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Level 3 Homework Programme

English

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Contents

1. Close reading: Heart of the Matter p. 3 The Vampyre p. 4 Migraines p. 5 Memoirs p. 6

2. Textual Analysis: War Photographer p. 7 The Night Watchman p. 9 The Gathering p. 14

3. Solo Talk Homework p. 19

4. Research Tasks: Christmas Traditions p. 20 A Person I Admire p. 21 Scottish Identity p. 23

5. Writing for Information p. 25

6. Letter Writing: Danny MacAskill p. 28

7. Imaginative Writing: The Beach p. 30 Extension p. 31

8. Personal Writing p. 32

9. Additional Tasks p. 33 - end

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Heart of the Matter

Think of a heart attack and chances are you’ll think of a stressed out, paunchy businessman clutching his chest – but did you realise that cardiovascular disease (which covers a range of conditions including stroke and coronary heart disease) kills four times more women than breast cancer according to the British Heart Foundation, making it the UK’s number one threat to women? In the UK alone someone has a heart attack every two minutes – and if that’s not enough to make you sit up and think perhaps you should be doing more to protect your heart, then I don’t know what is.

The major risk factors for developing coronary heart disease are linked to our lifestyles – physical inactivity and obesity. Experts recommend that we all get 30 minutes of activity five times a week to maintain our health, yet statistics show that a staggering 70 percent of adults fail to meet this. Add to this the fact that over the last decade obesity rates have doubled and you have a recipe for disaster when it comes to the nation’s health. A report from The British Heart Foundation revealed that the UK has one of the highest death rates from heart disease in Europe – but with a little help it’s easy to improve the condition of your heart and not become a statistic. The first steps toward protecting your heart are the most basic – get some exercise and eat well.

(From Heart of the Matter by Cora Lydon)

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1. Which adjective describes the businessman the writer refers to?

2. Which two words mean the opposite of laid-back?

3. Which two conditions are included in cardiovascular disease?

4. What is the UK’s number one threat to women?

5. What happens every two minutes in the UK?

6. Name two risk factors for developing heart disease.

7. How much exercise do experts recommend?

8. What proportion of adults fail to meet exercise targets?

9. What has happened over the last decade?

10. Explain what you think ‘to become a statistic’ means.

(Close Reading Pack 5 - Passage 18)

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The Vampyre

Above her loomed a mansion-front. Its grandeur seemed quite out of proportion to the alley, otherwise narrow and blank, in which Rebecca found herself. In the moonlight the stone of the mansion was cast maggot-white; its windows were pools of darkness, sockets in a skull; the impression given by the whole was that of something quite abandoned by time, a shiver of the past conjured up by the moon. The wind began to scream again. Rebecca watched as the light faded, then was lost. The mansion, though, remained revealed now as something more than just an illusion of the moon, but Rebecca was not surprised; she had known full well that it was real; she had called at these mansion gates before.

She did not bother this time, however, to climb the steps and knock at the door. Instead she began to walk down the mansion-front, past the railings that speared up from the pavement, guarding the mansion from the passer-by. Rebecca could smell the acid again, just faint on the wind, but bitter as before. She began to run. There were footsteps behind her. She glanced round, but there was nothing, and she felt the terror return, descending on her like a poisonous cloud, choking her throat, burning her blood.

(From The Vampyre by Tom Holland)

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1. Describe what you think a ‘mansion’ is.

2. Which metaphor describes the colour of the stone?

3. Choose a metaphor to describe the mansion’s windows.

4. What do you think the phrase ‘abandoned by time’ means?

5. Choose the example of personification which describes the wind.

6. What do you think the word ‘illusion’ means?

7. How do we know this is not Rebecca’s first visit?

8. What does Rebecca not bother to do this time?

9. What are the railings used to guard against?

10. Which simile describes the terror Rebecca feels?

(Close Reading Pack 5 - Passage 19)

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Migraines

It’s estimated that close to six million people in the UK are affected by migraine, with women more commonly affected than men and those aged between 30 and 40 the most likely to experience them. But migraines shouldn’t be confused with headaches. While a headache can ruin your day a migraine is very different. The term refers to a recurrent severe headache and most sufferers tend to complain of other symptoms too including nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to sounds or lights and, in extreme cases, visual disturbance. A mild attack may only make its presence felt for about four hours but a severe attack could see you in bed for up to three days. Another common symptom of migraine is that the pain will only occur on one side of the head – the word migraine is derived from the word hemicrania which means one-sided headache.

