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Summary for Lesson 1
In our first lesson of the course today we looked at the writing and style of William Shakespeare, thinking about the kind of stories he told and the themes, characters and motifs he was interested in, discussing how to use him as inspiration for the class’s own writing. As a class we discussed the genre of tragedy, analysing how Shakespeare used this in the play Hamlet and extrapolating this out to the students’ own work. They used the themes and ideas Shakespeare used beautifully, especially in creating their own Shakespearean villains driven by the desire for revenge, chaos and power. Everyone worked fantastically today, I really enjoyed hearing all their debates, discussions and ideas and was super impressed at their ability to identify and creatively interpret the themes and motifs of Shakespeare’s work. Keep up the wonderful work everyone, see you next week 🙂
Speech video of Lady Macbeth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN1BfA5YwSM&feature=emb_logo
There is no escaping Shakespeare video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv4fWhObaTM&feature=emb_logo
Hamlet summary video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlK3CRbXE-U
Homework
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Here is the speech by Darth
“I want to stab Marie right in the chest for revenge. How dare she play a horrid trick on me like that. How dare she trick me into embarrassing myself in front of the queen!!! She even lied to the queen and made her order her guards to execute me!!!!!!! I definitely have a right to pay her back! But I need Marie near me. I will have to spoil Marie. I will give her many presents and love. I will give her all my heart to her. Then she will trust me and stay close to me. The problem is that she is so attractive and everyone is spoiling her so there is no difference. Also, I’m a ghost so I don’t want to scare her out of her wits. But, will it work? Will she accept my friendship?”
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Hi Beth, here is my homework for lesson 4. Thanks, Tangtang.
Cathello’s speech
As the roaring, unmerciful sun shone at the breath-taken crowd; Cathello (who was the evilest of the evil) was pacing restlessly up and down in front of the speechless audience.
Then, it happened, she talked.
A volcano of disbelief erupted as no-one had ever heard the evilest genius talk before, she had a bad reputation. “Hello, people of … the land,” she blurted with a cunning smile forced onto her pale, bony face, “I have a proposal for you, a big one.” Silecnce regained its empire as Cathello hid her shame of having to talk. “I would like you to all to sign up for a competition, a contest to simply see who my fine apprentice will be and if you are lucky a strong successor of me. It will be taking place at the field were there is a single, sequestered scarecrow. The match will consist of the following activities: to be able to plot a plan of chicanery, to be able to escape the ‘good people’s’ capture and finally, to be able to celebrate the victory of evil. So, which one of you will take a risk, and don’t forget, I will teach you how to fight, to move like the swift wind, along the wind. The skill will run into you, even, adapt itself and find its place amongst you,” she cried with, surprisingly, enthusiasm. “This is a chance, an opportunity, a choice that only happens once in a lifetime. You would learn so much, the way I am able to escape every capture, every enslavement. Knowledge will create power, and power means respect. With no power, you will be bullied, like I was. All those horrible years of torture, circling inside my head and finally to lose control and end up like this,” with despondent gleams darkening in her eyes. -
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework. Thank you for the amazing lesson this week. See you soon!
Kind regards,
Claire
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Dear Beth,
This is the homework for the first class, thank you for the brilliant Shakespearean class and have a lovely rest of your week!
Thanks a lot,
Yichen
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s lesson we continued our work on Shakespeare, considering Shakespeare’s comedies and the language that he uses. We began with a fun exercise on transforming nursery rhymes into Shakespearian prose, unpicking how he uses language and then applying that to very simple songs and rhymes. We then considered what makes a Shakespearean comedy a comedy, thinking about the tropes he was famous for using such as mistaken identity, gender swaps and miscommunications, using A Midsummer’s Night Dream as a template to help the class contextualise their understanding. The students then wrote their very own Shakespeare-inspired comedic plots, thinking about the dramatic question their plot must answer. Everyone worked fantastically today, particularly when summarising the key features of Shakespearean comedies and thinking about how to use them themselves. Keep it up guys, well done and I’ll see you next time! 🙂
Article to read before completing the homework: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/mar/14/how-to-write-like-william-shakespeare
Video on the genre of Shakespearean comedy we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjAqfh9aY9Y
Video on A Midsummer Night’s Dream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCI6o-kbqrs
Homework
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Hi Beth, this is my homework, thanks for the great lesson. Tangtang.
Swapped twins(lesson2)
As 9 of clock rushed past 8 of clock, a sharp, piercing and painful shriek poisoned the clam atmosphere of the towering hospital, flooding the place with panic. An agonized sob replaced the smile on Mrs Green’s pale and slim face. Two crying babies emerged from under the sheet, covered in wet blood. The doctors bolted around the birthing room, frantically searching for the useless equipment that would take away the trio from the face of death. But luck decided otherwise…
Mrs Green slowly closed her wrinkled eyes and went to sleep on a trip to heaven. The silent witnesses had mournful looks slapped across their face, engraving guilt inside of them; now the mother died, the pair had no guardians as their father died at war years ago.
