv

es li

ke a

nd,

but,

so.

• I

som

etim

es u

se d

iffe

rent

tens

es

but n

ot a

lway

s co

nsis

tent

ly.

• I

som

etim

es u

se f

ull s

tops

, cap

ital

le

tter

s, q

uest

ion

and

excl

amat

ion

mar

ks a

ccur

atel

y to

sho

w w

here

m

y se

nten

ces

star

t and

fin

ish.

•

Som

etim

es I

use

com

mas

to jo

in

sent

ence

s w

hen

I sh

ould

use

ful

l st

ops

to s

epar

ate

them

. •

I ca

n us

e sp

eech

mar

ks b

ut

som

etim

es I

for

get.

• I

try

to c

hoos

e w

ords

whi

ch w

ill

help

me

expl

ain

my

idea

s bu

t I

som

etim

es f

ind

it d

iffi

cult

to th

ink

of th

em.

• S

omet

imes

I c

hoos

e w

ords

bec

ause

of

the

effe

ct th

ey w

ill h

ave

on th

e re

ader

.

• I

can

usua

lly

spel

l:

– so

me

of th

e w

ords

whi

ch I

oft

en

see,

e.g

. you

, bec

ause

, alth

ough

. •

I so

met

imes

fin

d it

dif

ficu

lt to

sp

ell:

– w

ords

whe

re th

e en

ding

s ha

ve

chan

ged,

e.g

. plu

rals

(-e

s, -

ies)

, ch

ange

of

tens

e (-

ied,

-in

g).

• I

usua

lly

gues

s m

ore

diff

icul

t w

ords

, spe

llin

g th

em h

ow th

ey

soun

d.

L4

•

I tr

y to

use

a r

ange

of

diff

eren

t le

ngth

s an

d ty

pes

of s

ente

nces

in

my

wri

ting.

•

I us

e a

rang

e of

con

nect

ives

in

com

plex

sen

tenc

es, s

uch

as if

, w

hen,

bec

ause

. •

I ca

n us

e a

rang

e of

dif

fere

nt

tens

es, u

sual

ly c

orre

ctly

and

co

nsis

tent

ly.

• I

alw

ays

use

full

sto

ps, q

uest

ion

mar

ks a

nd e

xcla

mat

ion

mar

ks

accu

rate

ly.

• I

use

spee

ch m

arks

acc

urat

ely.

S

omet

imes

I u

se o

ther

pun

ctua

tion

in

side

the

spee

ch m

arks

but

I a

m

not a

lway

s su

re w

hen

it is

cor

rect

. •

I us

e co

mm

as in

list

s. I

som

etim

es

use

com

mas

in c

ompl

ex s

ente

nces

bu

t I a

m n

ot a

lway

s su

re w

hen

they

ar

e co

rrec

t.

• I

som

etim

es c

hoos

e w

ords

whi

ch I

th

ink

wil

l be

effe

ctiv

e.

• I

som

etim

es s

pend

tim

e th

inki

ng

abou

t or

look

ing

for

the

best

wor

d to

sui

t the

mea

ning

or

purp

ose

I w

ant t

o ac

hiev

e.

• I

can

usua

lly

spel

l:

– w

ords

whi

ch I

oft

en s

ee, e

.g.

you,

bec

ause

, alt

houg

h –

mos

t adv

erbs

whi

ch e

nd in

ly.

• I

som

etim

es f

ind

it d

iffi

cult

to

spel

l: –

wor

ds w

hich

sou

nd th

e sa

me

as

othe

r w

ords

(hom

opho

nes)

e.g

. th

ey’r

e/th

eir/

ther

e; to

/too/

two

– w

ords

whe

re th

e en

ding

s ha

ve

chan

ged,

e.g

. plu

rals

(-es

, -ie

s),

chan

ge o

f ten

se (-

ied,

-ing

). •

I so

met

imes

gue

ss m

ore

diff

icul

t w

ords

, spe

llin

g th

em h

ow th

ey

soun

d.

Canon Fire


Ass

essm

ent

Gu

idel

ines

– W

riti

ng

A

F5

A

F6

A

F7

A

F8

L5

•

I us

e a

rang

e of

dif

fere

nt le

ngth

s an

d ty

pes

of s

ente

nces

in m

y w

riti

ng. I

use

long

er s

ente

nces

to

give

mor

e in

form

atio

n, a

nd s

hort

er

sent

ence

s fo

r em

phas

is.

• T

he r

ange

of

conn

ectiv

es I

use

to

link

idea

s in

and

bet

wee

n se

nten

ces

is g

row

ing,

e.g

. alth

ough

, on

the

othe

r ha

nd, m

eanw

hile

. •

I so

met

imes

dec

ide

on th

e or

der

in

whi

ch I

wil

l wri

te th

e w

ords

in a

se

nten

ce to

em

phas

ise

a de

tail

or

an id

ea.