Experts are still divided over the cause of migraine. Some believe that a migraine happens when the blood flow decreases to part of the brain, brought on by blood vessels narrowing then opening again, causing pain. We also know that certain chemicals in the brain decrease in activity when a migraine sets in. Serotonin, which is crucial for brain function and also has an impact on the size of blood vessels, appears to diminish at the start of a migraine but once the attack has passed levels are restored. Some argue that those predisposed to migraines may also be more sensitive to pain, which in turn means bright lights or tiredness can trigger a migraine.

(From Migraines by Cora Lydon)

**************************1. How many UK residents are affected by migraine?

2. Which age group is most affected?

3. What should migraines not be confused with?

4. Explain what you think ‘recurrent’ means.

5. Name two symptoms of migraine.

6. What can happen during a severe attack?

7. What does ‘hemicrania’ mean?

8. Explain what you think ‘narrowing’ means.

9. What is crucial for brain function?

10. From the passage, write down another word for ‘cause’.

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MemoirsThe chief of my pleasures was to rise early in the morning and observe the awakening of nature; with a book in my hand, I would steal out of the sleeping house and quietly unlatch the garden gate: it was impossible to sit down on the grass, which would be all white with hoar-frost; I would walk along the drive, beside the meadow planted with specially chosen trees that my grandpapa called ‘the landscape garden’; I would read a little from time to time, enjoying the feeling of the sharp air softening against my cheeks; the thin crust of rime would be melting on the ground; the purple beech, the blue cedars and the silvery poplars would be sparkling with the primal freshness of the first morning in Eden. I was the only one awake to the beauty of the earth and the glory of God which mingled agreeably deep inside me with a dream of a bowl of hot chocolate and warm buttered toast. When the bees began to hum and the green shutters were opened on the sunny fragrance of wistaria, I felt I was already sharing a secret past with the day that for the others was only just beginning. After the round of family greetings and breakfast I would sit at a metal table under the catalpa tree and get on with my ‘holiday tasks’…I let my ear be beguiled by the sounds of summer: the fizzing of wasps, the chattering of guinea-fowl, the peacocks’ strangulated cry, the whispering of leaves…

(From Memoirs by Simone de Beauvoir)

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1. What time of day is the narrator writing about?

2. What does she take with her when leaving the house?

3. What do you think a ‘sleeping house’ is?

4. Why is it not possible to sit on the grass?

5. Describe what the ‘landscape garden’ is.

6. What does the narrator do from time to time?

7. Name three trees which are said to be ‘sparkling’.

8. What is the narrator dreaming of having for breakfast?

9. What does the narrator do after breakfast?

10. Choose two examples of onomatopoeia from the passage.

(Close Reading Pack 5 - Passage 17)

Textual Analysis Passage 1

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POETRY

War Photographer

1 In his darkroom he is finally alonewith spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.The only light is red and softly glows,as though this were a church and he

5 a priest preparing to intone a Mass.Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.

He has a job to do. Solutions slop in traysbeneath his hands, which did not tremble thenthough seem to now. Rural England. Home again

10 to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,to fields which don’t explode beneath the feetof running children in a nightmare heat.

Something is happening. A stranger’s featuresfaintly start to twist before his eyes,

15 a half-formed ghost. He remembers the criesof this man’s wife, how he sought approvalwithout words to do what someone mustand how the blood stained into foreign dust.

