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Summary for Lesson 1
In this week’s lesson we looked at the foundations of creative story writing, focusing on the genre of mystery/suspense writing. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the mystery stories assigned for homework (it also includes the picture prompt on slide 8 which is needed for the homework). The powerpoint outlines the conventions, techniques and devices of mystery writing, the ‘ingredients of a mystery story’, suspenseful story starters for inspiration, along with some more general techniques regarding story arcs and planning structure. I’ve also attached a story plan worksheet which should be used to help plan the homework story before it is written, and have included a worksheet in the powerpoint itself which can be looked at to remind the class of how to use and implement certain techniques effectively. They should also look at the Roald Dahl story Lamb to the Slaughter included in the powerpoint for further inspiration. Everybody did fantastically in today’s lesson, I was really impressed by the creativity and thoughtfulness the class displayed when discussing different aspects of the genre of suspense and mystery, and was also super impressed by their knowledge of literary techniques. Have fun writing your suspense stories everyone, and keep up the wonderful energy, enthusiasm and amazing work you all demonstrated this lesson! 🙂
Homework
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Disguises for a bad reason
“Did I tell you about the concert tomorrow?” A girl with auburn-brown hair asked. No answer. It was typical of James to start a deafening silence that filled the room. The Girl With Auburn Hair was called Jessica, his sister. She scowled. James’s eyes were a lead-grey colour, like skies on winter’s afternoon tea. Those lead-grey eyes shot to the ground.
“No…” he mumbled as he bit his tongue. His Not-So-Amiable sister, Jessica, was the opposite of James. Well, as far as I’m concerned, anyone who actually has a care in the world is the opposite of James.
“I should tell you then!” she exclaimed cheerfully. The grey-eyed boy groaned (not so cheerfully) at the thought of his sister’s endless lectures. “So, that’s about it.” she murmured with her bluish eyes gleaming like the sun-kissed, azure ocean. Then she uttered something that made James’ heart drop to the ground.
“Gwenivere Sanders is also coming”. I can tell that you are very confused, so let me explain. Gwenivere Sanders is a very bitter girl, who had hair like coal in the burning embers and eyes that were the emeralds on her crown. She was the one that ruined his life. James’ eyes grew wide. His pupils shuddered. Sanders was the one that made a mistake. A mistake that James could never forgive.
The next blistering day, James (who was rather concerned) felt as if a huge rock was lying on his chest. He wanted to grab his revenge by the throat. He wanted to kill. Kill the person who killed what was his. That ‘Person’ was the sour Gwenivere Sanders.
He knew if anyone found out about his identity, he would be in trouble. So the quick-minded boy had to wear a disguise. Best of all, he knew exactly what to wear. There were a pink dress and a wig that Jessica wore for one of her school plays. He wiggled into the bubble-gum pink silk dress. James knew he looked like a clown, ridiculous. The wig was even worse. A grey-brown colour it was. The hair was long and falling but he didn’t care. He wore it as if it was the silver-eyed boy’s own dress and hair.
At the concert, he peered at Gwenivere. She was wearing a white top with a blue skirt underneath. Her hair was: long, charred, and loose. “Hi, Gwen!” Jessica shouted jubilantly, smiling from ear to ear. James whispered something into Gwen’s ear and lured her out. “I forgot something” He muttered, then dashed away. He had an axe. James held it backwards. “I have a surprise for you…so turn to the wall, no peeking” he sneered.
The white shirt was stained red.
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Ring Ring Ring ! Angelina’s phone buzzed loudly. Angelina looked at the caller ID and it said unknown… again. This was the third time Angelina’s phone rang since she woke up. Normally she gets up around seven. She barely pulled herself out of bed at eleven a.m. today.
Last night was EPIC. Her best friend Chelsea was turning 21 and she had the wildest girls night out. Chelsea invited so many friends to her party including Angelina. They danced and sang, they had fireworks shows. They even drank wine! After the party Chelsea and Angelina went to the eerist fortune telling shop, Jenny In The Box, which is at the corner of Hamilton Street and Burr Avenue. From the time Angelina was a child she was scared of that shop so was Chelsea. For the first time in the last 20 years Angelina and Chelsea went in Jenny In The Box! What happened there and after kind of fogged up in Angelina’s half drunk mind. She only remembers that her heart pounded so fiercely to the music beat of “The Room Where it Happens”. That was played over and over again while they were there.
While Angelina was putting her earrings on, both of her hands were tied up by trying to put her butterfly shaped earrings on, It had a nice match to her dress she picked out for an interview she was going to have at twelve thirty in the afternoon, just when she was getting her left earring through her ear, her phone stopped ringing.
Angelina picked nice clothes to wear to the interview. She had butterfly earrings and a gold flower necklace. Her dress was the prettiest of them all. It was pink and had skinny straps. She had a cool bracelet and a diamond ring. This is one of her favorite dresses. This dress is simple and elegant. She likes the dressbecause she thinks the color represents intelligence and independence, which Angelina certainly is.
Just as Angelina put her final coat of lip gloss on, she heard the phone ringing again. Normally Angelina would not pick up calls from unknown phone numbers, but this time she answered the call just in case something out of ordinary and needed her attention.
Hello? She said. The other end was very static. Angelina could not hear what the other person was saying, but she heard a tune. Suddenly she was in shock, her body became stiff, and the air turned cold, her eyes stared. She suddenly was not like herself anymore. It was pale. On the other end was the tune she heard “ The Room Where It Happens” on the other line, the same tune that she heard over and over again last night. For no reason she had the urge of grabbing the axe from the basement. She zombie walked down the stairs and to the basement, still listening to the static coming from the other end of the phone. She got the axe and went back up the stairs, holding the heavy axe on her right hand. Normally the axe is quite heavy for Angelina, but somehow she managed to grab it with only one hand. With a loud bang, Angelina smashed the cold living room window. -
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CHAPTER 1
Long ago the emperor’s son (his name is Leo is you want to know) loved clothes he didn’t care much of anything else. He ignored his friends ignored food and about anything else but one day… 1 of his friends said” we should go to a party!” Leo was delighted! He was just putting on something until he realised “Oh No I HAVE NO MORE CLOTHES”. Where shall I get more clothes, he asked 1 of his friends? He joked “where a dress ha-ha”. Then Leo thought ACTULLY that is the best idea ever!!! He said to his friend that is a wonderful idea his friend thought uh oh so after 5-10 minutes Leo was wearing a velvet pink dress with a axe in here hand to cut of nuisances heads I was just joking said Leo`s friend but he didn’t hear and went to the busy party on the way the silver-shining axe was now covered with blood (as he had killed a few people with it) although he like killing people (apart from putting on clothes) he needed someone to help him kill other people so he could just dress up all the time as he went home he thought It feels so delightful to be home he told his butler to fin the most gruesome executioner in the continent “As you wish sir” said the butler so for the next few weeks his butler had not had very much luck until… two strangers barged in to the line and said take us to the emperors son at once! So as the two strangers rushed in to the emperor’s palace…
CHAPTER 2
As the two strangers barged in to the emperor’s palace they rushed straight towards his son bedroom who are you bellowed the Leo we are slimes and slick at your service they said Leo looked puzzled haven’t you hear od us said slimes where world famous! he added we make magical axes the kill people you want really? Said Leo sounding interested if so make me at once! It won’t be cheap we only use the finest material take this said Leo handing them a sack of money take anything else but make me that axe! Yes sir! Said slick as soon as they were alone, they laughed until the faces where purple an there stomachs aching the fool believed us! we are going to make lost of lovey lovely money slick ordered In the most strongest metal but didn’t use any of he just sold it for lots more money then as soon Leo went for his daily clothes shopping (it used to be weekly clothes shopping) they packed there bags full of cash ready to flee the palace for ever as Leo came home he was outrages he would do anything to get those little pests so put on the dress (again to put on a disguise) with the axe an set out to try an kill those little sly thugs.
