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Reading non-fiction texts
Cover
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 1
Reading non-fiction texts
ContentsIntroduction .................................................................................................................................... 3
Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen ................................................... 4Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................... 8Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 14
Text 2: The Guardian article: ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’ 20Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 22Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 26
Text 3: Excerpt taken from The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Sir Frederick Treves ................................................................................................................................ 30Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 33Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 41
Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by Christy Brown ..................................................... 48Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 51Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 53
Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her father ............................................................................ 57Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 59Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 65
Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr ........................................ 69Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 71Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 75
Text 7: Excerpt from Henry Morley, Household Words, ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’ ............ 82Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 84Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................. 88
Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron .......................................................... 95Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 98Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 100
Text 9: Excerpt from Charles Darwin The Voyage of the Beagle .......................................... 105Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 107Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 112
Text 10: Excerpt from Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence ............................................................ 120Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 122Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 126
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 129Extended, printable version of Kevin Rudd’s speech ....................................................... 130
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Reading non-fiction texts
Introduction
This GCSE pack is designed to help students engage with and prepare for the reading
non-fiction elements of the GCSE English Language specifications (2015). It contains 10
non-fiction texts from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Each non-fiction text has a
thematically linked ‘partner text’. This means that the texts can be taught discretely, or in
partnership with one another (looking at differences in perspective, context, language
and/or attitudes).
In addition to the non-fiction texts, the pack includes 20 lesson plans, accompanying
resources and suggestions for differentiation.
The pack has been devised for use with the English Language AQA, Edexcel, OCR and
WJEC Eduqas specifications. There are specific resources and exam practice questions
for each of these specifications included within the pack. The activities and ideas will help
students to: read and evaluate texts critically, compare ideas and perspectives across two
or more texts and analyse the use of language and structure to achieve effects and
influence the reader.
Which texts and activities you choose to study, and how many you use, will depend on the
nature of your classes and how much time you have available. The intention is that you
pick the activities that are best suited to your students’ needs.
Our thanks go to our contributor, Helen Millman Jones who wrote this pack.
We hope you enjoy using this pack. If you have any questions, please get in touch: email
[email protected] or call us on 01225 788850. Alternatively, you might like to give
some feedback for other Teachit members – you can do this by adding a comment on the
resource page on Teachit. (Please log in to access this.)
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 3
Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen
XXXIII
Godmersham Park: Saturday (August 24)
MY DEAR CASSANDRA,
How do you do; and how is Harriot’s cold? I hope you
are at this time sitting down to answer these questions.
Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable; I found Ly.
Gordon’s manners as pleasing as they had been
described, and saw nothing to dislike in Sir Janison,
excepting once or twice a sort of sneer at Mrs. Anne
Finch. He was just getting into talk with Elizabeth as the
carriage was ordered, but during the first part of the visit
he said very little.
Your going with Harriot was highly approved of by
everyone, and only too much applauded as an act of
virtue on your part. I said all I could to lessen your
merit. The Mrs. Finches were afraid you would find
Goodnestone very dull; I wished when I heard them say
so that they could have heard Mr. E. Bridges’ solicitude
on the subject, and have known all the amusements
that were planned to prevent it.
They were very civil to me, as they always are; fortune
was also very civil to me in placing Mr. E. Hatton by me
at dinner. I have discovered that Lady Elizabeth, for a
woman of her age and situation, has astonishingly little
to say for herself, and that Miss Hatton has not much
more. Her eloquence lies in her fingers; they were most
fluently harmonious.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
George is a fine boy, and well behaved, but Daniel
chiefly delighted me; the good humour of his
countenance is quite bewitching. After tea we had a
cribbage-table, and he and I won two rubbers of his
brother and Mrs. Mary. Mr. Brett was the only person
there, besides our two families.
It was considerably past eleven before we were at
home, and I was so tired as to feel no envy of those
who were at Ly. Yates’ ball. My good wishes for its
being a pleasant one were, I hope, successful.
Yesterday was a very quiet day with us; my noisiest
efforts were writing to Frank, and playing at battledore
and shuttlecock with William; he and I have practised
together two mornings, and improve a little; we have
frequently kept it up three times, and once or twice six.
The two Edwards went to Canterbury in the chaise, and
found Mrs. Knight, as you found her, I suppose, the day
before, cheerful but weak. Fanny was met walking with
Miss Sharp and Miss Milles, the happiest being in the
world; she sent a private message to her mamma
implying as much. “Tell mamma that I am quite
Palmerstone!" If little Lizzy used the same language
she would, I dare say, send the same message from
Goodnestone.
In the evening we took a quiet walk round the farm, with
George and Henry to animate us by their races and
merriment. Little Edward is by no means better, and his
papa and mamma have determined to consult Dr.
Wilmot. Unless he recovers his strength beyond what is
now probable, his brothers will return to school without
him, and he will be of the party to Worthing. If sea-
bathing should be recommended he will be left there
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 5
Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
with us, but this is not thought likely to happen.
I have been used very ill this morning: I have received a
letter from Frank which I ought to have had when
Elizabeth and Henry had theirs, and which in its way
from Albany to Godmersham has been to Dover and
Steventon. It was finished on ye 16th, and tells what
theirs told before as to his present situation; he is in a
great hurry to be married, and I have encouraged him in
it, in the letter which ought to have been an answer to
his. He must think it very strange that I do not
acknowledge the receipt of his, when I speak of those
of the same date to Eliz. and Henry; and to add to my
injuries, I forgot to number mine on the outside.
I have found your white mittens; they were folded up
within my clean nightcap, and send their duty to you.
Elizabeth has this moment proposed a scheme which
will be very much for my pleasure if equally convenient
to the other party; it is that when you return on Monday,
I should take your place at Goodnestone for a few days.
Harriot cannot be insincere, let her try for it ever so
much, and therefore I defy her to accept this self-
invitation of mine, unless it be really what perfectly suits
her. As there is no time for an answer, I shall go in the
carriage on Monday, and can return with you, if my
going on to Goodnestone is at all inconvenient.
The Knatchbulls come on Wednesday to dinner, and
stay only till Friday morning at the latest. Frank’s letter
to me is the only one that you or I have received since
Thursday.
Mr. Hall walked off this morning to Ospringe, with no
inconsiderable booty. He charged Elizabeth 5s. for
every time of dressing her hair, and 5s. for every lesson
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
to Sace, allowing nothing for the pleasures of his visit
here, for meat, drink, and lodging, the benefit of country
air, and the charms of Mrs. Salkeld’s and Mrs. Sace’s
society. Towards me he was as considerate as I had
hoped for from my relationship to you, charging me only
2s. 6d. for cutting my hair, though it was as thoroughly
dressed after being cut for Eastwell as it had been for
the Ashford assembly. He certainly respects either our
youth or our poverty.
My writing to you to-day prevents Elizabeth writing to
Harriot, for which evil I implore the latter’s pardon. Give
my best love to her, and kind remembrance to her
brothers.
Yours very affectionately,
J. A.
You are desired to bring back with you Henry’s picture
of Rowling for the Misses Finches.
As I find, on looking into my affairs, that instead of
being very rich I am likely to be very poor, I cannot
afford more than ten shillings for Sackree; but as we
are to meet in Canterbury I need not have mentioned
this. It is as well, however, to prepare you for the sight
of a sister sunk in poverty, that it may not overcome
your spirits.
Elizabeth hopes you will not be later here on Monday
than five o’clock, on Lizzy’s account.
We have heard nothing from Henry since he went.
Daniel told us that he went from Ospringe in one of the
coaches.
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 7
Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Quick quiz. Put students into teams and give them five minutes (timing them with the Teachit Timer) to write down as many facts as possible about Jane Austen, such as when she lived, which books she wrote, where she lived etc.
2. Alternatively, give the Jane Austen: true or false quiz resource to each team. Based on their findings, ask students to predict what information a letter from Jane Austen to her sister might contain.
Main activities
1. The name game. While you read the letter to your students, ask them to underline or highlight all of the proper nouns in the letter. They do not need to know all of these references, but the most significant ones are included as footnotes in the text.
Ask students to consider the high frequency of proper nouns – people and places – and what that might suggest about Jane Austen’s life and her letters.
2. Uncovering context: What was life like in 1805? Get students to consider the lifestyle presented in the letter by completing the Uncovering context activity sheet. This is a useful activity for context, but also addresses Assessment Objective 1: Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas and Select and synthesise evidence from different texts.
There is a differentiated version of this task.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Plenary activity
3. Language change. Ask students to identify all of the features of the letter which indicate that it was written in the 19th century. You might like to show students the vocabulary table below and ask them to write a modern equivalent for the words in bold. (Note: this is also available as an interactive matching activity.)
Jane Austen’s phrase Modern equivalent
Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable
Excepting once or twice
Fortune was also very civil to me
With George and Henry to animate us
With their races and merriment
His papa and mamma
Have determined to consult
He will be of the party to Worthing
I have been used very ill
I implore the latter’s pardon
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Lesson 1 resources
Jane Austen: true or false quiz
Statement True (tick) False (cross)
Jane Austen wrote Wuthering Heights.
Jane Austen had three children.
Jane Austen was American.
When Jane Austen was alive, Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne.
Jane Austen lived in Bristol for some of her life.
Jane Austen wrote about vampires.
Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice.
Jane Austen lived in the Georgian era of British history.
Jane Austen’s father was a vicar.
One of Jane Austen’s heroes is called Mr Darcy.
Jane Austen travelled all over the world during her life.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Uncovering context: What was life like in 1805?
Find a quotation from Jane Austen’s letter to support each of the following statements about society in the early 19th century.
1. The postal service took a long time and was often unreliable.
2. People travelled by horse and carriage.
3. Items of clothing were expensive and not easily replaced.
4. Letter writing was the main method of communication between family members who lived a distance away.
5. People were entertained by traditional games and activities.
6. The upper classes were invited to many social events.
7. Letters were a means of sharing gossip.
8. Medical treatments were fairly primitive.
9. Children were expected to behave well.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Uncovering context: What was life like in 1805? Differentiated version
Match up the following statements about society in the early 19th century with a quotation from Jane Austen’s letter
1. The postal service took a long time and was often unreliable.
A. ‘my noisiest efforts were writing to Frank, and playing at battledore and shuttlecock with William …’
2. People travelled by horse and carriage.
B. ‘I have discovered that Lady Elizabeth, for a woman of her age and situation, has astonishingly little to say for herself …’
3. Items of clothing were expensive and not easily replaced.
C. ‘How do you do; and how is Harriot’s cold?’
4. Letter writing was the main method of communication between family members who lived a distance away.
D. ‘If sea-bathing should be recommended he will be left there with us.’
5. People were entertained by traditional games and activities.
E. ‘I have received a letter from Frank …which in its way from Albany to Godmersham has been to Dover and Steventon.’
6. The upper classes were invited to many social events.
F. ‘The two Edwards went to Canterbury in the chaise …’
7. Letters were a means of sharing gossip.
G. ‘George is a fine boy, and well behaved, but Daniel chiefly delighted me …’
8. Medical treatments were fairly primitive.
H. ‘I have found your white mittens … and send their duty to you …’
9. Children were expected to behave well.
I. ‘I was so tired as to feel no envy of those who were at Ly. Yates’ ball.’
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Interactive resources
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 13
We’ve included a screenshot of the interactive version here so you can see the resource. To access this resource please log in to the Teachit website and search for ‘24832’ or click here.
Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Picture clues quiz. Put students into teams and show them the Picture clues. The idea is that they find a quotation from the letter to illustrate each of the pictures.
Main activities
1. Breaking it down. Give students a copy of the Reading non-fiction text analysis grid which offers students a framework for analysing a single text. Alternatively, give students the Reading non-fiction text comparison grid and ask them to complete the first column, in readiness for a comparison task.
2. Exam Pic’n’mix. The following exam-style questions are tailored to suit different specifications. They all address the following Assessment Objectives:
AO2
Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views
AO4
Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references.
Ask students to write a plan for one of the following exam-style questions, according to the specification you are following. (Note: All of the points on students’ plans should be supported with a relevant quotation.)
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
AQA-style question
How does Jane Austen use language to explain and describe her experiences?
OCR-style question
Explore how Jane Austen uses language and structure to explain and describe her experiences.Support your ideas by referring to the text, using relevant subject terminology.
Edexcel-style question
Analyse how Jane Austen uses language and structure to interest and engage her reader.
Support your views with detailed reference to the text.
Eduqas/WJEC-style question
Jane Austen sets out to explain and describe her experiences to her sister. How does she do this?
You should comment on:
what she says about her experiences
her use of language and tone
the way she structures her ideas.
Plenary activity
1. Discuss and evaluate. Share examples from students’ plans and discuss the ways in which they are effective.
Extension/ homework activity
Exam practice. Ask students to write the answer which they have planned.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Lesson 2 resources
Picture clues
A B
C D
E F
G H
I
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Answers
A. ‘playing at battledore and shuttlecock with William …’
B. ‘I was so tired to feel no envy of those who were at Ly. Yates’ ball.’
C. ‘I have found your white mittens …’
D. ‘Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable …’
E. ‘The two Edwards went to Canterbury in the chaise.’ or ‘‘He was just getting into talk
with Elizabeth as the carriage was ordered.’