Waving with depression weighing down on him, the head doctor bid his farewells to the new-borns. Tears stung his cheeks as the unmerciful carriage took him away into thy grasp.
The orphanage owner painted an evil face on, while screaming betrayal, violence, and beating.
A few painful years crawled by carving obedience into their souls. One called Miranda, the other called Juliet. They had been beaten, bullied, trodden on, any type of violence thou could think of; the duo were weaker than others due to their early and traumatizing birth. Then, the officer appeared with the news. The separating news. One family, one twin d another twin another family. -
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the wonderful lesson. My homework for Lesson 2 is attached below. Thank you.
Best regards,
Yichen
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Dear Beth,
My homework for lesson 2 is attached. Thank you for the fantastic lesson. (Spoiler alert: I did a comedy!)
Thanks again,
Claire
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Dear Beth
Sorry for the late homework .I had a small problem with Word and I thought the due date was Sunday! How ever I did it it in the end. Here is my week 2 homework.
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Hi Beth, please find my story below. Thank you!
Tragedy and Disappearance
Outside was a starry night. Lily sneaked out of bed at 11 pm in her dorm. She slipped on her favourite, colourful and comfortable slippers her mother gave her for Christmas. Cautiously, she crept silently to the door so as not to wake her friends up. Lily trod softly over the creaky floorboards. Luckily, her friends slept like logs. When she reached the door, she slowly turned the polished, brilliant pure gold doorknob. As the door opened, Lily tiptoed outside. She then started half skipping, half walking to the headmistress’s study! Suddenly, Lily heard whispering and light footsteps. Lily dived behind the nearest sofa near her. Mrs Bowan (headmistress) was talking to a GHOST !!! Lily couldn’t believe her eyes. She rubbed them and pinched herself several times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Nope, she wasn’t dreaming. A cold chill breathed down her spine and cold sweat broke out. “Focus Lily focus, just get inside her study and copy down the exam answers,” thought Lily harshly to herself.
Before long, the ghost drifted away. Mrs Bowan opened the door then spinned around to wave goodbye and blow kisses. “This is my moment. The plan now was to grab the answers and run back to the dorm.” thought Lily. As quick as lightening, she quietly dashed to the door but unfortunately, Mrs Bowan decided to turn around. They bumped into each other and at the exact same moment it struck MIDNIGHT !!! It was so breathtaking, Lily forgot how to think for a minute. Both of their bodies collided. The pain was excruciating! Lily dragged herself to sit but needle-sharp bolts shot through her shoulders. Mrs Bowan clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. When Lily inhaled, another flash of pain had her seeing double as her head throbbed and her arm felt like it had been cut in two. After suffering from sssooo much pain, she yelled with all her life then collapsed on the stone floor.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Bowan gasped and kissed Lily on top of her forehead and realised how much chaos Lily caused by the yell. She swiftly disappeared through emerald green mist. After a while, teachers and a few children rushed to the sound of yell. They discovered Lily lying dead on a ruby red blanket. After sending the children home, the teachers covered the body up and sadly passed it over to her parents. Lily’s parents cried their hearts out when they found out! The only puzzling thing was, WHERE IS MRS BOWAN?????? Some people predicted that she murdered Lily and ran off. Other people predicted that Mrs Bowan was kidnapped and Lily heard the noise. She came down but was murdered by the captor. But nobody knew the truth.
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Thanks for great lesson,
sorry for being super late
Cats and dogs are such cute fluffy and loyal pets. Well, that’s what we think they are, but in the animal’s perspective we’re just a bunch of huge scary monsters.
Yarn (the cat/female) moaned to Bone (the dog/male) “I’d rather be dead than being called ‘fluffy balls’ again” as their owner Gabriela Corn petted her (even though it felt like she was about to choke.
Bone: “Why do we have to stay in this horrible house. we can escape!”
Yarn: “But…How?”
Bone: “Follow my plan and we will succeed.”
The more Yarn listened to Bone and the more Bone barked at her, the less and less she listened to him. So, one day, when Bone told her “Don’t you dare go over the road.” She didn’t listen, because Yarn thought that he was tricking her as usual, but he was correct about not going across the road and…The hit was fatal. The car killed her instantly. Bone was so depressed and sad he ate a chocolate bar (chocolate is poisonous for dogs).
