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War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Holes by Louis Sachar
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
Once by Morris Gleitzman
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Summary for Lesson 1
What did we cover
– Introduced the course and each other
– Discussed the plot of War Horse
– Shared our initial thoughts on the book
– Learned about the author’s background
– Learned about what inspired the book
– Discussed WWI
– Discussed how knowing the context influences the way you read/appreciate the book
Class report
It was very exciting to begin the programme today with these wonderful students; they all
seemed very keen and enthusiastic, which was wonderful to see. We began by discussing
how this course is going to be run, what to expect for each lesson, what is expected from the
students (in terms of preparation), and then did a round of introductions to get more
comfortable with each other. It was lovely to hear a bit more about the students and their
favourite books. I also enjoyed setting some targets with the students: they came up with
some wonderful aims such as ‘to learn about different authors writing styles’ and to ‘improve’.
Next, the students worked together to explain the key plot points of War Horse and the
characters. It was very encouraging to see that the students had all read and thought about
the book in advance of the lesson, as this will be crucial throughout the course to enable
discussion.
We then shared our first impression of the book. I asked the students what they found
interesting about the story and what stood out to them as important aspects; they gave some
excellent responses and I was very pleased to see how they responded when I questioned
them further on their answers and asked them to consider other points.
After that I shared some information about Michael Morpurgo and what inspired the book. We
discussed WWI briefly too, before considering how knowing this information changes the way
we respond to the book.
Overall I was hugely encouraged by this first lesson; it is clear that these are incredibly bright
and committed students, and I am very much looking forward to moving forward with them
and seeing how they respond to the ‘close reading’ required in Lesson 2.Homework for Lesson 1
How does knowing the context of War Horse influence the way you read and appreciate the
book? -
Because the war was real, it showed more interesting parts as they would know what it’s like. Second of all, it showed just how serious it was because in normal children stories the battles are with swords and spears but this story had all the weapons that they had in world war 1 which shows on how much it was like world war one. It also made you know about the scene and what’s going on as well as why there was war.
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Nice work, Yinuo!
You have thought well about how knowledge of WWI influences the reading of War Horse. As you suggest, the fact that the war was real certainly brings a deeper significance to the story.
To improve, you could also discuss how knowledge of Michael Morpurgo’s biography also influences our reading of the book (i.e. does the fact that he was in the army make his writing more authentic and, therefore, more impactful?).
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I like the book because you can see everything happening as it’s the horse’s eye view, most of the people that Joey met were good people who took good care of him, Joey survived for a long time and Albert and Emily’s grandfather kept their promises. It was very touching when both sides stopped fighting and rescued the horse stranded in the middle of no-men’s land.
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Good job, Haoming!
You have explained why you like the book really well; the sections you highlight illustrate why the book is so moving wonderfully and it is great that you enjoyed the perspective explored in the book.
To improve, make sure you are attentive to the question and think about exactly what is being asked. In this case, the question was: How does knowing the context of War Horse influence the way you read and appreciate the book?
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I like this book because it is very different to other war stories . It is narrated by a horse ! And there is no good people or bad people ; everyone is equal because not only Albert took care of Joey , many other people took vare of him as well such as : Captain Nicholls who listened to what Albert said and looked after him although he was killed on his first battle . We also have Emillie the young girl who cared for him even when she was on the German side . This book is also very realistic because No man’s land was a real place during the first world war .
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Great work, Benjamin!
You have thought about the significance of contextual knowledge really well and demonstrated excellent knowledge of the book. The way you discuss perspective in particular is very impressive.
To improve, you could also think about how what we know of Michael Morpurgo’s biography influences our reading of the book (i.e. how does his having been in army make his writing more authentic and/or impactful?).
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I think reading the context warhorse could help/. reading books, because it is a good structure and example for little readers and will help them develop. Also, you could appreciate the book since there is a good storyline and the narrator is SO much ore interesting, more than a person at least. It could also influence the way you read since you could get a base of how Michael Morpurgo write his stories and sometimes even put it in your own writing, a good way to be good way to improve your created writing.
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Fab work, Linxi!
You have applied some great thought to this issue of contextual knowledge. The way you consider how Morpurgo’s biography influences the way we read the book is particularly great.
To improve, you could also mention how the fact that it is based on a real war (WWI) makes the story more powerful (i.e. would it be less meaningful if it were about a war that never actually happened?).
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Summary for Lesson2:
hat did we cover
– Reflected on last lesson
– Discussed our homeworks
– Shared our thoughts on the main themes in the book
– Applied close reading to extracts from the novel
– Debated questions about the themes in the novel
Class report
Today was our second lesson on WH. We began by briefly recapping what we did last lesson
and then had a short discussion about the homework task.
Next, we moved onto our discussion of the major themes in the book. The students shared
some really interesting thoughts and I was glad to see them refer to the knowledge which they
had gained last lesson about the context of the book.
To support our discussion, we looked at some extracts taken from the book. The students
very much enjoyed reading through these sections and they all had some wonderful ideas
about why these parts were significant.
The themes we covered included warfare, friendship, and duty. The way the students
responded to the leads I offered them and to each other’s opinions was excellent. Discussions
always get better as the students grow in confidence, so I am keen to see how these debates
develop and improve across the lessons.
As well as discussing the themes, we did close analysis of the text. This is always a tricky
task and I was impressed by how well the students unpicked the language and structure of
the text. I am looking forward to seeing how they progress over the next few weeks, as this is
certainly a skill which improves with plenty of practice.Homework for Lesson2:
What are the strengths and weaknesses of having the story written from the perspective of a
horse?
(Think about how it would be different if it were written from Albert’s or another human
character’s perspective). -
In a way that it shows that both
German and English can be both the
Good guys and the war is the bad guy it shows that everyone is different and just want to live in peace-
Nice work, Ashley!
You have thought well about how the horse’s perspective allows us to see from both sides. Your description of war being the ‘bad guy’ is also very touching.
To improve, think about what <i>weaknesses </i>there might be to this viewpoint (i.e. does it limit how much we can find out about the feelings of other characters).
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The Strengths I have thought of are:
- It would make it a unique book because the perspective from a human is easier because we are humans.
- We could learn what a horse feels like and its emotions of being controlled by a human.
- A horse could have a different view of the earth as we do so we could learn what horses see and feel.
The Weaknesses I have thought of are:
- A horse can’t speak or communicate well like a human.
- We aren’t horses so we won’t know exactly what they think and so he would have to make up what the horse thinks but he might eventually write something that is obviously made up and that could ruin the entire fact that everything is based on something real so the reader may think it is real.
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Wonderful work, Pierce!
You have thought really well about the strengths and weaknesses. The perspective is certainly unique and it allows us to see things in a way that we might not otherwise (which, as you state, can be seen as both a positive and negative). The presentation fo your work is also excellent as it makes it very easy for the reader to follow.
To improve, you could also think about how this perspective allows us to see from both sides of the fight (i.e. we learn what it is like for the Germans and the English).
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strong points
It would make you see both sides (German and British)and It makes you see there’s no good or bad they just have to do the thing they are supposed to do.It is unique as most stories are in the humans’ eyes however this one is in the horse’s eye
weak points
A horse can’t talk to a human so it can’t express or talk to someone and their they cant express their feelings with their face so they have toy show it by their actions.
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Great job, Yinuo!
You have considered both sides of the argument really well. It is certainly interesting for the reader to see from both sides and it does make the story very unique. Good job noticing the weakness too; it may well limit how much we can learn from other characters.