A hundred agonies in black and white20 from which his editor will pick out five or six

for Sunday’s supplement. The reader’s eyeballs prickwith tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.From the aeroplane he stares impassively at wherehe earns his living and they do not care.

By Carol Ann Duffy

Questions for Textual Analysis Passage 1

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1. Why does the poet describe the camera film as ‘Spools of suffering’?

2. Find a religious image in lines 3-5. Explain why your found it effective.

3. How significant are the names in line 6 of the poem?

4. Explain what you think ‘All flesh is grass.’ means.

5. How is sound used in line 7 and what is its effect?

6. Explain why you think the photographer’s hands are trembling now.

7. Using your own words, explain what the poet means in line 10 of the poem.

8. What do you think the exploding fields are?

9. Why does the poet refer to the man as a ‘half-formed ghost’?

10. How is sentence structure used to create atmosphere in lines 15 to 18 of the poem?

11. What is the poet’s tone in lines 19 to 21 of the poem?

12. What does the poet mean by saying ‘The reader’s eyeballs prick/ with tears between the bath and pre-lunch beers.’ ?

13. Who do you think ‘they’ are in the last line of the poem?

14. Using your own words, explain what message you think the poet is trying to convey by writing this poem.

Textual Analysis Passage 2DRAMA

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The Night Watchman

SCENE ONE

A kitchen/living room area with bedrooms off right. The living room area is neat and comfortable. There is a large collection of videos in the corner.

WATERS is sitting on a sofa, drinking a cup of tea, and reading. The television is turned on. He gets up and walks around the main living area of the flat tidying, putting things away. He sits again then rises once more and goes to the kitchen area. He empties the cup, washes it out and puts it in the sink. He sits again looking at his watch. Just then the doorbell rings. WATERS looks up, checks his watch again, and then goes to the door. He opens it.

1 WATERS: Mr. Evans?

EVANS: This is the place then?

WATERS: You’re here regarding the room?

EVANS: Got it in one.

5 WATERS: You better come in.

EVANS enters

EVANS: So this is it?

WATERS: This is it yes.

EVANS: Not bad, not bad at all. The name’s Lenny by the way, Leonard Evans. I think

10 I’ve got a bit of Welsh in me somewhere back down the line. I must do a family tree sometime. And your name is?

WATERS: (a bit taken aback by his forthcoming manner): Sorry?

EVANS looks about him at the room, and then at WATERS.Your name?

15 WATERS: Sorry yeah, it’s Waters, Kevin Waters.

EVANS: Well Kev, this looks homely, could be just what I’m looking for. Pause.

WATERS: I was beginning to think you weren’t coming. Time was kind of moving on. I thought that maybe you had changed your mind.

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EVANS: Had a bit of trouble getting here. Saying goodbye to an old friend. You know

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EVANS continues to look about him.

WATERS: It’s no palace Mr. Evans, but it’s comfortable and it’s clean.

EVANS: Lenny, call me Lenny. No need for formalities here is there?

WATERS: Eh,no,no…

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…Lenny

EVANS: That’s more like it. We’re not in pinstripe suits and ties here.

EVANS spotting the videos case full to the brim with videos, walks over to take a closer look.

30 Christ that’s a hell of a collection you got there. (He kneels down to look and pulls one out). Rebel Without a Cause. James Dean right? He was killed in a car crash wasn’t he?

WATERS: Eh yeah (He follows Evans over), I collect them. Have done all my life. They’re my passion really. I’m very protective of them.

EVANS picks up another couple of videos and looks at them.

35 EVANS: There’s worse ways to go.

WATERS: Sorry?

EVANS: Than in a car crash.

WATERS: Eh, yeah.

EVANS: Well it’s quick isn’t it? All over before you know it.

40 WATERS: Yeah I suppose it is.

EVANS stands up again and walks around the room a bit more.

EVANS: So if I stay here I won’t be stuck for a movie or two.

WATERS: Do you like the movies?

EVANS: Oh sure I do Kev. Well it’s a release from the humdrum of it all isn’t it?