F. ‘If sea-bathing should be recommended he will be left there with us …’
G. ‘Her eloquence lies in her fingers; they were most fluently harmonious.’
H. ‘I have received a letter from Frank …’
I. ‘After tea we had a cribbage-table …’
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Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Reading non-fiction text analysis grid
Feature of text Text 1
Content and ideas – what is the text about?
Audience – who is the text aimed at?
Purpose – why might the text have been written?
What do you notice about the writer’s perspective and/or attitudes?
What do you notice about:a. the text’s style andb. the text’s
language?
What do you notice about the text’s organisation and structure?
What are your thoughts on the text’s format (layout and presentation)?
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 18
Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Reading non-fiction text comparison grid
Feature of text Text 1 Text 2
Content and ideas – what is the text about?
Audience – who is the text aimed at?
Purpose – why might the text have been written?
What do you notice about the writer’s perspective and/or attitudes?
What do you notice about:a. the text’s
style andb. the text’s
language?
What do you notice about the text’s organisation and structure?
What are your thoughts on the text’s format (layout and presentation)?
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 19
Reading non-fiction, Text 2: Table manners Guardian article
Text 2: The Guardian article: ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’?
Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good
It might be messy, but children should
play with their food to stop them
becoming fussy eaters. What are your
rules at mealtimes?
My seven-year-old daughter has a friend
round for dinner. They’re pretending that
raspberries are lipstick and squidging
them against their lips, with lots of giggles
and red-stained fingers. I could object.
Instead, I smile and start loading the
dishwasher.
It’s not that I think table manners are
entirely unimportant. I have no intention
of raising slurpy, finger-licking, face-
smearing chimps. But I’ve always
instinctively felt that if I wanted my
children to grow up with a positive, happy,
healthy, adventurous attitude to food,
nagging them from a young age to
behave like mini adults at the dinner table
was going to be counterproductive. Not
only would it create tensions at the table,
it would crush their enthusiasm and open-
mindedness towards food pretty damn
quickly.
My own childhood memories of
mealtimes are still marred by my mum
constantly pestering me to hold my knife
right and telling me off for sculpting faces
in my Angel Delight with my spoon. No, if
I wanted my children to explore food by
eating it, I was going to have to relax and
let them explore it in any other ways, too.
Food is, after all, multisensory. It doesn’t
appeal to us through taste alone. The
smell of freshly baking bread can sell
houses. The colour of the inside of a
perfectly ripe avocado is good enough to
be painted on living room walls. And the
snap of a carrot stick is a rather satisfying
sound. A young child learns about the
world directly through their senses. Just
as a five- or six-month-old puts toys in
their mouth as part of their developmental
process, so babies and toddlers naturally
want to touch food, feel it, squidge it,
squelch it, sniff it and see what noises it
makes. It’s not a substitute for eating, or a
distraction from it. It’s an important part of
learning to love food and to be
comfortable around it.
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 20
Reading non-fiction, Text 2: Table manners Guardian article
Anna Groom is a lead NHS paediatric
dietitian. She works with children who are
“selective eaters” (fussy buggers to you
and me) on a daily basis. “It’s really
important to let children explore the
sensory side of food as a whole – not just
what it tastes like,” she says. “It makes it
more familiar to them. It makes them feel
‘safe’ with it.” The idea is that they are
more likely to try it, and less likely to
become fussy.
She points out that the emphasis on
keeping everything clean and tidy and
under control at mealtimes often starts at
weaning. Watch many a parent feeding
her baby and notice how they scrape the
spoon around the baby’s mouth after
each mouthful, how they hold the bowl at
arm’s reach when the baby swipes for it
eagerly. Yet exposure to a food, she
explains – any exposure – is a vital first
step, whether the child eats it or not.
“When I work with children who have
become phobic about a particular food, I
get them to draw it, touch it, play with it,
smell it, kiss it, lick it!”
So – even at age seven – I will continue
to let my daughter mould sand dunes out
of her rice, make a clown’s nose out of
cherry tomato or put a blob of peanut
butter on her boiled egg just to see what it
tastes like. I am teaching her table
manners, but I’m doing it gradually and
gently. In fact, I believe it has the most
impact when I talk to her about them
away from the table, when she’s not
hungry and trying to enjoy her food. The
other day, as she was engrossed in using
her fork to make fossil patterns in her
mashed potato, she looked up and said:
“You know Mummy, I wouldn’t do this if I
was in a restaurant.”
My other child is now 14. He has always
eaten everything and anything that comes
his way, with the exception of raw tomato.
How are his table manners? Pretty good.
I’ve noticed he still likes to have a
(discreet) animalistic sniff of a frankfurter
before he puts it in his mouth, but he
knows how to eat politely and conform to
society’s expectations.
By the time I’ve finished loading the
dishwasher, the girls have gone off to
play. I go to clear the last things from the
table. The squashed raspberries have all
been eaten.
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 21
Text 2: The Guardian article: ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Discussing the topic. Share and translate the following table manners written by the six-year-old son of Chris Cleave, a Guardian writer.
1. sit on your cher nislee
2. eetign nislee
3. ask if yoy can get out ov the taibl
4. sai pleez and tank you
5. Lai the taibl
6. cleen away the tayb
7. chry evreefing on your food plat
Ask the class to imagine that they are parents.
What order would they place the statements in (working from most to least important)?
What other table manners would they put on their lists?
Extension
You may wish to share The Guardian article by Chris Cleave at Down with the kids: table manners | Life and style | The Guardian
Main activities
1. Summary skills (AO1, AO4). Once you’ve read the article with the class, ask students to complete the Summarise and attack worksheet. This involves getting students to put the writer’s main points in the order in which they appear. It also draws a distinction between arguments and anecdotes or personal experiences, which are used alongside each other in this article. (Note: This is also available as an interactive sequencing activity) The counter argument activity will also prepare students for the writing task which follows.
2. Letter to The Guardian. The next task addresses the following writing assessment objectives:
AO5
Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone, style and register for different forms, purposes and audience. Organise information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support coherence and cohesion and texts.
AO6
Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect with accurate spelling and punctuation.
Before tackling a whole writing task, share examples of possible counter arguments which might be used to challenge the writer’s views.
Then ask students to write a letter to The Guardian, arguing that teaching table manners to children is important. They should counter the arguments in the article and develop at least two new ideas of their own.
It will be helpful to remind students about:
topic sentences
formal letter layout
connectives.
Students should be reminded to refer to the original article in their letter.
Plenary activity
1. Right to reply. Ask students to consider how the writer would respond to their letter if it was printed in The Guardian. What might she say to demolish their counter arguments?
Collect a few examples on the board and try to demolish these as a class.
Lesson 1 resources
Summarise and attack
Number these summary statements in the order in which they appear in the article:
q Parental control around food can cause children to be phobic about food.
q When I was young food was used as a means of discipline.
q My eldest child is not a fussy eater. He still enjoys the sensory aspect of food but understands society’s expectations.
q Enjoyment of food is more important than table manners.
q I allow my child to play with her food because she understands in which situations it is appropriate and in which it isn’t.
q My child likes to play with food and I let her.
q Food naturally lends itself to sensory exploration.
q Failure to allow children to explore food can often turn them into fussy eaters.
Which of the above statements are arguments? Highlight these in one colour.
Which of the above statements are anecdotes or personal opinion? Highlight these in a different colour to the one used for question 2.
Now look at the arguments. Underneath each one, write down a counter argument to challenge it.
Write up your counter argument. You may wish to use the following structure for your points:
Although the writer states that … , I would argue …
I strongly disagree with the view that … ; on the contrary, I believe that …
Interactive resources
We’ve included a screenshot of the interactive version here so you can see the resource. To access this resource please log in to the Teachit website and search for ‘24833’ or click here.
Text 2: The Guardian article: ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Text features. Ask students to identify the features of this text which make it fit the purpose of argue and persuade. Share the following checklist of features and ask students to find an example of each:
facts
opinions
rhetorical devices
quotes from a reliable source/ expert opinion
personal experience/ anecdote
circular structure
Ask students if they can identify a secondary purpose for the text from this list:
explain
inform
describe
entertain
advise
Main activities
1. Exploring food, exploring language (AO2, AO4). Ask students to complete the worksheet exploring the effects of language in the text. They should identify the technique being used by the writer and consider its effect. This resource leads into a short exam-style answer. There is also a differentiated version of this resource.
2. Prepare to compare. If you are preparing students for the AQA, OCR or WJEC Eduqas specifications you might like to ask students to compare this text with the Jane Austen letter by completing the Text comparison grid. Having completed the comparison grid, you can ask students to ‘zoom in’ on one or two sections of the grid and write a short comparative answer to a sample question such as:
How do the two writers use language and structure to engage and interest their readers?
If you are preparing students for the Edexcel specification, you may wish to find a 20th century text to pair up with the 21st century Guardian article or give students the Text analysis grid so that they can work on this single text.
If you are using the single text approach, then you can ask students to ‘zoom in’ on one aspect of the grid for detailed analysis.
Plenary activity
1. Advice for Parents. Tell students that they have been asked to write an advice sheet for parents who want to know how best to introduce their toddler to food. Get them into groups and ask them to write down about five or so examples of advice that they’d give. Then share the suggestions as a class.
Lesson 2 resources
Exploring food, exploring language
1. Complete the following grid:
Quotation Technique Effect
‘What are your rules at
mealtimes?’rhetorical question
‘I could object.’ short sentence
‘slurpy, finger-licking,
face-smearing chimps’
pattern of three
metaphor
compound adjectives
‘babies and toddlers
naturally want to touch
food, feel it, squidge it,
squelch it, sniff it and
see what noises it
makes.’
list of sensory verbs
‘fussy buggers to you
and me’use of slang
‘I will continue to let my
daughter mould sand
dunes out of her rice,
make a clown’s nose
out of a cherry tomato or
put a blob of peanut
butter on her boiled
egg.’
pattern of three
metaphor
‘I’ve noticed he still likes
to have a (discreet)
animalistic sniff of a
frankfurter.’
humour
adjective
2. Now have a go at this exam-style question:
How does the writer use language to engage the reader with her opinions about table manners?
Choose at least three of the examples from your grid to write about.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Text 3: Excerpt taken from The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Sir Frederick Treves
The shop was empty and grey with dust. Some old tins and a few
shrivelled potatoes occupied a shelf and some vague vegetable
refuse the window. The light of the place was dim, being obscured by
the painted placard outside. The far end of the shop – where I expect
the late proprietor sat at a desk – was cut off by a curtain or rather by
a red tablecloth suspended from a cord by a few rings. The room was
cold and dank, for it was the month of November. The year, I might
say, was 1884.
The showman pulled back the curtain and revealed a bent figure
crouching on a stool and covered by a brown blanket. In front of it, on
a tripod, was a large brick heated by a Bunsen burner. Over this the
creature was huddled to warm itself. It never moved when the curtain
was drawn back. Locked up in an empty shop and lit by the faint blue
light of the gas jet, this hunched-up figure was the embodiment of
loneliness. It might have been a captive in a cavern or a wizard
watching for unholy manifestations in the ghostly flame. Outside the
sun was shining and one could hear the footsteps of the passers-by,
a tune whistled by a boy and the companionable hum of traffic in the
road.
The showman – speaking as if to a dog – called out harshly: “Stand
up!” The thing arose slowly and let the blanket that covered its head
and back fall to the ground. There stood revealed the most disgusting
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
specimen of humanity that I have ever seen. In the course of my
profession I had come upon lamentable deformities of the face due to
injury or disease, as well as mutilations and contortions of the body
depending upon like causes; but at no time had I met with such a
degraded or perverted version of a human being as this lone figure
displayed. He was naked to the waist, his feet were bare, he wore a
pair of threadbare trousers that had once belonged to some fat
gentleman’s dress suit.
From the intensified painting in the street I had imagined the
Elephant Man to be of gigantic size. This, however, was a little man
below the average height and made to look shorter by the bowing of
his back. The most striking feature about him was his enormous and
misshapened head. From the brow there projected a huge bony
mass like a loaf, while from the back of the head hung a bag of
spongy, fungous-looking skin, the surface of which was comparable
to a brown cauliflower. On the top of the skull were a few long lank
hairs. The osseous growth on the forehead almost occluded one eye.
The circumference of the head was no less than that of the man’s
waist. From the upper jaw there projected another mass of bone. It
protruded from the mouth like a pink stump, turning the upper lip
inside out and making of the mouth a mere slobbering aperture. This
growth from the jaw had been so exaggerated in the painting as to
appear to be a rudimentary trunk or tusk. The nose was merely a
lump of flesh, only recognizable as a nose from its position. The face
was no more capable of expression than a block of gnarled wood.
