Point blanc

38
9 780582 848689 ISBN 0-582-84868-7 TEACHER’S BOOKLET Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex,CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the World © Pearson Education Limited 2004 The right of Dr Helen Bulbeck to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1998. Extracts from Stormbreaker © 2001 Anthony Horowitz Extracts from Point Blanc © 2001 Anthony Horowitz The original edition of Point Blanc first published 2001 by Walker Books Ltd. The original edition of Stormbreaker first published 2000 by Walker Books Ltd. We are grateful to all copyright holders whose material appears in this book. However in some instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material and we would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4LP ISBN 0 582 84868 7 First published 2004 Point Blanc

Transcript of Point blanc

Page 1: Point blanc

9 780582 848689

ISBN 0-582-84868-7

TEACHER’S BOOKLET

Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex,CM20 2JEEngland and Associated Companies throughout the World

© Pearson Education Limited 2004

The right of Dr Helen Bulbeck to be identified as the author of this work has been assertedby her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1998.

Extracts from Stormbreaker © 2001 Anthony Horowitz

Extracts from Point Blanc © 2001 Anthony Horowitz

The original edition of Point Blanc first published 2001 by Walker Books Ltd.

The original edition of Stormbreaker first published 2000 by Walker Books Ltd.

We are grateful to all copyright holders whose material appears in this book. However insome instances we have been unable to trace the owners of copyright material and we

would appreciate any information that would enable us to do so.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers or a licence

permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright LicensingAgency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4LP

ISBN 0 582 84868 7

First published 2004

PointBlanc

Page 2: Point blanc

Introduction

2

AimThe aim of this resource is to provide materials tosupport the teaching of framework objectives throughthe reading of Point Blanc. Reading is a shared, socialactivity and it is important that pupils are given theopportunity to talk and write about their reading.Emphasis is placed on the promotion and developmentof independent reading, as pupils are asked to reflecton the reading strategies they use and are encouragedto try out new ones. Many of the activities encouragepupils to build a bridge between their reading andwriting. In particular, pupils are encouraged to developthe skills that readers in Year 7 need if they are to meetthe reading and writing demands made of them.

The lesson outlineThe lesson outline (pages 5–13) provides a structure forteaching ‘at a glance’. It is intended to provide aframework and can be adjusted to suit yourcircumstances. The structure enables you to cover alonger text, while maintaining pace. Objectives aretaught explicitly and are clearly placed within thecontext of the book and the lesson structure. There willbe issues about coverage, but it is more important thatpupils are able to explore their reading through talk andother interactive approaches, rather than sittingpassively as the whole book is read to them, or worse,they are asked to ‘read around the class’.

Approaches for progressing through the book include:

• pupils or teacher recapping previous chapters thatmay not have been read

• jigsaw reading (groups are given a section or chapterto read and then the group reports back)

• use of video, if available

• use of prepared summaries or diagrammaticrepresentations of the plot

• reading at home, if appropriate.

It is also important to allow pupils to control their ownreading. If they want to read on, let them; re-readingchapters and revisiting prior reading will alwayshighlight things that were missed before.

Guided and group work

Guided and group reading and writing facilitatesinteraction between teacher and pupil and betweenpupil and pupil. The focus on objectives enablesteaching and learning to be pitched at a high level, sothat pupils are challenged and extended. Guided workis a valuable and effective teaching approach as itfocuses on reading and writing strategies, which enablepupils to develop as independent learners. The use ofsmall groups allows the teacher to intervene at thepoint of learning, which means that he or she can havea much more immediate effect on what the pupils aredoing. In addition, it allows pupils to see the goodmodels of reading and writing which are so crucial totheir development as independent readers and writers.

Opportunities for guided reading and writing areindicated within the lesson outline so that every pupilshould have the opportunity to work closely with theteacher. Underpinning these opportunities for guidedreading and writing are group activities which allow therest of the class to work independently of the teacher.It is envisaged that each guided group will consist of nomore than six pupils.

Managing group and guided work

If pupils are unfamiliar with it, it may take time todevelop a culture of guided work in the classroom.However, it is worth persevering. Establishing clearground rules for group and guided work from thebeginning is a good idea. The following may help:

• where possible, create groups from pupils withsimilar reading and confidence skills

• make the groups responsible for their ownorganisation

• identify time and, if possible, clerical support, formanaging the resources

• use additional adult support in the classroom if it isavailable

• edit the materials to suit the needs of the pupils

• give the groups concrete outcomes

• allocate specific roles within the groups, includingthat of timekeeper

• organise pupils into ‘study buddies’

• use peer assessment and rewards

• make it clear that all pupils are expected tocontribute to the plenary.

Resources

This unit does not require extensive resources butideally they should be prepared in advance.Independent or group activities could be photocopiedonto coloured card and laminated, so that pupils havetheir own copies for reference. The main resources youwill need are: copies of the text, highlighter and markerpens, ‘Post-it’ notes, sugar paper, reading journals,copies of extracts on OHT and on paper for annotation.

Reading journals

While some pupils will eagerly share their impressionsabout texts they have read, others feel less comfortablein class discussions, and will keep their thoughts tothemselves. In an effort to encourage all pupils to thinkmore about what they read and to share theirobservations and opinions confidently, some teachersuse reading journals to great advantage. Readingjournals provide pupils with the opportunity to reflect,speculate and express their immediate responses totheir reading. They can be an essential tool in trackinghow pupils are responding to the text.

Pupils can make a wide variety of entries in a readingjournal, including:

Page 3: Point blanc

3

Literal

• Date of entry.

• Pages/chapter.

• Prior knowledge:– What happened in the last

chapter?– What do you know about …?– Use of KWL grids.

• Sequence key events:– How might the story

continue?– What are the clues?

• Brief summary:– main points– only important/new facts– plot development.

Analysis and interpretation

• Personal response:– reactions– predictions– judgements– comparisons– questions, wonderings– sketches, illustrations– diagrams, tension graphs,

mind-maps– interesting vocabulary,

images– cause and effect.

Synthesis and evaluation

• Readers make connectionsbetween the text and:– themselves– other texts– other things they know.

• Elements of narrative stylereflected in own writing.

• How have responses developedduring reading?

• How are the elements of thetext a synthesis? (Explorethrough mind-mapping.)

How often should pupils write in their journals?

Less is more! Writing in journals several times a week will soon become tedious and pupils will find that they havenothing new to add. It is much better to ask for fewer responses, and ones that require deeper engagement, sothat pupils are writing for themselves and not for the teacher.

Opportunities for using reading journals are highlighted in the resource, but it may be worthwhile establishingroutines so that pupils know when they are expected to make an entry. For example, pupils could be asked toreflect every lesson on the reading strategies that they have used, and make a brief note about them, includingreference to the text.

• noting responses

• questions arising

• mind-mapping and other graphic representations(tension graphs, timelines)

• jotting down words and phrases that need clarifying,or that they could ‘steal’ for their own writing

• keeping track of the plot.

Most pupils will need support if they are to write withclarity and understanding, even if they are just makingnotes. For example, if pupils are asked to delve intocharacters’ motivations and choices, this kind ofresponse will need to be modelled for them. You canalso provide key words and phrases to prompt criticalresponses from pupils, for example:

‘I wonder what this means …’

‘This bit reminds me of …’

‘If it was me, I would …’

‘I was surprised when …’

Assessing the reading journal

It is important that pupils regard the journal as part ofa continuing dialogue with the teacher and with eachother, rather than work that is to be marked. However,there are three stages that reflect critical thinking andreading and these could be used as a teacher checklistfor assessment:

1 A literal encounter with the text – the pupil’sresponses are superficial and tend towards recount.

2 Analysis and interpretation – the pupil’s responses aremore reflective, for example empathy with a characteris reflected in the journal.

3 Synthesis and evaluation – the pupil is able to makelinks within and beyond the text.

It is important to remember that more challengingcontent on its own does not always improve pupils’critical thinking. Equipping pupils with the rightvocabulary and the methods by which they can appraisetheir learning and progress is a critical part of theprocess. Using a layout such as the one suggestedbelow will support pupils when they are developingtheir critical engagement with the text they are reading.Some activities are listed, but these are just suggestions.

Before, duringor after reading

During or afterreading

After reading

Page 4: Point blanc

Overview of objectivesThe notion of literacy being embedded in objectives is much more than the basicacquisition of skills. The objectives selected here focus on enabling pupils to read asreaders in order to deepen their understanding and appreciation, and to read aswriters so that they can identify typical features and explore how writers gainimpact. This is the point at which the bridge between reading and writing is made –when the pupil has the ability to step outside the body of a text and look at it as awriter. Whilst the majority of objectives selected reflect the development of reading,this does not imply that they should be approached in isolation or taught in areductive way. The objectives listed below encompass the ability to recognise,understand and manipulate the conventions of language and develop the pupils’ability to use language imaginatively and flexibly, in the narrative context. Objectives(and pupils) benefit from being explicitly taught and from being identified anddeployed in context. Other objectives can also be taught (through starter activities),but it is up to the teacher to decide where the priority lies and to adapt the resourcematerials according to the need of the pupils.

While Year 7 is the focus of this resource, this does not mean that the novel couldnot be used with Year 8. With this in mind, the Year 8 objectives listed below couldunderpin the unit.