To improve, you could use some quotations from the text to support your answer.
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strong points
It would make you see both sides (German and British)and It makes you see there’s no good or bad they just have to do the thing they are supposed to do.It is unique as most stories are in the humans’ eyes however this one is in the horse’s eye
weak points
A horse can’t talk to a human so it can’t express or talk to someone and their they cant express their feelings with their face so they have to show it by their actions.
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Strong points
That there is no good or bad side (German & England) since Joey was taken care of people from both countries and they took good care of the horses.
It’s different than any other book since that it is in the perspective of a horse but books are usually in the view of humans.
<b>Weak points </b>
A horse can’t communicate to a human so it has to show its feelings to find a way to make them understand.
We can’t think like a horse can so it would harder to think like a horse since we are human.
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Nice job, Sarah!
This is a really careful consideration of the pros and cons of Joey’s perspective. The fact that we see from both the German and English troops’ point of view is of great significance and the book is certainly unique. The weaknesses you have identified are also very good points.
To improve, you could also mention what would be missed out on if the story told from, say, Albert’s point of view.
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The strength of the story written in a horse’s perspective is that you can see everything in the story and know everybody the horse met. The weakness is that horses cannot communicate so you don’t know what they are thinking.
If the story was written in Albert’s perspective, you wouldn’t know much about what happened in the war, what it was like in the front line and you might never know about Emilie, Mad Old Friederick and how the German/English soldiers saved the horse from the barbed wire in no-men’s land. There are good people on both sides, German and English so we wouldn’t know about them in Albert’s perspective. Also, you would never know about the fighting.
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Wonderful work, Haoming!
Your thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses here are fab; certainly, having Joey’s perspective allows us to see a lot since he is traded frequently and one could argue that the fact that the characters’ don’t know what Joey is thinking may limit how far they can engage with each other. Giving the example of what it would be like were the story told by Albert is great!
To improve, you could also consider how the fact that Joey cannot communicate could also be seen as a strength (i.e. it stresses the fact that you don’t need to talk to understand emotions, perhaps).
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STRONG POINTS
You can see both sides of the story , but if it was written by the perspective of a soldier or an ordinary person they are not likely to switch sides .
Also this is very different to other war stories because the horse is telling the tale . Michael Murpurgo also was un the army for a year so he would have known what it was like .WEAK POINTS
However a horse cannot communicate to a human or express their feelings and even if they could it would be neither genuine nor believable
and also , we don’t actually know what a teal horse thinks and does so that part of the story would be made up and would make the tale less realistic .-
Great job, Benjamin!
These are some wonderful points about the strengths and weaknesses of having Joey’s perspective. Seeing both sides, as you say, is very helpful and key to helping deliver an important message in the book (i.e. that war is an equalizer). It is interesting that you think it makes the story feel less realistic; this is a very good point. Also, the way you bring in contextual information here is brilliant.
To improve, you could consider how the fact that Joey cannot communicate (with words) may also be seen as a strength (i.e. perhaps it implies that understanding emotions and feelings does not require language).
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I think that the War horse story is written from the horses prospective because the auther wants the reader to feel how the horse is feeling. It is a much more bright and vivd story when it is from the horses prospective, it shows how the horse feels, and what its like to be in a army as a horse. The horse is the animal in the war it’s fighting with its owner in the war. The horse can’t talk but it can have emotions. From the horses prospective the picture is from a total different angle from it is to the owner of the horse.
The reason why I think it is not so good from the horses prospective is because I don’t get to see how the owners and the people feel about there horses and how they feel in the army. In this book I feel like its kind of missing a part of the story, we don’t know how the people feel about fighting in the war and how it hurts. I wonder how the people in the book see the story, what angle do they see the story.
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In my opinion I think that the weaknesses of the story are the death of the story because they changed the character’s behavior and their feelings in the story, the strength of the story is courage, because courage could change the characters bravery and their spirits grew stronger every time. The final thing is, if it was in a human’s perspective it would be a lot more boring especially since there will only be war, because it was in war time, and what do you do in war? Fighting, so if it was in a person’s perspective it will be like this, BOOM! that dude and BANG! I shot him. Not that interesting, is it. So in a horse’s perspective it is so much more interesting!
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Main messages
1. The people who die are bigger heroes then the ones who die.
2. There is no bad side.
3. The environment can heal itself no matter what destruction it has been through.
4. A horse can have a big affect on people’s lives.
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Good job, Pierce!
You have identified several important messages from the book. The way you present your ideas here is really clear and easy to follow, and it is evident that you have a great understanding of the text.
To make it even better, you could give some examples from the text to demonstrate your points.
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The main message that I get from the book is: war is harmful and flipping a coin is better than war. Animals and humans also have to risk THEIR lives in war and usually dying or surviving, but it’s very unlikely that they’ll survive because there is a lot of weapons that can harm them, for example, a rifle, or a machine gun could kill them with shells or bullets.
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Great work, Haoming!
This is a very important message indeed and you have explained it really well. It is evident that you have read the book closely and have some wonderful insight.
To improve, you could elaborate a little on how the novel suggests that ‘flipping a coin’ would be a better way to end the war than fighting.
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I think the main idea of war horse is that war us the real bad thing because for example , at the part where a Welshman and a German were going to toss a coin to see who would keep Joey . This is a curious section of the story because they are actually not becoming aggressive towards each other and the fact that they tossed a coin is fair because 1 a coin has no memory and 2 both sides of the coin are equal .
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Fab work, Benjamin!
You have identified a really key message from the book. The example you give to demonstrate your point is wonderful and the way you breakdown why this section is ‘curious’ is very convincing.
To improve, you could discuss a little further how this section illustrates that war is bad (i.e. think about how they acknowledge that, despite their friendship, they will be fighting each other again soon).
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Summary for Lesson 3:
What did we cover
– Reflected on last lesson
– Discussed how we found the homework and shared our work
– Applied close analysis to selected extracts from the text
– Discussed the ending of the book
– Shared our thoughts on what the ‘main message’ of War Horse is
Class report
Today was our final lesson on WH. We started by reflecting on what we covered in the last
lesson and then moved on to focussing on the homework we completed after last lesson.
We began with a general discussion of what we enjoyed about the homework and what we
found more challenging; it was very interesting to discover that most students found the
‘weaknesses’ of the horse’s perspective the hardest to write about.
We then had a look at some of the homeworks that the students had produced. I was pleased
to see how keen many of the students were to share and they were very responsive to the
feedback which I gave them.
Next, we moved onto doing some close analysis of selected extracts from the text. I was
incredibly impressed by how well the students unpicked the language and applied this reading
to the wider themes explored in the novel. After, we spent some time looking at the ending of
the book and thinking about why it finishes on a positive note.
To finish, we did a discussion which will aid the students in completing their homework this
week. We discussed what we thought the main take-away message of the novel is. It was
fascinating to hear the students various thoughts and this exercise demonstrated just how
much they had discovered over the last three lessons.
Next lesson we will be beginning on our second book, HolesHomework for Lesson 3:
What is the main message that you take away from reading War Horse?
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No one is evil they are just doing what they have to do. And the ones who died were the heroes, not the ones who survived as they were the ones who helped joey survive as they died for joey’s health. I also think that it isn’t the humans which are bad guys it was the war. It is also interesting for example, at the part where a Welshman and a German were going to toss a coin to see who would keep Joey. This is a curious section of the story because they are actually not becoming aggressive towards each other and the fact that they tossed a coin is fair because 1 a coin has no memory and 2 both sides of the coin are equal.
