Summarise the plot of your chosen play as a book blurb. This means that tension, drama and character have to be developed as do the key moments without giving the ending away. Better writers will hint at the ending through their choice of adjectives and adverbs.
Allow students to look at some real book blurbs (preferably still attached to the back of books instead of photocopies). Discuss the content and language of the blurb as well as audience and purpose. Encourage students to consider what aspects of a book blurb persuades them to read a book.
They may mention the picture on the front cover. Depending upon the age of your students designing the whole book jacket is an option. This would include pictures, font and layout.
Students may also identify the fact that many books have quotes from reviews as part of a persuasive strategy.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Friday, 29 April 2011
Writing from a character viewpoint - a blog
Shakespeare's language can be off putting for many students. Help them to understand that there are many different kinds of literacy that we use depending on audience, context and purpose. Students are often more confident with texting, emailing and aspects of social networking sites than they are with written English in the classroom let alone sixteenth century English.
Writing from character viewpoint could include writing a blog entry for a particular character covering an important soliloquy or scene that develops the plot. This allows for the option of ICT with a mock up of a blog page complete with followers, information about the character and pictures etc.
Extension activity: Compare the kind of language and format that you would use in a blog with the kind of language and format that you would use in a traditional diary.
Writing from character viewpoint could include writing a blog entry for a particular character covering an important soliloquy or scene that develops the plot. This allows for the option of ICT with a mock up of a blog page complete with followers, information about the character and pictures etc.
Extension activity: Compare the kind of language and format that you would use in a blog with the kind of language and format that you would use in a traditional diary.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Using Sonnets to Understand Shakespeare's Language 1.
Sonnet Sort
You will need two sonnets, paper and scissors.
Stage One
1. Choose one of Shakespeare's sonnets - 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' is a good starting point.
2. Print it out in a clear font with plenty of space between the lines.
3. Cut each sonnet up into seven pairs of lines.
4. Shuffle the seven strips of card or paper and place each set in an envelope. You will need enough envelopes for your class to work in small groups (3-4 people).
5. Divide the class into groups. Ask them to rearrange the sonnet into the right order.
6. When students have completed the card sort, give them with a copy of the complete sonnet. Ask them to see how well they did.
7. During feedback discuss the kind of cues that they used to rearrange their sonnets into the correct order. Students should mention content, rhyme and punctuation. Have a large copy of the sonnet available so that you can model their answers.
Stage Two
Follow up with a second sonnet. This time, provide a cloze exercise and a word bank. Remove the rhyming end words for the cloze. Leave one of each rhyme in place as a cue. E.g. if you were to use the summer's day sonnet you could remove day or May but not both. Students complete the exercise by applying what they have learned about sonnets in stage one of the activity.
Differentiation/extension: offer students a wider choice of words in the word bank- some that fit and some that don't. Alternatively, don't provide them with a word bank and ask them to suggest words that they could fit into the sonnet (this is best done in pairs). Ask students as a class during feedback to say whose alternatives they like best and why.
Tip: If you like this activity, laminate the first sonnet before you chop it into strips so that you can use the activity again.
You will need two sonnets, paper and scissors.
Stage One
1. Choose one of Shakespeare's sonnets - 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' is a good starting point.
2. Print it out in a clear font with plenty of space between the lines.
3. Cut each sonnet up into seven pairs of lines.
4. Shuffle the seven strips of card or paper and place each set in an envelope. You will need enough envelopes for your class to work in small groups (3-4 people).
5. Divide the class into groups. Ask them to rearrange the sonnet into the right order.
6. When students have completed the card sort, give them with a copy of the complete sonnet. Ask them to see how well they did.
7. During feedback discuss the kind of cues that they used to rearrange their sonnets into the correct order. Students should mention content, rhyme and punctuation. Have a large copy of the sonnet available so that you can model their answers.
Stage Two
Follow up with a second sonnet. This time, provide a cloze exercise and a word bank. Remove the rhyming end words for the cloze. Leave one of each rhyme in place as a cue. E.g. if you were to use the summer's day sonnet you could remove day or May but not both. Students complete the exercise by applying what they have learned about sonnets in stage one of the activity.
Differentiation/extension: offer students a wider choice of words in the word bank- some that fit and some that don't. Alternatively, don't provide them with a word bank and ask them to suggest words that they could fit into the sonnet (this is best done in pairs). Ask students as a class during feedback to say whose alternatives they like best and why.
Tip: If you like this activity, laminate the first sonnet before you chop it into strips so that you can use the activity again.
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