4

Sn1 Subordinate clausesSn2 Noun phrasesSn11 Sentence variety

Reading

R1 Locate informationR2 Extract informationR3 Compare presentationR4 NotemakingR6 Active readingR7 Identify main ideasR11 Print, sound and imageR12 Character, setting and moodR14 Language choicesR15 EndingsR17 Independent readingR20 Literary heritage

Writing

Wr1 Drafting processWr2 Planning formatsWr3 Exploratory writingWr6 CharacterisationWr7 Narrative devicesWr9 Link writing and readingWr11 Present informationWr13 Instructions and directionsWr14 Evocative descriptionWr18 Present findings

Speaking and listening

S&L1 Clarify through talkS&L4 Answers, instructions, explanations

Sn2 Variety of sentence structureSn4 Tense shifts

Reading

R1 Combine informationR3 Notemaking formatsR4 Versatile readingR5 Trace developmentsR7 Implied and explicit meaningsR8 TranspositionR9 Influence of technologyR10 Development of key ideasR13 Interpret a textR14 Literary conventionsR16 Cultural context

Writing

Wr2 Anticipate reader reactionWr3 Writing to reflectWr5 Narrative commentaryWr6 Figurative languageWr7 Establish the toneWr10 Effective informationWr11 Explain complex ideasWr12 Formal descriptionWr17 Integrate evidence

Speaking and listening

S&L1 Evaluate own speakingS&L5 Questions to clarify or refineS&L7 Listen for a specific purpose S&L9 Evaluate own contributions

Year 7 Year 8

Sentence Sentence

Page 5: Point blanc

5

Less

on

1

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F3 &

AF6

•R6

Act

ive

read

ing

•W

r3 E

xplo

rato

ry w

ritin

g

Less

on

fo

cus

Ch

apte

r 1

•Pr

edic

t•

Pass

com

men

ts•

Spec

ulat

e•

Hea

r a

read

ing

voic

e

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Rea

din

g jo

urn

als

and

pai

red

dis

cuss

ion

•In

trod

uce

read

ing

jour

nals

and

expl

ain

use.

Enc

oura

ge p

upils

to

use

thei

r re

adin

g jo

urna

lsth

roug

hout

thi

s un

it, s

o th

at t

hey

can

note

dow

n pe

rson

alre

spon

ses

(incl

udin

g ef

fect

s,ph

rase

s, w

ords

tha

t ap

peal

, an

dno

tes

on c

hara

cter

s an

d se

ttin

g)an

d pl

ot t

he t

imel

ine

of e

vent

san

d th

e pa

ssin

g of

tim

e.•

Intr

oduc

e th

e ph

rase

‘ac

tion/

adve

ntur

e ge

nre’

. Fo

cus

on t

heke

y fe

atur

es o

f th

is g

enre

. A

skpu

pils

to

list

film

s/bo

oks/

com

pute

r ga

mes

with

whi

ch t

hey

are

fam

iliar

tha

t ha

ve s

ome

or a

llof

the

se f

eatu

res.

Teac

her

pla

nn

er1.

1

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Effe

ctiv

e o

pen

ing

s•

Ask

pup

ils t

o de

cide

wha

t th

e is

sues

and

them

es a

re t

hat

coul

d be

exp

lore

d in

the

nove

l. Pu

pils

the

n w

rite

five

ques

tions

tha

tth

ey h

ope

will

be

answ

ered

as

they

rea

dth

e no

vel.

•W

orki

ng in

pai

rs,

ask

pupi

ls t

o re

ad t

hree

extr

acts

fro

m t

he n

ovel

and

mak

e no

tes

inth

eir

jour

nals

abo

ut h

ow t

he f

eatu

res

ofth

e ac

tion/

adve

ntur

e ge

nre

(dis

cuss

ed in

the

intr

oduc

tion)

are

ref

lect

ed in

the

seex

trac

ts.

Pup

il w

ork

shee

t•

Mod

el a

clo

se r

eadi

ng o

f th

e op

enin

gex

trac

t, f

ocus

ing

on t

ext

leve

l and

rea

ding

stra

tegi

es.

Use

the

poi

nts

on T

each

erpl

anne

r 1.

2 as

pro

mpt

s.•

Div

ide

the

clas

s in

to s

ix g

roup

s an

d gi

veea

ch g

roup

a f

ocus

as

they

rea

d th

e re

stof

Cha

pter

1.

This

cou

ld b

e an

oppo

rtun

ity f

or g

uide

d re

adin

g. T

each

erp

lan

ner

1.2

1.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•N

omin

ate

one

repr

esen

tativ

e fr

om e

ach

grou

p to

fee

d ba

ck t

heir

disc

ussi

on,

with

refe

renc

e to

the

tex

t.

Ho

mew

ork

•C

ompl

ete

Pupi

lw

orks

heet

1.2

, fo

cusi

ngon

the

ope

ning

s of

Stor

mbr

eake

ran

dPo

int

Blan

c.Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

1.2

Less

on

ou

tlin

e

Page 6: Point blanc

6

Less

on

2 3

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F5 &

AF6

•R

2 Ex

trac

t in

form

atio

n•

R6 A

ctiv

e re

adin

g•

R12

Ch

arac

ter,

sett

ing

and

mo

od

Rea

din

g A

F5 &

AF6

,W

riti

ng

AF5

•W

r6 C

hara

cter

isat

ion

•W

r9 L

ink

writ

ing

and

read

ing

•W

r14

Evoc

ativ

ede

scrip

tion

•Sn

1 Su

bo

rdin

ate

clau

ses

•Sn

11 S

ente

nce

varie

ty

Less

on

fo

cus

Ch

apte

r 2

•Te

xt a

nnot

atio

n •

Re-r

ead

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

Rea

din

g in

tow

riti

ng

•Se

e im

ages

•Pa

ss ju

dgem

ents

•Fe

el•

Empa

this

e

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Infe

ren

ce a

nd

ded

uct

ion

•Fo

cus

on h

omew

ork

task

. Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

•A

sk p

upils

to

com

plet

e Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

2.1,

focu

sing

on

desc

riptio

ns o

f ch

arac

ters

inPo

int

Blan

c. (

This

cou

ld b

e do

neas

an

oral

act

ivity

or

as a

car

dso

rt.)

Pup

il w

ork

shee

t

Maj

or

and

min

or

sen

ten

ces

•In

divi

dual

whi

tebo

ard

activ

ity.

Ask

pup

ils t

o pr

ovid

e de

finiti

ons

of m

ajor

and

min

or s

ente

nces

(see

Tea

cher

pla

nner

3.1

for

defin

ition

s).

Inst

ruct

pup

ils t

ow

rite

‘maj

or’

on o

ne s

ide

of t

heir

whi

tebo

ard

and

‘min

or’

on t

heot

her.

Whe

n yo

u gi

ve p

upils

eac

hex

ampl

e of

a m

ajor

or

min

orse

nten

ce f

rom

Cha

pter

2 o

f th

eno

vel (

see

Teac

her

plan

ner

3.1)

,as

k th

em t

o sh

ow w

hat

type

of

sent

ence

it is

by

hold

ing

up t

heir

whi

tebo

ard,

mar

ked

‘maj

or’

or‘m

inor

’.•

Ask

pup

ils t

o ex

plor

e ho

wH

orow

itz h

as u

sed

thes

ese

nten

ce t

ypes

for

eff

ect

inC

hapt

er 2

. Te

ach

er p

lan

ner

3.1

2.1

1.2

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Ch

arac

ter

dev

elo

pm

ent

•M

odel

a c

lose

rea

ding

and

ann

otat

ion

ofth

e fir

st f

our

para

grap

hs o

f C

hapt

er 2

(pag

es 1

1–12

), fo

cusi

ng o

n se

nten

ce a

ndw

ord

leve

l fea

ture

s an

d ho

w t

he r

eade

r’ssy

mpa

thy

tow

ards

Ale

x is

elic

ited.

•D

ivid

e pu

pils

into

gro

ups

of f

our

and

subd

ivid

e gr

oups

into

pai

rs la

belle

d A

and

B. D

irect

Pai

r A

to

focu

s on

exp

lorin

g ho

wA

lex’

s ch

arac

ter

is d

evel

oped

(pa

ges

12–1

5) a

nd P

air

B to

exp

lore

how

the

writ

er s

ugge

sts

that

Sko

da is

evi

l (pa

ges

13–1

7).

Teac

her

pla

nn

er

•A

sk p

upils

to

writ

e ke

y w

ords

fro

m t

heno

vel t

hat

desc

ribe

Ale

x’s

phys

ique

and

his

pers

onal

ity o

n ‘P

ost-

it’ n

otes

. Pu

pils

the

nst

ick

the

note

s on

an

outli

ne o

f A

lex.

NB

Kee

p th

e ou

tline

of

Ale

x an

d th

epu

pils

’ ‘P

ost-

it’ n

otes

for

Les

son

14.

2.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•Se

lect

one

pai

r to

fee

dba

ck o

n ho

w A

lex’

sch

arac

ter

is d

evel

oped

and

one

pair

to f

eed

back

on

how

Hor

owitz

sugg

ests

tha

t Sk

oda

isev

il. C

heck

whi

chre

adin

g st

rate

gies

the

pupi

ls u

sed

in t

his

less

on.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 2

.

Rea

din

g in

to w

riti

ng

•G

roup

dis

cuss

ion.

Ask

pup

ils t

o fo

cus

on h

ow c

hara

cter

s ar

ede

scrib

ed in

Poin

t Bl

anc

and

to d

iscu

ss w

hat

mak

es a

n ef

fect

ive

desc

riptio

n (f

ocus

ing

on in

fere

nce

and

dedu

ctio

n). T

each

er p

lan

ner

•C

reat

e a

writ

ing

fram

e w

ith t

he p

upils

to

supp

ort

writ

ing

thei

r ow

nde

scrip

tion

of a

goo

d/ev

il ch

arac

ter.

Pupi

ls t

hen

writ

e th

eir

own

desc

riptio

n, u

sing

the

fra

me

as s

uppo

rt.

This

cou

ld b

e an

opp

ortu

nity

for

guid

ed w

ritin

g. T

each

er p

lan

ner

3.