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I think the main message in this story is that there are other ways you can solve things then having a war. You can also count on your friends or family to lead you ,because Joey, in this story was a great friend to the solders that he had/ met. Friends can lead you to many places and you can learn from friends to. War is scary and it is also not good. Many people get killed in war. War is also really vilont and bad. Horses like Joey are also a BIG help to the army.
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Summary for Lesson 4:
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last three lessons
– Discussed the plot of Holes
– Shared our initial thoughts on the book
– Learned about the author’s background
– Learned about what people inspired the book
– Discussed perspective
– Discussed how knowing the context influences the way you read/appreciate the book
Class report
Today was our first lesson on the second book of the course, Holes. We began by reflecting
on the first three lessons on War Horse; we discussed what we enjoyed, found interesting,
and what challenged us. It was great to see that the students spoke at great length about
what they enjoyed in the lessons as this shows they are finding the joy in studying literature
and having a great time in the sessions generally.
The students worked together to describe the plot of the story and we shared our initial
thoughts on the book. It was wonderful to hear that the students had already formed some
really interesting opinions and that they were attentive to the important themes that the novel
explored.
We spent some time learning a little bit about Sachar and the background of the book. It is
really lovely to see how much the students enjoy these parts of the lessons as it shows they
have a vested interest in broadening their knowledge.
We considered how writers often use real people as inspiration for their characters. The
students had some really interesting opinions on this topic and showed great thought when
considering how this knowledge impacts the way we regard these characters.
To finish off, we thought about perspective and the benefits of using a third-person omniscient
narrator. We also looked briefly at the opening of the book and considered how this sets up
the rest of the story.Homework for Lesson 4:
How would the story be different if it were written from Stanley’s perspective?
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The main message I take away from war horse is, hope. To me hope is really important in the story for me, because They have hope for each other, otherwise everything is hopeless, like Albert tugging himself against the corner of the wall thinking to himself that everything is hopeless and that Joey is going to die . Nonsense, right?
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If it was from Stanley’s perspective, and not an omniscient narrator then we won’t be able to understand it fully and it won’t be able to have many details because Stanley doesn’t know exactly how they feel. We won’t understand it fully because there is no time travelling and we won’t know anything about the curse or Kate Barlow. Resulting us not knowing anything it says without getting complicated and getting into a big muddle.
Stanley doesn’t know how they feel so they could seem happy (with a forced smile) when Stanley give them a rock but chuck it away when he isn’t looking. As you know description can be very useful and could take up a big part of a page so without would lead to it being a shorter book which someone may think it’s a younger kids book ( e.g. 6 to 8) and not want to pick it up at all. Even though that is quite unlikely.
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Fantastic work, Pierce!
This is a very well thought out answer. You have considered how the omniscient perspective is crucial to the story very well and the examples from the text which you use to demonstrate this point are great. The way you describe what the limitations would be of Stanley’s perspective are also very sophisticated.
To improve, you could also consider what could be gained through having a different type of narration (i.e. it might make the reader have to work even harder to figure things out).
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If the story was in Stanley’s perspective and not in the perspective of an omniscient character then we wouldn’t be able to know what happened when Zigzag kept on punching Stanley and was then stopped when Hector Zeroni almost strangled Zigzag and hit Mr Pendanski in the head with a shovel. We wouldn’t know about the story that happened 100 years ago and when Katherine Barlow killed the sheriff, applied some lipstick and kissed him like he asked her to. We wouldn’t know how Stanley’s no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather got cursed by Madame Zeroni, who was Zero’s great-great grandmother.
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SARAH🍒
It would Be very different if it was in Stanley’s perspective because he would not know the story of Kate Barlow and that the person she robbed was his great grandfather and that the Warden was trying to find the treasure. The third person omniscient narrator is like a god so he can see everything that happens but Stanley can only be in one place at a time. He must know the story of madam Zeroni and his no good rotten pig stealing great great grandfather.
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Fab work, Sarah!
This is a great answer; you have considered how important the omniscient narrator is really carefully and have given some wonderful examples to back up your thoughts. You have also demonstrated a great knowledge of the text as a whole.
To improve, you could also consider what may be good about having the story from Stanley’s perspective (i.e. it might make the story feel more personal).
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HOLES would be very different the story was told by Stanley Yelnats because we won’t know the other 2 stories such as the stories 110 years ago because Stanley wouldn’t have been there . He would also not know the real reason why the Warden wanted to have as many kids as possible to dig holes .
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Great work, Benjamin!
This is a very good argument; you have considered how crucial this omniscient narrator is to the story very well and given a great example to demonstrate this (i.e. the Warden).
To improve, you could also consider how this type of narration allows us to understand what several different characters are thinking/feeling.
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I think it will be boring if it was in Stanly’s because it will be about holes and holes and escaping. Everything is boring, AND we won’t be able to see his families past and what happens when he is away, also it will just be about suffering and I personally don’t like to see people suffering so I don’t prefer viewing in the view of Stanly. Finally but not least I have some positives about it. I mean sometimes in chapters, I just see a lot of the past and sometimes I wonder if Stanly was having a good time or a bad time at the camp, I could be very curious sometimes….
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Summary for Lesson 5:
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last lesson
– Discussed the theme of fate
– Discussed how choice is explored in the novel
Class report
Today was our second lesson out of three on Holes. We began by reflecting on what we
covered in the last lesson; the students showed that they had a great understanding of the
text which really helped them to confidently discuss the themes throughout the lesson.
Next, we moved on to discussing several different themes explored in the book. Our focus
was mainly on the topic of ‘fate’ and ‘choice’. The students were incredibly insightful and gave
some really interesting and well supported answers to the questions I presented them with.
Throughout the lesson, we looked at extracts from the novel to help aid our conversation. The
students referred to these sections of the text really well and were very competent at
discussing the significance of these parts of the book.
We also continued to practice our close-reading skills. It was encouraging to note how the
students had improved at this task compared to the previous lessons; this showed that they
are really benefiting from the lessons and becoming more attentive and thoughtful readers
and critics.
We finished off by discussing the homework question briefly. The students had some great
initial thoughts and I am very much looking forward to reading what work they each produce in
the next few days.
Next lesson we will be doing our final session on Holes in which we will spend a good amount
of time discussing our homeworks and other questions about the text.Homework for Lesson 5:
‘Chance is more important than choice in Holes.’ Do you agree?
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Yes (and a bit no-ish) (yes)the story is based on a curse that is fate. If not for the curse then it is like a skeleton without a spine.(no-ish) But the story has a bit of choice when Stanley decides to go of after Zero but as well it is also partially fate it was also chance/fate that both Stanley and Zero found the Mary Lou.
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Good job, Pierce!
You have thought well really well about the question and considered the role of chance in the story wonderfully. Certainly, the curse can only be real if chance/fate is too, but as you say Stanley also makes some choices himself in the book too.
To improve, you could give an example from the text which illustrates chance in action (i.e. the sneakers falling ‘from the sky’).
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I think chance because in holes, almost everything is with luck or fate. it is also interesting that it is mostly down luck for something good to happen and not choice. An example of this is when zero and Stanly were nearly dead because in the yellow-spotted lizard’s nest. however, in the real world, it is choice that is more important.
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Great work, Yinuo!
You have explained your opinion really well and clearly have a good understanding of ‘chance’. The example you give is very well chosen and helps support your answer greatly.
To improve, you could also give an example of where characters exercise choice (i.e. when they carry on trying to climb the mountain).