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s lesson we started our work on the writing of Charles Dickens, thinking about what makes a book Dickensian and the various stylistic elements the class could harness to decorate their own writing. The class began by thinking about the history and context behind Dickens, looking at the themes and issues he was interested in and why. We then worked closely with two passages from Dickens, one from A Christmas Carol, one from Hard Times, discussing and debating his style, language and use of metaphor and the effect this had. The class shared some wonderful, powerful and well-informed ideas on Dickens’ social conscience and writing style, thinking about the verbose nature of his work and his background influences. Amazing work class, well done for all your brilliant knowledge and writing. Keep up the great work 🙂
Why you should read Dickens video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5czA_L_eOp4
The Black Veil story for homework: https://theshortstory.co.uk/devsitegkl/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Dickens-Charles-The-Black-Veil-short-stories.pdf
P.S. Here is a brief summary of The Black Veil (but it doesn’t include the ending which is the best bit!) https://sammicox.wordpress.com/2014/09/24/short-story-review-the-black-veil-by-charles-dickens/
Homework
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Hi Beth , this is my optional homework for lesson 3
Peering left and right, Oliver Smith (the surgeon) crept through the crowded streets of London where ragged people were flung along the street and fighting death’s tight arms. He was on a journey to the home of the strange lady that had visited him earlier with a black veil hanging over her unknown face. Thinking about the peculiar and mysterious encounter, Smith felt an unexpected snake slither silently down his curved spine and bite him, the poison resulting in his fear. ‘She really was scary, also , she forgot to pay! I wonder if she really was ill and if the patient is dead already’ he thought, trying to clear his mind of a variety of stinging emotions: anxiety, disgust in the homeless, and much more. He twisted an turned, weaving in and out of the poor souls who begged for mercy and money. Sweat drenched him, fear grabbed him around his throat and then, everything was black. -
Hi Beth , this is my optional homework for lesson 3(sorry , the previous copy didn’t,update,the following is correct)
Peering left and right, Oliver Smith (the surgeon) crept through the crowded streets of London where ragged people were flung along the street and fighting death’s tight arms. He was on a journey to the home of the strange lady that had visited him earlier with a black veil hanging over her unknown face.
Thinking about the peculiar and mysterious encounter, Smith felt an unexpected snake slither silently down his curved spine and bite him, the poison resulting in his fear. ‘She really was scary, also , she forgot to pay! I wonder if she really was ill and if the patient is dead already’ he thought, trying to clear his mind of a variety of stinging emotions: anxiety, disgust in the homeless, and much more.
He twisted an turned, weaving in and out of the poor souls who begged for mercy and money. Sweat drenched him, fear grabbed him around his throat and then, everything was black. -
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the amazing lesson! My homework is attached below. Have a lovely rest of your week!
Best Regards,
Yichen
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Hi Beth ,an interesting book you sent us. I got a few ideas from the book and also used an idea or 2 from Tang Tang .P.S. Also new vocab from me, bums dos not <span style=””>ownly</span> (not sure how to spell ownly)mean anus, it also means beggars \tramps. I used it on my optional homework.
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework for week 3. Thank you for the brilliant lesson! I thought the book was quite interesting.
Kind regards,
Claire
P.S. This is the shortest story I have ever wrote (I think).
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Summary for Lesson 4
In today’s class we completed our work on Charles Dickens, using all that we have learnt about him so far to inspire some modern Dickensian tales. We began with re-capping the Dickensian elements of The Black Veil, thinking about how he presents a mix of ghost story and morality tale, before moving on to clarifying a few more important elements of his writing and ideas. We then thought about the lessons from Dickens that we can learn today, thinking of some modern parallels such as the rise in poverty due to Covid-19 or child labour in India. The class then used these modern parallels to come up with some fantastic Dickens-inspired characters and to help them think about the classic, floral Dickensian style that focuses on the use of description, metaphor and complex vocab. Lovely work today everyone- keep up the great ideas and well done for all your creativity today. See you next week 🙂
Video on Dickens that we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5czA_L_eOp4
Dickens’ Likes and Dislikes website: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publishing/review/20/why-dickens-so-popular/
Homework
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Hi Beth, thanks for the amazing lesson on Dickens, I really enjoyed it. Here is my homework for Lesson 4 ,Tangtang.
As the tower bell tolled 12, crows were hung above in the sky, like marionettes whose strings were tangled. The merciless streets of London(which were full of curses and filth) lay out underneath carrying the poor and homeless. A dark figure lurched around the corners of the unwanted slums and buildings whilst leaving a scent of danger and threat behind him. Panting frantically after him was the man’s dog that had a dark , black ring around its hollow and mad eye. It bore its razor-sharp teeth, displaying the yellowness of the fangs and presented proudly its long, dagger-like claws qualified for throat-slitting.
Bill Sikes grinned as he heavily trudged towards the door where he expected gold.