2

3.2

Page 7: Point blanc

7

Less

on

4 5

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F4•

R6 A

ctiv

e re

adin

g•

R7 Id

entif

y m

ain

idea

s

Rea

din

g A

F2, A

F3 &

AF4

•R4

Not

emak

ing

•R7

Iden

tify

mai

n id

eas

•W

r3 E

xplo

rato

ry w

ritin

g

Less

on

fo

cus

Ch

apte

r 3

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

Rein

terp

ret

•Re

-rea

d

Ch

apte

rs 4

an

d 5

•Sp

ecul

ate

•Pr

edic

t•

Ask

que

stio

ns•

Re-r

ead

•Re

inte

rpre

t

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Nar

rati

ve s

tru

ctu

reC

ard

so

rt a

ctiv

ity

– C

hap

ter

3d

ivid

ed in

to p

arag

rap

h c

hu

nks

•Ex

plai

n th

at t

hree

sto

ries

are

wov

en t

oget

her

in C

hapt

er 3

, so

that

the

rea

der

sees

the

sam

eev

ent

told

thr

ough

thr

eedi

ffer

ent

perc

eptio

ns.

•M

ake

seve

ral c

opie

s of

Cha

pter

3. D

ivid

e th

e ch

apte

r in

tose

para

te p

arag

raph

chu

nks

and

crea

te a

ser

ies

of c

ards

(w

ithea

ch c

ard

cont

aini

ng a

para

grap

h ch

unk

from

Cha

pter

3).

Ask

pup

ils t

o so

rt o

ut w

hich

para

grap

hs b

elon

g to

:–

Ale

x’s

view

poin

t–

Skod

a’s

view

poin

t–

the

chie

f co

nsta

ble’

s vi

ewpo

int.

Inst

ruct

pup

ils n

ot t

o pu

t th

em in

any

orde

r at

thi

s po

int.

Mak

ing

lin

ks•

Ask

pup

ils t

o ex

plai

n th

e lin

ksbe

twee

n th

e tit

les

of C

hapt

ers

1,2

and

3 an

d th

e co

nten

t. A

skpu

pils

to

pred

ict

how

Cha

pter

4(‘S

earc

h an

d Re

port

’) w

ill d

evel

opth

e pl

ot.

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Nar

rati

ve s

tru

ctu

re•

Dire

ct p

upils

to

wor

k in

gro

ups

of s

ix,

subd

ivid

ed in

to t

hree

pai

rs.

Ask

Pai

r A

to

focu

s on

Ale

x’s

stor

y, P

air

B on

Sko

da a

ndBe

cket

t an

d Pa

ir C

on

the

chie

f co

nsta

ble.

Dire

ct p

upils

to

plac

e ea

ch s

tory

seg

men

tin

the

cor

rect

ord

er s

o th

at t

he s

tory

mak

es s

ense

, an

d th

en m

ake

a no

te o

fho

w t

hey

cam

e to

the

ir de

cisi

on.

Gro

ups

shou

ld t

hen

reco

nven

e an

d in

terw

eave

the

thre

e st

orie

s. T

his

coul

d be

an

oppo

rtun

ityfo

r gu

ided

rea

ding

.•

Ask

pup

ils t

o ex

plor

e ho

w H

orow

itz h

asm

anag

ed t

he t

rans

ition

s be

twee

n th

est

orie

s.

Mak

ing

no

tes

and

rea

din

g jo

urn

als

•Re

min

d pu

pils

abo

ut t

he d

iffer

ent

type

s of

entr

y th

at c

an b

e m

ade

in t

heir

jour

nals

,in

clud

ing

the

use

of ‘

Post

-it’

note

s.

•Sm

all g

roup

wor

k. A

sk p

upils

to

read

Cha

pter

4,

mak

ing

note

s ab

out:

– ho

w t

he p

lot

deve

lops

– th

e ne

w c

hara

cter

s th

at a

re in

trod

uced

– ho

w t

he p

ace

of C

hapt

er 4

con

tras

tsw

ith t

hat

of C

hapt

er 3

.Th

is c

ould

be

an o

ppor

tuni

ty f

or g

uide

dre

adin

g.

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•A

sk e

ach

grou

p to

com

pare

the

fin

al o

rder

of t

heir

stor

y w

ith t

heor

igin

al o

rder

of

the

stor

y in

Cha

pter

3.

Ho

mew

ork

•Ex

plor

e w

hy t

he f

inal

line

is f

unny

, m

akin

g no

tes

injo

urna

ls.

Plen

ary

•W

orki

ng in

pai

rs,

ask

pupi

ls t

o co

mpa

re t

hedi

ffer

ent

type

s of

not

esth

ey h

ave

mad

e on

Cha

pter

4.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 5

.

Page 8: Point blanc

8

Less

on

6 7

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F2•

R2

Extr

act

info

rmat

ion

•R4

Not

emak

ing

•S&

L1 C

lari

fy t

hro

ug

hta

lk

Rea

din

g A

F3, A

F4 &

AF5

•R

12 C

har

acte

r, se

ttin

gan

d m

oo

d•

R14

Lang

uage

cho

ices

Less

on

fo

cus

Ch

apte

rs 5

–6•

Text

mar

king

and

anno

tatio

n•

Infe

r an

d de

duce

•V

isua

lise

•Em

path

ise

Ch

apte

rs 5

–6

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

•Re

inte

rpre

t•

Ratio

nalis

e w

hat

is h

appe

ning

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Plo

t•

Ask

pup

ils t

o w

ork

in g

roup

s of

four

. D

irect

the

gro

up m

embe

rsto

dra

w u

p a

‘gro

up’

timel

ine

ofth

e pl

ot a

nd n

ovel

eve

nts

onsu

gar

pape

r. N

omin

ate

one

mem

ber

of t

he g

roup

to

act

asan

obs

erve

r an

d to

not

e do

wn

the

ques

tions

whi

ch a

re a

sked

as

the

grou

p w

orks

.•

Ask

the

obs

erve

rs t

o fe

ed b

ack

on t

he q

uest

ions

ask

ed.

Ask

pupi

ls t

o ex

plor

e ho

w u

sefu

l the

ques

tions

wer

e in

driv

ing

forw

ard

the

disc

ussi

on a

nd t

oid

entif

y w

hich

typ

es o

f qu

estio

nsw

ere

mos

t us

eful

in s

ecur

ing

the

outc

ome.

Stru

ctu

re•

Ask

pup

ils t

o w

ork

in p

airs

.D

irect

Pup

il A

to

draw

a t

ensi

ongr

aph

of C

hapt

er 5

and

Pup

il B

to d

raw

a g

raph

of

Cha

pter

6(s

ee T

each

er p

lann

er 7

.1 f

or a

nex

ampl

e to

mod

el).

Ask

pai

rs t

oco

mpa

re t

he t

wo

grap

hs,

look

ing

for

sim

ilarit

ies

and

diff

eren

ces

betw

een

Cha

pter

s 5

and

6 an

dex

plor

ing

how

the

aut

hor

uses

tens

ion

in t

hese

tw

o ch

apte

rs.

Teac

her

pla

nn

er

7.1

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Ch

arac

teri

sati

on

•Re

ferr

ing

to t

he t

imel

ine

of e

vent

s, a

skpu

pils

to

iden

tify

the

prob

lem

s th

at A

lex

has

face

d so

far

in t

he s

tory

. U

sing

the

exam

ple

on P

upil

wor

kshe

et 6

.1,

dire

ctpu

pils

to

copy

the

cha

rt in

to t

heir

read

ing

jour

nals

. A

sk p

upils

to

reco

rd t

he p

robl

emin

the

firs

t co

lum

n, A

lex’

s so

lutio

n in

the

seco

nd c

olum

n, w

hy h

e ch

ose

this

in t

heth

ird c

olum

n an

d th

e so

lutio

n th

at t

hey

thin

k w

ould

be

best

in t

he f

ourt

h co

lum

n.En

cour

age

pupi

ls t

o fo

cus

on w

hy t

hech

arac

ters

act

the

way

the

y do

. Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

6.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•Fo

cus

on t

he r

eadi

ngsk

ill t

hat

is u

sed

toex

plor

e th

e ch

arac

ters

’ac

tions

.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 6

.•

Cha

rt e

vent

s an

d th

emes

on t

imel

ine

for

Cha

pter

6.

Nar

rati

ve s

tyle

(1)

•U

sing

tex

t an

nota

tion,

hig

hlig

htin

g an

d ‘P

ost-

it’ n

otes

, m

odel

a c

lose

read

ing

of a

n ex

trac

t fr

om C

hapt

er 5

, fo

cusi

ng o

n ho

w H

orow

itzcr

eate

s te

nsio

n. A

nn

ota

ted

tex

t

•W

orki

ng in

pai

rs,

ask

pupi

ls t

o fo

llow

you

r ex

ampl

e an

d, u

sing

anno

tatio

n an

d ‘P

ost-

it’ n

otes

, m

ake

note

s ab

out

how

ten

sion

iscr

eate

d in

Cha

pter

6.

This

cou

ld b

e an

opp

ortu

nity

for

gui

ded

read

ing.

Teac

her

pla

nn

er

7.1

7.2

Page 9: Point blanc

9

Less

on

8 9

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F4 &

AF5

•R1

4 La

ngua

ge c

hoic

esW

riti

ng

AF1

& A

F5•

Wr7

Nar

rativ

e de

vice

s•

Wr9

Lin

k w

ritin

g an

dre

adin

g

Rea

din

g A

F2 &

AF3

•R1

Loc

ate

info

rmat

ion

•R

2 Ex

trac

t in

form

atio

n•

R7 Id

entif

y m

ain

idea

s•

Wr2

Pla

nnin

g fo

rmat

s

Less

on

fo

cus

Rea

din

g in

tow

riti

ng

•H

ear

a re

adin

gvo

ice

•Se

e im

ages

•Fe

el•

Re-r

ead

•Re

late

to

prev

ious

rea

ding

expe

rienc

e

Ch

apte

rs 7

–8•

See

imag

es•

Re-r

ead

•Re

inte

rpre

t•

Inte

rpre

tpa

tter

ns

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Nar

rati

ve s

tyle

(1)

•Re

flect

ing

on L

esso

n 7,

ask

pupi

ls t

o cr

eate

a li

st o

f pr

ompt

sab

out

the

stra

tegi

es t

hat

Hor

owitz

use

s to

cre

ate

tens

ion.

