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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s class we began our work on My Family and Other Animals, thinking about the genre and historical context of the novel. We began with a great discussion of what the class did and did not like about the book, reflecting on its humour and use of characterisation. We then spoke about the genre of autobiography and the challenges of writing a book in this genre, including the risk of distorted memory, the protests of real life people and choosing what to include. The class then moved on to discussing the history that this book plays off- that of 1930s and 1956 when it was published. We discussed what these key historical periods could reveal about the book, watching a short clip about the 1950s and thinking about what this reveals about why Durrell wrote the book when he did and in the way he did. Finally, the class thought about their own lives in an autobiographical way, considering what the tone and themes of their autobiography would be and thinking of key amusing events in their lives that they may tell and whether they would fictionalize parts of their story. Really passionate and interesting work everyone- you all came up with some great ideas and shared thoughtfully throughout our class. Impressive work and some excellent connections made between the historical context and the novel itself. See you soon ! 🙂
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the wonderful lesson on My Family and Other Animals. Below is my homework attached.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework. (Sorry, I accidentally sent it into Beijing)
(By the way, I found out Durrell preceded Dahl so it might have been coincidental that they are both mischievous or are they following in each other’s footsteps?)
See you on Monday!
Johnny
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Haodi’s homework
I think Gerald Durrell got his humour from his family moments.This is because Lawrence Durrell said that it was humorous but it was sadly true.The narrator also was called Gerald Durrell. Gerald Durrell also had war like in the story.He even like animals like inside the story. Lawrence also comments that it was why we should let 13 year olds go to boarding school.
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s class we continued our work on My Family and Other Animals thinking today in depth about character and perspective. We began the class with discussing the notion of Gerry as a character vs. Gerry as the author, with the class completing a research task to aid their thoughts on how to distinguish between the two ideas. We then watched an interview with him, thinking about the questions it raised. We spoke about characters, and the notion of ‘writers are always selling someone out’, applying this to the novel and thinking about the family’s representation. We touched on the power dynamics of the family and how this may have influenced the tone of the novel, before finally the class wrote some excellent pieces reimagining a scene from the book from a different character’s perspective, ruminating on how they would present themselves to the reader and what would differ from Durrell’s original account. Really great work today everyone- you were enthuasiastic and engaged throughout and came up with some wonderfully creative ideas of how to reimagine the characters and their outlook on the presentation of events in the novel. Amazing work and I’ll see you next week 🙂
Gerald Durrell documentary we watched a clip of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1MK6BKrc-U
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Sorry if I put my homework for lesson 1 in the wrong group; there were too many classes at the moment!
Hopefully nobody would get to suspicious! 😉
By the way I LOVED the lessons so far!
Thank you! 🙂
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Dear Beth,
Please find my homework attached. Thanks for the splendid lesson. 😊👏 Have a good day!
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s class we finished our study of My Family and Other Animals, today completing some creative tasks and thinking about Durrell’s writing style. We began by discussing the title of the book, identifying the centrality of animals and their personalities within the novel. We read an extract from the book and analysed its themes and humour, before coming up with some creative writing based upon Durrell’s presentation of animal/human bonds. The class spoke about the reference to Hunchback of Notre Dame, analysing its implications, spoke beautifully on the subject of personification and then finally wrote some interview questions for the author. Passionate work today everyone- you all came up with some fantastic contributions throughout and completed the hot-seating task excellently. Fantastic job- see you next week! 🙂
P.S. The article is the word doc below
Homework
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Haodi’s homework
The summary ‘Paradise Regained’ by Simon Barnes was about the famous book ‘My Family and Other Animals’. I liked how he/she used quotes from the text to support his opinions. He/she also describes what the narrator is like. He/she said” He is a child among grown-ups but never left out and never lonely; he is a child free to go where he pleases in the wild world and is always at home there”.Simon makes a short quote about what happened and how Gerald Durrell wrote the well-known book. He/she talks about their family and their personalities. He/she also talks about the speech in
the texts. He/she says” Gerry is discovering the great wild world, but not without a little background knowledge. He is also discovering the great grown-up world and is allowed to share it far more than is usual for a child”. In my own opinion, I have no questions for this wonderful summary of the book ‘My Family and Other Animals’.
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we began our second book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, thinking today about the historical context behind the book. We spoke about the use of racial slurs in the book and discussed how to treat 19th century language in the modern day with an understanding of the history it underscores. We spoke about US history in the 1870s and 80s and watched a video that detailed the context of the Reconstruction Era and Jim Crow laws. We learned about Twain’s life and linked this to the ideas he explores in the novel, and finally researched the three concepts of slavery, Sentimentalism and the Second Great Awakening, discussing what this tells us about the novel. Wonderful work class- you all completed some excellent work today and thought deeply and carefully about some of the controversial aspects of the novel. Fantastic discussions all round- well done and see you next time 🙂
Context video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZGaBrXSWi8
Mark Twain video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMtBPa7hpsA&t=1s
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Attached below is my homework for Lesson 4 – our first reading class on the 2 most famous books by Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens).
