Working with texts and readers in class

There’s an English saying that goes:

What does this mean? Do you agree with it?

NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.

Susan Boyle When She first walked out on the stage of Britain's

Got Talent, people made faces. You could tell by the snarls that they assumed this 47 year old woman must be a joke. But Susan Boyle surprised the world with the voice of an angel.

I think there is a lesson here for everyone. Don't ever judge a book by it's cover. Everyone has their own unique beauty. Sometimes it isn't so evident at the surface.....but it is there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

Here’s an example

Browse photocopy 47- I can talk about books- and answer the following questions by using the vocabulary.

1. How do you usually choose the books you read? Is the cover important when choosing a book?

( use the vocabulary from the photocopy 47 Choosing a book)

2. Which kind of books do you find most fascinating?

Epic =Narrative= ( fiction)

Drama ( play)

Lyric ( poetry)

A traditional classification of LITERARY GENRES

Narrative: tells a story. Descriptive: gives a mental picture of a

scene, person, thing, situation. Expository: its object is to explain, to clarify. Argumentative: aim at conviction and support

or weaken statements whose validity is questionable.

Instructional: instructs or tells you how to do something.

Dialogical: is made up by verbal exchanges between speakers.

Universal classification

What is the genre of these texts?

Chapter EightThe Deathday PartyOctober arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire. 

Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Oliver Wood's enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry was to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud. 

As Harry squelched along the deserted corridor he came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as he was. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, ". . . don't fulfill their requirements . . . half an inch, if that . . ." 

"Hello, Nick," said Harry. 

1. Poetry:Ezra Pound “ In the

Station of a metro”

2. Excerpt from a novel Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by

J.K. (Joanne) Rowling 

A narrative may include description and dialogue.

Texts types are frequently combined with one another

FROZEN PIZZA AND OTHER SLICES OF LIFE

Antoinette MosesCambridge Readers

C1

Flick through the stories and find out those characteristics which belong to a different text type ( from the ones mentioned before).

In pairs discuss:What is the genre of “ Frozen Pizza”?

1. “ I feel that everyone is against me today, so please come over later and cheer me up.

2. “ The young man suddenly remembered an article that they had discussed in his English class. It was from an English newspaper and explained how more and more people now ate ready-made meals, and how the contents of these meals were not what they appeared to be.”

3. ….” She had a nose for a story, as we say. She could always smell a good story…..…”Let me explain. There are two kinds of newspapers..”

Read these passages from the book and give the titles of the stories they appear.

4. …” I’ve seen places like that on television, in documentaries and in plays and films. But it’s the smell. That never comes over on television.”

5. “ It was the first time she visited Norwich and she didn’t know anything about the place.

Theme of each story:

Characters:◦ Main character◦ Secondary characters:◦ Personality◦ Hero/villain

Natarrators:◦ 1st person?◦ 2nd person?◦ 3rd person ( omnicient narrator)

Structure of the story:problem---climax---resolution

--happy endings? Language ( verbs, style ( formal, neutral, informal) Vocabulary:

In groups of 3 discuss about the following issues:

Theme of each story: education, food, university life, work life,

Characters:◦ Main character◦ Secondary characters◦ Personality◦ Hero/villain

Natarrators:◦ 1st person?◦ 2nd person?◦ 3rd person ( omnicient narrator)

Structure of the story:problem---

Language ( verbs, style ( formal, neutral, informal) Vocabulary: words related to senses, smells, feelings

In groups of 3 discuss about the following issues:

Two worlds

• Story

• Narrator: 3rd person omniscent Frozen Pizza

• Story

• Narrator: 3rd personThe Star reporter

• Story

• Narrator:1st personSweetie

• Story- epistolary narrative

• Narrator: 1st person

NARRATORS

Language analysis. Find examples in the stories of the following elements:

Reporting speech: Direct Speech and Indirect Speech. ◦ E.g.

Adjectives describing feelings.◦ E.g.

Phrasal verbs:◦ E.g.

Verbs of movement◦ E.g.

The Cinema

Body language

Feelings and emotion

Culture: museums

Social life

Exercise: Find words in the stories related to:

Possible answers:

CINEMA- Two worlds

Cinema

Sweetie

Kinesthetic communication: body language

programmes scripts

filmingVoice-over

Film crew cameraman

frown whisper

muttersmile

blushed yawn

Cultural references

Buildings and museums

North and South England

Museums and places of interest

Norwich

http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/free-reading-worksheets/story-structure/story-structure-worksheets/

http://www.bookbrowse.com/Excerpt of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. (Joanne) Rowling