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I disagree because, for a bonus, I always get bad cuts and do naughty things when it is decided to chance. Also, when you go along with chance you can’t change it, but if you dealt with choice, the you could change it in your hands. Anyways, if you think about a room with two doors and you know one is with toxic gas and one is with deserts of your favourite kinds, what will you do take chance or choice, you’ll never know if you walk in toxic gas. If your still not convinced then how about thinking back to holes. You remember when Stanly and Zero was on top of big thumb? They found onions, right? Imagine you were Stanly and you were looking at the onions, now close your eyes, and if you touch it then eat it. Although if you don’t though, then don’t eat it. Or just eat it in order to survive, I will definitely choose choice! Finally I hope you enjoyed with my talk see you next lesson!
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Nice work, Jinxi!
You have thought really carefully about this question and produced a very compelling answer. The analogies you bring in are great and you have given some great examples from the text to demonstrate your point.
To improve, you could discuss how the onion incident could also be seen as chance (i.e. they didn’t know that it would save them).
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In my opinion, no, because if Stanley had a choice not to pick up the shoes or not, he would probably pick up the shoes and investigate them. He would probably use his common sense to try and find out WHO these shoes belonged to, and if his dirty-rotten-no-good-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather didn’t steal a pig then he would’ve given the shoes to a policeman or a guard and told them what happened. Anyway, his dirty-rotten-no-good-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather had a choice which was to carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain to the stream or not. If he had been wiser, he might’ve chosen to carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain and had a happier life instead of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Great job, Haoming!
This is a very well thought through answer and you have considered many of the key events in the book. The examples you give from the text to support your opinion are great and you have very clearly explained your thoughts.
To improve, you could also mention some sections where it does seem as though chance is coming into play (i.e. when they eat the onions and it saves them from being bitten).
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Yes I think that chance is more important than choice because when Madame Zeroni put a curse on Elya Yelnats and his desendants ,whatever they did , they always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and everything they did was always by chance. For example , When Stanley and Zero almost died , by chance they found refuge .
Also , When Stanley carried Zero up the mountain , nothing very bad happened to them (like the part when they survived the yellow spotted lizards and the fact that they both recived silghtly less than 1 million dollars each) . I think this because it was like a way of returning Madame Zeroni ‘s favor , 110 years later.
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Nice work, Benjamin!
You have considered the question very carefully and produced a clear and well-argued answer. The examples from the text that you use are great and you have discussed the ending of the book very well.
To improve, you could also argue how these events could be seen as choice too (i.e. they chose to continue trying to climb up the mountain even way it seemed impossible).
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SARAHXx
I think that chance is more important than choice because they were always at the wrong place at the wrong time but when Stanley carries Hector Zeroni up the mountain nothing bad happened and the yellow spotted lizards didn’t harm the .
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Nice work, Sarah!
You have argued your case well and used some great quotes from the book (i.e. in the wrong place at the wrong time) to support your answer.
To improve, you could think about the choices that characters make and how important they are to the story (i.e. when Zero and Stanley help each other out).
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Summary for Lesson 6:
What did we cover
– Discussed our first impressions of the book
– Did a character study (using illustrations of characters from the book)
– Worked through the questions for the first third of TWClass report
The students were very excited to get started on our next book in this series,The Witches. We started the lesson by sharing our first impressions of the book and moved onto doing a character study before looking at the questions.
It was wonderful to hear the students’ thoughts on the book; a common thought was that the book was a lot more scary and threatening than many of Dahl’s other works, and that it was sometimes difficult to understand what the witch was saying because of the strange way in which her dialect is written.
We then moved on to do a character study using illustrations from the book. The students were very good at reading the emotions of the characters and considering what might be
happening in the image captured.
Next, we looked through the first set of VIPERS. The students gave some very insightful answers, particularly to the ‘inferring’ questions. As is commonly found in our lesson, both the students and I had a great time discussing the longer debate questions. It has been wonderful
to see how keen the students are to share their personal views and how varied their responses are to one another’s.
The students seemed very excited by the homework task, and I have noticed that it is evident through the creativity of their answers that they have been really enjoying exercising their
imaginations in response to the creative homework questions.Homework for Lesson 6:
In Holes, there are three stories tied together: one about Camp Green Lake, one about Stanley’s great-great-grandfather and the “curse” put on him by Madame Zeroni, and one about Kissin’ Kate Barlow, the outlaw who robbed Stanley’s great-grandfather.
How do these three stories fit together within the larger story of Holes? -
Firstly, Stanley’s great great grandfather brought a curse over his family thinking an eternity is only a week from Tuesday. Secondly, Stanley and Hector lived on unions and water at the big thumb plus it was at the other side of the lake so…Could the mountain be the Sam’s union field AND the mountain that Elya was meant to carry madam Zeroni up. That would mean that camp lake green is also where Elya lived before going to America. They are also connected because each story has an affect on Staley’s (Kate Barlow’s treasure and the curse and it being lifted).
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Wonderful work, Pierce!
You have considered how the stories fit together very well. The layout of your work is great, as it is easy for the reader to follow and you have given some great examples of areas that overlap.
You might want to also consider why these sections overlap (i.e. the onions save Stanley and Zero’s life, so maybe it is suggested that the curse is lifted at that point).
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I think these stories fit in perfectly, first of all, because that the reader could see more information than the characters. It fits together, because it tells the family or person’s past or backstory. That explains why they have awkward names or their family got into those situations. For example, if it wasn’t for Stanley’s no good rotten pig stealing great great grandfather, then the curse wouldn’t be upon the yelnats family. Though in the real world, there are more modern things, so if Stanly was digging holes all day, he would accuse his great great grandfather from day to night, but if he didn’t know about his great great grandfather then he wouldn’t understand about the three worlds. That would connect to the modern story, but it wouldn’t at the same time, since he doesn’t know about the three world. Finally if there wasn’t the three worlds worlds then then the book will be short and also, if there wasn’t the three worlds, then it would make our heads ask million and billions of questions.
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Great job, Linxi!
You have explained in great detail how these stories fit with each other and thought about the significance of these overlaps wonderfully. The examples you have chosen to demonstrate your points are excellent and you have also considered the logistical benefit of having three stories, which is great.
You could also think about how some of these overlaps suggest that fate is not all bad (i.e. the onions that may have been from Sam’s farm are what save Stanley and Zero’s life).
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<p style=”text-align: center;”>I think these stories fit together perfectly because it tells the story or the stories of a family’s past for example if we didn’t know the story of Elya Yelnats and Madame Zeroni , we wouldn’t know the why there was a curse . And Kate Barlow’s story is also very interesting because it links in when Stanley’s no-good-rotten-dirty-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather was robbed by Kissin’ Kate Barlow and it will be very interesting to know about her backstory as well.</p>
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Excellent work, Benjamin!
You have considered the significance of these overlaps very well. The importance of showing the family line is certainly huge, and these three stories help us to understand how people’s lives can affect someone else years later.
You could also consider how the stories showcase the major themes of the book in different ways (i.e. fate, trust, kindness, cruelty, friendship).
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<b>💊 🦠 SARAHXx 🍒🥖 </b>
These three stories tie together because Stanley’s great great grandfather Elya was cursed and so was the rest of the family then we have Katherine Barlow who was an outlaw and ended up to be thief and robbed Stanley Yelnats the I hid the loot and in camp they found the loot with the name Stanley written on it.🦠
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They all have a little bit of Stanley’s Great great grandfather 👴. Stanley’s great great grandfather 👴 went to camp Green Lake, Stanley’s great grandfather got cursed by Madam Zeroni, and the one about Kissin Kate , the outlaw who robbed Stanley’s great great grandfather . They are all located in Camp green lake. This is also the parts that are most bold in this story.