The back was horrible, because from it hung, as far down as the
middle of the thigh, huge, sack-like masses of flesh covered by the
same loathsome cauliflower skin.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
The right arm was of enormous size and shapeless. It suggested the
limb of the subject of elephantiasis. It was overgrown also with
pendent masses of the same cauliflower-like skin. The hand was
large and clumsy – a fin or paddle rather than a hand. There was no
distinction between the palm and the back. The thumb had the
appearance of a radish, while the fingers might have been thick,
tuberous roots. As a limb it was almost useless. The other arm was
remarkable by contrast. It was not only normal but was, moreover, a
delicately shaped limb covered with fine skin and provided with a
beautiful hand which any woman might have envied. From the chest
hung a bag of the same repulsive flesh. It was like a dewlap
suspended from the neck of a lizard. The lower limbs had the
characters of the deformed arm. They were unwieldy, dropsical
looking and grossly misshapened.
To add a further burden to his trouble the wretched man, when a boy,
developed hip disease, which had left him permanently lame, so that
he could only walk with a stick. He was thus denied all means of
escape from his tormentors. As he told me later, he could never run
away. One other feature must be mentioned to emphasize his
isolation from his kind. Although he was already repellent enough,
there arose from the fungous skin-growth with which he was almost
covered a very sickening stench which was hard to tolerate. From the
showman I learnt nothing about the Elephant Man, except that he
was English, that his name was John Merrick and that he was
twenty-one years of age.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Text 3: Excerpt taken from The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Sir Frederick Treves
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Complete the Pre-reading activity which compares an extract from this text with an extract from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
After students have completed the task, let them know the following:
Text 1 is an extract from the science fiction novel The War Of The Worlds by H. G. Wells. This novel – which was first published in 1897 – describes the effects of a Martian invasion. In this extract, the narrator describes his first sighting of the Martian.
Text 2 is an extract from the memoirs of Sir Frederick Treves, a prominent surgeon at the London Hospital. In this extract, Treves describes his first encounter with Joseph (John) Merrick the severely disabled man who was put on display as part of a freak show and became known as The Elephant Man.
Ask students to think about their reactions to these texts:
Does the contextual information now lead them to view them differently? Why? Why not?
Main activities
1. First impressions. Read the first three paragraphs of the text and ask students to answer the following questions:
What sort of mood and atmosphere is conveyed by the description of the setting in the first paragraph?
What are the writer’s first impressions of The Elephant Man and the way in which he is treated?
How would you describe the writer’s attitude towards The Elephant Man in paragraph three?
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
2. Unpicking imagery. Read the description of The Elephant Man in paragraphs four and five and ask students to complete the Unpicking imagery grid, finding an example of imagery to match each body part. (Differentiation – a simpler matching activity is also available as an interactive matching activity.)
Students should then be encouraged to consider why the writer has used such comparisons and explain the effects of the comparisons chosen by the writer. It might be helpful to share ideas about which comparison is most vivid or most unpleasant.
3. Introducing exam skills (AO2, AO4). Give students the following shorter AQA-style question:
AQA-style question
How does the writer use language to describe The Elephant Man?
Answers should be structured in clear paragraphs and be supported by quotations from the text. (Note: if short on time, students could plan their answer using bullet points and supporting quotations. Alternatively, this could be a homework task.)
Plenary activity
1. Word detective (also available as an interactive matching activity ). Give students the following words from the text and ask them to match them up by guessing their meaning in the context of the article:
dank (adj) made from bone
manifestations (n) an opening or hole
osseous (adj) something which is seen or appears
occluded (vb) something which is crude or basic
aperture (n) hanging down
rudimentary (adj) obstructed or closed
pendent (adj) unpleasantly damp and cold
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Lesson 1 resources
Pre-reading activity
Task 1
Read (or listen to your teacher read) the two extracts below. As you read/listen, try to work out what might be being described.
Extract 1
A big greyish rounded bulk, the size, perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and painfully … As it bulged up and caught the light, it glistened like wet leather. Two large dark-coloured eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framed them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one might say, a face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively… There was something fungoid in the oily brown skin… Even at this first encounter, this first glimpse, I was overcome with disgust and dread.
Extract 2
The thing arose slowly and let the blanket that covered its head fall back to the ground. There stood revealed the most disgusting specimen of humanity that I have ever seen … The most striking feature about him was his enormous and misshapened head. From the brow there projected a huge bony mass like a loaf, while from the back of the head hung a bag of spongy, fungous-looking skin, the surface of which was comparable to a brown cauliflower … From the upper jaw there projected another mass of bone. It protruded from the mouth like a pink stump, turning the upper lip inside out and making of the mouth a mere slobbering aperture.
Task 2
Your teacher will now give you some contextual (background) information on the texts. Does this information surprise you? Does it cause you to view the subjects that are described any differently? If so, why?
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Task 3
Now complete the table below, making notes in each box.
Extract 1 Extract 2
the creature or subject
how language is used to create description
attitudes
similarities
differences
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Unpicking imagery
Task 1
Complete the following grid by doing a ‘close reading’ of paragraphs four and five of the text in which The Elephant Man is described in detail.
Part of body Comparison Effect of comparison
the face
the hand
the skin
the brow
the thumb
the chest
the fingers
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Task 2
Choose the comparison you think is most effective / works best. What effect does the language have? What feelings or response does it create in you, as a reader?
Task 3
Now think about why the writer has chosen to use such comparisons. Discuss this with your partner.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Interactive resources
We’ve included a screenshot of the interactive version here so you can see the resource. To access this resource please log in to the Teachit website and search for ‘24834’ or click here.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
We’ve included a screenshot of the interactive version here so you can see the resource. To access this resource please log in to the Teachit website and search for ‘24835’ or click here.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Text 3: Excerpt taken from The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Sir Frederick Treves
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Whizzy wiki. Give out the Wikipedia factsheet on The Elephant Man and Frederick Treves. Split the class into two halves and see how many facts they can pick out about their key person in five minutes. Use the Teachit Timer to introduce an element of competition. Share facts on the board.
Discuss what new information students have learned about The Elephant Man and the writer of this text.
Main activities
1. Elephant Man attitudes. Consider the attitudes and perspective of the writer by completing the resource on Frederick Treves: Attitudes towards The Elephant Man. (There are differentiated versions of this task and the tasks build towards answering an exam-style question. The first resource is aimed at middle to lower ability students while the second resource is aimed at higher ability students and contains a less scaffolded approach.)
2. A doctor’s viewpoint. Share ideas with the class and gather a consensus about Treves’ overall attitude. Ask students to consider his medical perspective – how did this affect his attitude/perspective on his subject?
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Plenary activities
1. More on Merrick. Share these statements which appear later in Treves’ journal as he recounts his regular visits to Merrick once he was given a ‘home’ in the London Hospital. Ask students whether these alter their perceptions of The Elephant Man?
‘I found Merrick … remarkably intelligent. He had learnt to read and had become a most voracious reader.’
‘He had a passion for conversation, yet all his life had had no one to talk to.’
‘He showed himself to be a gentle, affectionate and lovable creature … free from any trace of cynicism or resentment, without a grievance and without an unkind word for anyone.’
2. Disabilities then and now. Ask class to discuss the following:
To what extent have society’s attitudes towards disabled people changed since John Merrick was alive in the 19th century?
What can we learn, if anything, from his story?
The above discussion will lead into Text 4 which deals with the experiences of the writer and painter Christy Brown. You might wish to bridge the two resources by asking students to complete some research about Christy Brown’s life.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Lesson 2 resources
Whizzy wiki: Factsheet on The Elephant Man and Frederick Treves
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital. Merrick was born in Leicester, Leicestershire and began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life. His skin appeared thick and lumpy, he developed enlarged lips, and a bony lump grew on his forehead. One of his arms and both of his feet became enlarged and at some point during his childhood he fell and damaged his hip, resulting in permanent lameness. When he was 10, his mother died, and his father soon remarried. Merrick left school at 13 and had difficulty finding employment. Rejected by his father and stepmother, he left home. In late 1879, Merrick, aged 17, entered the Leicester Union Workhouse.
In 1884, after four years in the workhouse, Merrick contacted a showman named Sam Torr and proposed that Torr should exhibit him. Torr agreed and arranged for a group of men to manage Merrick, whom they named the Elephant Man. After touring the East Midlands, Merrick travelled to London to be exhibited in a penny gaff shop on Whitechapel Road which was rented by showman Tom Norman. Norman’s shop, directly across the street from the London Hospital, was visited by a surgeon named Frederick Treves, who invited Merrick to be examined and photographed. Soon after Merrick’s visits to the hospital, Tom Norman’s shop was closed by the police, and Merrick’s managers sent him to tour in Europe.
In Belgium, Merrick was robbed by his road manager and abandoned in Brussels. He eventually made his way back to London; unable to communicate, he was found by the police to have Dr. Treves’ card on him. Treves came and took Merrick back to the London Hospital. Although his condition was incurable, Merrick was allowed to stay at the hospital for the remainder of his life. Treves visited him daily, and the pair developed quite a close friendship. Merrick also received visits from the wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society, including Alexandra, Princess of Wales.
Aged 27, Merrick died on 11 April 1890. The official cause of death was asphyxia, although Treves, who dissected the body, said that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck. He believed that Merrick—who had to sleep sitting up because of the weight of his head—had been attempting to sleep lying down, to ‘be like other people’.
The exact cause of Merrick’s deformities is unclear. The dominant theory throughout much of the 20th century was that Merrick suffered from neurofibromatosis type I. In 1986, a new theory emerged that he had Proteus syndrome. In 2001, it was proposed that Merrick had suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome. DNA tests conducted on his hair and bones have proven inconclusive. In 1979, Bernard Pomerance’s play about Merrick called The Elephant Man debuted, and David Lynch’s film, also called The Elephant Man, was released the following year.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Attitudes towards the Elephant Man – version 1
Task one
Read the following sentences:
1. ‘this hunched up figure was the embodiment of loneliness.’
2. ‘The showman – speaking as if to a dog – called out harshly: Stand up!’
3. ‘at no time had I met with such a degraded or perverted version of a human being.’
4. ‘To add a further burden to his trouble the wretched man, when a boy, developed hip disease.’
Task two
Now try to match the above quotations with each of the attitude words given in the first column of the table below. (If you can’t fit each quotation in the table, simply record the relevant number instead.)
Task three
In the ‘effect’ box, make a specific comment on the effect of the highlighted words or phrase in the quotation.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Word(s) to describe attitude
Quotation Effect of word(s) used
pitying
repulsed and horrified
sympathetic
angry
Task four
Now have a go at one of the following exam-style questions:
(NB: Here you are being asked to write about one text only; in the exam you will be comparing how two writers convey their different attitudes to a subject.)
AQA-style question
How does the writer use language to convey his attitudes towards John Merrick?
Edexcel-style question
How does the writer present his ideas and perspectives about John Merrick?
Support your answer with detailed reference to the text.
Answer in PEE paragraphs, using the ideas you put down in the grid above.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Attitudes towards the Elephant Man – version 2
Which of the following statements support Treves’s attitude towards John Merrick?
1. Working with a partner, tick the statements that you agree with.
Treves is mocking in his description of The Elephant Man
Treves is sympathetic towards The Elephant Man
Treves is horrified at the sight of The Elephant Man
Treves is emotionally moved by the sight of The Elephant Man
Treves is angry at the treatment of The Elephant Man
Treves is repulsed by The Elephant Man’s appearance
Treves pities The Elephant Man
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
2. Find a quotation to support the statements that you agree with and write it beneath each statement.
3. Now try one of these exam-style questions:
(NB Here you are being asked to write about one text only; in the exam you will be comparing how two writers convey their different attitudes to a subject.)
AQA-style question
How does the writer convey his attitudes to John Merrick?
What are those attitudes?
What methods does he use to convey them?
Support your answer with quotations.
Edexcel-style question
How does the writer present his ideas and perspectives about John Merrick?
Support your answer with detailed reference to the text.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Chapter 1, The Letter ‘A’
I was born in the Rotunda Hospital, on June 5th, 1932.
There were nine children before me and twelve after me,
so I myself belong to the middle group. Out of this total of
twenty-two, seventeen lived, four died in infancy, leaving
thirteen still to hold the family fort.
Mine was a difficult birth, I am told. Both mother and son
almost died. A whole army of relations queued up outside
the hospital until the small hours of the morning, waiting
for news and praying furiously that it would be good.
After my birth mother was sent away to recuperate for
some weeks and I was kept in the hospital while she was
away. I remained there for some time, without name, for I
wasn’t baptized until my mother was well enough to bring
me to church.
It was mother who first saw that there was something
wrong with me. I was about four months old at the time.