This

cou

ld b

e re

cord

ed o

n a

flip

char

t fo

r re

fere

nce

durin

g th

ele

sson

. Th

e w

hite

boar

d w

ill b

ene

eded

for

dra

ftin

g.

Act

ive

read

ing

str

ateg

ies

–ex

trac

t in

form

atio

n•

Ask

the

tw

o pu

pils

sel

ecte

d in

Less

on 8

to

sum

mar

ise

Cha

pter

7fo

r th

e cl

ass.

•Re

min

d pu

pils

tha

t on

e of

the

key

feat

ures

of

the

spy/

thril

ler

and

actio

n ad

vent

ure

genr

es is

the

use

of h

ighl

y sp

ecia

lised

gadg

ets.

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Rea

din

g in

to w

riti

ng

•U

sing

an

open

ing

sent

ence

(ta

ken

from

Stor

mbr

eake

r, C

hapt

er 2

), m

odel

writ

ing

one

para

grap

h, h

elpi

ng p

upils

to

deve

lop

the

stra

tegi

es e

xplo

red

in L

esso

n 7

and

the

star

ter

activ

ity.

Mov

e th

roug

h to

shar

ed w

ritin

g fo

r pa

ragr

aph

two

and

then

ask

pup

ils t

o co

ntin

ue t

o dr

aft

a th

irdpa

ragr

aph

in w

hich

ten

sion

is b

uilt,

usi

ngth

e st

rate

gies

exp

lore

d in

the

pre

viou

sle

sson

. Th

is c

ould

be

an o

ppor

tuni

ty f

orgu

ided

writ

ing.

Tea

cher

pla

nn

er

•M

odel

rea

ding

Ext

ract

s 1

and

2,hi

ghlig

htin

g th

e ke

y fe

atur

es o

f th

ega

dget

. Ex

trac

t th

e re

leva

nt in

form

atio

nab

out

the

gadg

et a

nd e

nter

the

info

rmat

ion

on t

he g

adge

t re

cord

she

et.

Teac

her

pla

nn

er

•A

sk p

upils

to

read

Ext

ract

s 1–

6 (P

upil

wor

kshe

et 9

.1).

Expl

ain

that

Ext

ract

s 2–

6ea

ch r

efer

to

a di

ffer

ent

gadg

et f

rom

the

nove

l. D

irect

pup

ils t

o id

entif

y th

e na

me

of t

he g

adge

t an

d th

en h

ighl

ight

whe

reea

ch g

adge

t is

des

crib

ed in

Ext

ract

1.

Pup

il w

ork

shee

t •

Dire

ct p

upils

to

com

plet

e jig

saw

act

ivity

.Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

9.2

9.1

9.1

8.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•A

sk p

upils

to

shar

e th

eir

para

grap

hs w

ith e

ach

othe

r, us

ing

the

prom

ptlis

t as

a s

timul

us f

ordi

scus

sion

. In

vite

tw

opu

pils

to

shar

e th

eir

para

grap

hs w

ith t

hew

hole

cla

ss.

Ho

mew

ork

•A

sk t

wo

pupi

ls t

o re

adC

hapt

er 7

(a

shor

tch

apte

r) a

nd b

epr

epar

ed t

o su

mm

aris

e it

for

the

clas

s at

the

begi

nnin

g of

Les

son

9.Pl

enar

y•

Ask

pup

ils t

o id

entif

y th

eke

y fe

atur

es o

f th

ede

scrip

tion

of a

gad

get

and

to n

ote

thei

ran

swer

s in

the

ir jo

urna

ls.

•Re

visi

t th

e re

adin

gst

rate

gies

use

d in

thi

sle

sson

. Id

entif

y w

hen

pupi

ls w

ould

fin

d it

usef

ul t

o us

e th

ese

stra

tegi

es in

oth

ersu

bjec

ts.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 8

and

upda

te t

imel

ine

for

Cha

pter

s 7

and

8.

Page 10: Point blanc

10

Less

on

10 11

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Wri

tin

g A

F2 &

AF3

•W

r11

Pres

ent

info

rmat

ion

•W

r13

Inst

ruct

ions

and

dire

ctio

ns•

S&L1

Cla

rify

th

rou

gh

talk

•S&

L4 A

nsw

ers,

inst

ruct

ions

, ex

plan

atio

ns

Rea

din

g A

F4 &

AF5

•R1

2 C

hara

cter

, se

ttin

gan

d m

ood

•R1

4 La

ngua

ge c

hoic

es•

Sn2

Nou

n ph

rase

s•

Sn11

Sen

tenc

e va

riety

Less

on

fo

cus

Use

rea

din

g t

oin

form

wri

tin

g•

Inte

rpre

tpa

tter

ns•

Dra

ftin

g•

Vis

ualis

e•

Hea

r a

read

ing

voic

e

Ch

apte

r 9

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

•A

sk q

uest

ions

•U

se r

eadi

ng t

oin

form

writ

ing

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Co

llab

ora

tive

gro

up

tal

k•

Ask

pup

ils t

o w

ork

in g

roup

s of

four

. A

lloca

te e

ach

pupi

l a r

ole

for

the

star

ter

activ

ity,

whi

ch t

hey

mus

t ke

ep s

ecre

t:–

Pupi

l A:

cont

inua

lly in

terr

upts

– Pu

pil B

: un

ders

tand

s th

e ta

skan

d w

ants

to

com

plet

e it

quic

kly

and

effic

ient

ly–

Pupi

l C:

is t

oo s

hy t

o co

ntrib

ute

and

says

ver

y lit

tle–

Pupi

l D:

wan

ts t

o ta

lk a

bout

wha

t th

ey a

re g

oing

to

do a

tth

e w

eeke

nd.

•A

sk p

upils

to

empt

y th

eir

scho

olba

gs a

nd t

o co

me

up w

ith a

list

of it

ems

that

are

com

mon

to

all

four

pup

ils.

•A

t th

e en

d of

the

act

ivity

, as

kpu

pils

wha

t m

ade

the

com

plet

ion

of t

he t

ask

diff

icul

t.A

sk p

upils

to

iden

tify

wha

t th

eyha

ve le

arnt

fro

m t

his

activ

ity t

hat

they

can

use

in f

utur

e gr

oup

wor

k.

Nar

rati

ve s

tyle

(2)

•A

ctiv

ate

prio

r kn

owle

dge

byas

king

pup

ils t

o ex

plai

n w

hat

ano

un p

hras

e is

and

wha

t it

does

.•

Ask

pup

ils t

o fin

d fo

ur e

xam

ples

of n

oun

phra

ses

from

Cha

pter

9an

d to

sha

re t

hem

with

apa

rtne

r, ex

plai

ning

wha

t th

eef

fect

is.

Dev

elo

pm

ent

•G

roup

tas

k: g

ive

pupi

ls a

she

et o

f su

gar

pape

r an

d a

mar

ker

pen.

Dem

onst

rate

how

to

com

plet

e th

e ga

dget

pla

nnin

gsh

eet

on P

upil

wor

kshe

et 1

0.1,

foc

usin

gon

ada

ptin

g an

item

(a

key

ring)

for

a s

pyto

use

.Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

•D

irect

gro

ups

to s

elec

t an

item

and

ada

ptit

as a

gad

get

for

a sp

y, u

sing

the

sug

arpa

per

for

thei

r id

eas

and

then

rec

ordi

ngth

e de

tails

on

Pupi

l wor

kshe

et 1

0.1.

Usi

ng t

he k

ey f

eatu

res

note

d in

the

plen

ary

in L

esso

n 9,

pup

ils w

rite

ade

scrip

tion/

expl

anat

ion

of t

heir

gadg

et f

orA

lex

Ride

r.Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

•Sh

ared

rea

ding

of

open

ing

to C

hapt

er 9

.Fo

cus

on h

ow A

lex

is m

ade

to f

eel t

hat

Poin

t Bl

anc

is a

n un

wel

com

ing

plac

e.•

Mod

el a

foc

used

exp

lora

tion

of h

ow t

heau

thor

bui

lds

a se

nse

of u

neas

e th

roug

hw

ord

and

sent

ence

leve

l fea

ture

s.

•G

ive

pupi

ls o

ther

sec

tions

to

expl

ore,

follo

win

g yo

ur e

xam

ple.

Thi

s co

uld

be a

nop

port

unity

for

gui

ded

read

ing.

Tea

cher

pla

nn

er11

.1

10.1

10.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•A

sk g

roup

s to

sw

ap t

heir

desc

riptio

ns/e

xpla

natio

nsan

d to

dis

cuss

how

eas

yth

ey a

re t

o fo

llow

.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 9

.

Plen

ary

•A

sk p

upils

to

note

dow

nth

ree

way

s in

whi

ch t

heau

thor

has

bui

lt a

sens

eof

une

ase

that

the

yco

uld

use

in t

heir

own

writ

ing.

Ho

mew

ork

•Fl

ip c

hart

res

pons

es in

am

arki

ng f

ram

e fo

r us

e in

the

next

tw

o le

sson

s.