Thank you! 🙂
Jack
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Haodi’s Homework
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn links to the Mississippi because the boy Tom Sawyer grows up and lives his life near the Mississippi River. I also think that he met Huckleberry Finn there. Additionally, the front cover might be Tom that just made a raft to sail through the Mississippi River. To support my evidence, the book says that Tom and his friends want to begin life as ‘pirates’.This concludes that Tom indeed has played and lived near the Mississippi River.
Tom Sawyer lives in Missouri in a small town. It seems that the quote in the second page states about the Mississippi River or the Missouri River because the quote says”Didn’t you go in a-swimming, Tom?”. The book also has a bit of people with an accent like this”Less see ‘em.” which is supposed to be like this”Let’s see them.” To show where and when the book was set.The accent also reminds me of Missouri.
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s class we continued our work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, thinking about character, genre and critical interpretations of the novels. We began with a discussion of character, which the class then used to inspire their own Twain-esque characters, before thinking about genre. We spoke about genres such as semi-autobiography, adventure and bildungsroman- honing in on this subject to think about how Twain subverts the genre of bildungsroman in order to criticise adulthood (and specifically what he thinks of it!). Finally we dug into some critical analyses of the two books, considering the idea of morality in Huck Finn and how powerfully it communicates Twain’s ideas (as much as he may not have wanted them communicated in this way!). The class then were introduced to the notion of ‘two worlds’ in the novels- the idea that the light and the dark that Tom and Huck contend with form the particular backdrop that makes Twain’s work part of the Great American novel canon. Lovely work from the class today- every student was passionate and engaged and shared some really interesting thoughts. Well done class, see you next week 🙂
Huck Finn video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXKgBIiP8IA
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s class we completed our work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, thinking today about satire, place & time in the novel and Twain’s views of writing. We began with a discussion of the satire in the novel, thinking this to the themes of religion, racism, adulthood and civilisation and thinking about the message Twain is sending. We learnt about the forward in the book that warns the reader against reading between the lines and discussed why Twain may have written this. We spoke about the character of Injun Joe and the xenophobia evident in his portrayal, thinking about the history of Native American people and how it ties into the novel. Finally, we discussed what makes these books classic novels and why they have endured through the ages. Lovely work today everyone- well done for all your ideas and have fun reading our next book! See you next week 🙂
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Attached below is my homework for our last lesson on Mark Twain’s twin novels: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Thank you for the lesson!
Jack
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Haodi’s homework
In my opinion, I think that Huckleberry Finn just wants to get things done quickly like the saying, “Make hay while the sun shines” while Tom Sawyer wants to have fun and make it like a mission.Tom Sawyer seems to like having fun when doing something something so he makes things like a mission for “Pirate Tom” or he just wants to keep the playful flow going.
Seeing from this,I think that Tom doesn’t like doing chores and is quite lazy(another word could also be troublesome). Tom also likes to take control of everything, which makes Huckleberry Finn lose all of his freedom.
I believe that Huckleberry Finn just want to keep things simple for him and his freedom, but I don’t think that he can keep his freedom because of bossy Tom.He randomly gives away all of his freedom just to listen to Tom and play as pirates later.