Barging in, he yelled, “Hey, Fagin! Get me some gin , will ya?” A grunt came in reply as a poorly-dressed man appeared through the doorway, with a dirty towel(which was hanging on its last threads)flung over his square shoulder. Eying the goods like a greedy god, Bill flooded with excitement and excuses to take all of it. Casually looking left and right, a battered hand crept towards the chest overfilling with stolen wealth and retrieved a pearl necklace which contented the owner. “Put it back, Bill, you know I can see you, and anyways , I’ll make the fair share when the others wake up, we got a new one today,” Fagin called, with an annoyed sting hanging in his mouth, “Oliver, wake up, come on!”
Clumsily tripping over himself, the frightened and shaken boy staggered towards the criminals expecting him to be a natural. “He’s a li’le small, don’t ’cha think?”
Quicker than an eagle diving like an air abomination, the rough man jumped out of the crooked chair and bolted, targeting the entrance. Although the drunk man was weighted and sent silent , slithering snakes down everyone’s back, the old , slim man was able to dissuade him from fleeing the scene.
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Dear Beth,
This is my homework
Once upon a time, in a modern-day city, there lived a young woman named Emily. She was a hardworking waitress at a local diner, struggling to make ends meet. Emily’s life was a constant struggle, as she had to deal with the daily challenges of living in a city that was indifferent to her plight. Despite her hardships, Emily remained optimistic and hopeful that things would get better.One day, Emily’s life took a turn for the worse when she lost her job at the diner. With no other options, she was forced to take a job at a factory where she worked long hours for little pay. The factory was owned by a wealthy businessman named Mr. Scrooge, who was notorious for his harsh treatment of his employees.As Emily worked at the factory, she witnessed firsthand the terrible conditions that the workers had to endure. They worked long hours in dangerous conditions, with little regard for their safety or well-being. Emily knew that something had to be done to improve their situation, but she didn’t know where to start.One day, Emily met a kind-hearted man named Mr. Pickwick, who was a social justice activist. He was passionate about fighting for the rights of workers and was determined to make a difference. Mr. Pickwick took Emily under his wing and taught her about the power of collective action.Together, Emily and Mr. Pickwick organized a strike at the factory, demanding better working conditions and fair pay for the workers. The strike was a success, and Mr. Scrooge was forced to make changes to the factory’s policies.As a result of their efforts, Emily and Mr. Pickwick became heroes in the eyes of the workers. They had shown that even in a world that was indifferent to their plight, it was possible to make a difference by standing up for what was right.In the end, Emily and Mr. Pickwick’s story became a beacon of hope for workers everywhere. They had shown that even in the darkest of times, there was always a glimmer of hope for a better future.
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Dear Beth,
This is my homework
Once upon a time, in a modern-day city, there lived a young woman named Emily. She was a hardworking waitress at a local diner, struggling to make ends meet. Emily’s life was a constant struggle, as she had to deal with the daily challenges of living in a city that was indifferent to her plight. Despite her hardships, Emily remained optimistic and hopeful that things would get better.One day, Emily’s life took a turn for the worse when she lost her job at the diner. With no other options, she was forced to take a job at a factory where she worked long hours for little pay. The factory was owned by a wealthy businessman named Mr. Scrooge, who was notorious for his harsh treatment of his employees.As Emily worked at the factory, she witnessed firsthand the terrible conditions that the workers had to endure. They worked long hours in dangerous conditions, with little regard for their safety or well-being. Emily knew that something had to be done to improve their situation, but she didn’t know where to start.One day, Emily met a kind-hearted man named Mr. Pickwick, who was a social justice activist. He was passionate about fighting for the rights of workers and was determined to make a difference. Mr. Pickwick took Emily under his wing and taught her about the power of collective action.Together, Emily and Mr. Pickwick organized a strike at the factory, demanding better working conditions and fair pay for the workers. The strike was a success, and Mr. Scrooge was forced to make changes to the factory’s policies.As a result of their efforts, Emily and Mr. Pickwick became heroes in the eyes of the workers. They had shown that even in a world that was indifferent to their plight, it was possible to make a difference by standing up for what was right.In the end, Emily and Mr. Pickwick’s story became a beacon of hope for workers everywhere. They had shown that even in the darkest of times, there was always a glimmer of hope for a better future.
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework for week 4. Thank you for the great lesson!
Kind regards,
Claire
P.S. My character is the piece of land.
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Hi Beth,
Thank you for your interesting lessons, I enjoyed them very much!
Please find my homework below.
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Hidden Cruelty
Beads of dew welcomed the morning sun as it rose above the towering buildings. “Oi, what do you think you’re doing here?” yelled Mr Fiddlesticks as he jostled up to the metal gates with a few workers. Jack and Jill were huddling together on the stony steps to the gates. Having courage, Jack stood up. “Please sir, we are orphans, we are looking for a job.”
“OUT, you orphans are just rascals!” spat Mr Fiddlesticks. This time Jill stood up. “Please sir, please let us try.” pleaded the exhausted girl. Mr Fiddlesticks sighed deeply, hesitated then replied gruffly, “Fine, but if you fail working hard, your out!” Before long, the orphans learnt everyone’s names, knew what job they had to do, and now knew it was an iPhone factory.