• I

use

full

sto

ps, q

uest

ion

mar

ks

excl

amat

ion

mar

ks, a

nd s

peec

h pu

nctu

atio

n ac

cura

tely

. •

Rea

ders

usu

ally

fin

d it

eas

y to

un

ders

tand

my

sent

ence

s be

caus

e of

the

wor

d or

der

and

punc

tuat

ion

I ch

oose

. I a

m o

ften

uns

ure

whe

re to

pu

t com

mas

in lo

nger

, mor

e co

mpl

icat

ed s

ente

nces

.

• I

alw

ays

choo

se w

ords

whi

ch I

th

ink

wil

l be

effe

ctiv

e.

• I

try

to u

se a

wid

e ra

nge

of

voca

bula

ry in

my

wri

ting

. S

omet

imes

I u

se w

ords

whe

n I

am

not e

ntir

ely

sure

of

thei

r pr

ecis

e m

eani

ng.

• I

can

alw

ays

spel

l:

– w

ords

whi

ch I

oft

en s

ee, e

.g.

you,

bec

ause

, alt

houg

h –

wor

ds w

here

the

endi

ngs

have

ch

ange

d, e

.g. p

lura

ls (

-es,

-ie

s), c

hang

e of

ten

se (

-ied

, -in

g)

– m

ost w

ords

wit

h su

ffix

es, e

.g.

-abl

e/-i

ble;

-io

n/-i

an

– m

ost w

ords

with

pre

fixe

s, e

.g.

dis-

, un-

, ex-

. •

I som

etim

es f

ind

it di

ffic

ult t

o sp

ell:

– w

ords

with

pre

fixe

s w

hich

ha

ve d

oubl

e co

nson

ants

, e.g

. ir

regu

lar,

unn

eces

sary

. •

Occ

asio

nally

I g

uess

mor

e di

ffic

ult

wor

ds, s

pell

ing

them

how

they

so

und.

L6

•

I ca

n us

e a

rang

e of

dif

fere

nt

leng

ths

and

type

s of

sen

tenc

e to

ac

hiev

e di

ffer

ent e

ffec

ts,

depe

ndin

g on

the

purp

ose

of m

y w

riti

ng.

• I

ofte

n se

lect

the

wor

d or

der

and

stru

ctur

e of

a s

ente

nce

to a

chie

ve a

pa

rtic

ular

eff

ect.

• R

eade

rs a

lway

s fi

nd it

eas

y to

un

ders

tand

my

sent

ence

s be

caus

e of

the

wor

d or

der

I ch

oose

and

the

accu

racy

of

my

punc

tuat

ion.

I a

m

occa

sion

ally

uns

ure

whe

re to

put

co

mm

as in

long

er, m

ore

com

plic

ated

sen

tenc

es.

• I

alw

ays

choo

se w

ords

whi

ch I

th

ink

wil

l be

effe

ctiv

e fo

r th

e pu

rpos

e an

d au

dien

ce o

f m

y w

riti

ng.

• I

try

to u

se th

e fu

ll b

read

th o

f m

y vo

cabu

lary

alth

ough

som

etim

es I

us

e th

e w

rong

wor

d be

caus

e I

am

not s

ure

of it

s pr

ecis

e m

eani

ng.

• I

usua

lly

spel

l mos

t wor

ds

corr

ectly

. •

Occ

asio

nall

y I

spe

ll m

ore

diff

icul

t or

unu

sual

wor

ds in

corr

ectl

y.

L7

•

I of

ten

use

a pa

rtic

ular

type

or

leng

th o

f se

nten

ce to

ach

ieve

a s

peci

fic

effe

ct o

r co

ntri

bute

to th

e ov

eral

l pur

pose

of

a te

xt.

• I

can

sele

ct th

e w

ord

orde

r an

d st

ruct

ure

of a

sen

tenc

e to

con

vey

my

mea

ning

and

pur

pose

wit

h so

me

prec

isio

n.

• I

alw

ays

choo

se w

ords

whi

ch I

kn

ow w

ill b

e ef

fect

ive

for

the

purp

ose

and

audi

ence

of

my

wri

ting

. •

I ai

m to

use

a w

ide

and

ambi

tious

ra

nge

of v

ocab

ular

y w

hich

I s

elec

t ca

refu

lly f

or p

reci

sion

of

mea

ning

an

d ef

fect

.

• I

spel

l mos

t wor

ds c

orre

ctly

, in

clud

ing

mor

e di

ffic

ult o

r un

usua

l w

ords

.

Resources 5, 6, 7 Write three paragraphs about the ... · Reading AF3 5.1 Developing and adapting...

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Transcript of Resources 5, 6, 7 Write three paragraphs about the ... · Reading AF3 5.1 Developing and adapting...