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all the events are at camp green lake and all about someone being cheated or robbed. Also, They all have a little bit of Stanley’s Great great grandfather. , Stanley’s great grandfather got cursed by Madam Zeroni, and the one about Kissin Kate, the outlaw who robbed Stanley’s great grandfather.all these events occurred at camp green lake.This is also the parts that are most bold in this story.
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I think the three stories link together because in Stanley Yelnats IV’s story, there is sploosh and the sploosh belongs to another of the three stories, the Sanley Yelnats I chest with a fortune inside, belonging to yet another of the stories and buried by Kissin’ Kate Barlow. These objects link together to make the long story of holes. Also included is the lipstick tube, belonging to one of the stories inside holes and it lead to the discovery of the Stanley Yelnats I treasure chest inside the hole that Stanley dug.
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Gained:
The narrator would be able to talk to the reader and describe everything.
When a character exist the scene in the book an omniscient narrator would be able to go back and say meanwhile or something and go on through his or her story. Basically it doesn’t need to be in chronological order
The narrator, who is all seeing, would be able to connect something in the past and connect it later in the book
Lost:
There won’t be any of the characters opinions and they won’t be able to talk from how they thought about August and each other.
When a character exist the scene in the book the current character would not be able to go back and say meanwhile or something and go on through his or her story. Basically it has to be in chronological order.
The reader would no longer see how they would see it if they had the perspectives they might just see a straight line to the point but we can’t because of the many opinions and what leads us to see things differently.
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Great work, Pierce!
You have thought really carefully about what would be lost and gained through having a different style of narration. The connections that an omniscient narrator could make may certainly be seen as an advantage, and the importance of understanding different characters’ perspectives through hearing their accounts of events is also very important.
Overall, do you think that having multiple perspectives is better than having an omniscient narrator for this story?
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There are different things that would be gained and lost in Wonder if there was an omniscent narrator .Here is what will be gained and lost:
GAINED
You can see everything at once : for example you can see into different time periods and see what had happened in their lives .
LOST
However , the book would be much more difficult and confusing to read because you wouldn’t understand it . Because if you are swiching from a chapter from the present to the distant past , the reader would have to adjust to that time period
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Fab work, Benjamin!
You have carefully considered what would be lost and gained through having an omniscient narrator. You have supported your points very well and given some great examples.
Do you think that the way the book is narrated (i.e. with multiple first-person accounts) is best for this story?
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There are different things that would be gained and lost in Wonder if there was an omniscent narrator .Here is what will be gained and lost:
GAINED
You can see everything at once : for example you can see into different time periods and see what had happened in their lives .
LOST
However , the book would be much more difficult and confusing to read because you wouldn’t understand it . Because if you are swiching from a chapter from the present to the distant past , the reader would have to adjust to that time period.
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Summary for lesson 7:
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last three lessons
– Discussed the plot of Wonder
– Shared our initial thoughts on the book
– Learned about the author’s background
– Learned about what people inspired the book
– Discussed perspective
– Discussed how knowing the context influences the way you read/appreciate the book
Class report
Today was our first lesson on the third book of the course, Wonder. We began by reflecting on the first three lessons on Holes; we discussed what we enjoyed, found interesting, and
what challenged us. It was wonderful to hear the students speak with such enthusiasm about the work we have been doing, and they expressed some great excitement about Wonder.
Next, the students pieced together the plot of Wonder and we spent some time sharing our initial thoughts on the book. As with the other two books, the students had some really great opinions and showed an awareness of the key ideas that the book explores.
We then learned some information about Palacio and the background of the book.The students found this very interesting and enjoyed reading out extracts from Palacio’s accounts.
As with Holes, we considered how writers often use real people as inspiration for their characters. We also discussed how books can be used to spark social change; the thoughts
the group shared on this topic were fantastic.
To finish off, we thought about perspective and the benefits of using multi-character’s perspectives.Homework for lesson 7:
What would be lost and gained if the story had a third-person omniscient narrator?
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If it was third person omniscient, then you could see the things beyond the mind, like if there was a volcano the reader will know, but the character won’t know. Although, if it was the character’s perspective, then I think the story will be more interesting than normal. Also, it could identify even further than the time August was blood which could be more interesting, though I don’t want to ruin the in case I was depending on it. Another reason is that you could only see it in one person’s perspective, and you couldn’t see deep inside a person’s heart and how they feel, so they maybe be feeling something you don’t fell and know. Finally, if it was third person omniscient then you could see the danger ahead, like a fortune teller and the character don’t know anything about their future and become unaware of its danger. Although I don’t like people to suffer and cry so I don’t like it that much.
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Summary for lesson 8:
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last lesson
– Discussed how this book encourages change in its readers
– Discussed the theme of ‘differences’
– Looked at extracts from the book and practiced ‘close analysis’
Class report
Today was our second lesson out of three on Wonder. We started by reflecting on what we
covered in the last lesson; the students had remembered the key details from the story very
well and had clearly enjoyed learning about the context and inspiration for the book.
We then moved on to continue our discussion of how a book can spark change. I was
impressed by how the students identified the various ways in which the book encouraged both
children and adults to think about their actions; they gave some excellent examples and
showed great moral awareness.
We then moved on to discussing how differences are explored in the book. The students gave
some incredibly insightful answers and had clearly engaged very closely with the text.
Throughout the lesson, we looked at extracts from the novel to help develop our discussions. I
was delighted to notice a marked improvement in all of the students’ close reading skills.
Many of them were picking up on literary techniques such as repetition and irony. It was also
wonderful to see how keen all of the students were to read aloud and share their thoughts.
We finished off by discussing the homework question briefly; I am very much looking forward
to seeing what they write in response, as the question is quite a challenging one.
Next lesson we will be doing our final session on Wonder in which we will some time at the
start of the session discussing our homeworks and then move onto thinking about other
questions about the text.Homework for lesson 8:
‘Julian, unlike the other characters, does not finally learn a lesson about kindness’.
Why did Palacio choose not to have him change? -
‘Julian, unlike the other characters, does not finally learn a lesson about kindness’.
Why did Palacio choose not to have him change?
Probably because he was a minor character and he didn’t have a big effect on August’s life so far. All Justin has done was with Via and walked Jack to the bus stop. So my reason was that it just wasn’t necessary for Palacio to make Justin change.
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Justin doesn’t like August’s personality so his inside not outside when other people are the other way round they don’t like his outside no matter what the inside is. August should probably respect Justin a bit more and maybe Justin would feel warmer towards August.
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Great job, Pierce!
You have thought very carefully about this question and produced two great answers. Your attention to how ‘minor’ his character and the way you have considered Julian’s point of view is wonderful.
You could also consider how this choice makes the novel more realistic; in the real world, some people are not kind, so by having Julian remain nasty Palacio may be showing that the world isn’t as perfect as we might hope it to be.
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I think Julian’s personality did not change because as always there are certain people out there who never change their personality and stay as a bully . Or Julian is just one of those people who only judges people by their facial appearences.
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Good job, Benjamin!
You have answered the question very well and given a thoughtful response. I agree, the fact that Julian does not change helps to make the book more true to real life as, indeed, some people maybe are just nasty.
You could also consider how this may encourage the reader to think more deeply about what makes a person capable and incapable of kindness.