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Summary for Lesson 2
In this week’s lesson we looked at persuasive writing in the context of a newspaper article. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the persuasive articles assigned for homework. The powerpoint outlines the conventions, persuasive techniques and structure of persuasive articles, along with some more general information regarding P.E.E. paragraphs and how to write them, an awareness of audience and how to structure a newspaper article. It also includes a fully annotated persuasive article which can be used for inspiration and the essay title for the homework. Today’s class were absolutely fab, I was really impressed by their knowledge of persuasive techniques and their enthusiasm and contributions throughout the lesson. The students were particularly good at coming up with catchy and funny headlines for their news articles, and at considering the effect of persuasive techniques and then applying this to their own work. You were all a joy to teach today, well done everyone and keep up the amazing work! 🙂
Homework
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The Fast Food Dispute
McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Panda Express, Five Guys, KFC, and SmashBurger are closing down. Recently many of these restaurants are closing at a faster pace than before. This observation is most likely due to the fact that more and more people think that their food is unhealthy. The owners’ of the restaurant are trying to persuade people to come back. They have been finding ways to make their restaurants better, but people still say that their food makes them unhealthy and fat. This is NOT good for the owners. Lets see what the owners are doing, saying and thinking.
Most of the restaurant owners are increasing the amount of carbinhydrent in their food. They are using more vegetables and fruits and less sodium. For example, they are adding more lettuce and tomatoes and reducing the use of salt and sugar to the burgers in Burger King and McDonald’s. Many fast food chains are adding more healthy kids meals with organic meat and fruit. They also provide milk with the kids meals instead of juice. Now, kids can enjoy their meals and have healthy food. These make their food more healthy.
One obvious benefit of fast food is that the food is made quickly. This helps save many people’s time, but I can also make them feel stressed. Many people complain that fast food makes them feel stressed. Some say that it is too messy and others say that their food makes them feel stressed because they don’t have time to eat it because they are in a rush. Some of the restaurant owners switched the paper wrappers on their burgers into paper plates/cartens. This will make it easier to hold the burgers and also prevents from making it more messy. Many of the fast foods can be eaten with hands, so people who are in a rush can use their hands to eat their food instead of using utensils and using two hands and making sure the fries don’t spill. This will help make things less messy.
Fast food restaurants owners want to tell people that their business is running better now and they want to thank us for coming to their restaurants. People now think that fast food is not so bad after all, but not 100 present people like fast food but that is okay. Do you like fast food now that the restaurants have changed and made things better? I hope you know now that the fast food restaurants are now opened.
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Summary for Lesson 3
today’s lesson we looked at the fundamental elements of descriptive writing, and particularly how to write descriptively on a theme. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and should be used to help plan and write the descriptive task assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on descriptive techniques, story-planning, setting the scene, language analysis, discussion of the theme of ‘journeys’ and also the picture and poetry prompt that should be used to inspire the descriptive stories assigned for homework. Everyone worked really well today, there was some amazing vocabulary being used throughout the lesson and I was particularly impressed with how the class grasped the concept of sensory language and how it can be employed to write vividly and descriptively, particularly when thinking about the use of literary techniques. The class’s understanding of the importance of theme was outstanding, as was their understanding and analysis of the Frost poem The Road Not Taken. I loved the literary techniques all the students came up with and was super impressed by their understanding of the ways techniques, sensory language and theme necessarily merge together in descriptive writing. Really well done class, have fun writing your beautifully descriptive homework pieces and keep up the incredible work! 🙂
Homework
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Lesson 3 homework
One side to the other – Story by Queenie
I don’t know what it’s like to be on the other side of that bridge. Because no one has ever been there. There’s a village on the other side of the bridge, indulged in the mountains of emerald-green trees. “Ah reckon’ the other ‘illage wonders what it’s like in our ‘illage” Grandpa says with his strong accent. Our village is called ‘Lost’ and the other sides’ is called ‘found’. The bridge connecting it is called ‘help’. It is carved in gold at the bottom. But under the bridge, is absolute nothingness. You wouldn’t believe me but it’s true. If you drop a block of metal, you wouldn’t even hear a loud crash because it still wouldn’t have dropped to the ground. Because there is no ground.
I watched the news this morning. Found has been infected by a strange virus. “Coronavirus” Grandpa repeated, “Blimey, it says it killed more than nine hundred thousand!”. I sighed. So did my brother, Francesco. There was a deafening silence when we ate our boiling porridge Mary made (Mary was our older sister) whilst the burning furnace glanced on to my arm. Finally, Mary blurted out “The only cure for it is a herb named… Sonchus asper”. My brain was about to burst. I stood up as I began to speak. Grandma silenced me. I was boiling with fury. No one listened to me. Only our village owned the Sonchus asper! I stomped out of our: one-story, dilapidated and wooden shed where we lived. I sat by my work bench (that was one of the few things I owned in the world).
I heard that the first and last person who crossed that bridge was a man named Sir William. He crossed bridge and when he was at the middle, he vanished. “Just disappeared like old childhood memories!” Mary would utter (which I thought was a bit theatrical). Everyone has thought that bridge was cursed ever since.
I didn’t. I was determined to find a Sonchus asper and march on that bridge like a soldier. I was prepared.
At least I thought I was.
The Sonchus aspers appeared rather like dandelions but they were lighter in colour and had a long stem. I carefully plucked a few and put them into a worn picnic basket. Everyone was taking a morning to stroll to the strawberry farm so they wouldn’t notice me gone. I turned to the golden-legged bridge. I was reluctant at first, but then my heart started to beat faster telling me to hurry up. So, I did. I didn’t look down. Because if I did, I would fall. Being a coward always makes you fall.