45 WATERS: Well yeah exactly.

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EVANS: Do you go to the cinema then Kev?

WATERS: Eh yeah I do.

From ‘The Night Watchman’ by Robert Cussen

Questions for Textual Analysis Passage 2

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1. In the stage directions at the start of Scene One, how does the dramatist create the impression that Waters is a bit anxious?

2. What is unusual about the response given by Evans to the first question Waters asks him?

3. What is unusual about what Evans is saying in lines 9-11?

4. Using your own words, explain what ‘a bit taken aback by his forthcoming manner’ means.

5. Why do you think Waters feels the need to apologise in line 15?

6. What does Evans do with Kevin’s name and why does he do this?

7. How does sentence structure contribute to the tone of what Waters is saying in lines 17 and 18?

8. How do we know that Evans is a bit distracted at this point?

9. What do you think Evans means by ‘formalities’?

10. What figure of speech does the writer use in line 27 and what does he mean by this?

11. What word could be used to describe how Evan behaves towards the video collection?

12. What expression describes the importance of Waters’s video collection?

13. Using your own words explain what Waters means when he says ‘I’m very protective of them.’

14. How do you know Evans shows very little regard for what Waters has just said about his collection?

15. What is strange about the conversation between the two men from lines 35 to 39?

16. What word could be used to describe Evans with regards to the remark he makes on line 42 and why is this the case?

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17. Using your own words explain what Evans means when he says movies are ‘a release from the humdrum of it all’?

Textual Analysis Passage 3PROSE

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The Gathering

1 Some days I don’t remember my mother. I look at her photographs and she escapes me. Or I see her on a Sunday, after lunch, and we spend a pleasant afternoon, and when I leave I find she has run through me like water.

2 ‘Goodbye,’ she says, already fading. ‘Goodbye my darling girl,’ and she reaches her soft old face up, for a kiss. It still puts me in such a rage. The way, when I turn away, she seems to disappear, and when I look, I see only the edges. I think I would pass her in the street, if she ever bought a different coat. If my mother committed a crime there would be no witnesses – she is forgetfulness itself.

3 ‘Where’s my purse?’ she used to say when we were children – or it might be her keys, or her glasses. ‘Did anyone see my purse?’ becoming, for those few seconds, nearly there, as she went from the hall, to sitting room, to kitchen and back again. Even then we did not look at her but everywhere else: she was an agitation behind us, a kind of collective guilt, as we cast about the room, knowing that our eyes would slip over the purse, which was brown and fat, even if it was quite clearly there.

4 Then Bea would find it. There is always one child who is able, not just to look, but also to see. The quiet one.

5 ‘Thank you. Darling.’

6 To be fair, my mother is such a vague person, it is possible she can’t even see herself. It is possible that she trails her fingertip over a line of girls in an old photograph and cannot tell herself apart. And, of all her children, I am the one who looks most like her own mother, my grandmother Ada. It must be confusing.

7 ‘Oh hello,’ she said as she opened the hall door, the day I heard about Liam.

8 ‘Hello. Darling.’ She might say the same to the cat.

9 ‘Come in. Come in,’ as she stands in the doorway and does not move to let me pass.

10 Of course she knows who I am, it is just my name that escapes her. Her eyes flick from side to side as she wipes one after another off her list.

11 ‘Hello, Mammy,’ I say, just to give her a hint. And I make my way past her into the hall.

12 The house knows me. Always smaller than it should be; the walls run closer and more complicated than the ones you remember. The place is always too small.

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13 Behind me, my mother opens the sitting room door.

14 ‘Will you have something? A cup of tea?’

15 But I do not want to go into the sitting room. I am not a visitor. This is my house too. I was inside it as it grew; as the dining room was knocked into the kitchen, as the kitchen swallowed the back garden. It is the place where my dreams still happen.