Page 11: Point blanc

11

Less

on

12 13 14

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Wri

tin

g A

F1, A

F2 &

AF5

•W

r1 D

raft

ing

proc

ess

•W

r2 P

lann

ing

form

ats

•W

r6 C

hara

cter

isat

ion

•W

r7 N

arra

tive

devi

ces

Rea

din

g A

F2•

R1 L

ocat

e in

form

atio

n•

R2

Extr

act

info

rmat

ion

Wri

tin

g A

F2•

Wr2

Pla

nnin

g fo

rmat

s

Rea

din

g A

F2 &

AF6

Wri

tin

g A

F2•

Wr9

Lin

k w

ritin

g an

dre

adin

g•

Wr1

8 Pr

esen

t fin

ding

s

Less

on

fo

cus

Rea

din

g in

tow

riti

ng

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

•A

sk q

uest

ions

•Re

-rea

d•

Rein

terp

ret

Ch

apte

r 10

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

•A

sk q

uest

ions

•M

ake

judg

emen

ts

Rea

din

g in

tow

riti

ng

•In

fer

and

dedu

ce•

Vis

ualis

e•

Empa

this

e•

Dra

ftin

g

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Mak

ing

no

tes

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 1

0 (p

ages

118–

122)

with

the

pup

ils.

•A

sk t

he p

upils

wha

t th

ey n

otic

eab

out

the

styl

e of

writ

ing

that

desc

ribes

the

oth

er b

oys

in t

heno

vel.

•A

sk p

upils

to

expl

ain

how

itdi

ffer

s fr

om t

he w

ritin

g th

at is

on

page

s 12

1–12

2.•

Ask

pup

ils t

o id

entif

y an

ypa

tter

ns in

eac

h of

the

not

esab

out

each

boy

and

to

crea

te a

snap

shot

of

one

of t

heir

frie

nds

in t

he s

ame

styl

e.

Ch

arac

ter

dev

elo

pm

ent

– w

riti

ng

to a

nal

yse,

rev

iew

, co

mm

ent

•A

sk p

upils

to

revi

sit

the

outli

neof

Ale

x fr

om L

esso

n 2

and

tode

cide

whi

ch n

otes

sho

uld

rem

ain

on t

he o

utlin

e an

d w

hich

no lo

nger

app

ly t

o A

lex.

Ask

pupi

ls t

o co

nsid

er if

any

sho

uld

be a

dded

. •

Rem

ind

pupi

ls t

hat

all c

omm

ents

mus

t be

sup

port

ed w

ith e

vide

nce

from

the

tex

t.

Dev

elo

pm

ent

•M

odel

ext

ract

ing

info

rmat

ion

from

an

obitu

ary,

thr

ough

hig

hlig

htin

g an

d th

enpu

lling

out

key

fac

ts a

nd jo

ttin

g th

emdo

wn.

•G

ive

pupi

ls a

n ob

ituar

y an

d as

k th

em t

om

ake

note

s ab

out

the

pers

on,

usin

ghi

ghlig

htin

g as

a t

echn

ique

and

jott

ing

dow

n th

e ke

y fa

cts.

Thi

s co

uld

be a

nop

port

unity

for

gui

ded

read

ing.

Ch

arac

teri

sati

on

– m

ovi

ng

to

war

ds

wri

tin

g•

Mod

el t

he p

oint

/exa

mpl

e/ex

plan

atio

npr

oces

s, u

sing

the

‘Po

st-it

’ no

tes

from

the

star

ter

activ

ity.

Use

Tea

cher

pla

nner

14.

1to

mod

el o

ne e

xam

ple,

sho

win

g ho

wth

ese

note

s ca

n be

rem

odel

led

into

an

eval

uativ

e co

mm

ent.

•A

sk p

upils

to

choo

se a

noth

er e

xam

ple.

Mov

e th

roug

h to

sha

red

and

then

to

inde

pend

ent

writ

ing.

Thi

s co

uld

be a

nop

port

unity

for

gui

ded

writ

ing.

Teac

her

pla

nn

er14

.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•A

sk p

upils

to

shar

e th

eir

draf

ts a

nd u

sing

the

mar

king

fra

me

from

Less

on 1

1, p

eer

asse

ssea

ch o

ther

’s pa

ragr

aphs

.

Ho

mew

ork

•M

ake

final

am

endm

ents

to p

arag

raph

.

Plen

ary

•A

sk p

upils

to

iden

tify

whe

n th

ey c

ould

use

high

light

ing

and

note

mak

ing

in o

ther

subj

ects

.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad t

he r

est

of C

hapt

er10

.

Plen

ary

•A

sk p

upils

to

writ

e th

ree

poin

ts t

o re

mem

ber

whe

n w

ritin

g to

ana

lyse

/re

view

/com

men

t.

Ho

mew

ork

•A

sk t

wo

pupi

ls t

o re

adC

hapt

er 1

1 an

d be

prep

ared

to

sum

mar

ise

itfo

r th

e cl

ass

at t

hebe

ginn

ing

of L

esso

n 15

.

Rea

din

g in

to w

riti

ng

•U

sing

the

ope

ning

sen

tenc

e of

a p

arag

raph

tak

en f

rom

Sto

rmbr

eake

r(‘T

heca

r re

ache

d th

e m

ain

gate

, w

here

the

re w

as a

sec

urity

cab

in a

nd a

nel

ectr

onic

bar

rier’

, pa

ge 6

9),

mod

el w

ritin

g on

e pa

ragr

aph,

dev

elop

ing

the

stra

tegi

es e

xplo

red

in L

esso

n 11

. M

ove

thro

ugh

to s

hare

d w

ritin

g fo

rpa

ragr

aph

two

and

then

ask

pup

ils t

o co

ntin

ue t

o dr

aft

a th

ird p

arag

raph

inw

hich

a s

ense

of

unea

se is

bui

lt, u

sing

the

str

ateg

ies

expl

ored

in t

he p

revi

ous

less

on.

This

cou

ld b

e an

opp

ortu

nity

for

gui

ded

writ

ing.

Tea

cher

pla

nn

er12

.1

Page 12: Point blanc

12

Less

on

15 16 17

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F4 &

AF5

•R

12 C

har

acte

r, se

ttin

gan

d m

oo

d•

R14

Lang

uage

cho

ices

•W

r6 C

hara

cter

isat

ion

Rea

din

g A

F2 &

AF4

•R

2 Ex

trac

t in

form

atio

n•

R3 C

ompa

re p

rese

ntat

ion

•R1

5 En

ding

s

Rea

din

g A

F2, A

F3 &

AF4

•R7

Iden

tify

mai

n id

eas

•R1

1 Pr

int,

sou

nd a

ndim

age

Less

on

fo

cus

Ch

apte

rs 1

1–12

•Re

-rea

d•

Rein

terp

ret

•Su

mm

aris

e•

Pass

judg

emen

ts•

Inte

rpre

tpa

tter

ns

Ch

apte

r 13

•Fo

rm a

ndst

ruct

ure

Re-r

ead

•Re

inte

rpre

t

Ch

apte

r 14

•Re

-rea

d•

Rein

terp

ret

•Su

mm

aris

e•

Pass

judg

emen

ts•

Pass

com

men

ts

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Stru

ctu

re•

Ask

the

tw

o pu

pils

sel

ecte

d in

Less

on 1

4 to

sum

mar

ise

Cha

pter

11 f

or t

he c

lass

.•

Dire

ct p

upils

to

revi

sit

and

upda

te t

heir

timel

ines

and

add

inke

y ev

ents

for

Cha

pter

s 7–

11.

•Re

min

d pu

pils

als

o to

not

e w

here

the

high

poi

nts

of t

ensi

on in

the

nove

l occ

ur.

Stru

ctu

re a

nd

ten

sio

n –

th

ecl

ock

, th

e cr

uci

ble

an

d t

he

con

trac

t•

Intr

oduc

e th

e co

ncep

t of

the

cloc

k, t

he c

ruci

ble

and

the

cont

ract

.Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

Film

v p

rose

•Sh

ow p

upils

an

extr

act

from

asp

y fil

m.

•A

sk p

upils

wha

t si

mila

ritie

s th

eyca

n se

e be

twee

n th

is a

ndex

trac

ts f

rom

Poi

nt B

lanc

.

16.1

Dev

elo

pm

ent

Dia

log

ue

and

nar

rati

ve c

om

men

t•

Read

Cha

pter

12

with

the

pup

ils.

Mod

elre

adin

g pa

ges

152–

153,

exp

lorin

g ho

wH

orow

itz m

anag

es t

he t

rans

ition

bet

wee

ndi

alog

ue a

nd n

arra

tive

com

men

t (s

eeTe

ache

r pl

anne

r 15

.1).

An

no

tate

d t

ext

•A

sk p

upils

to

focu

s on

pag

es 1

58–1

60,

expl

orin

g fo

r th

emse

lves

how

thi

str

ansi

tion

is h

andl

ed.

This

cou

ld b

e an

oppo

rtun

ity f

or g

uide

d re

adin

g. T

each

erp

lan

ner

•A

sk p

upils

to

wor

k in

pai

rs –

eac

h pa

irla

belle

d A

, B

or C

. D

irect

pup

ils t

oco

mpl

ete

Pupi

l wor

kshe

et 1

6.1.

Pupi

ls li

st o

ther

boo

ks/f

ilms

they

kno

wth

at h

ave

used

the

se c

once

pts.

Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

•Sm

all g

roup

rea

ding

of

Cha

pter

13.

Pup

ilsex

plor

e w

hat

happ

ens

to t

he t

ensi

on in

this

cha

pter

.

Pro

se in

to f

ilm•

Intr

oduc

e th

e se

man

tic f

ield

of

film

ing

–na

mes

of

cam

era

angl

es,

stor

yboa

rdin

g,so

und

effe

cts,

etc

.•

Show

pup

ils t

he e

xtra

ct f

rom

the

spy

film

agai

n, id

entif

ying

the

diff

eren

t ca

mer

aan

gles

, so

und

effe

cts,

etc

. an

d ex

plor

e th

eef

fect

.•

Iden

tify

and

bulle

t po

int

the

key

mom

ents

on p

ages

181

–187

. A

sk p

upils

to

iden

tify

whi

ch c

amer

a an

gles

and

sou

nd e

ffec

tsth

ey w

ould

use

if t

his

extr

act

was

bei

ngfil

med

. Th

is c

ould

be

com

plet

ed a

s a

stor

yboa

rd.

