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Lesson 1: Introduction to War Horse
Our first lesson will begin with an introduction to the course and to each other; as well as learning about how the lessons will work over the coming weeks and getting to know one another, we will also discuss what we hope to gain from these lessons and set ourselves some targets. We will start our work on War Horse by sharing our thoughts on the book and discussing what we found interesting about the story and how it is written. The students will then be supplied with some information about the author and the context of the book. Using this information, we will talk about how an author’s history and the context of a book informs our reading of it.
Lesson 2: Discussion of themes
In lesson two, we will increase the difficulty of the sessions as we move on to focussing on some of the major themes in the novel. We will use a combination of class discussion and looking at extracts from the book to gain a rich understanding and appreciation of how and why these themes are explored in the book. When looking at the selected extracts we will also practice our close analysis skills (i.e. unpicking the structure, language, and literary techniques used by the author).
Lesson 3: Homework discussion and consolidation
Our final lesson will involve a discussion of the homework completed by the students (it is, therefore, crucial that they have completed this homework in advance of our lesson). We will share our thoughts with one another and look at what we did well and how we can improve. To finish, we will have a debate in which we discuss as a group some essay-style questions and think about how we would go about writing a response.
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Knowing the book is based on real facts makes me feel like I am watching history. It makes everything seem more real, and I feel that the story is more alive than just fantasy, like some other books.
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Nice work, Gracelynn!
As you say, it makes the story feel much more ‘real’ and ‘alive’. This is always a good thing as it means the reader is more likely to connect to the characters/story.
You could also think about how it makes the reader more likely to take lessons away from the book and apply them to their own life.
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Good job, Allen!
As you say, knowing the context helps us to understand the text more as we have a greater idea of what it is exploring. Also, knowing context may influence the way you read the text as you will see it as more realistic and therefore more impactful.
Something else to think about is how it teaches the reader valuable ‘real-life’ lessons.
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Knowing the book is based on a true event makes the book seem like it is happening right now;gives a sense of realism, and not some little kid’s storybook. Also, most of this story would make no sense if the reader didn’t know that the story comes from a horse’s POV.
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Great job, Ethan!
As you argue, the book feels far more real when you understand and appreciate that there are true events that inspired it. This is always great as it means the reader is more likely to connect to the characters/story. Also, as you say, it helps the reader to follow what is happening with greater ease.
You could also consider how it hits us harder emotionally as we think about the fact that real people went through similar experiences.
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Excellent work, Eva!
This is a very detailed and comprehensive answer; you have demonstrated your wonderful understanding of the text really well. As you argue, knowing the context helps us to understand and appreciate the text more as we have a greater idea of what it is exploring. Also, the events in the story you speak of are even more impactful as we know that they are based on real-life events.
Something else you could think about is how this story teaches us lessons that we can apply to our everyday lives.
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Knowing the context of War Horse makes me more excited because knowing the big details will help me understand the book more and the small detail in the book tells me how to understand the big details more. Knowing the context will also help me figure out difficult words. It will make me more in control and less frustrated while reading.
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Lovely work, Grace!
As you say, knowing the context helps us to understand and appreciate the text more as we have a greater idea of what it is exploring. Also, knowing context may well help you understand words more (particularly jargon relating to the war).
Something else to think about is how it makes the reader more likely to take lessons away from the book and apply them to their own life.
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Knowing the context of War Horse makes it easier to get addicted to the book as the more I know the book, the more anxiety I have to finish the book. The book becomes more realistic.
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Great job, Richard!
As you state, the book feels far more realistic when you understand and appreciate that there are true events that inspired it. It also may, as you say, make you want to read it more; if you know about the great adventures that happened in WWI, you may wish to see if similar things happen in the book.
You could also consider how it hits us harder emotionally as we think about the fact that real people went through similar experiences.
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Having the story written from a horse’s perspective, the book War Horse is more interesting than it would have been if the author picked 3rd person. Here are some of the strengths and weaknesses from my point of view.