One elegant evening, Jack was polishing the colossal creaky machines and Jill scrubbing the floor clean. Jack and Jill were confused as to why Mr. Fiddlesticks wanted the factory to be impeccable. Usually, he didn’t really care how filthy the factory was. Unexpectedly, Jack and Jill heard some workers whispering and muttering. The ragged orphans nodded and then sidled towards the closed door. They took turns spying in the keyhole and pressing their ears on the solid door. This was the conversation; “We have to tell the kids” protested a worker. “Yes, yes, yes” agreed the rest. “NO” rang out Mr Fiddlesticks, “Let’s end the meeting here and give them the surprise tomorrow. As the muddling news enveloped them, Jack and Jill overheard someone turning the handle. They hurtled themselves back to their places. Nothing was suspected.
A moment later, a beautiful young lady briskly walked in. With hazelnut brown hair, comforting eyes, and a firm mouth. “I wonder who she is,” whispered Jill to her brother. He shrugged his shoulders. Surprisingly, Mr Fiddlesticks heard Jill. He crouched down to the kids and replied, “This is Charlotte.” As an eerie silence draped over the kids, Charlotte was having a discussion about the orphans and how they ended up here. Soon enough, Charlotte led the kids outside. “Hello, my name is Charlotte and I am Mr Fiddlesticks wife. He told me all about you. We were wondering if you would appreciate us to adopt you.” Smiling, they energetically nodded. “It would just have a little of paperwork but that’s it really,” spoke Charlotte. Sneakily, Mr. Fiddlesticks stepped out of the dark shadows. His eyes sparkled with delight. Without even communication, they did a family hug. Happiness connected through everyone’s souls.
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Dear Beth,
Below is my homework:A boy, slumbering in London lives in Mayfair (must be a rich fella’). He is one who dwells on the streets, whose pockets are filled with priceless jewelery and wallets. Surely his pockets are only the infinitesimal fraction of a whole planet of fortune. Surely he is one who simply owns a house with not enough space for a bed. Surely he doesn’t earn this trove of riches from any pickpocketing. Surely not. He definitely isn’t a vagabond intending to create a type of Chicago gang-mafia chaos. Definitely not. Definitely.
Mr Goodman arrived at the flower stall present in the midst of the district’s wealth, where butchers and tailors could be witnessed cooperating with one another, as if the butcher requested merchandise representing cold cuts or the tailor yearning for his clothing to be trimmed by the precise edge of a cleaver.
“Just here to purchase some bouquets for my Valentine. You know what it’s like in London, you get the Cockney type mixed with the West, and a whole country of flowers wouldn’t be adequate. Lucky for me that’s different since wife know about my role in the Hand and she would bid me admiration when I leave for work, in awe of my achievements and accomplishments.”
At the present time of speaking, a passer-by stopped and noticed the boy. He knew what the boy was: a person just like him, deserving to spend life enclosed in the depth of the gutter. Crouching down and noticing an watch and wallet sticking out of Goodman’s pocket, he whispered to the boy, ” You, yes you, dya’ wanna know somethin’ good? A fingersmith you are, go around like one and use your fingers to get some riches. Start with that gentleman at that crone’s shop.”
Nodding, the boy stood up and approached the man silently, assuring himself that his entire back was visible to him and that no eyes at all were laid on him. Carefully, his long, spindly hand reached into the pocket as lightly as possible, but still with effect. And out came something with two dials and a metal frame, easily crafted by a dextrous blacksmith. Yes, try to act like nothing happened, Oliver, I know that I can. That’s the final step.
Apologies for slightly late handing in,Johnny
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Summary for Lesson 5
In today’s lesson we began our study of Virginia Woolf, our third author of the course. We thought about Woolf’s life and how it can be seen as important in her writing, thinking about her reflection on the internal lives of women like her. We discussed the technique of ‘stream of consciousness’ writing which Woolf helped to pioneer, and the students had a go at writing their own stream-of-consciousness narratives (which they did wonderfully!). We then considered Woolf’s feminism, looking at a quotation of hers regarding female authors and learning a little more about the position of women at the time. Lovely work today everyone, I really enjoyed hearing your amazing examples of Woolf-inspired writing. Keep up the great work & see you next time 🙂
Virginia Woolf video we watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcMLkce_BLg&feature=emb_logo
Link to the essay you need to read for homework (the PDF is also attached below): https://docenti.unimc.it/sharifah.alatas/teaching/2019/21609/files/Woolf_DeathoftheMoth.pdf
Homework
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the riveting lesson. My homework is attached below. I even included two examples of my own stream-of-consciousness experiment. Have a lovely rest of your week!