16.1

15.1

15.2

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•A

sk p

upils

to

expl

ore

wha

t th

e st

rate

gies

are

that

the

aut

hor

uses

for

man

agin

g th

e tr

ansi

tion

betw

een

dial

ogue

and

narr

ativ

e co

mm

ent.

Ask

pupi

ls t

o w

rite

thre

eid

eas

in t

heir

jour

nals

that

the

y co

uld

use

inth

eir

own

writ

ing.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

ers

14–1

5.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 1

6.

Page 13: Point blanc

13

Less

on

18 19

AFs

an

d o

bje

ctiv

es

Rea

din

g A

F2, A

F3, A

F6 &

AF7

•R

17 In

dep

end

ent

read

ing

•R2

0 Li

tera

ry h

erita

ge

Rea

din

g A

F4, A

F6 &

AF7

•R7

Iden

tify

mai

n id

eas

•R1

5 En

ding

s

Less

on

fo

cus

Film

v p

rose

•Em

path

ise

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

•Re

-rea

d •

Dra

ftin

g•

Rela

te t

o ow

nex

perie

nce

Rev

iew

•Re

inte

rpre

t•

Re-r

ead

•In

terp

ret

patt

erns

•Pa

ss c

omm

ent

•Pa

ss ju

dgem

ent

Star

ter/

Intr

od

uct

ion

Stru

ctu

re o

f w

ho

le t

ext

•W

orki

ng in

pai

rs,

ask

pupi

ls t

oth

ink

abou

t w

hy w

e en

joy

read

ing/

wat

chin

g th

eac

tion/

adve

ntur

e an

d sp

y/th

rille

rge

nres

:–

esca

pism

– to

live

thr

ough

the

eye

s of

the

hero

/her

oine

– tr

ansp

orts

us

to e

xotic

wor

lds

– w

e ca

n ac

com

plis

hun

imag

inab

le f

eats

– re

affir

ms

that

goo

d al

way

sw

ins

over

evi

l.

End

ing

s an

d b

egin

nin

gs

•Fo

cus

pupi

ls o

n ex

plor

ing

wha

tm

akes

an

effe

ctiv

e en

ding

.•

Expl

ore

the

deriv

atio

n of

the

wor

d ‘d

enou

emen

t’ a

nd h

ow it

appl

ies

to p

lots

(Fr

ench

–dé

noue

r: t

o un

tie,

Latin

– n

odus

:a

knot

).•

Ask

pup

ils t

o co

nsid

er t

o w

hat

exte

nt t

he e

ndin

g of

Poi

nt B

lanc

is a

sat

isfa

ctor

y de

noue

men

t.

Dev

elo

pm

ent

•W

orki

ng in

pai

rs t

o fo

urs,

ask

pup

ils t

o lis

tth

e co

mm

on f

acto

rs b

elon

ging

to

the

spy

nove

ls/f

ilms

with

whi

ch t

hey

are

fam

iliar

.Te

ach

er p

lan

ner

•A

sk p

upils

to

upda

te t

heir

timel

ines

for

Poin

t Bl

anc.

The

n as

k pu

pils

wha

tsi

mila

ritie

s an

d di

ffer

ence

s th

ey c

anid

entif

y be

twee

n th

e st

ruct

ure

of P

oint

Blan

can

d th

e ge

neric

str

uctu

re o

f sp

yno

vels

/film

s. E

xpla

in t

hat

pupi

ls w

ho h

ave

read

oth

er H

orow

itz n

ovel

s in

thi

s se

ries

can

also

use

thi

s kn

owle

dge.

Tea

cher

pla

nn

er

The

role

of

the

acti

on

her

o•

Ask

pup

ils t

o w

ork

in p

airs

. Ea

ch p

air

note

s do

wn

the

key

char

acte

ristic

s of

an

actio

n he

ro o

n a

spid

er d

iagr

am.

Pup

ilw

ork

shee

t•

Pupi

ls c

onsi

der

the

diff

eren

ce b

etw

een

hero

es a

nd id

ols.

Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

•Pu

pils

exp

lore

Ale

x’s

role

in P

oint

Bla

ncan

d co

nsid

er w

heth

er o

r no

t he

is a

her

o.Pu

pil

wo

rksh

eet

19.1

19.1

19.1

18.1

18.1

Plen

ary

and

Ho

mew

ork

Plen

ary

•Ex

plor

e w

ith p

upils

wha

tth

e et

hica

l dile

mm

aw

hich

aris

es in

thi

s no

vel

is a

nd h

ow t

he a

utho

rde

als

with

it.

Ho

mew

ork

•Re

ad C

hapt

er 1

7.

Plen

ary

•A

sk f

ive

pairs

to

feed

back

to

the

clas

s.•

Revi

sit

the

final

para

grap

h an

d ex

plor

ew

hat

is a

mbi

guou

sab

out

the

endi

ng.

Dis

cuss

how

it a

dds

toth

e se

nse

ofac

tion/

adve

ntur

e.

Page 14: Point blanc

Teaching objectives• R6 adopt active reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts, e.g.

visualising, predicting, empathising and relating to own experience

• Wr3 use writing to explore and develop ideas, e.g. journals, brainstormingtechniques and mental mapping activities.

Focus• Chapter 1

• Key features of action/adventure genre.

Introduction to the action/adventure genreExplain to pupils that the action/adventure genre lends itself perfectly to the most important reason why we readaction/adventure books and/or see action/adventure films – to escape and live through the eyes and deeds of theaction hero or heroine. Emphasise that the action/adventure genre satisfies the armchair adventurer in us all.

Explore with pupils the following essential features of the action/adventure genre:

• The story is set in specific time in exotic locales. The period tends to be set in contemporary times in lands thatbear some resemblance to how we live, so that we can identify with them.

• There is unity of time – the action happens within a specified period with no prolonged gaps of time.

• The action hero accepts a quest which will bring greater good to the world.

• The action hero has specific qualities which qualify him to be sought to complete the quest.

• The action hero is placed in a situation from which he must escape.

• The action hero doesn’t need someone to tell him how dangerous the quest is. He knows the danger and he’snot above showing fear or reluctance.

• The quest is linked to and, at times, overshadowed by an overriding world conflict.

• However, the world conflict is not usually the reason why the action hero will embark on the quest. Usually theaction hero has an inner journey that involves personal growth.

• The enemy is usually personified in one being, but he/she will have many sidekicks.

• Friends and love interests are usually present and are often held hostage.

• The stages of the quest are marked by ordeals.

• There is a final conflict of good versus evil and this is usually personal – between the action hero and the enemy.

• The action hero will have a mentor.

• The action hero is often provided with specialised gadgets.

• The action is almost continuous in a fast-paced plot.

Discuss with pupils the following examples of novels and films that have features of the action/adventure genre.Ask pupils to list films/books/computer games with which they are familiar that have some or all of the keyfeatures of the action/adventure genre (listed above).

Typical examples of action/adventure:

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Teacher planner 1.1Lesson 1

Novels Films• Robin Hood (from a medieval legend) • Robin Hood

• Raise the Titanic • Under Siege

• Raiders of the Lost Ark (written after the film) • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

• African Queen • Batman

• King Solomon’s Mines • Bond films

• On Her Majesty’s Secret Service • Braveheart(or any Ian Fleming novel)

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© Pearson Education Limited 2004. This may be reproduced for class use solely within the purchaser’s school or college.

Pupil worksheet 1.1Lesson 1

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored how we are going to use reading journals

• discussed the key features of the action/adventure genre and identified someexamples.

Now you are going to read three extracts from Point Blanc.

Objectives• R6 Active reading

• Wr3 Exploratory writing.

15

1 Read the following extracts from Point Blanc.

2 Work with a partner and identify some of the features of the action/adventure genre in theextracts. Note down your ideas in your reading journals.

Extract 1 (from Chapter 1)

Extract 2 (from Chapter 6)

Extract 3 (from Chapter 17)

Michael J. Roscoe was a careful man.

The car that drove him to work at seven fifteen each morning was a custom-madeMercedes with reinforced steel doors and bullet-proof windows. His driver, a retired FBIagent, carried a Beretta sub-compact semi-automatic pistol and knew how to use it. Therewere just five steps from the point where the car stopped to the entrance of Roscoe Toweron New York’s Fifth Avenue, but closed circuit television cameras followed him every inchof the way.

Alex didn’t dare look behind him, but he felt the train as it reached the mouth of thetunnel and plunged into it, travelling at one hundred and five miles per hour. A shockwave hammered into them. The train was punching the air out of its way, filling the spacewith solid steel. The horse understood the danger and burst forward with new speed, itshooves flying over the sleepers in great strides. Ahead of them the tunnel mouth openedup but Alex knew, with a sickening sense of despair, that they weren’t going to make it.

The flames were tearing through the building. Fed by a variety of chemicals, they burstthrough the roof, melting the asphalt. In the far distance the scream of fire enginespenetrated the sun-filled air. Alex pulled with all his strength, trying to bring the gundown. The other Alex clawed at him, swearing – not in English but in Afrikaans.

The end came very suddenly.

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Teaching objectives• R6 adopt active reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts, e.g.

visualising, predicting, empathising and relating to own experience

• Wr3 use writing to explore and develop ideas, e.g. journals, brainstormingtechniques and mental mapping activities.

Focus• Chapter 1

• Key features of action/adventure genre.