She noticed that my head had a habit of falling backwards
whenever she tried to feed me. She attempted to correct
this by placing her hand on the back of my neck to keep it
steady. But when she took it away back it would drop
again. That was the first warning sign. Then she became
aware of other defects as I got older. She saw that my
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
hands were clenched nearly all of the time and were
inclined to twine behind my back; my mouth couldn’t grasp
the teat of the bottle because even at that early age my
jaws would either lock together tightly, so that it was
impossible for her to open them, or they would suddenly
become limp and fall loose, dragging my whole mouth to
one side. At six months I could not sit up without having a
mountain of pillows around me; at twelve months it was
the same.
Very worried by this, mother told father her fears, and they
decided to seek medical advice without any further delay. I
was a little over a year old when they began to take me to
hospitals and clinics, convinced that there was something
definitely wrong with me, something which they could not
understand or name, but which was very real and
disturbing.
Almost every doctor who saw and examined me, labelled
me a very interesting but also a hopeless case. Many told
mother very gently that I was mentally defective and would
remain so. That was a hard blow to a young mother who
had already reared five healthy children. The doctors were
so very sure of themselves that mother’s faith in me
seemed almost an impertinence. They assured her that
nothing could be done for me.
She refused to accept this truth, the inevitable truth – as it
then seemed – that I was beyond cure, beyond saving,
even beyond hope. She could not and would not believe
that I was an imbecile, as the doctors told her. She had
nothing in the world to go by, not a scrap of evidence to
support her conviction that, though my body was crippled,
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
my mind was not. In spite of all the doctors and specialists
told her, she would not agree. I don’t believe she knew
why – she just knew without feeling the smallest shade of
doubt.
Finding that the doctors could not help in any way beyond
telling her not to place her trust in me, or, in other words,
to forget I was a human creature, rather to regard me as
just something to be fed and washed and then put away
again, mother decided there and then to take matters into
her own hands. I was her child, and therefore part of the
family. No matter how dull and incapable I might grow up
to be, she was determined to treat me on the same plane
as the others, and not as ‘queer one’ in the back room
who was never spoken of when visitors were present.
That was a momentous decision as far as my future life
was concerned. It meant that I would always have my
mother on my side to help me fight all the battles that were
to come, and to inspire me with new strength when I was
almost beaten. But it wasn’t easy for her because now the
relatives and friends had decided otherwise. They
contended that I should be taken kindly, sympathetically,
but not seriously. That would be a mistake. “For your own
sake,” they told her, “don’t look to the boy as you would to
the others; it would only break your heart in the end.”
Luckily for me, mother and father held out against the lot
of them. But mother wasn’t content just to say that I was
not an idiot, she set out to prove it, not because of any
rigid sense of duty, but out of love. That is why she was so
successful.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Lesson 1
Starter activities
1. Artistic challenge. Ask students to take off their shoes and socks and try to draw a picture using only the toes of their left foot. You might specify what you want them to draw or give them freedom of choice.
Alternatively they might work in groups with one person volunteering to do the drawing or you might ask students to complete the task as homework prior to the lesson.
Students should be encouraged to display their pictures and discuss the merits of the pictures produced and the difficulties which they encountered whilst doing them.
2. Introducing Christy Brown. Show students this Bonhams auctions webpage which details letters, paintings and papers produced by Christy Brown. These images will open students’ eyes to what he managed to achieve, using only the toes of his left foot. Explain that Christy Brown was a talented writer as well as an artist and that you are going to be reading an extract from his autobiography. Ask students what they can predict about the nature of his disability?
Main activities
1. Getting going (AO1). Read the first three paragraphs of the article and ask students to share their first impressions of this autobiography. What information do you learn about Christy’s beginnings in life?
2. Challenging negative perceptions. Read from paragraph four when Christy explains the difficulties that he faced as a child with cerebral palsy.
As you read the text, ask students to find and highlight or underline each of the following words or phrases, representing the views of the medical profession about Christy.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
hopeless case
mentally defective
beyond hope
imbecile
crippled
dull
incapable
idiot
Ask students to challenge all of those words by replacing them with an antonym or other near equivalent.
3. Role play. Ask students to work in pairs and role play a conversation between Christy’s mother and a doctor. During the conversation, the doctor outlines Christy’s prognosis in negative terms, using some of the words from the text and Christy’s mother challenges those views.
(Students should use some of the pairs of words which they came up with in task 3 above.)
Plenary activity
1. Give students the opportunity to show their role plays.
2. Discuss early 20th century treatment of disabled people.
Would Christy be treated like this by doctors today?
Why or why not?
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by Christy Brown
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Attitudes and prejudices. Bring up these BBC news links to Ellie Simmonds and Cerrie Burnell. (You could also link students to images of Stephen Hawking, Warwick Davis or Stevie Wonder.) Ask students to identify the people presented and discuss their contribution to society.
What sort of attitudes and prejudices might they face in their lives on account of their disabilities?
How can we challenge those prejudices?
Main activities
1. Prepare to compare. This task is designed to address the following objectives:
AO2
Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to support their views.
AO3
Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed across two or more texts.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
Give students the worksheet on Exploring and comparing attitudes in this text. This is aimed at preparing students to tackle a comparative question which forms a key part of the assessment criteria for all exam boards. It is important to note that this task asks students to compare ideas and perspectives within one text.
2. Linked writing (AO5, AO6). Give students a choice of writing tasks which reflect the style of tasks on the writing exam papers, along these lines:
Write a speech in which you argue that disabled people are positive role models in society.
Write a letter to the director of Channel 4 outlining your views about the representation of disabled people on television. The following link might be helpful: The Undateables: Freak show TV or challenging prejudice? - Features - TV & Radio - The Independent
‘Attitudes towards disabled people are as bad in the 21st century as they were in the 19th century.’ Argue your view.
Plenary activity
1. Drawing links between the writing of Christy Brown and Frederick Treves. Give students the following statement, which is modelled on an OCR exam-style question:
‘These texts are powerful because they show people standing up to prejudice about disability.’ How far you do agree?
2. Planning task. You may wish to take this further with your class and ask them to plan an exam answer in response to the above statement. If so, the following bullet points will be useful at providing them with a structure. This is modelled on an OCR exam-style question, but the bullet points will support all students to consider what they learn from these texts:
Discuss what you learn about prejudice and disability from the texts
Explain the impact of these ideas on you
Compare the ways ideas about prejudice and disability are presented. (Look at structure and language.)
Use quotations from both texts to support your answer.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
Lesson 2 resource
Exploring and comparing attitudes
Christy’s mother and the medical profession view Christy’s condition very differently. Use the following grid to explore those differences.
1. Find a quotation to support each of the statements on the grid:
Extension: Add extra points of your own.
Christy’s mother The medical profession
Optimistic about her son’s prospects. Pessimistic about Christy’s prospects.
Believes that, despite his physical disabilities, he is intelligent.
Believes that Christy is mentally deficient.
Loves her son and wants him to be a part of her family.
Believes that Christy should be ignored.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
2. Now write up your ideas as an answer this question:
Compare how the writer conveys the different attitudes of Christy’s mother and the medical profession towards his disability.
Note that this type of question will normally require you to gather information from two separate sources. Here you are using the material from one text to show that you can make comparisons between the different attitudes shown.
It is important to address the ‘how’ part of the question by exploring the effects of the words in the quotations that you use.
Here is an example:
In the extract from My Left Foot the writer tells us that his mother was optimistic
about his prospects, despite his physical disabilities. He writes that ‘mother’s
faith in me seemed almost an impertinence’ to the doctors. The quotation
suggests that his mother’s belief in him was very strong, despite the opposition
from the doctors. The word ‘faith’ is a hopeful word, suggesting that Christy’s
mother had an instinctive and deep conviction that her son could have a future.
Useful linking phrases for contrast:
In contrast to this … Whereas …
However… Whilst …
On the other hand …
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her father
TO REV. P. BRONTË
‘112 GLOUCESTER TERRACE,
‘HYDE PARK, June 7th, 1851.
‘DEAR PAPA,—I was very glad to hear that you continued
in pretty good health, and that Mr. Cartman came to help
you on Sunday. I fear you will not have had a very
comfortable week in the dining-room; but by this time I
suppose the parlour reformation will be nearly completed,
and you will soon be able to return to your old quarters.
The letter you sent me this morning was from Mary
Taylor. She continues well and happy in New Zealand,
and her shop seems to answer well. The French
newspaper duly arrived. Yesterday I went for the second
time to the Crystal Palace. We remained in it about three
hours, and I must say I was more struck with it on this
occasion than at my first visit. It is a wonderful place—
vast, strange, new, and impossible to describe. Its
grandeur does not consist in one thing, but in the unique
assemblage of all things. Whatever human industry has
created, you find there, from the great compartments filled
with railway engines and boilers, with mill-machinery in full
work, with splendid carriages of all kinds, with harness of
every description—to the glass-covered and velvet-spread
stands loaded with the most gorgeous work of the
goldsmith and silversmith, and the carefully guarded
caskets full of real diamonds and pearls worth hundreds of
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
thousands of pounds. It may be called a bazaar or a fair,
but it is such a bazaar or fair as Eastern genii might have
created. It seems as if magic only could have gathered
this mass of wealth from all the ends of the earth—as if
none but supernatural hands could have arranged it thus,
with such a blaze and contrast of colours and marvellous
power of effect. The multitude filling the great aisles
seems ruled and subdued by some invisible influence.
Amongst the thirty thousand souls that peopled it the day I
was there, not one loud noise was to be heard, not one
irregular movement seen—the living tide rolls on quietly,
with a deep hum like the sea heard from the distance.
‘Mr. Thackeray is in high spirits about the success of his
lectures. It is likely to add largely both to his fame and
purse. He has, however, deferred this week’s lecture till
next Thursday, at the earnest petition of the duchesses
and marchionesses, who, on the day it should have been
delivered, were necessitated to go down with the Queen
and Court to Ascot Races. I told him I thought he did
wrong to put it off on their account—and I think so still.
The amateur performance of Bulwer’s play for the Guild of
Literature has likewise been deferred on account of the
races. I hope, dear papa, that you, Mr. Nicholls, and all at
home continue well. Tell Martha to take her scrubbing
and cleaning in moderation and not overwork herself.
With kind regards to her and Tabby,—I am, your
affectionate daughter,
‘C. BRONTË.’
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her father
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Make predictions. Give students the word sort activity sheet to encourage students to make predictions about this text. This activity uses a crunched extract of the text about the Great Exhibition to encourage students to investigate vocabulary choices, group words according to categories and make predictions about the text.
2. Creative extension. You might ask students to produce their own creative response or text using some of the words in this extract. Suggestions might be: a poem, a collage or a short piece of narrative writing.
Main activities
1. Read/reflect. Read the letter to your class and reflect on the predictions made by students in the starter activity.
2. Uncovering context. Explain the context of the letter by introducing information about the Great Exhibition. The following British Library webpage and slide show is useful: www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/exhibition/greatexhibition.html
The Victorian School is another useful website:
www.victorianschool.co.uk/Gt_exhib.html
You might also like to give students the Whizzy wiki factsheet and ask them to complete the Great Exhibition quiz in teams.
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
3. Information retrieval (AO1). Ask students to consider the wider content of Charlotte Brontë’s letter and retrieve information and ideas from it by completing the Letter writing lingo sheet.
Plenary activity
1. Reflect on the main purpose of the letter by asking students to consider the following question:
How successfully has the writer conveyed her experience of visiting the Great Exhibition?
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Lesson 1 resources
Word sort activity
The following words are all taken from this text and re-arranged here in alphabetical order and frequency:
a a a a a all all all and and and and and and and and arranged as as as assemblage bazaar bazaar be blaze boilers but but but called carefully carriages caskets colours compartments consist contrast could could created created describe description diamonds does earth eastern effect ends engines every fair fair filled find from from full full gathered genii glass-covered goldsmith gorgeous grandeur great guarded hands harness has have have have human hundreds if if impossible in in in industry is is it it it it it its kinds loaded machinery magic marvellous mass may might mill most new none not of of of of of of of of of of of one only or or pearls place pounds power railway real seems silversmith splendid stands strange such such supernatural the the the the the the the the there thing things this this thousands to to unique vast velvet-spread wealth whatever with with with with with with wonderful work work worth you
Group the words according to categories of your choice:
Predicting the text
What sort of text do you think this might come from?
What ideas do you have about the content of the text?
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Whizzy wiki: Factsheet on The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from May 1st to October 11th, 1851. It was the first in a series of World’s Fair exhibitions of culture and industry that were to become a popular 19th-century feature. The Great Exhibition was organized by Henry Cole and Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. It was attended by numerous notable figures of the time, including Charles Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist Royal Family and the writers Charlotte Brontë, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and Alfred Tennyson.
Manufactures and Commerce as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design. It was arguably a response to the highly successful French Industrial Exposition of 1844: indeed, its prime motive was for “Great Britain [to make] clear to the world its role as industrial leader.” Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, was an enthusiastic promoter of the self-financing exhibition. Queen Victoria and her family visited three times. Although the Great Exhibition was a platform on which countries from around the world could display their achievements, Great Britain sought to prove its own superiority. The British exhibits at the Great Exhibition “held the lead in almost every field where strength, durability, utility and quality were concerned, whether in iron and steel, machinery or textiles.”