Thanks,
Yichen
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Summary for Lesson 6
In today’s lesson we finished our work on Virginia Woolf, beginning our class by thinking about her essay The Death of The Moth and what it can tell us about how Woolf saw the world around her. We spoke about the genre of personal essays and what they communicate, and the students unpicked the symbolism Woolf uses beautifully. We then thought about her feminist work, looking at A Room of One’s Own, and the class came up with their own metaphors to represent injustice in the modern world. Finally, we looked at some of Woolf’s personal tips for writing concerning character focus, the mundanity of life and the beauty of language. Lovely work today everyone, you were all fantastically focused throughout. Keep up the fab ideas, see you soon 🙂
Stream of consciousness video to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaSFwO3O2SI&t=64s
Homework
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Hi Beth, thanks for the amazing lesson this week, hope you get better soon.
Lesson 6
The painful journey
Staring out the pane of glass that rejected any wind, I stared at the menacing maths question that was staring up at me. What was the answer? I wonder what we were having for lunch; my stomach was rumbling like rocks rolling rapidly down a mountain. Anyways, I had to figure out the answer as this question was the last one from page number 666 in my thick textbook which was mounted up on my beautiful book holder.
It was then that I noticed a small duckling crawling out of its weak shell looking thin and feeble. Doubt for its survival strangled me, forcing me to hold my heavy breath. Cookie, that was a good name for this small female duckling! Her stick-like legs crawled out of her featherless body, it was getting ready to walk and to open its eyes. Oh! Look, you could see the small beady eyes threaded to its minute face that looked left and right, a beacon of hope for a caretaker opened inside of him.
Then, the sick, sombre and sorrowful experience of fighting death kicked in. First, her breathing, I could see, was irregular, then her head started to spin in paltry circles interminably; I could see death drowning it, targeting it, killing it. Penitence engulfed me as I let nature carry on but at the priceless cost of guilt stabbing me a million times. I wished I could help it, but a draconian rule of ‘no going out before your homework is done’ held me back. You know what? I couldn’t take it anymore, my brain was ordering me to help it, no matter what the everlasting punishment was.
Climbing hastily out of the small, uncomfortable window, the wind bit at my already rosy cheeks. Cautiously stepping on the emerald-green grass (which was frosted with crunchy ice), I kneeled and gently transferred the grey, shivering creature into my warm, welcoming hand. The cold vibrations wavering off from the withered creature sent silent snake of sorrow slithering slowly down my spine. It hurt me greatly to see what dying looked like, nightmares of the day this would happen to me. You know, I wished that we were immortal. Never dying . Always young. Carefully retreating to my abandoned desk and pushing the gloomy, grim thoughts to the back of my mind, a feeling of philanthropies overcame me, I felt good saving a life, I felt like a hero.
Cookie’s wings were folded back into her lifeless-or so it seemed- body.
Luck decided to help as she suddenly took a gasp for air, waking back from the wrapping arms of death. Relief washed through, brushing gently across my heart. I calmly lifted Cookie into a warm, cosy box I had prepared by lining the inside with soft , silky blankets.
Then, she went to sleep, not worrying about anything letting silence regain its empire. -
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Hi Beth,
Here is my Virginia Woolf style home work for lesson 6
Thank you for the lesson! 😄
Shangchen
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Hi Shangchen, I think you might have attached the wrong file! If you upload the right one, I’ll mark it ASAP 🙂
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Dear Beth,
here is my homework,
thanks for the lesson,
Once upon a time, there was a little women named Adeline. She dreamed of becoming a famous writer. She was born in London, 1882. The reason why she wanted to be a writer is because of her family, her family is a family of writers and intellectuals. Adeline had faced many challenges in her life such as sexual abuse (shaming someone because of their gender) by her older stepbrothers named George Duckworth and Gerald Duckworth. Despite all these hard times, Adeline later on became or known as Virginia Woolf and she went on to be one of the most successful female writers in thr United Kingdom. Her works like Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and to the lighthouse have become the exemplar for English Literature.
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework. My story is about someone who is assassinated by rats after fainting on a trip to Winter Wonderland. It is a little short, but I loved writing it, stream of consciousness is so fun!
Kind Regards,
Claire
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Summary for Lesson 7
In today’s class we started work on our final author: Agatha Christie. We began by discussing the genre of detective novels, thinking about Christie’s contribution to the craft, other famous authors in the genre, and what should be expected from a detective story. We moved on to thinking about her life and how she began her stories. We then thought about how she used the world around her to inspire her, eavesdropping on conversations and using the characters in her life to inspire those in her stories, and the class came up with their own examples of settings for a detective novel. Finally, we looked at different techniques she uses, considering what makes her so influential and popular in the genre. Lovely ideas today everyone well done! See you next week 🙂
Christie’s writing process video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuIZD6N-3tI&feature=emb_logo
Christie’s disappearance video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRsQwGR-4XQ&feature=emb_logo
How to write like Christie video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98pNh3LtV8c
Homework
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HI Beth,
The homework is hard to read. We will see if we can blow it up but not easy.
best rgds,
Ching Mae’s dad..