16 Not that I would ever live here again. The place is all extension and no house. Even the cubby-hole beside the kitchen door has another door at the back of it, so you have to battle your way through coats and hoovers to get into the downstairs loo. You could not sell the place, I sometimes think, except as a site. Level it and start again.

17 The kitchen still smells the same – it hits me in the base of the skull, very dim and disgusting, under the fresh, primrose yellow paint. Cupboards full of old sheets; something cooked and dusty about the lagging around the immersion heater; the chair my father used to sit in, the arms shiny and cold with the human waste of many years. It makes me gag a little, and then I can not smell it any more. It just is. It is the smell of us.

18 I walk to the far counter and pick up the kettle, but when I go to fill it, the cuff of my coat catches on the running tap and the sleeve fills with water. I shake out my hand, and then my arm, and when the kettle is filled and plugged in I take off my coat, pulling the wet sleeve inside outand slapping it in the air.

19 My mother looks at this strange scene, as if it reminds her of something. Then she starts forward to where her tablets are pooled in a saucer, on the near counter. She takes them, one after the other, with a flaccid absent-mindedness of the tongue. She lifts her chin and swallows them dry while I rub my wet arm with my hand, and then run my damp hand through my hair.

20 A last, green capsule enters her mouth and she goes still, working her throat. She looks out the window for a moment. Then she turns to me, remiss.

21 ‘How are you. Darling?’

22 ‘Veronica!’ I feel like shouting it at her. ‘You called me Veronica!’

23 If only she would become visible, I think. Then I could catch her and impress upon her the truth of the situation, the gravity of what she has done. But she remains hazy, unhittable, too much loved.

24 I have come to tell her that Liam has been found.

25 ‘Are you all right?’

26 ‘Oh, Mammy.’

27 The last time I cried in this kitchen I was seventeen years old, which is old for crying, though maybe not in our family, where everyone seemed to be

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every age, all at once. I sweep my wet forearm along the table of yellow pine, with its thick, plasticky sheen. I turn my face toward her and ready it to say the ritual thing (there is a kind of glee to it, too, I notice) but, “Veronica!’ she says, all of a sudden and she moves – almost rushes – to the kettle. She puts her hand on the bakelite handle as the bubbles thicken against the chrome, and she lifts it, still plugged in, splashing some water in to heat the pot.

28 He didn’t even like her.

29 There is a nick in the wall, over by the door, where Liam threw a knife at our mother, and everyone laughed and shouted at him. It is there among the other anonymous dents and marks. Famous. The hole Liam made, after my mother ducked, and before everyone started to roar.

30 What could she have said to him? What possible provocation could she have afforded him – this sweet woman? And Ernest then, or Mossie, one of the enforcers, wrestling him out through the back door and on to the grass for a kicking. We laughed at that too. And my lost brother, Liam, laughed: the knife thrower, the one who was being kicked, he laughed too, and he grabbed his older brother’s ankle to topple him into the grass. Also me – I was also laughing, as I recall. My mother clucking a little, at the sight of it, and going about her business again. My sister Midge picking up the knife and waggling it out the window at the fighting boys, before slinging it into the sink full of washing-up. If nothing else, our family had fun.

From “the Gathering’ by Anne Enright.

Questions for Textual Analysis Passage 3

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1. Using your own words, explain the feelings Veronica has towards her mother in paragraph 1 of the extract.

2. Why does Veronica describe her mother as ‘forgetfulness itself’ in paragraph 2?

3. What picture is presented of the mother in paragraph 3 and how is this achieved?

4. Who is described as being the quiet one of the family?

5. What do you think the word ‘vague’ means and how is this idea supported in the rest of paragraph 6?

6. Why does Veronica think her own appearance must be confusing to her mother?

7. How do we know that the mother is trying to remember her daughter’s name?

8. What does Veronica mean by saying ‘The house knows me.’?

9. Why does Veronica not want to go into the sitting room?

10. Explain what you think Veronica means when she says ‘as the kitchen swallowed the back garden.’

11. Using your own words, explain why Veronica would not live there again.

12. What does Veronica think would happen to the place if it were sold?

13. By referring closely to the passage, show how an unpleasant picture of the kitchen is created.

14. What evidence is there that the mother is in poor health?

15. Why does Veronica become increasingly angry with her mother?

16. What does the writer mean by saying ‘where everyone seemed to be every age, all at once.’

17. What has become ‘famous’ in their household?

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18. Using your own words, describe what is happening in the last paragraph of the extract.