Sophie Forgan says of the Exhibition that “Large, piled-up ‘trophy’ exhibits in the central avenue revealed the organisers’ priorities; they generally put art or colonial raw materials in the most prestigious place. Technology and moving machinery were popular, especially working exhibits.” She also notes that visitors “could watch the entire process of cotton production from spinning to finished cloth. Scientific instruments were found in class X, and included electric telegraphs, microscopes, air pumps and barometers, as well as musical, horological and surgical instruments.”
A special building, nicknamed The Crystal Palace, or “The Great Shalimar”, was built to house the show. It was designed by Joseph Paxton with support from structural engineer Charles Fox, the committee overseeing its construction including Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and went from its organisation to the grand opening in just nine months. The building took the form of a massive glass house, 1851 feet (about 564 metres) long by 454 feet (about 138 metres) wide and was constructed from cast iron-frame components and glass made almost exclusively in Birmingham and Smethwick. From the interior, the building’s large size was emphasized with trees and statues. The building was later moved and re-erected in an enlarged form at Sydenham in south London, an area that was renamed Crystal Palace. It was destroyed by fire on 30 November 1936.
Six million people—equivalent to a third of the entire population of Britain at the time—visited the Great Exhibition. The average daily attendance was 42,831 with a peak attendance of 109,915 on 7 October. The event made a surplus of £186,000 (£17,770,000 in 2015), which was used to found the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Great Exhibition quiz
1. For how long was the exhibition held?
2. Where was it held?
3. Which member of the royal family was jointly responsible for organising it?
4. How many times did Queen Victoria visit?
5. Name two famous people who attended the exhibition.
6. What was the exhibition designed to celebrate?
7. Were all of the exhibits British?
8. Who built the Crystal Palace in which the exhibition was held?
9. What other name was the building known by?
10. How long did it take to build it?
11. How many people visited the exhibition?
12. How much money was raised by the exhibition?
13. What was the profit used for?
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Letter writing lingo
Look at each of the following reasons for writing a letter to a family member in Victorian times. Tick whichever purpose you think is relevant to Charlotte Brontë’s letter and find a quotation from the text to support it.
Reason for writing Evidence from the text
conveying personal news
enquiring about family members
conveying news of national importance
giving opinions
sharing trivial news or gossip about people
giving condolences
describing a special or noteworthy experience
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her father
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Matching task. Ask students to complete the What was the Great Exhibition like? matching activity in pairs. This will consolidate their ideas about Charlotte Brontë’s visit to the Great Exhibition and provide them with quotations for analysis later in the lesson.
Main activities
1. Discuss or debate. Ask for feedback about the word and quotation pairings. Invite discussion about the best choice of quotations to illustrate the words. There is likely to be some debate about the pairings, but this is to be encouraged.
2. Language zoom. Ask students to select at least five word and quotation pairings and highlight or annotate the quotation, highlighting interesting vocabulary choices and considering their effect.
3. Unpicking imagery. In addition to the rich vocabulary choices, adjectives, compound adjectives, adverbs etc., Charlotte Brontë also uses imagery to bring the scene to life.
Ask students to identify the technique used, and its effect, in these examples:
1. ‘… it is such a bazaar or fair as Eastern genii might have created.’
2. ‘… as if none but supernatural hands could have arranged it’
3. ‘… the living tide rolls on quietly, with a deep hum like the sea heard
from the distance.’
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
4. Exam skills. Ask students to draw their work on language together and write an answer to this exam-style question:
How does Brontë use language to describe her experiences of visiting the Great Exhibition? (AO2, AO4)
Plenary activity
1. A modern exhibition. As a way of connecting this text to the next one, ask students to write down what 10 features they might include if they were staging an exhibition to celebrate the 21st century.
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Lesson 2 resources
What was the Great Exhibition like?
All of the following words could describe Brontë’s view of the exhibition. Match up the words with the quotations which follow. Cut out the 12 words so that you can move them around as separate cards.
unique impressive magical
exotic colourful powerful
captivating varied popular
beautiful awe-inspiring extravagant
Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Cut out the 12 quotations so that you can move them around as separate cards.
‘It is a wonderful place’
‘It seems as if magic only could have gathered this mass of wealth from all the ends of the earth.’
‘Whatever human industry has created, you find there …’
‘Its grandeur does not consist in one thing, but in the unique assemblage of all things.’
‘the glass-covered and velvet-spread stands loaded with the most gorgeous work of the goldsmith and silversmith …’
‘such a blaze and contrast of colours …’
‘marvellous power of effect.’
‘The multitude filling the great aisles seems ruled and subdued by some invisible influence.’
‘it is such a bazaar or fair as Eastern genii might have created.’
‘vast, strange, new and impossible to describe.’
‘the thirty thousand souls that peopled it’
‘carefully guarded caskets full of real diamonds and pearls worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr
But other historic changes went ahead. Both devolution and the Irish
peace process reshaped the country and produced clear results. So
did other constitutional initiatives, such as the expulsion of most
hereditary peers from the Lords, ending its huge inbuilt Conservative
majority, and the incorporation of the European human rights
convention into British law, allowing cases to come to court here.
Neither produced the outcomes ministers expected. The Lords
became more assertive and more of a problem for Blair, not less of
one. British judges’ interpretation of the human rights of asylum
seekers and suspected terrorists caused much anguish to
successive home secretaries; and the ‘human rights culture’ was
widely criticized by newspapers. But at least, in each case, serious
shifts in the balance of power were made, changes intended to make
Britain fairer and more open.
Other early initiatives would crumble to dust and ashes. One of the
most interesting examples is the Dome, centrepiece of millennium
celebrations inherited from the Conservatives. Blair was initially
unsure about whether to forge ahead with the £1 bn gamble. He was
argued into the Dome project by Peter Mandelson who wanted to be
its impresario, and by John Prescott, who liked the new money it
would bring to a blighted part of east London. Prescott suggested
New Labour wouldn’t be much of a government if it could not make a
success of this. Blair agreed, though had the Dome ever come to a
cabinet vote he would have lost. Architecturally the Dome was
striking and elegant, a landmark for London which can be seen by
almost every air passenger arriving in the capital. Public money was
spent on cleaning up a poisoned semicircle of derelict land and
brining new Tube and road links. The millennium was certainly worth
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
celebrating. But the problem ministers and their advisers could not
solve was what their pleasure Dome should contain. Should it be for
a great national party? Should it be educational? Beautiful? Thought-
provoking? A fun park? Nobody could decide. The instinct of the
British towards satire was irresistible as the project continued
surrounded by cranes and political hullabaloo. The Dome would be
magnificent, unique, a tribute to daring and can-do. Blair himself said
it would provide the first paragraph of his next election manifesto.
A well-funded, self-confident management was put in place but the
bright child’s question – yes, but what’s it for? – would not go away.
When the Dome finally opened, at New Year, the Queen, Prime
Minister and hundreds of donors, business people and celebrities
were treated to a mishmash of a show which embarrassed many of
them. Bad organization meant most of the guests had a long,
freezing and damp wait to get in for the celebrations. Xanadu this
was not. The fiasco meant the Dome was roasted in most
newspapers and when it opened to the public, the range of mildly
interesting exhibits was greeted as a huge disappointment. Far fewer
people came and bought tickets than was hoped. It turned out to be a
theme park without a theme, morphing in the public imagination into
the earliest and most damaging symbol of what was wrong with New
Labour: an impressively constructed big tent containing not very
much at all. It was produced by some of the people closest to the
Prime Minister and therefore boomeranged particularly badly on him
and the group already known as ‘Tony’s cronies’. Optimism and
daring, it seemed, were not enough.
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr
Lesson 1
Starter activities
1. Celebrating the 21st century. Following on from the lesson on Charlotte Brontë’s letter, ask students to reflect on the features which they would include in an exhibition to celebrate the 21st century. Discuss ideas and students’ reasons for them.
2. Introducing the Dome. Explain the concept of the Millennium Dome to students. They might not have heard of the project, but will no doubt have heard about or visited the O2.
Show students the following promotional video about the Millennium Experience. Ask them to write down some words to convey its aims and aspirations as they are watching the clip. They will refer back to these words after reading the extract written by Andrew Marr.
The clip can be found at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgmQJfDkYCA
Main activities
1. Ways in. Read paragraph one of the text and ask students to highlight any words which they do not understand. Discuss the words selected and explain their meaning.
What can they predict about the writer’s perspective from the language that is used?
2. Comprehension questions. Read the rest of the text with your class and give students a copy of the task sheet Comprehending the text which provides questions to be answered during the reading of this text.
The questions are designed to be answered in stages, so that you can discuss and check students’ understanding after each paragraph.
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Plenary
1. Key facts. Ask students, ‘What have you learned about the Millennium Dome?’ Working in pairs or small groups, get students to compile a list of key ideas or facts based upon their reading.
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Lesson 1 resources
Comprehending the text
After reading paragraph one
1. Which political changes in the 1990s brought positive results, according to Andrew Marr?
2. Which political changes in the 1990s brought negative results, according to Andrew Marr?
3. What does he say was the overall benefit of the changes that were made in politics?
Now read paragraph two …
1. How does Andrew Marr suggest that the Millennium Dome project was a failure?
2. How much money did the Dome project cost?
3. Which two politicians persuaded Tony Blair to go ahead with the project?
4. Which three reasons does Andrew Marr put forward in favour of the Dome project?
5. How does Andrew Marr suggest that the government was uncertain about the project?
Extension questions – looking at language
6. What does Andrew Marr mean when he says: ‘The instinct of the British towards satire was irresistible as the project continued surrounded by cranes and political hullabaloo’?
What is the effect of the language in this sentence?
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Now read paragraph three …
1. What two reasons does the writer give for the failure of the New Year’s opening for VIPs?
2. What two reasons does the writer give for the failure of the opening to the public?
3. Who, according to the writer, suffered the most from its failure?
Extension questions – looking at language
4. What is the effect of the sentence: ‘Xanadu this was not’?
5. How does the writer use language to link the failure of the Dome project to problems with the government (New Labour)?
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Caption competition. Show students the photograph of the Queen and Tony Blair at the opening night of the Dome. Ask them to come up with two captions for the photograph:
for a positive newspaper article
for a mocking or satirical newspaper article.
Main activities
The following activities hit the following Assessment Objectives:
AO3Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed across two or more texts.
1. Prepare to compare. Give students the What was the Millennium Dome like? matching activity in pairs. Once they have completed the activity, they should reflect on the words chosen and consider links between this text and Charlotte Brontë’s letter.
2. Comparison chain. Give students a copy of the Chain of comparison sheet. The first part of each paragraph has been scaffolded in order to demonstrate how comparative paragraphs can be built up.
Students can complete the paragraphs by filling in the missing details. They can then use this framework to write another comparative paragraph about this pair of texts. The chain of comparison model can be used with other texts in the pack.
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
3. Debating the Dome. As a class, complete a grid of reasons for and against the Dome. Hold a class debate, along the lines of a debate in the House of Commons. Divide the class into two factions – one in favour of the Dome project and one against and prompt each side to question the other.
Plenary activity
1. Dome or no Dome? Hold a class vote to decide whether the Dome project should go ahead.
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Lesson 2 resources
Caption competition
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Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
What was the Millennium Dome like?
All of the following words could describe views of the Millennium Dome expressed in Andrew Marr’s account. Match up the words with the quotations which follow. Cut out the 12 words so that you can move them around as separate cards.
potentially exciting impressive expensive
unpopular aimless disappointing
disorganised mocked embarrassing
regenerative controversial political
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 78
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Cut out the 12 quotations so that you can move them around as separate cards.
‘Public money was spent on cleaning up a poisoned semicircle of derelict land and bringing new Tube and road links.’
‘The Dome was roasted in most newspapers …’
‘But the problem ministers and their advisers could not solve was what their pleasure Dome should contain.’
‘Architecturally the Dome was striking and elegant.’
‘The £1bn gamble.’
‘Blair agreed, though had the Dome ever come to a cabinet vote he would have lost.’
‘The project continued surrounded by cranes and political hullabaloo.’
‘The fiasco.’‘Far fewer people came and bought tickets than was hoped.’
‘The range of mildly interesting exhibits was greeted as a huge disappointment.’
‘most of the guests had a long, freezing and damp wait to get in.’
‘The Dome would be magnificent, unique, a tribute to daring and can-do.’
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 79
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Chain of comparison
Structuring a comparative answer can be tricky, but the following chain might help you to organise your ideas.
1. Point of similarity
Both writers express the view that the exhibition that they are writing about was impressive.
Point about Text 1
Charlotte Bronte describes the Great Exhibition as impressive when she writes:
Quotation from Text 1
‘Its grandeur does not consist in one thing, but in the unique assemblage of all things.’