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework for lesson 7. Hope it’s not too short. Have a nice day!
Kind Regards,
Claire
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Dear Beth,
Thanks for the lesson,
Heres my homework,
My spirits revived a little as I thought about the possibility of tricking the reader in the style of Christie. I hardly listened to the next words said Poirot. Christie is known for her ability to hide plot secrets in sight, this makes the reader feel like they have a good and fair chance to solve the mystery by themselves. She also wrote few forward thinking criminals who overlook permanently remove the threat of Poirot. As I pondered the idea of a Christie styled twist, I was thinking about the book “Little Women” that I had read recently. Although it wasn’t much of a mystery novel, it had a twist that I did not expect to happen. I wondered if I could incorporate a some similar twist into my own piece of writing. As I examine the likelihood, I realised that I could use different chronicle viewpoints to set up the expectation of an inverted mystery, as it looks like we are being shown the killer from as early in chapter 2 and the reader may begin to think that this story is going to be a cat and a mouse variety. For this purpose, I began to plot out my own story or writing, hoping to create a twist that would surprise and delight the readers in the exact or even better way that Christies stories had surprised me.
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Summary for Lesson 8
In today’s class we completed our work on Agatha Christie, drawing on her ideas about what was crucial to create a good detective story to plot and map out our own. We started with a discussion on the role of a detective, identifying famous examples and working out what they offer to the reader. The class then came up with some fantastic fictional detectives of their own- thinking carefully about their unique features. We then moved on to thinking about the plot of a detective novel, mapping out different elements that help to keep the reader in suspense and surprise. Finally, the class drew on elements such as how to create backstories that conceal and reveal a character’s motivations and how to use ‘what if’ questions to come up with fascinating ideas for a story. Lovely ideas everyone, well done for all your hard work and ideas about detective stories and what makes them tick! See you next week 🙂
Video on planning a detective story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAnIuUPRdko&feature=emb_logo
Homework
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Hi Beth, hope you get well, here is my homework.
Lesson 8
The Unsolved Murder
Flora Mathews had been killed. Then, Georgina Moody was a victim. Finally, Penelope Gardener saw her death. The corpses were scattered around the dining hall, where the three were walking across to the science lab. Silence had muted everyone there as they mourned for the loss as their parents’ felt stabs of horror repeatedly targeting them after news had reached them.
I, Christina Geffin, was determined to find the murder, their motive (the reason for the crime) and capture them. My suspects list included all their friends, from the so-called ‘friendship group’:
Sophie Berks-motive, she was jealous of the trio’s friendship and wanted Georgina all to herself (a tiny bit greedy). Alibi- none yet.
Elana Roberts-motive, she was second to Penelope in the famous annual maths competition, could this be revenge? RULED OUT, WITNESSESS CONFIRMED SHE WAS WITH MR JONES WHILE THE MURDER WAS COMMITTED.
Josie Hilliam-motive, none yet. RULED OUT, WITNESSESS CONFIRMED AGAIN, SHE WAS WITH ELANA.
Solutions ebbed into my brain, if Sophie was the only one left, could she be the killer? Or was this a clever scheme made by the other two where I had to remove the blanket that was concealing the truth to figure they were working together? Although both were terror-ridden stories could be true, I needed concrete proof. My knees were shaking, my hands felt numb as I travelled along the towering corridors, towards the dining hall to inspect the crime scene.
The aura of the school dinners flew across the spacious room as I searched for minute clues that would lead to the solution that was wanted by many.
I found it.
A handkerchief with the initials ‘SB’ engraved in the corner… Sophie.
Now, I just needed to find her, accuse her and arrest her. “Have you seen Sophie?” came the much-asked question. “No, sorry, I haven’t” came the much-heard reply.
If no-one had seen her, then where was she? Solution seemed fake now, the other pair could’ve framed her, leaving her handkerchief behind. Sweat poured down my back as I darted to each classroom, scanning what seemed like a million faces for her. After hours of searching, I circled back to the dining hall where it all started.
“Wait, I’ve been thinking about this all wrong!” I exclaimed, all the tangled wires of trickery untangled in my brain and laid out perfectly in front of me.
What if the murderer (supposedly Sophie) never left the crime scene? What if… she was still there, in the exact same room, hiding somewhere? “I know where you are, come on out, I’ve finally caught you!” came the voice, escaping from my mouth.
Two hands caught my neck, strangling me, taking away my powered to speak.
“Hello, we’ve been waiting for you…”
Blackness covered my sight. -
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Dear Beth,
My homework is attached below. Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!