Model a close reading of the opening extract of the novel (below), focusing the pupils’ attention on text level andreading strategies. Use the following points as prompts:

Divide the class into six groups and give each group one of the following areas of focus as they read the rest ofChapter 1:

• The use made of technical language – this group should note examples of technical/specialised language andexplore the effect on the reader.

• The way that time is charted in the chapter – this group should highlight references to time, includingconnectives such as ‘meanwhile’ and explore how these add to the pace of the chapter.

• The narrative hooks used to keep us reading – this group should explore what makes us want to read on.

• The features of action/adventure genre – this group should continue to identify other features of theaction/adventure genre in this chapter.

• Characterisation – this group should explore the character of Michael J. Roscoe and make brief notes about him.What do we learn about him?

• Characterisation – this group should explore the character of Sam Green and make brief notes about him. Whatdo we learn about him?

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Teacher planner 1.2Lesson 1

Chapter 1: page 1

Michael J. Roscoe was a careful man. The car that drove him to work at seven fifteen each morning

was a custom-made Mercedes with reinforced steel doors andbullet-proof windows. His driver, a retired FBI agent, carried aBeretta sub-compact semi-automatic pistol and knew how touse it. There were just five steps from the point where the carstopped to the entrance of Roscoe Tower on New York’s FifthAvenue, but closed circuit television cameras followed himevery inch of the way. Once the automatic doors had slid shutbehind him, a uniformed receptionist – also armed – watchedas he crossed the foyer and entered his own private lift.

The lift had white marble walls, a blue carpet, a silver handrailand no buttons. Roscoe pressed his hand against a small glasspanel. A sensor read his fingerprints, verified them andactivated the lift. The doors slid shut and the lift rose to thesixtieth floor without stopping. Nobody else ever used it. Nordid it ever stop at any of the other floors in the building. Whileit was travelling up, the receptionist was on the telephone,letting Mr Roscoe’s staff know that he was on his way.

Extract from Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz

Simple sentencefor impact. Whois Michael J.Roscoe and whyis he careful?

Why use onlysurname?

This suggests it isa very moderntime setting

Mr Roscoe mustbe very importantto have his ownstaff

Punctuation –dashes – used foremphasis

Why not? Thisadds to Roscoe’sstatus

He is obviouslyvery wealthy andimportant

Noun phrasesprovide detailand add to themystery

Why does hehave all thissecurity?

Set in America –this is a rich,exciting area ofNew York

Told in thirdperson

• What is my purpose in reading this text?

• What can I immediately begin to understand?

• Who is the narrative voice in the story?

• What do I learn about the voice in the story?

• What hooks are used?

Page 17: Point blanc

© Pearson Education Limited 2004. This may be reproduced for class use solely within the purchaser’s school or college.

Pupil worksheet 1.2Lesson 1

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored how we are going to use reading journals

• discussed the key features of the action/adventure genre and identified someexamples.

Now you are going to explore the similarities between the opening to Stormbreakerand Point Blanc.

Objectives• R6 Active reading

• Wr3 Exploratory writing.

17

Homework

Read the opening (below) to Stormbreaker, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. Now re-readthe opening to Point Blanc and answer the following:

1 What similarities can you find in Stormbreaker and Point Blanc in the way in which Horowitzuses narrative hooks to keep us reading?

2 Which opening do you prefer, and why?

FUNERAL VOICES

When the doorbell rings at three in the morning, it’s never good news.

Alex Rider was woken by the first chime. His eyes flickered open but for a moment hestayed completely still in his bed, lying on his back with his head resting on the pillow.He heard a bedroom door open and a creak of wood as somebody went downstairs.The bell rang a second time and he looked at the alarm clock glowing beside him. 3.02 a.m. There was a rattle as someone slid the security chain off the front door.

He rolled out of bed and walked over to the open window, his bare feet pressing downthe carpet pile. The moonlight spilled on to his chest and shoulders. Alex was fourteen,already well-built, with the body of an athlete. His hair, cut short apart from two thickstrands hanging over his forehead, was fair. His eyes were brown and serious. For amoment he stood silently, half-hidden in the shadow, looking out. There was a police carparked outside. From his second floor window Alex could see the black ID number onthe roof and the caps of the two men who were standing in front of the door.

Extract from Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

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© Pearson Education Limited 2004. This may be reproduced for class use solely within the purchaser’s school or college.

Pupil worksheet 2.1Lesson 2

18

1 Below are a variety of words/phrases used to describe the characters in Point Blanc. Somedescribe characters that you have already met; others do not. Make notes in your readingjournal about the types of characters that appear in this novel, focusing on the following:

• Decide which type of character the words/phrases describe – good or evil?

• What do we learn about the characters from the words/phrases?

• How do they make you, the reader, feel?

• Can you find any patterns in the words/phrases?

• Can you link any of them together, so that they could be applied to one character?

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored how we are going to use reading journals

• discussed the key features of the action/adventure genre and identified someexamples

• compared the opening of Point Blanc with that of Stormbreaker.

Now you are going to explore inference and deduction in the characterisation ofPoint Blanc.

Objectives• R2 Extract information

• R6 Active reading

• R12 Character, setting and mood.

five metal studs in his ear I didn’t know I had special status

his skin was white, his lips vague shadows You can kiss me if you like

she had a facial structure that wasn’t quite It was like meeting a skeletonhuman

He didn’t want to boast about what he’d done bright, red haired American girl

His hair – black and a little greasy – was fake had no parents

Quiet anger in his voice grey suit, grey face, grey life

took out a small handkerchief and dabbed at Miss Stomach-bagher eyes

Well built with black hair, square shoulders and A careful mana dark, watchful face

‘Nice to have you with us,’ he drawled he hated having to deceive his friends

When she wasn’t quoting opera, she was boasting about her lifestyle, her wealth, her holidays around the world

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Teaching objectives• R2 use appropriate reading strategies to extract particular information,

e.g. highlighting, scanning

• R6 adopt active reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts, e.g. visualising, predicting, empathising and relating to own experience

• R12 comment, using appropriate terminology, on how writers conveysetting, character and mood through word choice and sentence structure.

Focus• Chapter 2

• Text annotation – sentence and word level features.

Modelled readingModel a close reading and annotation of the first four paragraphs of Chapter 2 (below), focusing on sentence andword level features and how the reader’s sympathy towards Alex is elicited.

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Teacher planner 2.1Lesson 2

Chapter 2: pages 11–12

The worst time to feel alone is when you’re in a crowd.Alex Rider was walking across the playground, surrounded by

hundreds of boys and girls of about his own age. They were allheading in the same direction, all wearing the same blue andgrey uniform, all of them probably thinking much the samethoughts. The last lesson of the day had just ended. Homework,tea and television would fill the remaining hours until bed. So why did he feel out of it, as if he were watching the lastweeks of the term from the other side of a giant glass screen?

Alex jerked his backpack over one shoulder and continuedtowards the bike shed. The bag was heavy. As usual, itcontained double homework … French and history. He hadmissed two weeks of school and he was having to work hard tocatch up. His teachers had not been sympathetic. Nobody hadsaid as much, but when he finally returned with a doctor’s letter(… a bad dose of flu with complications) they had nodded andsmiled and secretly thought him a little pampered and spoiled.On the other hand they had to make allowances. They all knewthat Alex had no parents, that he had been living with an unclewho had died in some sort of car accident. But even so. Two weeks in bed! Even his closest friends had to admit thatwas a bit much!

And he couldn’t tell them the truth. He wasn’t allowed to tellanyone what really happened. That was the hell of it.

Show how Alex faces many problems in these three paragraphs:

• He feels alone.

• He doesn’t know why.

• His bag is heavy.

• He has double homework.

• He has missed two weeks of school.

• He has to work hard to catch up.

• His teachers are unsympathetic.

• They think him spoiled.

• He has no parents.

• His uncle has died.

• He can’t be honest.

Superlative usedfor emphasis

Use of directaddress to readermakes us feel theloneliness

Use of first namemakes him seemfamiliar

This is bad, butthen it getsworse

Suggests he hasa moral code

He sticks to thisand therefore istrustworthy

Use ofexclamation marksadds adisapproving tone,which makes usside with Alexeven more

This suggeststhat he standsout from thecrowd. He hasbeen singled out

Use of questionmakes him seemvulnerable. Hedoesn’t know theanswers

All children willidentify andsympathise withthis!

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Teaching objective• Sn11 vary the structure of sentences within paragraphs to lend pace, variety and

emphasis.

Focus• Chapter 2

• Major and minor sentences.

Activating prior knowledge

Ask pupils to provide definitions of major and minor sentences.

Major sentence: A major sentence is regular in construction; it uses established rules and follows a pattern, e.g.‘Alex jerked his backpack over one shoulder and continued towards the bike shed.’

Minor sentence: A minor sentence does not follow rules and often looks like it has no structure or pattern, e.g.‘But even so.’

Whiteboard task

Below is a list of major and minor sentences from Chapter 2 of Point Blanc. Ask pupils to write ‘major’ on one sideof their whiteboard and ‘minor’ on the other. When you give each example, ask pupils to show what type ofsentence they think it is. This could be run as a card sort task.

Ask pupils to explore how Horowitz has used these sentence types for effect in Chapter 2.

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Teacher planner 3.1Lesson 3

The bag was heavy. Another school day.

For a moment he was dizzy. Two weeks in bed!

What could he do? The barge.

Alex looked around him. The building site.

Could it be done? And Blackpool funfair.

He was right. It probably could.

SENTENCES

Major Minor

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Teaching objectives• Wr9 make links between their reading of fiction, plays and poetry and the choices

they make as writers

• Wr14 describe an object, person or setting in a way that includes relevant detailsand is accurate and evocative.

Focus• Character descriptions.