“One step, two steps…” I muttered to myself. I was almost halfway to the bridge. I piercing voice shot through my ear. “JACOB! JACOB! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE!” Mary screamed, face as pale as paper. I ignored her like the rest of the family did to me. I was close to the middle. And I was scared. Being scared leads to bad things. I mindlessly strolled on to the middle. I was a flying bat for a second, then a prowling lion in the other.Note that the last sentence is meant to be confusing and a cliff hanger so do not be put off if you don’t understand 🙂
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I don’t know what it’s like to be on the other side of that bridge. Because no one has ever been there. There’s a village on the other side of the bridge, indulged in the mountains of emerald-green trees. “Ah reckon’ the other ‘illage wonders what it’s like in our ‘illage” Grandpa says with his strong accent. Our village is called ‘Lost’ and the other sides’ is called ‘found’. The bridge connecting it is called ‘help’. It is carved in gold at the bottom. But under the bridge, is absolute nothingness. You wouldn’t believe me but it’s true. If you drop a block of metal, you wouldn’t even hear a loud crash because it still wouldn’t have dropped to the ground. Because there is no ground.
I watched the news this morning. Found has been infected by a strange virus. “Coronavirus” Grandpa repeated, “Blimey, it says it killed more than nine hundred thousand!”. I sighed. So did my brother, Francesco. There was a deafening silence when we ate our boiling porridge Mary made (Mary was our older sister) whilst the burning furnace glanced on to my arm. Finally, Mary blurted out “The only cure for it is a herb named… Sonchus asper”. My brain was about to burst. I stood up as I began to speak. Grandma silenced me. I was boiling with fury. No one listened to me. Only our village owned the Sonchus asper! I stomped out of our: one-story, dilapidated and wooden shed where we lived. I sat by my work bench (that was one of the few things I owned in the world).
I heard that the first and last person who crossed that bridge was a man named Sir William. He crossed bridge and when he was at the middle, he vanished. “Just disappeared like old childhood memories!” Mary would utter (which I thought was a bit theatrical). Everyone has thought that bridge was cursed ever since.
I didn’t. I was determined to find a Sonchus asper and march on that bridge like a soldier. I was prepared.
At least I thought I was.
The Sonchus aspers appeared rather like dandelions but they were lighter in colour and had a long stem. I carefully plucked a few and put them into a worn picnic basket. Everyone was taking a morning to stroll to the strawberry farm so they wouldn’t notice me gone. I turned to the golden-legged bridge. I was reluctant at first, but then my heart started to beat faster telling me to hurry up. So, I did. I didn’t look down. Because if I did, I would fall. Being a coward always makes you fall.
“One step, two steps…” I muttered to myself. I was almost halfway to the bridge. I piercing voice shot through my ear. “JACOB! JACOB! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANCE!” Mary screamed, face as pale as paper. I ignored her like the rest of the family did to me. I was close to the middle. And I was scared. Being scared leads to bad things. I mindlessly strolled on to the middle. I was a flying bat for a second, then a prowling lion in the other. -
THE MAKING OF A NEW SUPERHERO
When the school bell rang the children swirled around the school to grab their belongings and meet their parents it looked a bit chaotic like a children hurricane but there was a boy who was especially exited because he was walking home himself (for the first time) his parents said to go straight home but he had a cheeky idea…
The wheat field was swaying left and right as if the earth was breathing in mystic energy.
Uncle Acorn (it is not his real name it is his nick name because the shape of his head and hair style reminded him if an acorn) had recently discovered a large smooth section of wall. It was an ideal canvas that they could use spray paint on it (deep inside the gloomy mine shaft).
As they entered to the scene the boy immediately took of his backpack which contained all the spray paints. While he was getting ready, uncle acorn set up a music box and when the boy started spraying paint uncle acorn gave advice not to rush it.
After an hour or so they managed to finish the wildest picture ever. They enjoyed their time together and had made a crystal-clear message on the graffiti “EXPECTATIONS”.
Soon they had to leave and the boy wanted to take a photo but while he was taking a photo a shiny jet-black sparkling spider crawled up his sleeve and bit his hand. Although spider’s do not hurt that much, he felt very strange but brushed the strangely hard spider of.
The next day, although he didn’t know, he sensed his mother packing in apples for his lunch and called down “I don’t want apples mum!”,” how do you know I am packing apples for your lunch?” she asked. The boy was surprised and shocked as well. Everything became more intense, the birds chirping became clearer, he knew what his dad was doing even though he was a mile away at his office, and it felt like fireworks of visions were flicking up in his brain. It also felt like he was stuck to his bed.
Then the strangest thing happened, a blackish blue and a bit pink dot revealed itself. As he looked, he noticed the little dot became bigger and bigger until it was the size of his bedroom. He saw earth but not his earth, he saw characters similar to his world but they were paler and had strange and funny looking hair on their head. Their bodies were also not shaped like diamonds. Did I tell you name of the boy was Crystal Parker? Sorry if I didn’t.
(to be continued…)
In to the spider-verse
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2020 was a boring year. I had to be stuck at home because of covid. But I kept on thinking about camp tapawingo, a summer camp that I went to last year. I thought about how much I missed my friends and the sports that I had to do every day. Comparing home from Camp, I can think of so many differences.
The day before camp tapawingo I was nervous and excited. My friends Lexa and Milla went to camp Tapawingo too. I knew them, because they go to the same school as I do. On the day I was going to Camp tapawingo. I was all packed up. Most of my stuff was already In Camp tapawingo. The bus I went on was pretty big. The ride was around 6 hours and ½. This Camp was the furthest sleep away camp that I went to in my life. I was sitting with my friend Milla on the big bus. Milla said that the camp was all the way in Maine. I started to get excited. Once I got on the bus, I slowly got to know other campers, who were very nice to me, and I started to fit in with them quickly.
Once we were almost at Camp Tapawingo, everyone was super excited. We arrived before we knew it. I was sure camp Tapawingo was going to be great. We went to our bunks and ate dinner. I had to pray before I ate dinner, which I had never done before. After that we went back to our bunks and got ready for bed. The first day of camp was soon going to end.
The first week went by quickly, and I learned a lot of stuff. I met new friends, learned how to horseback ride, a lot of songs, how to make a friendship bracelet, and much more. I thought that Camp Tapawingo taught girls how to be independent and to be creative. Camp Tapawingo was on the edge of a forest. I swam in a very big pound and took swimming lessons in the pound too.
When I learned how to ride a horse, it was really fun. I learned how to trot and walk with a horse. I felt really proud when I did horseback riding, because I was on a horse and I was taller. This just made me feel good. I started to get better and better every time I took the class, but when I took my 7th or 8th class I fell off my horse. Ouch! I got a little out of control and fell off. The horse back riding teacher helped me up and helped me back on the horse. It was like I didn’t even fall off because my instructor told me that It is fine if I fall I’ll just get better. That made me feel great!
I felt so passionate and independent during the days when I was at Camp Tapawingo, it was heartbreaking to leave the camp.The last a few days at the camp were bumpy for me. It felt cloudy all the time, and I didn’t want to do anything. I was already looking forward to coming back next year before I even left. … But now I couldn’t, because of Covid-19.