Solo Talk Homework

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Task: To interview a relative about school in their time and produce a solo talk to present to your class and teacher.

You can present your talk using powerpoint if you wish but it is not a requirement. Visual aids are encouraged and you may play any media you think is necessary.

You should: Interview an older member of your family, using the questions you

devised for homework. Collect as much interesting information as you can about what school

was like for them years ago. Have clear answers to the questions.

You will then use these answers to report back to the class in the form of an individual presentation.

You must:• Consider the purpose of the talk- your purpose is to inform the

class of who you interviewed, what you asked and what they said. • Think about what you want to say. For instance it would be good to

hear a little about the person you are interviewing before you discuss their questions.

• Select and order your ideas.• Make notes of the main points. (Don’t write everything you need to

say on your powerpoint)• Speak clearly and vary the tone of your voice.• Maintain good eye contact.• Use visual aids where appropriate.

All of the above requires: PLANNING PREPARATION PRACTICE

Research Homework Task 1: Christmas Traditions

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Christmas Traditions

Task: Write about a Christmas tradition or legend.

Some examples to get you thinking: Who was St. Nicholas? Where did Santa Clause come from? What is the relevance of the reindeers? Why do we have 12 days of Christmas? What is the point in a Christmas tree?

You can choose any tradition/legend to write about. You do not need to write about an example above.

You should explain what the tradition/legend is. Consider some of the following:

Where did it come from? When did it begin? Why did it begin? Is it still believed? Who by? Has the legend/tradition changed over the years?

Your writing should be at least one page in your jotter. Remember paragraphs. You may include an illustration if you wish.

Research Homework Task 2- A Person I Admire

Task: To research a famous person you admire in order to write a detailed account of their life for a magazine.

Purpose: To create an informative piece for people to read. The information should be interesting and enjoyable to read.

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Step 1- Thinking (answers in homework jotter) *Due Monday 8 th * 1. Make a list of 5 famous people you admire 2. Beside each name, write your reason for admiring him/her.3. Choose 1 of the people from your list to research. Make it clear in your

homework jotter who you have chosen.

Step 2 Researching (in homework jotter) *Due Monday 22 nd * 1. Make a list (or spider diagram) of the things you will need to find

out about the person’s life in order to write about them.2. Do some research to find the information you need- you can use

books/internet/magazines/quality papers. Use your list or spider diagram to do this research

3. Write your information in your own words – do not simply copy out information. Teachers are trained detectives- we can tell!

Some Ideas for areas to research:

Step 3: To present all of your information in an interesting format of your choice and create a strong folio piece.

Details: Your creation must: include lots of interesting information about your chosen famous

person include at least one image

Joe Blogs

Birth & early life

Home town

SchoolLife

AdultLife

Achievem-ents

ReasonsFor

admiring

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have accurate spelling and punctuation be written in an interesting way, to engage your reader clearly explain WHY you admire this person

Some ideas: Newspaper format Information booklet Leaflet Powerpoint presentation (you would need to print off the slides for

me to mark) Poster

Scottish Identity

We are about to being thinking about what it means to be Scottish. Your task is to research some of your initial ideas in preparation for our work and discussion in class on Monday. Keep your writing neat. You’ll use this research in class.

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Task 1: Think of 5 positive things about living in Scotland. Try to research each of your choices to prove your point.

For example, if you say that one positive of Scotland is the history, you could perhaps find out how many castles Scotland has- you’d be surprised!

Task 2: Think of as many Scots words as you can and include them in the space below.