Analysis/comment on language
The word ‘grandeur’ is very effective at conveying both size and elegance, and the contrast between ‘one thing’ and ‘all things’ makes the exhibition seem hugely impressive.
Link to Text 2
In contrast, Andrew Marr writes that the Millennium Dome was …
Quotation from Text 2
Analysis/comment on language
Effect of difference
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 80
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
2. Point of difference
The writers give different views about the popularity of the exhibitions that they are writing about.
Point about Text 1
Charlotte Bronte describes the Great Exhibition as popular
Quotation from Text 1
when she describes ‘the thirty thousand souls that peopled it.’
Analysis/comment on language
The huge number ‘thirty thousand’ helps to convey the sheer size and scale of the exhibition, and the word ‘souls’ suggests that visiting the Great Exhibition was a spiritual experience.
Link to Text 2
In contrast, Andrew Marr writes that the Millennium Dome was …
Quotation from Text 2
Analysis/comment on language
Effect of difference
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 81
Reading non-fiction, Text 7: ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
Text 7: Excerpt from Henry Morley: Household Words, ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
Household Words periodical, June 1851
Our Phantom Ship: China
OUR Phantom Ship has deposited our friend, Henry Rubley, Esquire, at Adelaide, and has now returned to China.
Since a typhoon occurs not much
oftener than once in about three
years, it would be odd if we should
sail immediately into one; but we are
fairly in the China seas, which are
the typhoon’s own peculiar sporting
ground, and it is desperately sultry,
and those clouds are full of night
and lightning, to say nothing of a
fitful gale and angry sea. Look out!
There is the coast of China. Now for
telescope to see the barren, dingy
hills, with clay and granite peeping
out, with a few miserable trees and
stunted firs. That is our first sight of
the flowery land, and we shall not
get another yet, for the spray begins
to blind us; it is quite as much as we
can do to see each other. Now the
wind howls and tears the water up,
as if it would extract the waves by
their roots, like so many Ocean’s
teeth; but he kicks sadly at the
operation. We are driven by the wild
blast that snaps our voices short off
at the lips and carries them away;
no words are audible. We are
among a mass of spars and men
wild as the storm on drifting broken
junks; a vessel founders in our sight,
and we are cast, with dead and
living, upon half a dozen wrecks
entangled in a mass, upon the shore
of Hong Kong; — ourselves safe, of
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 82
Reading non-fiction, Text 7: ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
course, for left at home whatever
could be bruised upon the journey.
How many houses have been blown
away like hats, how many rivers
have been driven back to swell
canals and flood the fields, (whose
harvest has been prematurely
cropped on the first warning of the
typhoon’s intended visit,) we decline
investigating. The evening sky is
very wild, and we were last night
under the typhoon at sea; to-night,
are in the new town of Victoria, and
will be phantom bed-fellows to any
Chinaman who has been eating
pork for supper. The Chinese are
very fond of pork, or anything that
causes oiliness in man. A lean man
forfeits something in their
estimation; for they say, “He must
have foolishness; why has he
wanted wisdom to eat more?”
Hong Kong was one of the upshots
of our cannonading in the pure and
holy Chinese war; and as for the
new town of Victoria, we shall walk
out of it at once, for we have not
travelled all this way to look at
Englishmen. The island itself is eight
or ten miles long, and sometimes
two or sometimes six miles broad. It
is the model of a grand mountain
region on a scale of two inches to
the foot. There are crags, ravines,
wild torrents, fern-hills; but the
highest mountain does not rise two
thousand feet. We stand upon it
now. Quite the contrary to our usual
experience, we found, in coming up,
the richest flowers at the greatest
elevation. The heat and dryness of
the air below, where the sun’s rays
are reflected from bare surfaces, is
said to be oppressive, and perhaps
the flowers down there want a
pleasant shade.
© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 83
Text 7: Excerpt from Henry Morley: Household Words, ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
Lesson 1
Starter activities
1. Chinese wisdom. Show your students a range of Chinese proverbs and ask them to translate them into a clear moral message. For example:
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
It is always better to ask if you don’t understand something.
He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skills of the physician.
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.
He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves.
Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
A man of leisure will never taste the fruit of success.
Share this one from the text you are about to read. See if any of the class can work it out:
He must have foolishness; why has he wanted wisdom to eat more?
You can return to this once you have read the article with your class and ask them again to work it out in context.
2. Look out! There’s a typhoon. In order to prepare students for the main focus of this text, show them a video of a typhoon in China or Hong Kong. The following link of typhoon Kalmegi might be useful, but others are available on YouTube:
Typhoon Kalmaegi hits fishermen in China – video | World news | The Guardian
Main activities
1. Read the text with your class and ask them to decide the purpose of the writing. Can they find evidence for any of these purposes? Get them to highlight any evidence they find in the text.
to inform
to explain
to describe
to persuade
to argue
to entertain
2. Zooming in. Ask students to complete The typhoon unravelled activity sheet using an extract from the whole text.
Once they’ve done this, take feedback from the activity and lead students towards answering the following question which addresses AO2 and AO4:
How does the writer use language to describe his experiences of a typhoon?
3. It’s on the news. Put students into groups of three or four and ask them to script a television news report for the 10pm news about this typhoon. They will need to interview the writer as an eye-witness and at least one other survivor. Answers should reflect the language of the text.
Plenary activity
1. Fit for purpose? Listen to some of the news broadcasts and discuss how successful students have been at capturing the authenticity of the language and using relevant detail from the text.
Lesson 1 resources
The typhoon unravelled
Annotate the following extract from the text, labelling the following features:
sensory details – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch
use of imagery – simile, metaphor, personification
use of present tense verbs
use of sentence structure.
That is our first sight of the flowery land, and we shall not get another yet, for
the spray begins to blind us; it is quite as much as we can do to see each other.
Now the wind howls and tears the water up, as if it would extract the waves by
their roots, like so many Ocean’s teeth; but he kicks sadly at the operation. We
are driven by the wild blast that snaps our voices short off at the lips and carries
them away; no words are audible. We are among a mass of spars and men wild
as the storm on drifting broken junks; a vessel founders in our sight, and we are
cast, with dead and living, upon half a dozen wrecks entangled in a mass, upon
the shore of Hong Kong; — ourselves safe, of course, for left at home whatever
could be bruised upon the journey. How many houses have been blown away
like hats, how many rivers have been driven back to swell canals and flood the
fields, (whose harvest has been prematurely cropped on the first warning of the
typhoon’s intended visit,) we decline investigating.
Now answer the following question in PEE paragraphs. Aim to use at least four quotations in your answer.
How does the writer use language to describe his experiences of a typhoon?
Text 7: Excerpt from Henry Morley: Household Words, ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Persuasive language focus. Remind students of some key persuasive language techniques – emotive language, repetition, rhetorical questions, contrastive pairs, imperatives, pattern of three etc.
Now ask them to re-write the final paragraph of the text for inclusion in a tourist brochure.
Before they write, you may wish to show them this example and discuss its persuasive features.
Explore Hong Kong tours
Hong Kong has many sides to its complex personality and not every visitor takes the time to explore these to their fullest. Come and discover a different side to the city with this series of tours that reveal Hong Kong’s local foodie secrets or show you what cultural artefacts exist on its doorstep. These one-off special interest adventures will make your holiday unforgettable!
Main activities
1. Exploring point of view. Ask students to complete the activity sheet Views about visiting China. This will enable them to consider attitudes and perspectives in this text, prior to comparing it to the one written by Colin Thubron.
There is a differentiated version of this task which provides students with some quotations to match up as evidence.
Plenary activity
2. Venn diagram. Give pairs of students the Comparing attitudes about China Venn diagram resource sheet or draw/display one on the board. Now give each pair the Attitude adjectives sheet and ask them to decide which words they would use to describe the feelings and attitude of the writer. They must justify their choices.
Extension
Decide on some additional words to add to the adjectives sheet. Students can put the chosen words on the left hand side of the Venn diagram.
Lesson 2 resources
Views about visiting China
1. True or False? Decide whether you think that these statements about the attitude of the writer are true or false.
He is surprised that the ship sails into a typhoon. TRUE / FALSE
He is impressed by his first sight of China. TRUE / FALSE
He is very concerned about the destruction that he sees around him. TRUE / FALSE
He is interested in the habits of Chinese people. TRUE / FALSE
He wishes to discover what Hong Kong is like. TRUE / FALSE
He finds Hong Kong different to expectations. TRUE / FALSE
2. Prove it! Provide evidence for your view of the statements by finding a quotation to support each of them and writing it underneath.
3. ‘Zoom in’ on language
Highlight or underline words in your chosen quotations which you find interesting.
Identify examples of specific techniques which have been used e.g. imagery, repetition, use of pronouns, vocabulary choices etc.
Comment on the effect of the techniques used.
Views about visiting China (Differentiated task)
1. True or False? Decide whether you think that these statements about the attitude of the writer are true or false.
True or false
A. He is surprised that that the ship sails into a typhoon.
B. He is impressed by his first sight of China.
C. He is very concerned about the destruction that he sees around him.
D. He is interested in the habits of Chinese people.
E. He wishes to discover what Hong Kong is like.
F. He finds Hong Kong different to expectations.
2. Prove it! Provide evidence for your view of the statements by finding a quotation to support each of them.
A. He is surprised that that the ship sails into a typhoon.
1. ‘Quite contrary to our usual experience, we found, in coming up, the richest flowers at the greatest elevation.’
B. He is impressed by his first sight of China.
2. ‘we are fairly in the China seas, which are the typhoon’s own peculiar sporting ground.’
C. He is very concerned about the destruction that he sees around him.
3. ‘We shall walk out of it at once, for we have not travelled all this way to look at Englishmen.’
D. He is interested in the habits of Chinese people.
4. ‘Now for telescope to see the barren, dingy hills, with clay and granite peeping out, with a few miserable trees and stunted firs.’
E. He wishes to discover what Hong Kong is like.
5. ‘The Chinese are very fond of pork, or anything that causes oiliness in man.’
F. He finds Hong Kong different to expectations.
6. ‘How many houses have been blown away like hats, how many rivers have been driven back to swell canals and flood the fields … we decline investigating.’
3. Now ‘Zoom in’ on language
Find and highlight or underline one example of each of the following techniques:
inclusive pronouns ‘we’
adjectives (words which describe)
repetition of words or phrases.
Comparing attitudes about China
Henry Morley Colin Thubron
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Attitude adjectives
inquisitive surprised unimpressed calm
shocked angry impressed nervous
embarrassed intrigued
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron
People’s images of countries are rich in such buried sediment, which
goes on haunting long after experience or common sense has diluted
it. And by now – as we floated above the wrung-out steppes of the Gobi
– other strata had overlaid it first. In the anarchy of the Cultural
Revolution, between 1966 and 1976, the Chinese people had not
merely been terrorised from above but had themselves – tens of
millions of them – become the instruments of their own torture. The
land had sunk into a peculiar horror. A million were killed; some thirty
million more were brutally persecuted, and unknown millions starved to
death. Yet it was less the numbers which appalled than the refinements
of cruelty practised – in once province alone seventy-five different
methods of torture were instituted – and I never thought of the country
now without being dogged by a tragic question-mark.
The woman was rummaging in her handbag. In the seats behind us a
conclave of Beijing businessmen sprawled, their shirt collars open, their
eyes closed. I was seized by the foolish idea that each one of them
was withholding some secret from me - some simple, perfect
illumination. Because that is the foreigner’s obsession in China. At
every moment, round ever corner, the question Who are they? erupts
and nags. How could they be so led? How could they do what they had
done? And had they ever changed – this people of exquisite poetry and
refined brush-strokes and pitilessness?
A billion uncomprehended people.
Beneath us now, where the last hills tilted south-eastward out of Inner
Mongolia into the huge alluvial basin of the Yellow River, I could see
the divide between plateau and plain, agricultural hardship and
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
sufficiency, drawn vertically down the earth’s atlas with the precision of
a pencil-stroke. To the west brown, to the east green.
Within half an hour we would be landing in Beijing – old Peking – and
as if these last airborne minutes might liberate us from inhibitions, I
started talking with the woman about the Cultural Revolution. She
turned quizzically to me and asked: ‘What do you think of Mao Zedong
in the West?’
I said we thought him a remarkable leader, but inhumane.
She said coldly: ‘Yes. He made mistakes.’
Mistakes! He had caused more than sixteen million deaths. Sometimes
he had acted and talked about people as if they were mere disposable
counters on an ideological gameboard. And she talked of mistakes. It
was how the Russians spoke of Stalin. I said tightly – I felt this might be
my last (and first) chance to vent anger in China: ‘All that suffering
inflicted on your people! How can you forgive that?’ Then I added: ‘I
think he became a monster.’
She went quiet and stared somewhere beyond me. The fact did not
seem to have occurred to her before. Then she said simply: ‘Yes.’