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s lesson we looked at poetry writing, particularly focusing on the work of William Shakespeare, considering how he used rhyme, rhythm and imagery to create vivid poems. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and is necessary in order to write the homework, as it contains the source poem that the homework is based upon. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on rhythm and meter (such as iambic pentameter), rhyme schemes, poetic techniques, imagery creation and also contains an analysis of the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, along with another analysis of ‘Double, Double, Toil and Trouble’ from Macbeth, which is the source poem that the students should use to write their homework (copying the rhyme scheme, number of syllables per line, first couplet and general theme in order to create their own re-imagining of this famous poem). The homework slide below also contains an example of what the homework should roughly look like. Everyone worked fantastically today, I was super impressed by all the prior knowledge and experience the class had in poetry writing and also at the enthusiasm and passion with which the students spoke and wrote about poetry. They all grasped some very difficult concepts incredibly fast and showed a real aptitude for poetry and close textual analysis. I was particularly impressed by the class’s work on rhyme, rhythm and meter, where they analysed two Shakespearian poems perfectly and contributed some outstanding ideas on the effect of these poetic features. It was an absolute joy to teach today’s class, I am really impressed with all of you and think the work you all produced today was really sophisticated and mature. Well done guys and keep up the wonderful work! Have fun writing your Shakespearian poems 🙂
Homework
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No friend-chip!
There has been protesting and debates going on about whether fast food should be excluded from society. Of course, many younger people would argue that fast food should be respected as it is delicious, convenient and makes a superb dinner on a Monday evening. From this point onwards, however, it is I, Gwenivere Sanchers’ opinion.
I think we should completely wreck all this fast-food nonsense!! I believe this because, firstly, fast-food is SO expensive, I would much rather eat dirt than eat these greasy pieces of bread that you crazy people call burgers. You might be thinking that I am mad, eating dirt over your chips, or whatever there called, but it’s true! Do you not agree that a nice bowl of salad (dirt) is way more bargainous than of pack of stupid, idiotic and infuriating pack of chips?
Another crucial point is that junk food is much less healthy and nutritious than other food. It is scientifically proven that if you, reader, eat just another bucket of KFC chicken legs or another pack of French fries, increase your chance of getting coronavirus by 64%. How tragic! Someone in the right mind now, after reading this, would cancel their Domino’s pizza order and warn others, I suggest you do the same. The government has recently stated that eating healthy will not only benefit you but your family members too!
You see, the fumes fast-food companies use can literally kill whoever breathes it in if they smell this regularly. That horrible greasy odour is terrible and hazardous at the same time. I will not believe my ears if I hear that fast-food stores haven’t shut down yet, because putting these horrible fumes into products that people eat thinking it is an ideal meal but instead, they are getting poisoned is illegal.
My final point is that young people need to learn how to cook themselves. They obviously (or I hope) won’t be eating this junk for the rest of their lives because that would be nothing but a terrible lifestyle! Children need to grow up to be independent, not always crying for their parents’ help. It won’t be much help for our country’s children to be just buying fast-food. If they want to learn how to cook, they will have to step away from this horrible food that shops are serving us.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend not eating food that won’t nourish us, as it would not benefit our lives in any way.
Signing off,
Gwenivere Sanchers(the character narrating this was from disguises for a bad reason, if ou didn’t notice 🙂
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Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.Three dragon eggs from the highland,
Conjure slaughter traitor silent.Withered flowers used to charm,
Praying soldiers arm in arm.Tooth of snake, horn of bull, heat of flame,
Orders glooming centuries of shame.For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. -
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Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
The hiss of a slithering snake,
Feel your body begin to shake.
Tail of a cat and wing of a bat,
Eyes of hawks and ear of a rat.
Add them all in, as I do care
To introduce a Lochness glare.
In the caldron lives an odor,
Or you could say, a strange aroma.
For a charm of powerful trouble
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble -
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Double,double,toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and colden bubble,Little lion on the broom,
Stick and shatter, what todo,
Come and play like it is day,
Stick a cobweb on your face,
Bite your tongue and let it bleed,
Dripping down your face like ways,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s lesson we looked at historical writing, how to conjure up images of the past and create whole different, and unfamiliar worlds against the backdrop of the Stone Age. We looked at inferring various pieces of information based on source material, other pieces of historical writing, and our background knowledge of history, and considered how to put ourselves in the shoes of people from the past and write descriptively about it, particularly thinking about dialect (how people speak differently), character development (how they might act differently) and sensory language (how the world around them might be different). The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and should be used to completed the stories assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on story planning, character creation, descriptive vocabulary, background knowledge about the Stone Age, our thoughts on ‘a day in the life of a Cave Man’, and how to compare and contrast different pieces of source material, noting the differences in presentation of Stone Age life between a short story and a Horrible Histories video. Today’s class were fantastic, they focused incredibly well and came up with some really exciting and enthusiastic answers to tasks set in the lesson. I really liked how they all used and shared their historical knowledge really effectively and they were particularly good at considering how we can view the past through different perspectives and lenses. They wrote beautifully using very descriptive language and demonstrated a very wide and impressive range of literary techniques- I am super impressed by their work today! Really well done guys and I will see you next week 🙂
Homework
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Slowly , the golden god climbed up the treacherous trees (which were arching their gnarled , ugly and prolonged fingers at the high sky as if praying)beginning his days work shepherding the clouds riding to tomorrow . Ugg, that bushy haired man , no ! Not him ,There , yes , is a caveman . He woke up feeling rather hungry today as he didn’t get the usual mammoth today but a few lizards and rats . He was grumpier than the grumpiest caveman in the world . “ Ugg is hungry !” He shouts as the smell of rotten meat (yes they ate this in this period) danced into his rather big nostril . The others stared at him , then , one by one , they grabbed their sharp , stone spears ( who other types of spears would you expect so i wouldn’t need to add it ) and started shouting how much they could eat ‘ me can eat big big mammoth!’ one of them thundered .
They were the savage lions in Savannah as they headed out . Spotting a mammoth was easy ( I mean a brown spot in a sea of white was pretty obvious ) but killing one was hard . They needed a plan and they are good at it with a developing brain . They remembered the way their father used to kill , driving it into a swamp . Was there anything more dangerous than the caveman’s spears and their disgusting breath ?
Ugg’s heart jumped to his throat , he had an idea , he stared at the mountain , listened for the stampedes and the feelings of the sharp stones cutting into his foot , a torch came up his head . The weather was foggy like a wall of white as he howled with laughter at this discovery . The sun brightened as he happily told his companions the plot . Suddenly they all sprinted in opposite directions . A few minutes later a roar of a gigantic creature with enough meat for one year surged into the mountains right into a death trap . Ugg and some of the companions scrambled to the top of the mountain and threw millions and millions of rocks on the mammoth . The animal , eyes wild slammed into a rock and landed on his bottom looking rather bemused . Even though the fight lasted for over an hour but the homo sapiens won at last . The victorious men carried their trophies home for a good night of barbecue strolling into the horizon.
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I woke up sleepily and was greeted with a light of melted gold blinding me. Some of the other cavemen had already woken up and was already soaked in sweat. There was no more time for sauntering, I knew, as had lots of jobs to do today. A ragged man strolled up to me and signaled at the mouth of the cave. I sighed and lethargically moved towards the exit. Hunting was something I was known for. It was my job to hunt for the men in my cave and get something in return. I was good at this mostly because I was ‘as fast as light’. At the corner of my eye, I spotted a pig hiding amongst the bushes.