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we started our next book, Oranges in No Man’s Land, thinking about the history and setting of the novel. We began with a discussion of what we liked and didn’t like in the novel, before moving on to thinking about the history of the Lebenese Civil War in the 1970s and 80s. We discussed what this book tells us about war and thought about the importance of the setting, analysing an extract from the novel to help us discuss this. We read a piece by the author about her experiences in Beirut and why she wrote this novel, and the class thought of some interview questions they would ask her. Finally we discussed how the presentation of war in this novel compares to war in other books they have read, and thought about the focus on WW2 of these books and why it was important to learn about history in different places too. Amazing work everyone- you were all focused and enthusiastic throughout and came up with great ideas about this novel. See you next week 🙂
Lebanon war video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q70bGTwk4VM
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the amazing lesson. I enjoyed reading Oranges in No Man’s Land. Here’s my homework attached.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we continued our work on Oranges in No Man’s Land, thinking about character and narrative. We began with a discussion of the class’s favourite characters in the novel, moving on to discussing the way the narrative voice functions in this book. We spoke about how Ayesha as the narrator affects the way the story is told, thinking about how the sides of the civil war are portrayed. The class then completed a great hot-seating exercise, conducting an imaginary interview with Samar, before writing a passage of the book from her perspective. Finally, we discussed how we would change the ending to make it more fulfilling- which the class did a great job of. Amazing work everyone- well done for all your concentration and fab ideas. See you next week 🙂
Homework
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Wow- this is a beautiful piece of work Emily! It looks so wonderfully striking on the page and I absolutely love how you have used the layout of a newspaper, with a fantastic name for the paper, a powerful headline and really eye-catching use of photographs and captions. I absolutely love your interview section- what a great idea- and the way in which the reporter is reflecting their own horror at the scene unfolding in front of them. Your use of quotations from bystanders really emphasises how terrifying war is and makes a powerful statement. The main story section is a really vivid, harrowing and evocative description of the war and uses loads of really powerful statistics (such as the number of miles to Cyprus and the number of wounded). To make this even better, make sure you write the newspaper article in the same tense- you start in the present tense (currently) and then switch to the past (could be heard). Overall this is a brilliant piece of work you should be very proud of- well done! 🙂
A few spellings:
*set off
*particular
*after that scene
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s class we completed our work on Oranges in No Man’s Land. We began with a discussion of what the class would call the book if they could choose, thinking about creatively interpreting the story with their own spin on it. We then completed some comprehension, discussing how Laird creates the vivid and powerful setting she does within the book and analysing the language, including examples of personification. Then, in the final twenty minutes, the class designed their own plays based on the novel, identifying elements they had to include (i.e., costume, set design, actors, dialogue) and planning a play around this. They shared these beautifully and then reflected on how to write a book review in preparation for the homework. Amazing work everyone- really creative and inspiring ideas. See you next week 🙂
Book review video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhYF3v3zTeo
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the spectacular lesson on Oranges in No Man’s Land. I particularly enjoyed the playwrighting.
Please find my homework attached below.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Dear Beth,
Thank you very much for the amazing lesson, very sorry for the overdue. Please find my homework attached below and have a lovely day.
Kind Regards,
Lynn
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s class we began work on Trash, our final book of the winter course. We began by discussing what we liked and disliked in the novel before thinking about the setting of the book and what we could ascertain from where the book is set about life in these communities. We spoke about the poverty shown in the story and how Andy Mulligan wanted to draw attention to poverty throughout the world. We watched a video about people who live on landscapes filled with trash like the characters in the novel and spoke about how we never find out exactly where the story takes place. We then read an article about why Mulligan wrote the book and discussed this, thinking about how we can help people in these communities and what organisations already do (i.e., the World Food program). Finally we discussed the big issues explored in the book, from corruption to homelessness to healthcare- which the class did a brilliant job of thinking about. Amazing work everyone- well done for all your interesting and astute observations and your ability to deal with big, complex themes with maturity and thoughtfulness. See you soon 🙂
Video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiVhL047t9w&t=2s
Guardian article we read: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/feb/03/andy-mulligan-trash-movie-stephen-daldry
Homework
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Here is the homework article: https://eco-business.shorthandstories.com/child-scavengers-casualties-of-the-philippines-war-against-waste/
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Summary for Lesson 11
In today’s class we continued our work on Trash, thinking today about genre, characters, narrative and structure. We began by discussing the homework article, linking this to the context of the book, before discussing the genre of the book and how it uses tension to propel the plot forward. The class thought about the structure of the book, thinking about how the tension rises and falls throughout the storyline. We spoke about the impact of the narrator’s voices and the use of multi-narration and finally the class honed in on an issue from the novel, writing persuasive letters using the story as inspiration. Amazing work everyone, well done for your energy and enthusiasm. See you next week 🙂
Homework
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Summary for Lesson 12
In today’s class we finished our work on Trash, completing our winter course. Today we spoke about the moral framework of the novel, thinking about the notion of corruption in the novel and linking this to the character of the Senator and the role of the police in the book. We spoke about the crimes committed in the book and the notion of the boys’ Robin Hood mentality. Finally we discussed some big questions in the book such as what are children’s rights and what does the Day of the Dead signify in the novel. Really incredible work today class- I have been so impressed by your creativity, intelligence and passion in our last twelve weeks. You have worked amazingly and it has been a joy to teach you all. I look forward to seeing you all again in our next course and hope you have a lovely Easter! Well done 🙂
What is corruption? video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYorzlkCWYo&t=95s
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the lovely course on all of these books. I enjoyed reading them.
Please find the homework attached.
Kind Regards,
Yunshu
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Hi Beth,
Sorry for the delay, attached below is my homework. Thank you so much for all the amazing lessons and looking forward to seeing you next time! 🙂
Have a lovely day,
Lynn
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