One of the strengths is having a detailed description of what’s happened to Joey. From the farm to the battlefield, the book has described the different kinds of people that Joey encountered and how they treat Joey. Another strength is the feelings and thoughts are directly from Joey. As for him, the way he describes the story is very human-like, so the readers can feel his emotions. For example, when he first came to Albert’s farm, he was feeling a wreck of emotions, like anger, fear, and confusion. Readers would feel the same thing.
A weakness is that readers won’t know what’s happening outside the battlefield. An example is no one would know how much of a better man Albert’s father became after he sold Joey. Though Albert describes briefly that he stopped drinking and treated everyone better, we still don’t really know specific details and what’s Albert’s father’s been through.
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Wonderful work, Eva!
This is a very thoughtful response. As you argue, hearing the story from Joey’s POV makes the reader feel much closer to him and, therefore, more impacted when he goes through troubles. The fact that we don’t know what happens where Joey isn’t is a great weakness to highlight!
You could also highlight how Joey enables us to see the war from both the German and British sides.
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The author writing the story War Horse is very interesting because it would be very absorbing that we’re reading a horses mind. If the story was in Alberts mind, it wouldn’t be much. The title is War Horse and he wasn’t in the war that much and only taking care of them does not match. A strength is that how Joey feels. By looking at a horse wont tell you how a horse feels. Like when Joeys goes to War he is very confused but Captain Nicolles doesn’t know that he is confused and worried. One weakness is that the reader doesn’t know what is happening on the outside. Like when Joey stays at Emily’s place, readers only hear Joeys thoughts and not knowing what is happening at war.
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Great job, Grace!
You have carefully considered how Joey’s perspective enables the reader to understand his character more which is hugely important. Also, the weakness you have highlighted is very astute!
You could also consider how the perspective of a horse is unusual and therefore gives the story a unique edge.
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The strengths of having the story told on the perspective of a horse is that the story will be more creative and we have close knowings of what Joey gets involved in and it will be easier to understand Joey’s thoughts.
The weaknesses of having the story told on the perspective of a horse is that an animal can’t really tell what a person can figure out and he doesn’t have that much emotions than a regular human
and it’s hard to know things that are outside Joeys experience.
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Lovely work, Richard!
The strengths you have highlighted are great; it is very important that the reader feels close to Joey. Also, as you say, one may argue that the fact it is a horse and not a human’s point of view may make it harder to empathise or feel such an emotional punch.
You could also discuss how Joey enables us to see the war from both the German and British sides.
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A strength of having a story told in the perspective of a horse is that you can see what the horse thinks of his master, food, drink, and work. Another strength would be that you could see exactly how a horse feels when someone does something. A weakness is that sometimes the horse will run away from information, like what Joey did when Joey witnessed the tank coming down the hill when he was mourning over Topthorn. He ran until he heard voices, but backed away from them.
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The main message I take away from reading War Horse is that when something happens, it’s important to remember the people in it, not just the event.
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The main message I take from war horse is that life is very precious and animals can be friends with humans in any way.
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There are many messages in the book War Horse, but the main one is friendship. Of course, there are also countless friendships. Today, we are going to focus on only three of them.
One friendship is between Joey and Albert. This, of course, is the most important and obvious friendship because they’ve been together from the beginning of the book. When they first meet, it is evident that Albert loved Joey at first sight. Immediately, they form a special bond that causes them to like to be with each other. It is also quite clear that Albert would do anything for Joey.
Another friendship is between Joey and Topthorn. This bond is different because it is between horse and horse. When they first meet, they are training for the war. In the first battle, they are the ones who helped the British win it. From that day on, they were very good friends. Perhaps this is why Joey refused to move after Topthorn died on the hill while pulling machine guns for the Germans.
The third friendship was between Emilie and Joey. When Emily found Joey and Topthorn in the stables of her farm, she was very enthusiastic. The truth is, the horses were how Emilie another half of a year with an illness and very little food. But after that time, Joey and Topthorn were returned to the army, and later, Emilie lost the will to live. This special bond was the reason her grandfather bought Joey.
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Wonderful work, Eva!
This is a great and complex answer; you have clearly given it a lot of thought! All three of these friendships are hugely important and you have done an excellent job of selecting examples from the text to support your argument.
Something else you could think about is how the novel makes us question the notions of ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ or ‘right’ vs ‘wrong’.