Task 3: Write a paragraph explaining why you think it is important to study Scottish texts in school and learn about the Scots language. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task 4: Finally, either draw or print an image of one thing that you feel represents Scotland. At the bottom explain why you made this choice.

Homework: Writing for Information

In this activity, you will choose a newspaper article of your choice and tell your readers what the main points of the article are. This is to show that you are able to make a decision about what you would like to read and write about. Also, you will demonstrate that you can understand the information you have read and that you are able to explain what you have found out.

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The article can be about anything (as long as it’s appropriate) but I would like you to select an article from a quality newspaper. This is because the writing in these newspapers tends to be a little more sophisticated than in tabloids. You don’t need to buy a newspaper; you can access the articles online. Here is a list of websites you can use to find your article:

www. guardian .co.uk/ www. telegraph .co.uk/ www. thetimes .co.uk/ www. independent .co.uk/ www. herald scotland.com/

Please include the link if you use an online article. Otherwise, bring in the hardcopy of the article you have chosen. This is so that we can make sure you have properly read the article you have written about.Once you have chosen and read your article, write a summary (between four and six sentences long) of the article, explaining what it is about. Then, write down the writer’s three main points. You can use bullet points for this. So:

Choose your article from a quality newspaper (either a physical newspaper or online)

Summarise your article (between four and six sentences) Bullet point the three most important points the writer has made Bring either the actual article you have used or provide a link to the

article you used.

English Personal Reading Homework

In order to develop the skills you will need to do really well in English, you need to make sure you are reading in your own time. This will not only make you a better reader, but also enhance and widen your vocabulary, improve your spelling and make your own writing better!

Reading also:

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Helps you to develop vital language skills Helps you to improve your hand-eye coordination Improve your social skills Widen your knowledge of the world Provide you with loads of fun!

We recommend that you spend at least an hour every week reading. You can even split this up and read ten minutes daily. Once you get started you’ll probably find that you want to keep going!

You can read anything, from novels to poems to newspapers and comics. Whatever it is, make sure that you enjoy it. You don’t even have to buy books: the school library has lots and our librarian will happily help you to pick one you might like.

If you’re still struggling for ideas, here’s a list of books that you might really like:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3670597/100-books-every-child-should-read-Pt-3.html

“If you don’t like to read you haven’t found the right book”

― J. K. Rowling

Reading Clocks

You must read your chosen book for one hour every week until it is complete.

Colour in a section of the clock each time you read during the week. Your teacher will check this.

This is a mandatory part of your homework in S1-3

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Book: ________________ Book: ________________ Book: _______________Pages read: ____________ Pages read: ____________ Pages read: __________

Book: ________________ Book: ________________ Book: _______________Pages read: ____________ Pages read: ____________ Pages read: __________

Book: ________________ Book: ________________ Book: _______________Pages read: ____________ Pages read: ____________ Pages read: __________

Book: ________________ Book: ________________ Book: _______________Pages read: ____________ Pages read: ____________ Pages read: __________

Homework: Letter Writing

Danny MacAskill

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Danny MacAskill is a Scottish stunt cyclist from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. In 2009 he began releasing videos of his stunts on Youtube and has since become a world-wide success. Here is a clip of Danny in action:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-oDanny MacAskill is a talented and focused individual with a unique talent that appeals to many young people who ride bikes today. On the other hand, he advertises and glorifies stunts and injuries that have potentially life-threatening consequences if copied.

TaskWrite a letter to Danny MacAskill telling him why you admire him or why you think he is irresponsible. Your letter should be addressed to Danny MacAskill and at least 1 A4 page in length. Remember to lay out your letter correctly, including addresses and to paragraph and punctuate correctly.

Remember: Put the address in the correct place. You don’t have Danny’s exact

address, but you know something about where he might live which should help you to make one up.

In your first paragraph, you might want to tell Danny something about yourself because he doesn’t know you at all.