I followed the auburn pig through the emerald green palace of nature and pounced like a lion onto it. Closing my eyes, I stabbed it. Blood gushed onto me like a rushing river and I heard a deafening squeal. Hurting animals always made me feel a terrible feeling, guilt. Guilt for me, felt like a massive boulder on your chest and you have to do something to shake it off. I clutched the creature bye its ear and threw it onto a stone in my cave. When I peered at the younger children eat it hungrily, and sadness glanced at my heart. When the pale goddess dawned on me, I felt a feeling of uneasiness trickle through my spine. There was something wrong. -
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BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG … it’s Summer, it’s Autumn, it’s Winter, it’s Spring. A cave man frantically clutching a big heavy and rocky hammer and smashes it on to a big chunk of stone to create even more hammers. Time is flying bye as fast as a lightning bolt (WOOOSH). Slowly the caveman began to realise, it was just a dream and the dripping of the water from the stalactites played in the same rhythm like the hammering in his dream. He was dozing in a very uncomfortable cave it was stinky and wet but this was the best place for a haggard caveman to live back then in the stone age, and so an ordinary day began for him (miserable).
Suddenly, the smell of food drifted in to the cave the smell tingled on to the cave man’s nose as his eyes flashed wide open. His primitive mind started to act and all of a sudden one word spilled out of his mouth “FFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD”. His wife was cooking a big delicious fish over a fire. As he stumbled out of the cave, he noticed that he was in a competition with a bit of pushing and shoving with his other family members that had the exact thought like him.
At a shore of a large lake in Mesopotamia, the family was trying to catch fish to eat. Soon his friend’s mum’s uncle’s dad’s son rushed in and explained in a loquacious spell he had created a new invention. It was essentially a circular block that was spinning to make pots easily. The cave man looked brightly confused (or was is it stupidly smart?). A few moments later he was astonished by the efficiency of the machine. One day when they were using the machine the circular block toppled over and rolled on the floor. This gave the cave man an idea. He connected two circular blocks (he called them wheels) and pushed a log through a hole in the centre of both wheels. He constructed the first ever pulling cart by putting a few planks on top of the log. This was a fabulous invention for a number reasons it was fun for rolling around also it was good for transporting big animals when they killed.
Although life was hard back then he and his wife still had some precious moments at a special place at the top of the hill. For miles and miles, they could see the beautiful scenery as the sun was smiling over them ready to end the day. On the hill the caveman dozed off on the pulling cart. Suddenly, a gust of wind pushed the cart which sent it rolling down the hill. It was a bumpy ride and he could barley hang on. At the bottom of the hill the cart exploded fiercely in to tiny little bits and he face planted in to the mud. Suddenly a thundering roar from a tiger who was agitated about being interrupted stormed out of his cave. It was an intense moment as there was a deafening silence while both looked each over in to their eyes. They both knew a fight about life and death was about to emerge.
(to be continued…)
The survival of the fittest
By Maximilian Tang
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The Missing Cavemens
It was a really long day. My back was covered in sweat and I stink. I have not had a swim at the pool in forever. I needed some way to clean myself up. When I walked to my cave I noticed that some of the other cavemen were cooking something that smelled so refreshing. I went to check out what they were making. As I went closer to it, my face was lighting up with streaks of gold. I looked at what the other cavemen were cooking, it was a turkey, a cow and some dried fruits. This was definitely made by a lot of effort. After I looked at the delicious food, my mouth was covered in drool. I wiped off with my rags and headed over. I looked at the cavemen but they looked different. They looked unnatural, but I just went along with it. I asked them if I could join them. All of them froze. Why? All of them squawked in fright and ran away, but good for me I could have the food. MMMMMMM…… It was so good. It tasted different then last time, but in a good way. I could hear the crackling of the fire and saw the soak surround the cooking turkey. It was quiet. This didn’t feel right, usually the other cavemen would cheer and chatter around me, but today no one was by my side, only coldness and wind. What was happening? Where are the other cavemen?
I got up from the splintery log and walked out of the cave. I looked at the tent that was next to the cold tree. The tent was all raggy and didn’t look so good, but I checked it anyway. Nothing, just air and old sticks and twigs. How am I ever going to find the other cavemen. Then I heard some voices that didn’t sound like the cavemen I know, but I just kept on listening. The cavemen were getting closer. Some of them wore these weird dangling things on there head and others were wearing cool clothes. I looked at myself, I was not like any of them. This is getting weird. Where are the other Cavemen? I searched the woods, but after I got deeper and deeper in the woods. I heard a bang, then a drag, what could this be? I realized that I haven’t checked one place yet… the pound. No one likes to go to the pond. It’s super scary at night. It has coats of fog and if you dip your toe in the water you will feel a squish of mud and pointy sticks. I really don’t like to go there, but I have to find the other cavemen.
I held my breath as I walked down the hill. I barely could see where I was going. My mind was full of thoughts, that any minute they could race out of my head. My feet started stinging and I heard a crack. I started to get more and more shaggy. What was happening to me? Something is definitely wrong
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s lesson we looked speech writing, thinking about how speeches use both persuasive and poetic techniques and using the prompt of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, one of the most influential and well-written speeches in history. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and should be used to help plan and write the speeches assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on speech writing techniques, the structure of a speech, what makes the I Have a Dream speech so powerful and effective, ideas on audience awareness, character creation and thoughts on the persuasive and literary devices that can be used in speeches to help corroborate the speaker’s point. The class was absolutely outstanding in today’s lesson, each and every student was super focused and enthusiastic throughout. They all came up with some amazing ideas about what makes Martin Luther King’s speech so powerful, analysing his use of metaphor, repetition and rhyme beautifully, and thinking deeply about the historical context. I was really impressed by the level of thoughtfulness and maturity that everybody demonstrated in this class, and thought that their creation of presidential characters was really creative and intriguing. This class are wonderfully engaged and inquisitive, always wanting to learn more about the subject and go above and beyond. Really well done everyone and have fun writing your speeches for homework- remember to make sure your president’s personality shines through in the language and tone that you use! I look forward to seeing you all next week 🙂
Homework
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The golden orb flew across the sky throwing his rays of happiness and sunlight across the world. It was a happy day. A new president has been elected(they were mainly happy because Donald Trump has been impeached) . Slowly, a foot snuck out of the white house’s door , everyone cheered louder than the loudest cry ever seen (or heard) . The man finally came out . He had a head like a horse’s (why the long face ?)and little ratty whiskers . The crowd died suddenly .
“Citizens of America!” He began , “ my name is Justin Case , over the years of hardworking and never ending sweat , i have learned.” He shouted. Everybody seemed to lean forward suddenly interested to hear his first thought. “ I have learned that earth is not how it is and should be the opposite. I have learned that the country has been ruled by a clown , a man who never understood his words. I have learned that earth is and will be a disgrace without the help of me or Mother Nature ! I shall change the ways people most hate and I will take out all the sins and add love and respect to nature , we shall abolish all the nine wrongdoings . We shall make global warming a thing that does not stand in our way and face it like a real offspring of Jesus and look straight into its ugly , menacing eyes ! We shall be brave , loyal to the creator of us , Homo sapiens , to make us what we are and will be ! So let’s not make her feel shame but happiness from the billions of our hearts !”