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The main message of War Horse is love and loyalty. For example, Alberts love and lovely for Joey is unbreakable. Emilie, Albert, Friedrich, (etc) loved Joey and was loyal to him.
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I agree that ‘chance is more important than choice in Holes’. Choice is important, too. Stanley chose to go after Zero. But, it was only by chance that he knew about the Big Thumb. It was also by chance that Clyde’s shoes fell out of the sky and hit him on the head, therefore starting the story. Throughout the story, all mistakes that were made was blamed on Stanley’s no-good-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and the curse. So, not all the problems were Stanley’s fault. But there defiantly was a good handful of mistakes that Stanley made himself.
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Wonderful work, Grace!
This is a great response and shows that you have considered both sides of the argument carefully. As you say, chance and the curse are what sets the story in motion and, therefore, maybe what is the driving factor in the book.
Something else to think about is how Stanley and his family question whether the curse ever even existed; how does this complicate the way we think about chance?
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I agree that chance is very important in the book Holes, though I’m not saying that choice is not important. Both are crucial in the story, making Stanley go through what he went through.
At the beginning, the book reveals that Stanley found a pair of sneakers that belonged to Clyde Livingston on the sidewalk. This is the first example of chance and bad luck in the story. If Stanley hadn’t found them, he might not have had to go to Camp Green Lake. On the other hand, when he went to court, he chose Camp Green Lake over jail, which is a choice.
Another example of the story being based on choice is when he chose to go after Zero. This might have saved his life, because, I don’t think Zero would have lived any longer if Stanley hadn’t gone and rescued him. Then, a chance occurred THREE times, one after another. The first one was finding the treasure, the second one was getting caught, and the third was falling right into a hole full of yellow- spotted lizards.
You see, both chance and choice are important in Holes. Even though chance might have occurred more, the book wouldn’t have been the same without choice.
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Excellent work, Eva!
This is a very sophisticated response. Certainly, chance and choice both play hugely important roles. Both seem the intertwine throughout the novel and each directs the characters down different paths; the examples you have given to demonstrate this are excellent.
Something else to think about is how Stanley and his family question whether the curse ever even existed; how does this complicate the way we think about chance?
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Lovely work, Ethan!
Certainly, if the story was written from Stanley’s perspective we would not be able to find out the hugely significant stories from the rest of the characters.
You could also think about how we might feel more sympathetic towards Stanley if we heard the story from his perspective.
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I believe choice is more important than choice, because if stanley had not chose to look for zero, the whole second and third part would’ve never happened. Also, if stanley left clyde’s shoes behind, then this whole book would’ve never happened.
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I think chance is more important than choice because in the story it’s only chance that Stanley finds Zero and survives on the big thumb and it’s only chance that Zero survives while Stanley hadn’t gone looking for him.
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Lovely work, Richard!
Chance is definitely hugely important in the story. As you state, many occasions (such as the ones you mention) appear to only happen because of chance).
Something else to think about is how Stanley and his family question whether the curse ever even existed; how does this complicate the way we think about chance?
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I think that the book title Holes has more than one meaning. I also believe this is why the author chose it.
One reason I think the book is named Holes is because the thing Stanley does at Camp Green Lake is digging holes. It is assumed for most of the story that Camp Green Lake was a camp for bad boys, therefore they made them dig holes. I think this is one reason why this book is named Holes.
Another reason I think the author chose Holes as a book title is because the suitcase full of jewels and Stanley’s great grandfather’s papers. The suitcase was very valuable, even though Stanley and Zero didn’t know that yet. I believe this is another reason why the author chose Holes.
The third reason I think the book is named Holes is because the secret behind Camp Green Lake is that The Warden was really looking for the suitcase, which was buried in the area. The Warden’s family has been digging for years, and they weren’t going to give up. This is the final reason the author probably chose Holes as the title.
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Wonderful work, Eva!
You have carefully considered various reasons behind why this title was picked. Certainly, the holes in the book relate to hugely important parts of the story (such as those which you have mentioned) and having it as the title highlights their significance.
Something else to think about is the metaphorical significance of holes (i.e. the holes in the plot, the holes in the characters).