If you admire Danny but think he is irresponsible too, you could write one paragraph explaining why you admire him and another explaining why you also feel his line of work is irresponsible.

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Homework- Imaginative Writing Practice.

Task 1- The BeachYou are going to write a paragraph describing your surroundings. The best way to make setting seem realistic is to use language which appeals to your reader’s senses. This means that you will not just write about what you see, but also

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what you smell, taste, hear and feel. This is called sensory language or concrete language (they both mean the same thing).

Your TaskYou are standing on the beach at night.Write a detailed descriptive paragraph using sensory language.

What do you see? What do you hear? What do you taste What do you smell? What do you feel? (In a physical sense)

Tips Write in the first person Avoid repeating the same phrases over and over again. Don’t start every

sentence with “I can see” or “I can smell”. Make your writing more interesting by varying the start of your sentences.

Try to use the best vocabulary that you can. As always, make sure you keep technical accuracy in mind.

Imaginative Writing Extension-Task 2: Choose one of the following titles and write an imaginative essay. You must develop character setting and plot. Remember to use description and the skills you developed in the previous task.

Remember to:

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1. Choose a title and mark it clearly in your homework jotter2. Plan an essay before you begin writing. 3. Write the introduction and ensure that you have used descriptive

vocabulary. Avoid too much narrative. Then write the remainder of your story.

Titles:

My surprise ending Nightmares never last Trapped

One true friend Emptiness Escaped

The last sunset Held

At night it all ends

Homework- Personal Writing PracticeTask: Using a title from the list below, write a personal essay. You should develop your thoughts and feelings throughout the essay.

Titles:

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1. Think about a time when you were separated from someone you cared about. You should concentrate on your thoughts and feelings.

2. Write a personal essay using the following title: Never Forgotten3. New places, new faces. Write about a time when you had to cope with

new people in new surroundings. Remember to include your thoughts and feelings.

4. Write a personal essay using the following title: The Road to Nowhere5. Write a personal using the following title: Out of time.

Additional Pieces

Grammar- Task 1

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Express Yourself Better

Read the following passage then rewrite the passage in your homework jotter replacing the word ‘got’ ‘get’, ‘getting’ with better verbs. You may need to move other words around in the sentence in order to keep the meaning.

On the morning of my first day of school I got up early and got dressed while my mother got the breakfast. After that I got my pen and pencil and got my new cap from off the hook. Having got himself a new map, my dad already got to know the way to school. Once in the car, however, we soon found we had got into a traffic jam and it was obvious that we would be lucky to get to school on time.When we eventually got there, I got a nasty shock – there was no one there. We had got the wrong day!

Punctuation- Task 2Apostrophes

We only ever use apostrophes when a letter has been missed out or to show possession – which shows that something belongs to someone.

Apostrophes do not go at the end of any word that ends in the letter ‘s’. It has to be for one of the above reasons, so be careful.

Contractions: This is a big word which just means that two words have been squashed together. An apostrophe fills in the gap where the letters have been taken out.

Example: Do not: When you squish the word do and the word not together, you get the word don’t. The second ‘o’ is missed out, and that is where the apostrophe goes.

Task 1: Make your own contractions1. Have not2. Should not3. Cannot (you squish this word to make it smaller)4. Did not5. I will6. They are7. Is not8. Let us

Task 2What does the word “possessive” mean? What does it mean to “possess” something?

- A possessive apostrophe shows us that something belongs to someone. It can be tricky because it is not always a physical thing,

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but can be a characteristic, for example John’s personality. The personality belongs to John, do the apostrophe is possessive.

Fix these examples:1. Marys jotter2. The babys bottle3. Andrews difficulties4. The mans problems5. Rebeccas pencil case6. James trainers7. Mandys smile8. Ians hard work and effort

Acrostic Poem- Task 3

Task: To write an acrostic poem about a time when you were extremely happy using the letters:

T H O U G H T S A N D F E E L I N G S

Help BoxAn acrostic is a poem where the first letterof each line join up to

spell a word.