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Gwenivere Sancher’s Speech.
I stepped on to the stage. It was my time to shine!
I took a deep breath. Start out slow. Millions of people watching. My nation watching, hearing my heartbeat.
“It is I, your new US president, Gwenivere Sancher, saying her first speech, this faithful day.” I stumbled across the words, fear clutching me by the throat. I knew that everyone was probably judging me but the moment I finished that line, there was a deafening clap. Fear let me go, and I was free. “Do you care about your future?” I began with a low, cold voice, “Do you care about other’s future?”. There was a wave a perplexed, confused faces. “Our planet is being killed by her own children” I uttered, “America is becoming a horrible place for us”. Silence. “Have you ever gone to work, and not seen soda cans littered messily across the gravel?” I asked rhetorically, “No, you haven’t. And let me tell you something you need to keep in your mind, our future is STOLEN, and we are the thieves”. The crowd rose and soon the claps grew.
“There are bins scattered across roads, parks, supermarkets, and yet some citizens cannot just their garbage into the hole, but lazily litter it.” I said with a strong voice. “We are not joking when we say that we will fine you and put you into jail for 24 hours if you litter under our eye”.
“It will benefit our beautiful generation, I promise you”. My voice was shaky again. “It will benefit your generation”. The claps rose once again, like a wave.
“The future of America needs me, you and us to succeed them, we will continue our nation for as long as we want it to continue. Think of it like this, the nation is YOUR family, so if you don’t protect it, your family will perish like rising flames being put out by cold water. Do you want that to happen?”. That was my final line. I had done it. This time everyone stood up and clapped for a long time, it felt like centuries. I stepped of the stage with a bright smile joining from ear to ear. I had made a difference. -
Gwenivere Sancher’s Speech.
I stepped on to the stage. It was my time to shine!
I took a deep breath. Start out slow. Millions of people watching. My nation watching, hearing my heartbeat.
“It is I, your new US president, Gwenivere Sancher, saying her first speech, this faithful day.” I stumbled across the words, fear clutching me by the throat. I knew that everyone was probably judging me but the moment I finished that line, there was a deafening clap. Fear let me go, and I was free. “Do you care about your future?” I began with a low, cold voice, “Do you care about other’s future?”. There was a wave a perplexed, confused faces. “Our planet is being killed by her own children” I uttered, “America is becoming a horrible place for us”. Silence. “Have you ever gone to work, and not seen soda cans littered messily across the gravel?” I asked rhetorically, “No, you haven’t. And let me tell you something you need to keep in your mind, our future is STOLEN, and we are the thieves”. The crowd rose and soon the claps grew.
“There are bins scattered across roads, parks, supermarkets, and yet some citizens cannot just their garbage into the hole, but lazily litter it.” I said with a strong voice. “We are not joking when we say that we will fine you and put you into jail for 24 hours if you litter under our eye”.
“It will benefit our beautiful generation, I promise you”. My voice was shaky again. “It will benefit your generation”. The claps rose once again, like a wave.
“The future of America needs me, you and us to succeed them, we will continue our nation for as long as we want it to continue. Think of it like this, the nation is YOUR family, so if you don’t protect it, your family will perish like rising flames being put out by cold water. Do you want that to happen?”. That was my final line. I had done it. This time everyone stood up and clapped for a long time, it felt like centuries. I stepped off the stage with a bright smile joining from ear to ear. I had made a difference. -
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Summary for Lesson 7
In this week’s lesson we looked at the concept of genre, and how we can used genre as a lens through which to think about and play around with literary conventions in our writing. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and includes the titles that the homework stories should be written on. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on the role of genre in writing, how to use genre to create unique and interesting literary techniques, how to analyse genre using an excerpt from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein- thinking about how literature rarely falls solely into one genre- and on how to use genre and literary techniques in the class’s own writing. The class worked fantastically today, everyone was hugely creative and enthusiastic in their contributions and I absolutely loved the genre based literary techniques the students wrote. I was really impressed by the level of understanding that the class exhibited regarding lots of new concepts, and loved that they were able to refer back to content in previous lessons and use it to make their work even more exciting. I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s ideas on the importance and utility of genre as a concept, and thought that the way they used it to help structure and add to their own writing was superb. I am really looking forward to reading all the genre-based stories they come up with for homework, as I feel the class demonstrated a really talent for using genre as a creative outlet to add sparkle to their work. Really well done everyone, keep up the fantastic energy and I will see you all next week 🙂
Homework
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Slowly , the golden god climbed up the treacherous trees ( which were arching their gnarled , ugly and long fingers at the high sky as if praying) . Luke , the crow-haired boy , jumped off his giant bed knowing that today might be very unlucky . He inched down the stairs trying really hard not to fall . Finishing his breakfast and pulling his shoes up for a walk .
The whole world seemed to be staring at him , birds stopped chirping , wind stopped blowing . A cold shard of ice slipped down his spine freezing his body like a statue . He felt something . You know , dear readers , the feeling of someone watching you , well that was the same feeling with this boy . Suddenly , a loud crash thundered around the house crashing Luke’s eardrums . He whimpered . He ran out of the house while a little strip of steam followed him …
On his way to the park, something strange is always happening such as feeling a cold pair of hands lightly touch his elbow . Suddenly , he glimpsed at two pairs of large , black eyes stared at him from behind a car . When Luke looked closer , he witnessed two faces . They all have blond ponytails and small delicate noses . The queerest of all is that they both wore the same tutor period blue robes. Must be some early halloweeners , he thought even though it was still May.This is his first mistake of the day .But he walked on.He seemed however, to see the kids wherever he was …
Luke decided to follow the children , which my dear readers will be his second mistake and the one that will cost him the most .He followed the children into a shaggy old and rundown dwelling which is named the witch’s house as people have witnessed creepy old faves staring out of the windows . The moment he enters the abode . The large metal door slammed shut leaving him to the hands of loneliness and the dark . Suddenly the twins appeared and whispered “come and play with us.” As quick as lightning , a note slid from under the door . But there was one problem . The note came from under the clauset ! And this was the last thing Luke saw .
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The Twins
It is seven minutes past midnight. I stand in the middle of the back yard with my twin sister, Eleanor. Eleanor had identical features of me – a black ponytail, empty, soulless eyes, fair skin, a non-existent shadow. She is my clone; no one could tell us apart. My eyes itch. I want to scratch it, but I can’t. I want to feel guilty in the things I do, but I can’t. I want to feel joy, euphoria, but I can’t. I would do ANYTHING for the freedom I deserve.