For some reason I felt ashamed. Whatever she meant by her ‘Yes’, its
tone – distant, as if admitting something irrelevant – signalled that I did
not understand. She fastened her seat-belt. I said: ‘Of course it’s hard
for us in the West to imagine …’
Us in the West. We must seem outlandish, I thought, with our garish
self-centredness, our coarse opulence, our sentimentality. Somebody
had told me that the Chinese found our big feet and noses
preposterous, and that to them we smelt. The next moment I had asked
the woman penitently: ‘Do we smell?’
Her fragile face smiled back at me. ‘Yes, of course.’
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
I baulked. ‘Very much?’
‘Oh yes. All the time.’
I suppose that her bemused smile was there to cover the
embarrassment. But I asked finally, edging a little away: ‘Do I smell?’
‘Yes.’
It was too late to go back now. ‘What of?’
‘What?’
‘What of? What do I smell of?’
‘Oh!’ She plunged her face into her hands in a sudden paroxysm of
giggles. ‘Smell. I thought you said smile!’ The tinkle and confusion of
her laughter sabotaged the next few sentences, then she said: ‘Only in
the summer. Westerners sweat more than Chinese. That’s all, that’s all.
No, you don’t … smell. No, really … no …’
We were coming in to land.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Show your class the following comedy clips based on misunderstandings between people. They are good examples of how a misunderstanding based on hearing something incorrectly or as a result of a language barrier can result in humour and will therefore introduce a key aspect of this text.
Fork handles, the two Ronnies
Fawlty Towers – Basil gives Manuel a language lesson
Main activities
1. Understanding the text. Read the text with your class and give them the Comprehending the text questions to answer either individually or in pairs. There are some extension questions included, designed to encourage students to probe the language of the text in some more detail.
2. Cross purposes talk. Ask pairs to read out the dialogue between the narrator and the woman on the aeroplane without any narrative. Alternatively, choose one pair of students to read it in front of the class.
Plenary activity
1. What does the narrative do? Ask students to consider the impact of leaving out the narrative sections. Does it still manage to create humour? How important is Colin Thubron’s narrative at conveying the reactions of the tourist and the Chinese woman?
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Lesson 1 resources
Comprehending the text
Answer these questions in full sentences and support with a short quotation wherever possible.
1. How many people does the writer claim were affected by the Chinese Cultural Revolution?
2. What does the writer find most shocking about the events which took place?
3. What does the writer think about China?
4. What do you think is the ‘foreigner’s obsession in China’ according to the writer?
5. When the writer looks out of the aeroplane window he uses a series of contrasts to describe what he sees. Write down one of these contrasts. What might it suggest about China?
6. How does the writer feel about the woman’s comment that Mao Zedong (also known as Mao Tse-tung) ‘made mistakes?’
7. Which question does the writer ask the woman about western habits?
8. Which question does the woman think the writer has asked?
9. How does the woman’s confusion and misunderstanding create humour at the end of the article?
Language and structure extension questions
10.The writer describes the Chinese as a ‘people of exquisite poetry and refined brush-strokes and pitilessness.’ Which techniques has he used in this sentence to make his point more powerful?
11.What does the writer mean when he writes, ‘We must seem outlandish … with our garish self-centredness, our coarse opulence, our sentimentality’. What do you notice about the writer’s use of language in this quotation?
12.How does the end of the excerpt contrast with the beginning of the excerpt? Consider content, tone and language.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Images of the revolution. Show the class the images of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Ask students to discuss these in light of the text they have read. Do they reflect the information given by the writer? Why or why not?
This might lead into some interesting discussion about the role of propaganda in communist dictatorships.
Main activities
1. Prepare to compare AO3. Return to the Attitude adjectives activity that students did with the Phantom Ship. Ask students to re-visit the words and decide which might be used to describe this writer’s attitudes about his visit to China.
Words can be placed in the remaining sections of the Venn diagram. This should lead to some discussion about the similarities and differences between these writers.
2. Exam pic’n’mix. Ask students to plan and write an answer for an exam question. The following questions are worded to reflect the longer comparative question across different specifications:
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
AQA-style question
Compare how the two writers convey their different attitudes to visiting China.In your answer you should:
compare their attitudes
compare the methods they use to compare their attitudes
support your answer with quotations from both texts.
16 marks
OCR-style question
‘In these texts China is presented in a positive way.’
How far do you agree with this statement?
In your answer you should:
discuss your impressions of China based on these extracts
explain what you find interesting about their presentation of China
compare the different attitudes of the two writers.
Support your response with quotations from both texts.
18 marks
Edexcel-style question
Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their ideas and perspectives about visiting China.
Support your answer with detailed reference to the texts.
14 marks
WJEC Eduqas-style question
Both of these texts are about visiting China. Compare the following:
the writer’s attitude towards their visit
how they get their experiences across to the reader.
10 marks
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Plenary activity
1. Bringing it all together. After students have planned and/or written their responses to the longer comparative exam question, gather ideas on the board to summarise what they have discovered about the two writers’ attitudes and the way that they are presented.
This might take the form of a comparison table, a mind-map with different colours for each text, a continuum from positive to negative etc.
The summary should consider the what (what attitudes are shown) and the how (how they are conveyed through methods and language).
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Lesson 2 resources
Chinese cultural revolution
Propaganda poster during the Cultural Revolution, 20th century, China CREDIT: Photo12 \ Universal Images Group
22nd November 1973: Chinese primary school children file past a billboard. A quotation from Mao Tse-tung is written on the board which includes drawings of children. CREDIT: Keystone / Hulton Archive Editorial / Getty Images / Universal Images Group/ COPYRIGHT: © Getty Images
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Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Photograph taken of posters of Mao and quotations along the Nanking Road during the Cultural Revolution in 1967, Shanghai, China, AsiaCREDIT: Ursula Gahwiler / Robert Harding World Imagery / Universal Images Group / COPYRIGHT: © Robert Harding
For Education Use Only. This and millions of other educational images are available through Britannica Image Quest. For a free trial, please visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Text 9: Excerpt from Charles Darwin The Voyage of the Beagle
While going one day on shore near Wollaston Island, we
pulled alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were
the most abject and miserable creatures I anywhere
beheld. On the east coast the natives […] have guanaco
cloaks, and on the west they possess seal-skins. Amongst
these central tribes the men generally have an otter-skin,
or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-
handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their
backs as low down as their loins. It is laced across the
breast by strings, and according as the wind blows, it is
shifted from side to side. But these Fuegians in the canoe
were quite naked, and even one full-grown woman was
absolutely so. It was raining heavily, and the fresh water,
together with the spray, trickled down her body. In another
harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a
recently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel,
and remained there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet
fell and thawed on her naked bosom, and on the skin of
her naked baby! These poor wretches were stunted in
their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white
paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled,
their voices discordant, and their gestures violent. Viewing
such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that they
are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. It
is a common subject of conjecture what pleasure in life
some of the lower animals can enjoy: how much more
reasonably the same question may be asked with respect
to these barbarians! At night five or six human beings,
naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
up like animals. Whenever it is low water, winter or
summer, night or day, they must rise to pick shellfish from
the rocks; and the women either dive to collect sea-eggs,
or sit patiently in their canoes, and with a baited hair-line
without any hook, jerk out little fish. If a seal is killed, or
the floating carcass of a putrid whale is discovered, it is a
feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a few
tasteless berries and fungi. […]
Their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty hills,
and useless forests: and these are viewed through mists
and endless storms. The habitable land is reduced to the
stones on the beach; in search of food they are compelled
unceasingly to wander from spot to spot, and so steep is
the coast, that they can only move about in their wretched
canoes. They cannot know the feeling of having a home,
and still less that of domestic affection; for the husband is
to the wife a brutal master to a laborious slave. Was a
more horrid deed ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on
the west coast by Byron [John Byron (1723-86),
navigator], who saw a wretched mother pick up her
bleeding dying infant-boy, whom her husband had
mercilessly dashed on the stones for dropping a basket of
sea-eggs! How little can the higher powers of the mind be
brought into play: what is there for imagination to picture,
for reason to compare, for judgment to decide upon? to
knock a limpet from the rock does not require even
cunning, that lowest power of the mind. Their skill in some
respects may be compared to the instinct of animals; for it
is not improved by experience: the canoe, their most
ingenious work, poor as it is, has remained the same, as
we know from Drake, for the last two hundred and fifty
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
years.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Text 9: Excerpt from Charles Darwin The Voyage of the Beagle
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Who was Charles Darwin? Put students into groups and ask them to share their knowledge. Compile information as a class.
Main activities
1. Quick quiz. After a first reading of the text, ask pairs to take part in the Quick recall quiz.
2. Feelings about the Fuegians. Give out the Attitudes towards the native tribes card sort activity to groups of students. After deciding which five words best describe Darwin’s feelings, they should scan the text for evidence to support each of them.
3. Modelling PEE. Before students answer the exam question which is relevant to the exam board that they are studying, it is worth modelling PEE style paragraphs. Here are two examples in answer to the AQA-style question:
How does Charles Darwin use language to convey his feelings about the Fuegians?
Students can be asked to compare the paragraphs below and discuss the difference between them.
Ask them where each example answer pinpoints specific comments about language.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Example paragraph 1
Darwin dislikes the appearance of the Fuegians when he first sees them in the canoe. He describes them as ‘the most abject and miserable creatures’. The words ‘abject’ and ‘miserable’ suggest that Darwin finds them horrible to look at and could imply that he feels a bit sorry for them.
Example paragraph 2
In this extract, Darwin seems to be surprised by the appearance of the Fuegians when he first sees them in the canoe. He describes them as ‘the most abject and miserable creatures I anywhere beheld’. In this quotation, Darwin uses the adjectives ‘abject’ and ‘miserable’ to convey his feelings of dislike and possibly pity for their appearance. Furthermore, the superlative ‘most’ heightens his feelings towards them; it implies that he has seen many native tribes and the Fuegians have the worst appearance of any that he has encountered.
4. Exam pic’n’mix. Give students an exam-style question to complete on this text. Select the question which is most appropriate for your class.
AQA-style question
How does Charles Darwin use language to convey his feelings about the Fuegians?
Support your answer with close reference to the text.
WJEC Eduqas-style question
What do you think and feel about Charles Darwin’s attitude towards the Fuegians?
You should comment on:
what is said
how it is said.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Edexcel-style question
Charles Darwin attempts to engage the reader through the description of his first encounter with the Fuegians.
Evaluate how successfully this is achieved.
Support your views with detailed reference to the text.
OCR-style question
Explore how Charles Darwin presents his feelings about the Fuegians.
Support your ideas by referring to the text, using relevant subject terminology.
Plenary activity
1. Peer assessment. Students should swap answers and complete a peer marking activity using your in-house marking style which might be WWW (what went well) and EBI (even better if) or another means of giving positive feedback and targets.
Students should be encouraged to look for focused comments on language. These could then be shared with the class.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Lesson 1 resources
Quick recall quiz
1. What is the name of the ship which Charles Darwin travelled in?
2. On which island in Tierra del Fuego was Charles Darwin near when he went on shore?
3. How many Fuegians did Charles Darwin see in the canoe?
4. What did he notice about their clothing?
5. What did they have on their faces?
6. How do they sleep?
7. What do they eat?
8. Which part of the island do they live on?
9. How do they treat their wives?
10. What is their greatest achievement?
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Attitudes towards the native tribes
Which words describe the writer’s attitude towards native tribes?
Cut out the 12 words so that you can move them around as separate cards.
Consider and discuss all of the words.
In groups agree on the five that best illustrate the writer’s view.
Find textual evidence to support each word that you choose.
disbelief pity disgust
shock compassion revulsion
sadness admiration interest
curiosity fear horror
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Text 9: Excerpt from Charles Darwin The Voyage of the Beagle
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Formal and informal vocabulary. Give students the Formal and informal vocabulary grid and ask them to find informal alternatives to Charles Darwin’s choices. A differentiated version of this activity is available as an interactive matching activity.
Main activities
1. Writing technique (AO2, AO4). Charles Darwin not only writes in a sophisticated, formal style, but he also uses a variety of techniques in this text. Give students the Close-up on writing technique resource and ask them to work with a partner or in a small group to find an example of each writing technique. The key part of this task is for students to explore the effect of each example chosen.
There is a differentiated version of this task which provides students with relevant quotations. Extension: ask students to find an example of at least one other technique used and add it to their grids.
2. Animal vs. human. Ask students to highlight or underline all of the places in which humans are compared to animals. Imagine that Charles Darwin has to put forward a case to people who are sceptical about evolution. He uses the Fuegians to illustrate his theory that man is descended from apes. Write a short speech in which Charles Darwin makes his case. (AO5, AO6). Remember to use a range of rhetorical devices.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Plenary activity
1. Charlie in the hot-seat. Ask for a volunteer or several volunteers to represent Charles Darwin in a hot-seating activity. Students should ask as many questions as they can about the text and the student (or students) representing Darwin should answer in role, drawing on their knowledge of the text.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Lesson 2 resources
Formal and informal vocabulary grid
Complete the following grid by providing an informal, modern equivalent for each of the formal words in the left-hand column. Before you set about doing this, locate each word in the text and use the contextual clues to help you with its meaning.