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I think that R.J.Palacio didn’t turn Julian into a good guy is probably, because he was a bad boy in general and his mother was the counselor in the school and they had no right to control over him. Another reason is because, this a very simple decision, but she wanted to do that, and that could help learn other kids that if they do something wrong and they were trying to be popular, they would be in a risk and just be a nice kid will make you more popular. She might also not make him change, because he was lonely and some people are lonely they could get quite angry to be more popular, though it is the opposite. Finally, if she did want to make Julian learn the lesson, she might thought that it will teach kids what happen if you carried on and the consequences about carrying on.
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Nice work, Linxi!
This is a very thoughtful and well-considered answer. Certainly, Palacio may be suggesting that some people are just ‘bad’ and that they cannot be changed easily. Your thinking about how his character shows what one may end up as if one does not change their ways is also very sophisticated.
You could also think about how leaving Julian’s character as ‘unresolved’ allows her to explore his character further in the sequel, Auggie & me.
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Julian never learnt a lesson about kindness because he had always been wrong about other people and had always hated August unlike the other kids. August is always protected by teachers but no teacher seems to care about him.
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Good work, Sarah!
This is a very well-considered and sensible answer. Certainly, Julian shows the reader that maybe some people are just quite nasty; this makes the novel more true to real life.
You could also think about how Julian’s character might make the reader consider what makes someone act nasty and why they might not be able to change.
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The Author wants to make this story more interesting and more intriguing.It will have a weird twist to the book, because Julian is a popular guy, especially to the girls. The reader will dig more deep in that section especially because Julian is the only one who has not changed, in kindness form. The auther wants to make this book grab all the attention to the reader so he will think of ways to do that by adding twists and similes and metaphors.
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Summary for lesson 9:
What did we cover
– Reflected on last lesson
– Discussed how we found the homework and shared our work
– Applied close analysis to selected extracts from the text
– Discussed further themes explored in the bookClass report
Today was our final lesson on Wonder. We started by reflecting on what we covered in the
last lesson and then focussed on the homework we completed after the last lesson.
We began with a general discussion of what we enjoyed about the homework and what we
found more challenging; it was evident that the students had thought well about the
importance of the book seeming realistic and how that required there to be some lack of
resolution.
A couple of the students then volunteered to read out the work they had produced. It was
great to see them being keen to share what they had written and responding so well to further
questions.
We then moved onto doing some more close reading of selected extracts from the text and
continued to think about some of the key themes in the novel. I have continued to notice
improvements in this task, and that certainly continued in the lesson today. They all offered
some very insightful thoughts and used the text for support very well.
The students seemed very excited about starting our fourth book, Tom’s MIdnight Garden,
next lesson. I am looking forward to reading their homeworks and getting cracking on this text
next week.Homework for Lesson 9:
What different types of masks are there in Wonder and how are they important?
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There are loads of times when the characters masked themselves from others and the real world. I think masking yourself is hiding yourself and what you really are to something else purposely or accidently blocking someone out and pulling someone else in
l Jack masked himself when he lied to Julian about how he would kill himself if he looked like August, he masked himself by nit telling what he really felt about August and made Julian think he was cool.
l Miranda masked herself when she suddenly changed wearing different clothes. She tried to become mire popular by doing or wearing more popular stuff. But all she managed to do was to mask herself to via making had she had suddenly left her.
l Via masked herself to her mother and her family about the play and Justin in the play.
l By what I’ve read and what I think the whole family masked daisy’s illness from August probably because they know that he has a close relationship with her and they didn’t want to upset him.
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Fantastic work, Pierce!
You have done a wonderful job of thinking about the metaphorical masks that many of the characters put on. The examples you have given are excellent and you have clearly thought about what reasons the characters have for wearing such masks.
You could also consider how the idea of masks is also significant for August in regards to the fact that his face can be seen as a mask which he cannot take off.
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I think Palacio didn’t have Julian change as he was stuck with being cruel and being nasty and it would be hard and uncomfortable to change for example when august lost his astronaut helmet it got awkward and unusual but after he got used to it he realized it was a good change or a positive change and I feel that if Julian felt that the change was positive he would have felt as happy as august when he realized it was a good change. another thing is that it says they are too grown up to “play” wich also suggests that Julian also feels like it is too grown up to be kind and thinks its grown-up and “cool” to just bully and pick on people that don’t fit in.
This is for lesson 8
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One of the masks are the in that August wore, the astronaut helmet. That helmet was important, because it helped him conceal his face and nobody stared at him, it also helped him by stopping people to scream at him and make him feel better. Another one of those masks are the mummy, that helped Jack be more mysterious and hide his selfishness from August, at least he tried too… The Darth Sidius mask, helped people to disguise each other, but not the voice, it actually helped everyone to disguise, unless they didn’t wear a mask. Finally, the mask of Halloween, this is were all the people get a mask and enjoy the spooky day at Halloween to look cool and become hidden from the people beyond the earth.
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Brilliant work, Linxi!
You have considered the significance of the astronaut helmet and the Halloween masks incredibly well. The idea that masks conceal people is certainly hugely important in the story.
You could also consider how masks are explored metaphorically in the book; how else do people hide and conceal themselves in the story (without wearing physical masks)?
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There are many dufferent masks in Wonder but here are the ones that I think that are most important .
- The mummy mask that August’s friend Jack Will was wearing .
- The Darth Sidious mask was Julian
- August was the Bleeding Scream
- This one was not from halloween but it was one of August’s most treasured possesions – the astronaut helmet because it allowed him to conceal his face from others .
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Fab work, Benjamin!
You have identified many different and important types of masks that are explored in the book. The fact that the mask allows August to ‘conceal’ himself is also very important.
You could also consider what metaphorical masks are explored in the book; how do other characters also conceal themselves without wearing a physical mask (i.e. what do they hide behind)?
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The astronaut 👨🚀 helmet ⛑ helped him hide his face and it hid what he really was he got so attached to it that he was scared 😧 to reveal his face once again.
All Hallows’ eve once was his favourite thing but then he realised that he won’t know who other people are and then he will walk onto something that could ruin something built inside him
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Nice job, Sarah!
This is a very important mask in the book and the Halloween masks are also hugely significant. The fact that people wear masks because they are scared to reveal themselves is certainly hugely important too.
You could also think about how other characters wear more metaphorical masks in the book; how do characters conceal and hide without actually covering their faces?
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Summary for Lesson 10:
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last three lessons
– Discussed the plot of TMG
– Shared our initial thoughts on the book
– Learned about the author’s background
– Learned about what places and people inspired the book
– Discussed perspective
– Discussed how knowing the context influences the way you read/appreciate the book
– Looked at the opening of the book
Class report
Today was our first lesson on the fourth book of the course, Tom’s Midnight Garden. We
began by reflecting on the lessons we had finished on Wonder; we spoke about what we
found interesting, what challenged us, and what we enjoyed. It was wonderful to hear them
speak so fondly of the book and share their thoughts with such confidence. I was also very
pleased to see how excited they were to start TMG.
Next, the students worked together to describe the plot of TMG. We then spent some time
sharing our initial thoughts on the book; we discussed what we enjoyed about it and what
struck us as interesting. As with the three other books which we have studied, the students
had formed some really intriguing ideas about the text and shared their interests with great
enthusiasm.
After this we learned some information about Pearce and the background of the book. It was
lovely to see the students be so engaged in this part of the lesson.
As with the last two books, we considered where writers get their inspiration from. It was great
to discuss how using real life places can make a piece of writing a lot more authentic and
impactful.
We spent some time looking at the opening of the book and had a lively discussion about why
the book begins this way and what techniques Pearce puts into play.