I peer at her. She peers at me. She is my mirror, my same reflection. The pale goddess’ bright ray of light glances at my shoulder and I shiver. Slowly, I move a finger and soon my body was working. Hers is too. I glide towards the gate and slams it shut. We move to the next-door-neighbor’s house. Why, you may ask? I don’t know. It is fate I suppose. We can’t decide fate you see. Most people can, by doing something marvelous or doing something as malicious as murder.
I knock on Mrs. Bates’ door. No answer. Eleanor knocks on Mrs. Bates’ door. No answer. “It isn’t any use, sister” she murmurs in a controlled, passive voice. I nod and grasp the door handle. She does the same. The door handle gets covered in black plasma and the door opens. A warm light emits. I enter. My twin stands on the spot like a stone statue. I signal her to come. She ignores me and stares at me emptily. I shrug. This wasn’t normal, she was my exact reflection. It was as if…the mirror has been shattered. “I don’t want to do this” she whispers in the soft, breeze. I look at her emotionlessly then walk off. Mrs. Bates was in the kitchen. Perfect. I seize a knife. One…two…three…blood was shed everywhere. I did not move; I was afraid to stir.
The next day, the police arrives at my house. I did not think of them coming, I was the best murderer among us all. Despite my twin being my mirror reflection, light couldn’t keep up with my deafening silence. The police escorts us to the station. He asks me if I know anything. I say five words “It was my other half”.By Queenie
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Max Forest
In the capricious village there is a mercy lady called lily, she have a son called Max Forest , if you depending on the appearance he just like the normal boy in the village ,but the fact is the doesn’t have the same iQ as the normal contemporary, because Forest only have IQ of 70 so is hard to find a school to fit a boy like Forest. Even know Forest is not smart, but remember he have a wonderful and mercy mum that she will fancy him forever .
Mum went to every corner in the village finally find a school for Forest. “what a fascinating time, Forest tomorrow you gonna go to a school baby i know there is lots of things you have to confront but believe me you gonna to making new friend in school i promise” mum says to Forest with elated sound.”okay -mum” says Forest slowly ,laying on his bed with excitement hop his life will be embellish by tomorrow.
when Forest waken in the morning’s hush, the mood of happiness was like the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. he run downstairs with hilarious speed dressing up quickly, run in to the yellow beefy school bus wish he and his classmate can have a happy and harmonious time.Unfortunately no one tell Forest to sit next to them and staring at him with odd expression in their eyes , on one want to sit next to him till he listen in a angelic voice from a captivating girl , that was the sweetest voice Forest ever heard in his whole life ,the girl says”hi i’m Jenny, you can sit here if you want to” when he sit down the chair their seems like their used to be best friend . Meanwhile Jenny help Forest every time and Forest begin to learn things that is hard for him to do, he is not smart but he wont gives up.
Time flies, they went through lots of things together, they both grew up and they still are best friend . Forest became a successful business man working on the shrimp business and playing table tennis all around the world . Jenny is a wonder piano player travel around world with Forest. what does Forest really treasure in his life was this valuable friendship.
You can still be happy and successful even you have some shortcoming but if you are working hard like Forest nothing is impossible, your life won’t be drab and boring it will be like a piece of lovely drawing with ten thousand different colour on it.
Life was like a box of chocolate , you never know what are you gonna get.
-molly
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“‘Ello,I’m Luke or you can call me Luke. Let me tell you about my story. i was born in a workhouse and raised by my no good maid who whipped me if i was not good so i escaped an’ survived by butchers around an’ water from the rich. I’ve been to my other friends who free the people but I think it’s ridiculous . The men call me a pickpocket but thou has to survive (giggle giggle) .even though i am promised year old , living under the bridges , i am tough an’ a quick learner,my green eyes can see through everything and anything . My maid says my i.q is very low ( whatever it means ) ,she says it’s under seventy and I think it was a compliment!”
Slowly , the old brown door creaked open showing an old woman no taller than Luke peered from behind and after realising the camera (cough) was staring right at her started screaming at Luke for making her look like a fool . She stormed away .”sorry that was my maid,i mean i told you she was a weird woman . Living in this time is just awful , my parents sold me only for two shillings for me to sweep chimneys . Life could be lucky or unlucky , i chose it wrong
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Hi everyone, I’m so sorry I just realised that my lesson summary hadn’t posted correctly for this week. I’ve extended the homework deadline to Sunday as a result. Here it is below 🙂
Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s lesson we looked at dialect writing, thinking about how to use language, in particular dialogue between characters, to help build authentic and vivid characters that are rooted in history, time and place. We considered this through the lens of Victorian London, thinking about the colloquialisms, idioms, dialect and slang particular to that period of history. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and should be used to help plan and write the conversations assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on what dialect means and how to use dialect in writing through thinking about slang from Victorian London, considering Cockney Rhyming slang, character creation and using Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens as inspiration. I was super impressed with everyone in today’s class and their understanding of the concept of dialect, and we had some amazing contributions from the class regarding dialect that they have identified in the places they live. The class’s grasp of Cockney Rhyming Slang was outstanding, and the enthusiasm with which they then created their own was fantastic! I was also really pleased with the analysis of dialect in Dickens completed by the students, which was really thorough, thoughtful and keen-eyed. Everyone picked up some very unfamiliar concepts with incredible speed and I was really impressed by how energised, enthusiastic and focused everyone was today. As always, it was an absolute pleasure to teach this class, really well done guys and I hope you have fun writing in Victorian dialect! Keep up the fantastic work!
Homework
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Robbie Michaels was a troublesome boy, roaming the streets like a bird watching its prey. He was also a very unpredictable and complicated person – dejected and glum one second and euphoric in the other. He was a very notorious boy; everyone knew his name because he caused too much ‘barney rubble’ (as the town folk say).
Robbie was rummaging through the crowded streets, ignoring the stares from a gang of gentlemen that hit him like an arrow. The word ‘manners’ wasn’t in his poor vocabulary as he spat back. The gentlemen shrieked and stalked away giving deathly looks. Robbie sprinted away like a rocket but unsurprisingly bumped into a fair-haired girl – Rosalind.
“Open yur mincers, lady!” shouted the aggravated boy.
“Well, my deepest apologies for you bumping into me, I am phlegmatic that it wasn’t my fault!” Rosalind scowled sarcastically.
“Stop ‘elling porkies, you owe me ‘ome sausage and mash!”
“Sausage and mash? What’s that, may I ask?” She asked, nebulous.
“Use yur loaf, girl!”
The golden-haired girl stared at Robbie with unadulterated confusion and as if he has gone mad.
“I don’t understand a word you are saying.”
“Course you don’, yur lost your mind!”
Rosalind was obviously too young to understand his’ language’, she was from England after all.
“I still don’t hear any sanity coming from your words, but I do wish you a farewell.”
And so she left, brushing her sun-kissed locks against his cheeks. He stood there mesmerised but then noticed she dropped a note.Dear Father,
I do hope you are doing alright – please say greetings to mother for me. England is such a fascinating and enthralling place; I love seeing new things! I most certainly will be on time to Mrs and Mr Michaels. I am excited to meet my temporary guardians.
Yours sincerelyLove from your affectionate daughter,
Rosalind McCalls
P.S. Please write back, I am yearning to hear your words once more.