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I think the title Holes mean to work as a hint about what the book will be related to, and indicates that holes will probably be important in the story.
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Nice job, Gracelynn!
As you say, the holes in the book relate to hugely significant parts of the story (such as those which you have mentioned), and having it as the title highlights their importance.
Something else to think about is the metaphorical significance of holes (i.e. the holes in the plot, the holes in the characters).
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I believe why the story is called holes is because it is the main action Stanley and his friends are doing at camp green lake is digging holes.
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Lovely work, Richard!
Indeed, the holes in the book relate to hugely important parts of the story (such as those which you have mentioned), and having it as the title highlights their significance.
You could also consider the metaphorical significance of holes (i.e. the holes in the plot, the holes in the characters).
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I think the title Holes means something like digging holes or just holes. Stanley digs holes for most of the book and the main thing is digging holes and finding the treasure.
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Great work, Great!
You are right, the holes in the book relate to hugely important actions of the story (such as those which you have mentioned) and having it as the title highlights their significance.
Something else to consider is the metaphorical significance of holes (i.e. the holes in the plot, the holes in the characters).
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The story about Stanley’s no-good-dirty-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather fits into the main story because that’s how Stanley knew about the curse of bad luck and how they named Stanley’s great great grandfather the ‘No-good-dirty-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather’. The present story is the one that the readers follow, of course. But the one about Kissin’ Kate Barlow matches the lines in the book about how Stanley’s great grandfather ‘found refuge on God’s Thumb’. It also explains why Camp Green Lake was made and was the root of most of the drama in the story.
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Great work, Gracelynn!
You have carefully considered the significance of these three plotlines. As you argue, the three plots all help add to the mystery which imbues the novel and reinforces the idea that there is a curse on the Yelnats family.
You could also think about how these three plotlines emphasize the importance of remembering the past and learning from mistakes that have been made in history.
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The story of Stanley’s grandfather fits well in the main story holes is because after reading that story ever reader knows how the curse came and they know about Madame zeroni and kissing Kate’s Barlow story fits well in the main story is because the readers now know about the treasure and know why camp green lake is made.
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The stories of Stanley’s great-great grandfather and Kissing Kate Barlow fits well in the book because the story Stanley’s great-great grandfather shows the origin of the curse and who put it on the family. Also, it gives some information about Madame Zeroni, and it wouldn’t have been such a shock when Zero told Stanley that his real name was Hector Zeroni. Kissing Kate Barlow’s story tells the life of the person that robbed Stanley’s great grandfather. She was the reason the Warden wanted people to dig for her.
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Lovely work, Eva!
This is a very well-considered answer to the question. As you argue, the three plotlines give the readers much more information about the characters and they enrich each other greatly.
Something else you could think about is how they contribute to the questions surrounding chance, luck, and fate.
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Great job, Ethan!
As you say, if the story were written from Tom’s perspective we would miss out on a lot of hugely important information. Also, the examples you have given to support your answer are excellent.
Something else to consider is how might the story benefit from being told from Tom’s perspective?
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The difference if the story was written in Tom’s point of view is that the story will be more interesting for example the part when Tom finds out that Mrs.barthelemew is actually Hatty he has more emotion than third person.
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Nice work, Richard!
Certainly, as you argue, first-person narration often lets the reader form a closer bond with the character speaker; therefore, indeed, we may feel more for Tom when he is reunited with Hattie at the end.
You could also consider the negatives of having the story told from Tom’s POV (i.e. think of the information we would miss out on).
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The difference if the story was written in Tom’s perspective is that all the high points of the story would be more emotional if we hear Tom’s feelings. For example, in third person, we never had real feelings of sadness when we read that Tom was never going to see the clock and Hatty again, but if it was in Tom’s perspective, we would feel a lot more miserable for us.
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Lovely work, Eva!
Indeed, as you argue, first-person narration often lets the reader form a closer connection with the character speaker; therefore, indeed, we may feel more emotional in response to Tom’s journey if we were told the story from his POV.
You could also consider the negatives of having the story told from Tom’s POV (i.e. think of the information we would miss out on).
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