To finish off, we thought about why using an omniscient perspective was good and how the
book would be different were it told by another character.Homework for lesson 10:
How would the story be different if it were written from Tom’s perspective?
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The book would change a lot if it was in Tom’s perspective, because if it was in his perspective then wouldn’t know why Tom was leaving if he hadn’t told you, or if he had found his time in the larder, etc. Although on the other hand, he could of tell the garden in a more descriptive way, since the story was a bit rushed. Another reason, is if it wasn’t for the third person omniscient, then he couldn’t have known things beyond his brain. If it was in Tom’s perspective then I would think it is more interesting, because I would know more deeply about what him and Mrs Batholomew was talking about. Also to add with it, he would disappointedly talk about playing with Hatty, by saying, he played this and I did this which is a very boring piece of context. Finally, on top of all that, everything could change negatively and positively so if you asked me to choose… I think I will stick to third person omniscient because, Tom could, yes could lie, which is why I chose this answer.
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Wonderful work, Linxi!
You have considered the use of perspective very well and thought deeply about how the story would be different were it told from Tom’s POV. You have thought well about what would be lost and gained particularly well.
You could also consider how the reader the third person narration gives the reader a more God-like status since they have more knowledge than Tom.
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SARAH
If the story was written in Toms perspective the story would change because he would be able to tell us something before he left his home like what it was like there why he had left and what he would rather do if the measles hadn’t spread. He could describe how he felt more than the omniscient narrator because the omniscient narrator isn’t a feel detector.
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Great work, Sarah!
You have carefully considered the question and thought well about how Tom’s POV would make the story quite different. Certainly, the reader might feel closer to Tom were the story told from his perspective.
You could also think about how the third person omniscient narration gives the reader a more powerful position (as they know often more than the other characters).
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A difference would be that he wouldn’t be able to draw attention to something and then return to it in the future unlike an omniscient narrator.
Tom would be able to describe the experience that the omniscient narrator may miss or misunderstand for example if he was going to cry he was leaving somewhere the narrator may think they were sad but only Tom would really know if they were happy or sad tears.
Anougher would be that Tom may have some emotions that he doesn’t show and even the omniscient narrator is all seeing but maybe not be all knowing.
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Great job, Pierce!
You have thought really well about this question and considered what would be different about the story very carefully. The reader may well feel closer to Tom if they were ‘in his head’ and able to understand the source of his emotions a bit more.
You could also think about how the third person omniscient narration gives the reader a more God-like status as they have more of an objective overview of situations.
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one difference would be that you wouldn’t know how other people were feeling and you would only see how tom felt and not knowing what other people were doing. A second change would be that Tom would be able to describe the experience that the omniscient narrator may miss or misunderstand for example if he was going to cry he was leaving somewhere the narrator may think they were sad but only Tom would really know if they were happy or sad tears.
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Summary for Lesson 11:
What did we cover
– Reflected on the last lesson
– Discussed the homework
– Discussed the themes of magic, childhood, and belief
– Looked at extracts from the book and practiced ‘close analysis’Class report
Today was our second lesson out of three on TMG. We began by reflecting on what we
covered in the last lesson; the students had remembered what we discussed very well and
were excited to continue our work on the book together.
We then spent some time thinking about perspective (which the students explored in their
homework). They had many great thoughts and responded well to the encouragement to think
about how having a ‘God-like’ overview is relevant in a story which involves supernatural
elements.
We spent the majority of the lesson discussing different themes explored in the book, mainly
that of magic, childhood, and belief.
Alongside these discussions, we looked at extracts from the novel and used them to support
our arguments. I continued to notice an upward progression in regards to the students’ close
reading skills. They noticed the subtle techniques used by Pearce very well and spoke about
the effect it had with confidence.
We ended by discussing the homework question briefly; I am keen to see what they produce
in response, as the question is rather thought provoking.
Next lesson we will be doing our final session on TMG in which we will spend some time at
the start looking at our homeworks and then move onto investigating other questions about
the text.Homework for Lesson 11:
Why do you think Mrs Bartholomew tells Tom who she really is at the end of the book?
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If the book was written by Tom’s perspctive the story would hardly change at all because there was no major flashbacks in the story . I think that having the story narrated by Tom would be a good idea because it would be much more exiting.
Not like the other books , including HOLES where third person would be good for looking back at things that have happened in the past.
The only major difference of the story at Tom’s perspective would be what he , himself , thought of the experience.
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She knows that Tom was the Tom that she kept on meeting in the past because he was screaming her name the night before she called him to visit her. Mrs. Bartholomew also didn’t know that Tom was him BEFORE he started yelling. If (by magic) she already new it was him then she probably didn’t want Tom to know, yet.
It could be because Pearce wanted to have a sudden twist at the end and realisation in a very magical and mysterious book is like a final jigsaw piece when the reader finally understands what the book was trying to say so if you read the book again you may see things you didn’t before.
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Wonderful work, Pierce!
You have given great thought to this question. The ideas you have put forward are very convincing and it is clear that you have understood the story very well.
You could also consider the fact that she may know that Tom will believe her (as he is a child and, therefore, more likely to believe in magic than an adult may be).
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I think that Mrs Bartholowmew told Tom that she was Hatty at the end, was because she didn’t know that Tom was a real person and thought he was only a ghost, they even argued over it.Another reason is because she doesn’t like kids, and there was never kids there before and she might get mad that this place is full of little pests in her childhood home. Though she never knew Tom was even in this little flat, so how on earth could she see or know that he is here since he stayed away from her to prevent her rioting. Also its the end of the book so Philipa Pearce could make it a surprise/happy ending in this magical and mystical book of adventures. I also think that Mrs Bartholomew didn’t tell Tom is because she barely comes out of her apartment and don’t know about the world around her house and the building. Maybe she is very shy these days and doesn’t want to go out, that’s why she is busy inside, maybe watching TV I guess. Then again it could be that so Philipa Pearce makes the book longer and she could make more money and the reader will be more interested in the book. My last and final reason is, because that the story planned that way and and that was how it is for years.
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Brilliant work, Linxi!
You have thought very deeply about this question. You have some very interesting ideas and have considered multiple possibilities, which is wonderful.
You could also consider how this cements the message that we cannot judge people based on what we are told about them/our preconceptions (i.e. it finally shows us that Ms. Bartholomew is not scary or spiteful as she may have appeared).
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I think that Mrs Bartholomew didn’t tell Tom who she was until the end if the book because I think Phillipa Pearce put in a surprise part at the end to make the reader understand what the main idea of the book was. Also , the fact that she is wearing black suggests that she may be mourning for her husband because she and Tom , in 1895 , skated all the way to the nearest city and met her the next day and the current story is set in 1958 which is 63 years after they married so it is not very likely that he will still be alive.
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Great work, Benjamin!
You have carefully considered this question. The thoughts you have are great; you have clearly thought about Pearce’s intentions very well, which is wonderful.
You could also think about why she feels as though she can tell Tom (i.e. she may believe that he will not doubt her because he is a child, whereas an adult might accuse her of being crazy for making such a suggestion).
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<p style=”text-align: right;”>I think that Mrs Bartholomew didn’t tell Tom who she was until the end if the book because I think Phillipa Pearce put in a surprise part at the end to make the reader understand what the main idea of the book was. Also , the fact that she is wearing black suggests that she may be mourning for her husband because she and Tom , in 1895 , skated all the way to the nearest city and met her the next day and the current story is set in 1958 which is 63 years after they married so it is not very likely that he will still be alive.</p>
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SARAH
I think that she only told him that she is Hatty because he was screaming for her and she thought he was a ghost. They have argued about it before. He was always the same age when he visited but Hatty grew up. Tom went through a door which makes her think that he truly is a ghost.