Word from the text Informal equivalent
abject
beheld
sufficient
mere
bedaubed
entangled
discordant
conjecture
tempestuous
putrid
lofty
unceasingly
laborious
deed
perpetrated
mercilessly
ingenious
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Interactive resources
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We’ve included a screenshot of the interactive version here so you can see the resource. To access this resource please log in to the Teachit website and search for ‘24836’ or click here.
Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Close-up on writing technique
Charles Darwin employs a wide range of techniques to make this account vivid for the reader. Find an example of each technique and explore its effect as thoroughly as you can.
Technique Example Effect
adjectives
exclamatory sentences
opinion
fact
lists
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
adverbs
rhetorical questions
pattern of three
simile or metaphor
emotive language
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Close-up on writing technique (differentiated)
Charles Darwin employs a wide range of techniques to make this account vivid for the reader. Comment on the effect of each example which has been provided for you.
Technique Example Effect
adjectives‘These were the most abject and miserable creatures …’
exclamatory sentences
‘the sleet fell and thawed … on the skin of her naked baby!’
opinion‘Viewing such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that they are fellow-creatures …’
fact‘as we know from Drake, for the last two hundred and fifty years.’
lists‘their hair entangled, their voices discordant, and their gestures violent.’
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Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
adverbs‘they are compelled unceasingly to wander from spot to spot …’
rhetorical questions
‘How little can the powers of the mind be brought into play?’
pattern of three
‘for imagination to picture, for reason to compare, for judgment to decide upon?’
simile or metaphor
‘about as large as a pocket-handkerchief.’
‘coiled up like animals.’
emotive language
‘her bleeding dying infant-boy, whom her husband had mercilessly dashed on the stones …’
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Text 10: Excerpt from Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
In this section, two young Aboriginal girls are forcibly removed from their family and home.
Molly and Gracie finished their breakfast and decided to take all their
dirty clothes and wash them in the soak further down the river. They
returned to camp looking clean and refreshed and joined the rest of
the family in the shade for lunch of tinned corned beef, damper and
tea. The family had just finished eating when all the camp dogs
began barking, making a terrible din.
“Shut up,” yelled the owners, throwing stones at them. The dogs
whinged and skulked away.
Then all eyes turned to the cause of the commotion. A tall, rugged
white man stood on the bank above them. He could easily have been
mistaken for a pastoralist or a grazier with his tanned complexion
except that he was wearing khaki clothing. Fear and anxiety swept
over them when they realised that the fateful day they had been
dreading had come at last. They always knew that it would only be a
matter of time before the government would track them down. When
Constable Riggs, Protector of Aborigines, finally spoke his voice was
full of authority and purpose. They knew without a doubt that he was
the one who took their children in broad daylight – not like the evil
spirits who came into their camps in the night.
“I’ve come to take Molly, Gracie and Daisy, the three half-caste girls,
with me to go to school at the Moore River Native Settlement,” he
informed the family.
The old man nodded to show that he understood what Riggs was
saying. The rest of the family just hung their heads refusing to face
the man who was taking their daughters away from them. Silent tears
welled in their eyes and trickled down their cheeks.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
“Come on, you girls,” he ordered. “Don’t worry about taking anything.
We’ll pick up what you need later.”
When the two girls stood up, he noticed that the third girl was
missing. “Where’s the other one, Daisy?” he asked anxiously.
“She’s with her mummy and daddy at Murra Munda station,” the old
man informed him.
“She’s not at Murra Munda or at Jimbalbar goldfields. I called into
those places before I came here,” said the Constable. “Hurry up then,
I want to get started. We’ve got a long way to go yet. You girls can
ride this horse back to the depot,” he said, handing the reins over to
Molly. Riggs was annoyed that he had to go miles out of his way to
find these girls.
Molly and Gracie sat silently on the horse, tears streaming down their
cheeks as Constable Riggs turned the big bay stallion and led the
way back to the depot. A high pitched wail broke out. The cries of
agonised mothers and the women, and the deep sobs of
grandfathers, uncles and cousins filled the air. Molly and Gracie
looked back just once before they disappeared through the river
gums. Behind them, those remaining in the camp found strong sharp
objects and gashed themselves and inflicted wounds to their heads
and bodies as an expression of their sorrow.
The two frightened and miserable girls began to cry uncontrollably;
their grief made worse by the lamentations of their loved ones and
the visions of them sitting on the ground in their camp letting their
tears mix with the red blood that flowed from the cuts on their heads.
This reaction to their children’s abduction showed that the family
were now in mourning. They were grieving for their abducted children
and their relief would come only when the tears ceased to fall, and
that would be a long time yet.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Text 10: Excerpt from Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Give students the Pre-reading exercise to complete individually or in pairs. Share ideas about the text.
Main activities
1. Getting to grips with the text. Read the rest of the text and ask students to underline the reactions of the children and their families. Now give out the resource on the The language of pain and suffering (AO2) which also asks students to consider the writer’s perspective (AO3). Write an exam-style answer.
2. White vs. aboriginal. Compare the presentation of the aboriginals with the white man in this text. Identify the language used to present Constable Riggs – his appearance, his actions and his language. Does this fit with or challenge our view of the writer’s perspective?
Plenary activity
1. Uncovering context. Watch the video about the Stolen Generation at this link:
Stolen Generations / Australian Aboriginal Brief History - YouTube
This also includes extracts from the 2008 apology by the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
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Lesson 1 resources
Pre-reading activity
The following extract is taken from a longer text which you will be using to develop skills for the GCSE Reading non-fiction exams. Read and annotate it carefully, using the questions which follow as prompts.
Then all eyes turned to the cause of the
commotion. A tall, rugged white man stood on the
bank above them. He could easily have been
mistaken for a pastoralist or a grazier with his
tanned complexion except that he was wearing
khaki clothing. Fear and anxiety swept over them
when they realised that the fateful day they had
been dreading had come at last. They always
knew that it would only be a matter of time before
the government would track them down. When
Constable Riggs, Protector of Aborigines, finally
spoke his voice was full of authority and purpose.
They knew without a doubt that he was the one
who took their children in broad daylight – not like
the evil spirits who came into their camps in the
night.
What type of text is this extract from?
Where is it set?
What is happening in this extract?
What do you learn about the man who is described?
What predictions can you make about the rest of the text?
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
The language of pain and suffering
The following extracts from the text use emotive language to convey the pain and suffering of Molly, Gracie and their families when they are forcibly removed from their home.
Complete the following grid. The bold text draws attention to one or two specific language techniques for you to explore.
Quotation Technique Effect
‘the rest of the family just hung their heads’
alliteration
‘Silent tears welled in their eyes and trickled down their cheeks.’
verbs
‘tears streaming down their cheeks ...’
present participle verb
‘A high pitched wail …’ adjective and noun
‘Cries of agonised mothers …’
adjective
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
‘the deep sobs of grandfathers, uncles and cousins filled the air.’
adjectivesthree part list
‘gashed themselves and inflicted wounds … as an expression of their sorrow’
verbs
‘The two frightened and miserable girls began to cry uncontrollably …’
adjectiveadverb
‘the family were now in mourning.’
metaphor
What does the language used by the writer suggest about her attitude towards the events that are being described?
Choose five quotations to write about.
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Text 10: Excerpt from Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. What does this extract teach us about Aboriginal culture? Think about the following things:
lifestyle
the importance of family
treatment of animals
superstition and religion.
Main activities
1. Filming the extract. Ask students to prepare a 10 shot storyboard for this scene. Compare with the film version of the scene. The link can be found at:
Rabbit Proof Fence Stolen Generation - YouTube
2. Comparing with Darwin (AO3). Return to the card sort activity relating to the writer’s attitude towards native tribes. Put students into groups and ask them to choose words which best describe this writer’s attitude towards the aboriginals. What similarities and differences are there between this writer’s perspective on native tribes and Darwin’s?
3. Exam pic’n’mix. Ask students to plan and write an answer for an exam question. The following questions are worded to reflect the longer, comparative question across different specifications:
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
AQA-style question
Compare how the two writers convey their different attitudes and perspectives to native tribes.
In your answer you should:
compare their different attitudes.
compare the methods they use to compare their attitudes.
support your ideas with quotations from both texts.
16 marks
OCR-style question
‘In these texts the writers present negative attitudes towards native tribes.’
How far do you agree with this statement?
In your answer you should:
discuss what you learn about their attitudes
explain the impact of their attitudes on you
compare how their views are presented.
Support your response with quotations from both texts.
18 marks
Edexcel-style question
Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their ideas and perspectives about native tribes.
Support your answer with detailed reference to the texts.
14 marks
WJEC Eduqas-style question
Both of these texts are about native tribes. Compare the following:
the writers’ attitudes towards the native tribes
how they get their attitudes across to the reader.
10 marks
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Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Plenary activity
1. Nana Fejo’s story. Direct students to the following apology speech, given by Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister in 2008. Share the story of Nana Fejo as explained by Kevin Rudd in his speech. You might also find the following links useful:
extended, printable version of Kevin Rudd’s speech
the Australian News full transcript of PM’s speech
full video of Kevin Rudd’s speech on YouTube.
2. What similarities are there between her experiences and those of Molly and Gracie? What can we learn from her story?
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Reading non-fiction texts
Acknowledgements
Extracts
Text 2: Claire Potter, ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’, The Guardian. Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2013, reprinted by permission
Text 4: From My Left Foot by Christy Brown, published by Secker. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd
Text 6: From A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr, published by Pan Books. Copyright © Andrew Marr, 2007. Reprinted by permission of Pan Macmillan UK
Text 8: From Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron, published by Secker. Reprinted by permission of The Random House Group Ltd
Text 10: From Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington/Nugi Garamara, published by University of Queensland Press. Reprinted by permission of University of Queensland Press
Images
Cover: Typewriter image adapted from the original image, shared freely by Florian Klauer on Unsplash
Page 77: © Alpha / Globe Photos INC
Page 103-4: From Britannica Image Quest. For Education Use Only. This and millions of other educational images are available through Britannica Image Quest. For a free trial, please visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial
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Reading non-fiction texts
Exploring context
Extract from Kevin Rudd’s 2008 Apology speech: Nana Fejo’s story
Let me begin to answer by telling the parliament just a little of one person’s story –
an elegant, eloquent and wonderful woman in her 80s, full of life, full of funny
stories, despite what has happened in her life's journey. Nanna Nungala Fejo, as
she prefers to be called, was born in the late 1920s.
She remembers her earliest childhood days living with her family and her
community in a bush camp just outside Tennant Creek. She remembers the love
and the warmth and the kinship of those days long ago, including traditional dancing
around the camp fire at night.
She loved the dancing. She remembers once getting into strife when, as a four-
year-old girl, she insisted on dancing with the male tribal elders rather than just
sitting and watching the men, as the girls were supposed to do.
But then, sometime around 1932, when she was about four, she remembers the
coming of the welfare men. Her family had feared that day and had dug holes in
the creek bank where the children could run and hide.
What they had not expected was that the white welfare men did not come alone.
They brought a truck, two white men and an Aboriginal stockman on horseback
cracking his stockwhip.
The kids were found; they ran for their mothers, screaming, but they could not get
away. They were herded and piled onto the back of the truck. Tears flowing, her
mum tried clinging to the sides of the truck as her children were taken away to the
Bungalow in Alice, all in the name of protection. A few years later, government
policy changed. Now the children would be handed over to the missions to be
cared for by the churches. But which church would care for them?
The kids were simply told to line up in three lines. Nanna Fejo and her sister stood
in the middle line, her older brother and cousin on her left. Those on the left were
told that they had become Catholics, those in the middle Methodists and those on
the right Church of England.
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She and her sister were sent to a Methodist mission on Goulburn Island and then
Croker Island. Her Catholic brother was sent to work at a cattle station and her
cousin to a Catholic mission.
Nanna Fejo’s family had been broken up for a second time. She stayed at the
mission until after the war, when she was allowed to leave for a prearranged job as
a domestic in Darwin. She was 16. Nanna Fejo never saw her mum again. After
she left the mission, her brother let her know that her mum had died years before, a
broken woman fretting for the children that had literally been ripped away from her.
I asked Nanna Fejo what she would have me say today about her story. She
thought for a few moments then said that what I should say today was that all
mothers are important. And she added: Families – keeping them together is very
important. It’s a good thing that you are surrounded by love and that love is passed
down the generations. That’s what gives you happiness.
Nanna Fejo’s is just one story. There are thousands, tens of thousands of them:
stories of forced separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from
their mums and dads over the better part of a century.
The 2008 Kevin Rudd apology speech was reproduced from the Parliament of Australia website with the kind permission of the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Parliamentary Services). The Hansards can be downloaded for free from parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F2008-02-13%2F0003%22 subject to copyright conditions.
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