BY QUEENIE
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s lesson we looked at a new branch of creative writing following all of our work on prose, poetry and persuasive writing: playwriting (aka script writing). The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and should be used to help plan and write the short play-scripts assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on the structure and features of a script, thoughts on stage directions, a glossary of dramatic terms, an extract from a Harold Pinter play which the class analysed and interpreted, and the play-writing prompts they need to include in their homework. Everyone worked really well together today, I really enjoyed hearing everyone’s imaginative and creative different interpretations of the Pinter playscript. The class demonstrated really good concentration today and took on a lot of unfamiliar concepts in a short amount of time. I was super impressed by their use of stage directions to frame the script within their own interpretation of the action, and thought the range and variety of interpretations they offered were fantastic. Really well done today everyone, keep up the great work and have fun writing your dramatic scripts for homework! 🙂
Homework
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Scene opens revealing a bathroom ( tense music )
Brother (hides in the shower face pale)
Mom enters scene through the door
Mom: Why are you hiding in the bathroom ?
Brother (immobile s a statue ): I heard some scratching noises from the ceiling so i thought it might be someone .
Mom listens carefully and shrugs : must be your imagination .
Brother (whimpering ) : but i heard it pounding and threatening me with its awful voice .
(Suddenly , roof cracks and a human shaped creature falls out of the hole and starts to run around the scene and staring at the audience )
Mom and son scream that verberates through the place as lights go off .
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ACT 1
The scene takes place in a typical classroom at school, chairs scattered everywhere.
MONIKA (a fair-haired girl who has a soft smile and big green eyes): Well, is everyone all set for our meeting?
(A short brown haired girl walks into the scene)
YUKI(the short brown haired girl): Ooo! I-I have something to show you!
(she takes out a mysterious black box from her uniform pocket, cups it in her hands and places it on the table)
MONIKA: Oh erm, what is this, Yuki, may I ask?
YUKI (smiling): It’s basically this magical amulet that grants wishes!
MONIKA (reluctantly): well, give a try.
(Yuki opens the black box and a ghost-like ‘thing’ pops out, leaving Monika in complete shock)
SPIRIT: What does thy wish to be interrupted?
YUKI: Hey, creepy-ghost-guy! YOU are a wish granter, right?
SPIRIT: Indeed, tis I, the wish granter. What does thy wish for?
MONIKA (excited): Ooo! A cat!
SPIRIT: You will get thy cat, in return, a human head please.
YUKI: Woah woah woah, a human head?!
(Monika shoots a glance at Yuki, worried)
YUKI: We don’t have a human head right now.
SPIRIT: Of course you do. I see 4 human heads right now.
(Yuki notices the rest of the club members, all with a puzzled and scared expression on their face)
MONIKA: Yuki, can you like, undo the wish?
YUKI: Wish-granter, I would like to undo the wish.
SPIRIT: I’m afraid that’s against the contract.
YUKI (scared) W-what do you mean?
SPIRIT: If I don’t receive a human head in the next 10.5 seconds, a curse shall be casted amongst the people in this room.
MONIKA: Oh no….WHat do we do??!!
(There is a blinding light, then the spirit disappears. )
MONIKA (a short brown haired girl): w-what just happened
YUKI (a fair-haired girl who has a soft smile and big green eyes): I’m more concerned on why you are..me and I am you?!
MONIKA: This is most definitely the result of a curse.
END OF SCENE
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The stolen treasure
By Maximilian
Scene: In the normal house.
Ben: (Tired) Why do I have to go to school?
Mother: (Calmly) It’s for your education.
Ben: (Irritated) But I already have LOADS of education…
Mother: (Interested) what type of education?
Ben: (Speak a bit posh) Well I have debate club, homework, piano, violin, football, cello, creative writing club, public speaking, climbing, swimming, etc
Mother: (A bit stunned) I guess… but you must go to school hurry up now!
Ben: (Groaning halls himself up) OK.
Next scene on the school bus.
Ben: (Groan)
The bus starts to get chilly and the windows now are covered in ice and the over children disappear.
Ben: (Splutters) what’s going on?
Ben Climes out of the bus.
Ben: (Nervous) What is this place?
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s final lesson we considered how to use emotive language, sensory language and description to write autobiographically. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below and should be used to help plan and write the autobiographical stories assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains lots of ideas on the conventions of autobiography, how to combine literary techniques and emotive language to relate to your reader, the structural elements of autobiography and a reflection on the important moments in our lives and why we still dwell on key events from our past. It also includes an extract from Roald Dahl’s autobiography as an example of a model autobiographical account. We had a lovely final lesson together, everyone thought very deeply about how to construct an emotive account of the crucial events in their lives and used literary techniques beautifully to relate these experiences. I was super impressed at how energetic everyone was and at the work they produced when thinking about combining techniques and emotive/ sensory language. We had some fantastic conversations regarding the Roald Dahl autobiography and the concept of honesty in autobiographical writing. I am super impressed by the energy and enthusiasm radiating from this group of students and have really loved teaching you all over the past ten weeks. You are all super inquisitive, fun and creative and a joy to teach! I hope to see you guys again in my future classes, but until then keep up the amazing work and keep writing as much as you possibly can! Thank you guys, you’ve all been brilliant and I hope to see you all soon 🙂
Homework
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It’s funny the things you remember about your childhood. A couple of years ago, I had a big netball tournament with my school and another school. In case you don’t know, netball is a sport kind of like basketball, but you can’t move/dribble with the ball in your hand. Anyways, I was team captain for my team. In netball fixtures like this, each school is separated into four teams and those four teams had a leader (chosen by teachers). I wasn’t very good at netball, so I wasn’t sure why the teacher appointed me as team captain.
I decided to do some shooting practice with my team members because we were a bit intimidated by the opposing team. I assured my team that of we tried hard, we would win but they disagreed with me and told me that the other school’s players were good at netball. My heart was scared, and the feeling of fear ran through my spine, but I knew that in order to win, you can’t be too scared or nervous. My team (which was called the ‘Magpies’) met the opposing team which was called ‘The Beetles’ (wow, what an original name!). Despite their name, it wasn’t really a fair game because they had 8 people on their team and The Magpies only had 7.
Netball was a big thing in our school (that was before we found out it wasn’t at big of a school and society thought of it as a carbon copy of basketball), so it would be a big deal if a team lost to the other. Netball was the core sport and every day, we played it. I wouldn’t say it is like this now, it isn’t because I resigned from being team captain and moved to football where I could experience something new.
When we started playing, there was a lot of tension because the beetles started with the ball and got their first goal. I was nervous and felt my hand sweating because I am that type of person who hates losing. It started heavily raining and it was hard to see so I squinted my eyes in hopes that I could somehow see better but no use. The opposing team scored ANOTHER goal and that was when we knew we had lost. When I refer to, we, I mean the others not me. I was still set on winning, so I held my team up and we continued playing as there was only a few minutes of match play left. Surprisingly each of us scored one point each! The finished scores was 7:2 to us and I was over the moon. -
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