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Fab work, Sarah!
You have thought very carefully about this question. It is a very interesting take that you have, and you have considered Hatty’s feeling very deeply.
You could also consider why Pearce would want to end with this revelation (i.e. what important messages does it leave the reader with).
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Because she trusted tom in the midnight garden and she had proof that tom was trustworthy. Another thing is that if tom didn’t know she was Hatty tom would’ve treated Mrs Bartholomew differently. It would also set a mystery to the readers wanting to know more so it is a good trick to hook the readers in into another book.
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What statements does the novel make about growing up?
Tom’s Midnight Garden talks about many different aspects about growing up such as ; life , death , dieseases , dealing with conflict and many many more throughout the novel . The part when Tom and Hatty had an argument weather who was the ghost is an example of conflict and we can assume that Mrs Bartholomew’s husband Barty had died as we don’t see him throuout the book apart in the midnight garden when they meet , this is an example of death and the days that the garden was still there represents life and that the fact that Hatty Bartholomew was wearing black probably means that she is mourning , perhaps for her husband .
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Fantastic work, Benjamin!
This is an excellent answer to a difficult question. You have considered the scope of this question really well and offered a very comprehensive and thoughtful response.
You could also think about what the book suggests in relation to the ‘child inside’; do you think that it implies that, even though you get older, you always keep a part of your younger self within?
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There are words like old and young and etc. Which are all related to age. Although there are some other words like the grandfather clock which is old, and interestingly the story. The story is about time like into the Melbourne’s hall and their garden their all about age, that’s what the story makes me think it is good and all. Also, we found out from the extract we had read before had the words old, and other words, etc. In the time were Tom was studying the time when Hatty / MrsBartholomew lived, she was in the she found out she was from the Victorian times (1837-1901). That was about the age of when she lived, how magnificent, load of time, time forever! Also, Hatty / Mrs Bartholowmew are both thinking about time because they dream about when she was a girl which is about time, isn’t it?
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Why do you think Mrs Bartholomew tells Tom who she really is at the end of the book?
I think that Mrs Barthomew wanted to let Tom figure out who she really is. Tom had all the time to find out who Mrs Barthomew is. I think that the author wanted to put that put at the end because if Mrs Bartholomew told Tom in the middle of the book It would be an unusual way of telling the story, and the reader will be more shocked and understand more. The story will also feel more mysterious and scary before the part when Mrs. Bartholomew tells Tom who she really is because the reader does not really know is Mrs. Bartholomew really is Hatty or not, during that time, Mrs.Bartholomew will slowly unravel her secret till the very end. -
I think Mrs Bartholomew told tom as she didn’t need any more proof that tom isn’t trustworthy and I think tom needed to know as maybe the next time he came Mrs Bartholomew would already be dead so it would be her chance to say the truth otherwise it would be a mystery to Tom forever. She would also be showing she does like children as other adults think she doesn’t like children.
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‘It is important that children read stories about horrific historical events, such as the holocaust.’ Do you agree?
Yes.
1. The deaths needed to be remembered otherwise they would have died for nothing and they would never be remembered.
2. They will know that even that the people in the book who just simply look after children (Barney) are heroes in the war and they simply just can’t ignore it and when they get older they may think they are too good for the book and never even touch them.
3. Everyone has to know about the holocaust and Adolf Hitler
No.
1. It is a bit gruesome and probably scare children who are easily scared.
2. It may get to their mind and frighten them leading to night mares or scaring other children who could be scared easily.
3. Children who are scared of death could never want to read a book again if they can which will affect their learning.
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Wonderful work, Pierce!
You have thought very carefully about this serious debate. It is particularly great that you consider both why children should and should not read about these events; this gives you a very well rounded argument.
You could also consider how we are meant to learn from history and the mistakes people made in the past. Also, how could the lessons learned in the book be applied not only to war but to how people live their lives generally?
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“It is important that childeren read books like Once.”
- If you don’t remember those who where killed in Poland in the Holocaust then there would have been loads of people dead for no reason.
- This was a real event in history and even though it has been 75 years since the end of WWII we still have to remember the gargantuan, massive damage that happened in not only Britan , but also other countries that were hevily affected by the Holocaust .
“Childeren shouldn’t read these Genres of books.”
- It could really scare children if you tell them that it was a real event in history and would probably , hevily influence the way that , these childeren read and would almost definitely choose another type of book next time .
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Excellent work, Benjamin!
This is a very thoughtful and carefully considered answer. It is great that you consider both sides of the argument as it makes your writing more well-rounded and comprehensive.
Another point you could think about is how books like this teach children lessons. What might readers learn from this book? And how could they apply that knowledge to their lives (i.e. treating others with kindness).
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Children should read books like this because they they would get a better understanding of what horrible things happened in the war and that affects everyone
Children shouldn’t read these books because it can scare them easily and it’s very sad. It can affect the child’s day and it’s learning system making them feel weak and tired.
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Good job, Sarah!
You have thought very carefully about this difficult question and produced a solid answer. It is very good that you consider both sides of the argument, as this makes your writing more rounded and comprehensive.
You could also think about what the readers learn from studying books like this. What lessons might children take away from this text, and how could they apply that knowledge to their lives?
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The Nazis burned Jewish books and forcing ordinary people to just read about the Nazis instead of the Jewish books. This will lead to a very one sided war that is very unequal and unfair. If you just read one book about the “good guys” perspective you would always think that the good guys are good but when you read from the perspective of the “bad guy” the bad guys are good and you would support the “bad guys.” In that, the scenario is quite similar to the Nazis but by eliminating all the “good guys” perspectives, so the Nazis’ (“bad guys”) perspective is the now the good guy so people will support the Nazis.
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Wonderful work, Pierce!
You have thought very carefully about this question and used the knowledge we gained in our last lesson well. You have also explained one of the key issues with propaganda in a very clear way.
You could also think about how censorship restricts people’s ability to share their views and have their voices heard. Why might this be a problem?
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The Nazis burned Jewish books and forcing ordinary people to just read about the Nazis instead of the Jewish books. This will lead to a very one-sided war that is very unequal and unfair. If you just read one book about the “good guys” perspective you would always think that the good guys are good but when you read from the perspective of the “bad guy” which in this book are the nazis. But everyone isn’t perfect and people make mistakes so maybe some of the nazis didn’t know what they were doing.
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SARAH
Nazis burnt books that’s Jews wrote because it was like they were arguing that the Nazis are wrong. If they made people read their books there will only one piece of evidence that they are correct. They will support Nazis and say they are the good ones and that the Jews are the useless ones. This will mean everything is not fair.
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I think this book suggest that we are so privileged, and that we are lucky that we have no more of the holocaust and that we have the chance of reading the never old-fashioned books! Also, they mean that we could enjoy the love of books instead of some ‘totally’ exciting from the tyrant, Adolf Hitler. Once, teaches us that read the books before enjoy the fascinating our, yes, your books get read! OR should I say enjoy it so that the world enters the fascinating worlds of books, and books and books. They also want us to understand and read about the holocaust and become serious with it, so you understand that this would only and only happen once and forever. So, he would like the world to be more peaceful and joyful. He also wants us to learn about the people’s feelings and change yourself and your life to become the best of the bests! So then one day the world would contain no baddies and the world has no more deals to deal with!
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