Shared by Mary Marsell:
One of my favorite tales of Scotland is about Selkies, one of such is The Selkie Bride.
It's a Scottish folktale that begins long ago, on a wild Scottish coast and a fisherman, who spends all day at sea, but catches only a few very small fish. As the sun sets he stays at the waterside and observes something extraordinary...
See the link below for one adaptation of this fascinating tale.
See the link below for one adaptation of this fascinating tale.
Narrative
Focused skills:
Reading and Writing
- · How and when can I use original
texts in the classroom?
- · How can I motivate students to
enjoy literature?
- · How do I choose appropriate
texts?
- · What resources are available?
- · How do I assess literary
activities?
Bite-size literature
- Short stories can be used for comprehension exercises,
vocabulary building, and as a springboard for creative writing.
- These exercises can be assessed through a variety of means;
worksheets, writing tasks and creative story building through comics and
story boards.
Selecting Suitable Material
Click on the titles to access to the texts.
Review of the themes raised in the story
and brief analysis in this file.
Click on the titles to access to the texts.
Exploring
narrative devices using Poe
James went up the stairs.
This sentence only propels the plot. We
learn nothing about James, how he went up the stairs or what the stairs were like.
James crept up the stairs
Device: verb
‘crept’
Effect: The reader understands that James
is moving quietly and with stealth.
Why/purpose: The reader knows that James is
doing something secretive or forbidden.
James went up the tall, looming stairs.
Device: Adjective
‘tall’,‘looming’
Effect: The reader understands that the
stairs are intimidating for James.
Purpose: The stairs are seen as difficult
to climb; either because they are physically very tall or high, or because
James is worried about what may lie at the top of the stairs.
James leapt like a ballerina up the stairs
Device: simile
‘leapt like a ballerina’
Effect: The reader understands that James
is moving quickly, eagerly, but in a possibly comic way.
Purpose: The stairs are no longer an
obstacle for James. We understand that he is excited about reaching the top of
them. The idea of James as a ballerina could also have a comic effect.
Character
Descriptions – ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’
Narrator
|
Roderick Usher
|
|
Descriptions
What
is the character like in personality and appearance?
|
Empathetic
‘It was
the manner in which all this was said – it was the heart in it – which did
not allow me to say no’ |
Anxious
‘a wild
letter which demanded that I reply by coming to see him.’ |
Important Details
What
do we know about their actions?
|
Recently received a letter from Roderick.
|
Close friends with the narrator when they
were children.
|
Inferences Drawn
What
conclusions can we make?
|
We see the narrator as a ‘normal’, stable
character compared to Roderick.
|
Perhaps something strange has happened to
him since childhood to create this distance.
|
Prediction for Character
What
do you think is going to happen to them?
|
He is likely to find out about Roderick’s
illness and perhaps why he hasn’t heard from him in so long.
|
‘The Fall’ of the title may be related to
Roderick’s current state of being.
|
Comprehension
questions
“Lamb to the Slaughter” means in an
unconcerned manner – to be unaware of an impending catastrophe.
1.
What sort of story does the title of the story lead us to expect?
2.
What does the third paragraph suggest about Mary Maloney’s
relationship with her husband?
3.
What sort of household do we imagine the Maloney home to be? How
does Dahl create a homely atmosphere and why is this sense of domestic peace
recalled at the end of the tale?
4.
Before the husband breaks the news, what three clues are there
that this particular evening is going to be a break with routine?
5.
What does Mr. Maloney announce? What reaction would you expect
from Mrs. Maloney?
6.
Do you think the murder was ‘premeditated’ or a ‘crime of
passion’?
7.
Are Mrs. Maloney’s actions after the murder believable? How are we
first told that she is planning an alibi? What is her alibi?
Identifying
Character Traits
What do these quotes tell us about the
characters?
What do they tell us about the character’s
intentions?
Quotes
for Mary
“Her skin – for this was her sixth month
with child – had acquired a wonderful translucent quality, the mouth was soft,
and the eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger, darker than before”
Analysis: We are told that Mary is heavily
pregnant which suggests she is vulnerable – something which is reinforced by
the reference to her eyes being ‘larger and darker’ – as this indicates
child-like qualities.
“She laid aside her sewing, stood up, and
went forward to kiss him as he came in”.
Analysis: Mary is loving and attentive
towards her husband. We interpret them as having a loving relationship.
“For her, this was always a blissful time
of day […] she loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man”.
Analysis: Mary equates her husband with a
luxury that is to be enjoyed after the hours she has spent alone all day.
· Plot: This is the sequence of events that happen in a story (who,
what, when, where), the conflict, the drama, the climax, and the conclusion.
· Setting: This is the place where
the story happens.
· Characters: The people in the story are the protagonist (main character),
the antagonist (source of conflict or drama), secondary-characters.
· Theme: The central ideas of the story (love, friendship, journey,
family)
Creating a Narrative Arc
- Create story boards: https://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboard-creator
- Comics online: http://toontastic.withgoogle.com
and https://tellagami.com
- Pixton is a fantastic resource for creating comics. They have a
huge amount of free resources and they also have lesson plans on a number
of key texts that you could use in the classroom. Here’s an example of
what they have for George Orwell’s 1984 https://www.pixton.com/schools/teacher-resources/lesson-plans/1984-by-george-orwell
Workshop
Plan a short story based on
the guidelines we’ve just looked at and then we’ll bring out story to life
using 2.0 tools.
Toontastic
Story Board
This is an example created with Storyboard That in-the-face to face course:
Frankie returns to Salamanca:
Frankie returns to Salamanca:
Further resources
A collection of BBC 500 word short stories:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/short-story-collection-6340369
Assessment- Worksheets that require the students to read at an analytical
level, such as understanding character traits, motivation, mood, and
theme.
- Getting students to identify key quotes and what they tell us
about the characters or the plot.
- Developing writing skills through lessons on narrative devices
such as use of adjectives and adverbs to creative tone and mood.
- Creative writing which can be developed using 2.0 tools.
Using
Newspaper Articles and other Media in the Classroom
Take a topic: fake news, self-esteem,
environmental issues, the influence of the media
Topic example: fake news
Fake news – what is it, why does it exist
and how can we stop it?
Select an article for students to read,
e.g.) Muslim doctor refuses to treat dying Christian onboard flight
Starter exercises:
Challenge: Read the headline and the first
paragraph of the story. Summarise what happened. How do you know whether the
story is true ?
More challenging: Why was this story
printed? Why do you think it was shared so many times?
Extra challenging: Explain how this story
links with today’s lesson title and why you think you have been asked to read
it.
Set out graphic guidelines on how to spot
fake news.
Challenge: Use the guide to label stories
as real or fake news.
More challenging: Explain why you think
each story is real or fake.
Extra challenge: Analyse the purpose or
motivation the author had in creating each piece of fake news.
Activity 2: YouTube clip on the topic –
followed by graded questions according to challenge level
Activity 3: Writing development
Worksheet
Do you think that creating and spreading
fake news should be a criminal offense?
1. Choose one of the sentences
below and complete it, giving ONE reason for your choice
-I think creating
and spreading fake news should be a criminal offense………….
-I think creating
and spreading fake news should not be a criminal offense…………..
2. Add THREE more reasons, using
the connectives below.
3. Now, complete the sentence
below, to show that you can argue from the opposite point of view.
On the other
hand, someone who disagrees with me might say…………..but this is wrong,
because……..
4. Complete the sentence below,
outlining your main idea.
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