Best Regards,
Yichen
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Dear Beth,
Here is my homework. Thanks for the great lesson!
Kind Regards,
Claire
P.S. Don’t mind the name.
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Soz for the late homework, was piled with stuff the past week so didn’t have time. However ,I think I know have a chapter (quite a long one) that might start a story. Mainly about a friend as a murderer, but if I wrote a bit more I think I would of be able to shape it a bit more like Agatha criste’s writing.
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Summary for Lesson 9
In today’s class we revised our famous authors course in order to consolidate the student’s learning and prepare us for the mini-mock next week. We began by thinking about plot twists, before moving on to some work on how the students have been inspired by their favourite authors’ writing styles. The class then completed a brainstorming exercise on the four authors from our course, revising the elements that make up each author’s distinctive style. Finally, the class thought about which author they were least comfortable with and wrote some passages inspired by that author and then a passage telling the same story inspired by their favourite. Amazing work today everyone, well done for all your fab ideas throughout. Good luck with revision and see you next week 🙂
Plot twist video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SPcBeLZmiQ&feature=emb_logo
Links to help revision:
Shakespeare: https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/mar/14/how-to-write-like-william-shakespeare
Dickens: https://www.writersdigest.com/there-are-no-rules/write-like-charles-dickens
Woolf: https://www.writerswrite.co.za/10-writing-tips-from-virginia-woolf/
Christie: https://indiepubnation.com/how-to-write-a-mystery/Homework
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Summary for Lesson 10
In today’s class we completed our mock exam and the class worked really well in completing our ten-week course. Incredible work everyone, it has been great seeing you all bloom and grow into brilliant writers and pick up on so many different ideas and styles of writing. I hope you guys have enjoyed learning about all these writers, I have really enjoyed discussing them with you and hearing all your fantastic ideas. See you in the next course and well done for all your fabulous work! 🙂
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Here is the mock exam I’ve written,
This is about the locked room murder mystery, the locked room murder mystery takes place on a quite fancy luxurious cruise ship. The victim is a rich, wealthy businessman who is suddenly found dead in his own cabin also which has been locked from the inside. The ship is currently cruising in the centre of the ocean, and there is no possible way for the murderer to have left the room without being seen or heard. The supreme leader of all detective who is named, “the unmatched” is in charge of the investigation who also happens to be on the cruise ship as a passenger. The supreme, the best, the unmatched detective, Willy Wonka (I can’t think of any names but this came into my mind so I chose it), is enjoying his vacation and was having a fabulous time on the cruise ship when he is mysteriously approached by the captain of the cruise ship. The fierce captain tells him that there has been a murder on board and asks for his help in solving the case of the unknown murder on deck. Wonka agrees to help and begins to investigate the crime scene everyone is terrified of. Wonks discovers something scary, he found out that the victim, Dr Joseph, was stabbed to death with a letter opener. The cabin door was locked from the inside, but there are no signs of forced entry. Wonka comes up with a idea, he interviews all the passengers and crew members one by one who were near Dr Joseph’s cabin at the time of the murder. He discovers that several people had motives for killing Dr Joseph, including his very keen business partner, his ex-wife, also a disgruntled employee. However, none of them have a solid alibi for the time of the murder. John begins to piece together the clues and realizes that the killer must have used a super duper top secret passage to enter and exit the cabin which means someone must of helps him. He discovers the passage and confronts the killer, who turns out to be the victim’s business partner. The partner had been embezzling money from the company and feared that Dr Joseph was about to discover his scheme. Finally, the killer is arrested, and the passengers and crew members breathe their biggest sigh of relief. Wonka returns to his vacation, but he can’t shake off the feeling that there is more to the case than meets the eye. He discovers that the victim’s ex-wife was also involved in the murder and had helped the killer enter the cabin. Here’s a summary of what happened, In this locked room murder mystery, the villain is the victim’s business partner, who is motivated by greed and fear. The story is with multiple suspects and red herrings. The detective uses his skills and intuition to solve the case and bring the killer to true justice.
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Hi,
Here is Ching Mae’s writing for the mock exam.
She really enjoyed your writing course. Thank you!
Sophie
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Dear Beth
Here is my story.
My mum said I would be doing the writing course plus the comprehension course next term.
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Hi Beth,
Please find the attached Tze’s mock test earlier.
We are attaching the class 6 homework which we didn’t realise that we didn’t submit while we were in Malaysia. Apologies for this and hope it’s ok.
Thanks.
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<p style=”text-align: left;”>Dear Beth,</p>
Here is my mock test. I did the Charles Dickens one for describing a town or city. Thank you so much for the absolutely wonderful teaching of this course. Have a nice day!Kind Regards,
Claire
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for all the lessons and I hope you have a good day. My homework is attached below.
Thanks,
Yichen
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