Working in groups, ask pupils to focus on how characters are described in Point Blanc and to discuss what makesan effective description (focusing on inference and deduction). Then ask pupils to write a description of a good/evilcharacter; use the prompts below to support pupils when they are writing their character description. Before theybegin to write, create a writing frame to help them write their description.

The best frames are those that are created with the class, so that there is a shared understanding of theexpectations. You can use the following as a guide to support the creation of a joint frame:

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Teacher planner 3.2Lesson 3

Dialogue and commentary

Variety of sentences to add rhythm and effect:

Simple

Compound

Complex

Unusual sentence structures, e.g. noun phrasesgrouped together

Use of minor sentences, e.g. one word

Adverbial phrases at the front of sentences

Variety of sentence openings:

Non-finite verbs

Subordinate clauses

Pronouns

Noun phrases

Conjunctions

Vocabulary:

Verbs used for impact and effect

Tense used for effect

Imagery and figurative language

• Am I going to open with dialogue and then moveinto commentary, or the other way around?

• How much dialogue do I want to use?

• How will I manage the transition between dialogueand commentary?

• Where should I place a simple sentence for effect?

• Should I use two or three compound sentencestogether in the middle of a paragraph to addrhythm and balance?

• Where should I put my clause? At the front, foremphasis, or at the end, to delay the impact?

• It’s OK to break the rules on purpose and usesentences that don’t sound complete.

• I could use this for impact at the beginning or endof my writing. Maybe use a word to describe a keyfeature about my character, e.g. ‘Ugly’.

• These are good for adding detail about the character.

• Using one of these verbs tells the reader straightaway what my character is doing, e.g. ‘Spying, …’

• These add detail, so it’s good to put them at thefront – they involve my reader quickly.

• Good to use these if I want to keep the readerguessing about the identity of my character.

• These give lots of detailed information in an easy way.

• Using a conjunction at the beginning of a sentenceis a brilliant way to emphasise a point, e.g. ‘Ugly. Sougly.’

• Check that I haven’t used a verb and an adverb,when I could use a more powerful verb.

• Do I want to stay in past tense, or could I also usethe present to make this feel immediate?

• Have I used vocabulary that is descriptive andincludes metaphors and similes?

Page 22: Point blanc

© Pearson Education Limited 2004. This may be reproduced for class use solely within the purchaser’s school or college.

Pupil worksheet 6.1Lesson 6

22

1 Copy the chart below into your reading journal.

2 Using your timelines, identify the problems that Alex has faced so far in Point Blanc.

3 In column 1, note down the problem using key words, phrases and bullet points.

4 In column 2, note down what Alex’s solution to the problem is.

5 In column 3, note down why you think Alex chose this solution.

6 In the final column, note down what you would have done, if you had been in the samesituation.

7 Finally, choose one other character and note down why you think they act the way they do.

Problem What Alex did Why I think he did this What I would have done

• Upset about his bestfriend.

• Wanted to stop thedealers.

• Couldn’t find a phone.

• Hooked bargeonto crane.

• Dropped bargeinto drugconference.

• Drug dealers –Alex needs tostop them.

• Called the police.

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored how we are going to use reading journals

• discussed the key features of the action/adventure genre

• explored how the writer creates characters and manipulates our feelings about them

• looked at how the chapters are structured and drawn a timeline of the plot.

Now you are going to explore what motivates Alex to act the way he does.

Objectives• R2 Extract information

• R4 Notemaking.

Page 23: Point blanc

Teaching objectives• R12 comment, using appropriate terminology, on how writers convey setting,

character and mood through word choice and sentence structure

• R14 recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning, e.g. repetition,emotive vocabulary, varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects.

Focus• Chapters 5–6

• Exploration of how writers create tension.

Starter activityUsing their journals to record their ideas, ask pupils to brainstorm how a writer can create tension, focusing onbalance of dialogue/description, sentence variety, questions, powerful verbs and repetition.

Model the example of a tension graph (below) for pupils, based on Chapter 5:

Pupil task 1

Ask pupils to work in pairs. Direct Pupil A to draw a tension graph of Chapter 5 and Pupil B to draw a graph ofChapter 6. Ask pupils to compare the two graphs, looking for similarities and differences between Chapters 5 and 6and exploring how the author uses tension in these two chapters.

Development

Using text annotation, highlighting and ‘Post-it’ notes, model a close reading of the extract from Chapter 5, usingAnnotated text 7.2, focusing on how Horowitz creates tension.

Pupil task 2

Working in pairs, ask pupils to make notes about how tension is created in Chapter 6, using annotation and‘Post–it’ notes.

23

Teacher planner 7.1Lesson 7TE

NSI

ON

PLOT

Falling action –Alex hides untilthe danger haspassed.

Rising action –Alex disagrees withshooting animalsfor fun andantagonises Rufus.

Reversals and almost-climaxes – there isantagonism between theteenagers. Alex gets lost.

Climax – Alexis hunted andshot at.

Denouement –Alex gets hisown back; hehumiliates Rufus.

Precipitating incident– teenagers go shooting.

Page 24: Point blanc

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Chapter 5: pages 63–657.2

Annotated text

Alex sensed the danger before the first shot was fired. Perhapsit was the snapping of a twig or the click of the metal boltbeing slipped into place. He froze – and that was what savedhim. There was an explosion – loud, close – and a tree one stepahead of him shattered, splinters of wood dancing in the air.Alex turned round, searching for whoever had fired the shot.“What are you doing?” he shouted. “You nearly hit me!”Almost immediately there was a second shot and, just behindit, a whoop of excited laughter. And then Alex realised. Theyhadn’t mistaken him for an animal. They were aiming at himfor fun!He dived forward and began to run. The trunks of the treesseemed to press in on him from all sides, threatening to bar hisway. The ground beneath him was soft from recent rain anddragged his feet, trying to glue them into place. There was athird explosion. He ducked, feeling the gunshot spray abovehis head, shredding the foliage.

* * *Alex came to a stumbling, sweating halt. He had broken out ofthe wood but he was still hopelessly lost. Worse – he wastrapped.

Extract from Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz

Action isfrontloaded foremphasis

Dash used foremphasis

Adverb used tosuggest possibility– adds to thesense ofuncertainty

Repeated co-ordination adds tothe build-up ofpace

Again, action isfrontloaded

Questionemphasises howvulnerable hefeels. He is not ina position ofstrength

Two more non-finite clauseswhich add detail

Co-ordinatingsentence drivenby verbs

Adverbial phraselocates the timeand keeps thepace high

Monosyllabicwords, separatedout by dashes foremphasis

Non-finite clauseadds to imagery

Conjunction usedfor dramatic effect

A non-specificgroup adds to thetension. This hasmore impact thanif Horowitz hadsaid ‘Rufus’

Non-finite clausesadd detail. Theskeleton of thenarrative action ispacked with SVO,separated withnon-finite clausesthat describe thescene or Alex

Simple sentencefor dramaticimpact

Page 25: Point blanc

Teaching objectives• R14 recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning, e.g. repetition,

emotive vocabulary, varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects

• Wr7 use a range of narrative devices to involve the reader, e.g. withholdinginformation

• Wr9 make links between their reading of fiction, plays and poetry and the choicesthey make as writers.

Focus• Stormbreaker (Chapter 2)

• Exploration of how Horowitz creates tension in Stormbreaker and Point Blanc.

Modelled readingHelp pupils to develop their exploration of the strategies that Horowitz uses to create tension in Point Blanc(explored in Lesson 7 and the starter activity of this lesson) by modelling writing a paragraph (below) fromStormbreaker (Chapter 2: page 16).

In the following extract, Alex is trapped in his dead uncle’s BMW, which is about to be crushed in a breaker’s yard:

25

Teacher planner 8.1Lesson 8

And then something hit the BMW with such force that Alexcried out, his whole body caught in a massive shock wave thattore him away from the steering wheel and threw himhelplessly into the back. At the same time, the roof buckledand three huge metal fingers tore through the skin of the carlike a fork through an eggshell, trailing dust and sunlight. Oneof the fingers grazed the side of his head – any closer and itwould have cracked his skull. Alex yelled as blood trickledover his eye. He tried to move, then jerked back a second timeas the car was yanked off the ground and tilted high in the air.He couldn’t see. He couldn’t move. But his stomach lurched asthe car swung in an arc, the metal grinding and the lightspinning. It had been picked up by the crane. It was going tobe put inside the crusher. With him inside.

Extract from Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

Conjunction usedfor impact

Noun phrase addsdetail

Simile adds todescriptive impact

Semantic linkbetween‘eggshell’ and‘cracked’ so thatwe think of hisskull as an egg

What? We don’tknow

Noun phrase addsdetail

Action-packedverb. Otherexamples ofaction-packedverbs include‘tore’, ‘threw’,‘buckled’, ‘yelled’and ‘yanked’

Non-finite clauseadds detail

Temporalconnectiveemphasises thepace

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Teaching objectives• R1 know how to locate resources for a given task, and find relevant information in

them, e.g. skimming, use of index, glossary, key words, hotlinks

• R2 use appropriate reading strategies to extract particular information, e.g.highlighting, scanning

• R7 identify the main points, processes or ideas in a text and how they aresequenced and developed by the writer.

Focus• Extracting, transferring and recording information.

Model reading Extracts 1 and 2 (below), in which the key features of one of the gadgets (the yo-yo) and how it isused are highlighted. Explain to pupils that you are looking for specific information relating to the gadget (i.e. itskey features and how it was used). Extract the relevant information and enter the information on the gadgetrecord sheet as shown on Pupil worksheet 9.2.

Extract 1 – description of the gadget

Extract 2 – how it was used

Explain that pupils are going to complete a jigsaw activity. Divide the class into five equal groups labelled A–E.Allocate a different gadget to each group and direct the groups to extract information from the novel about its keyfeatures and how it was used and then to transfer this information to the gadget record sheet (on Pupil worksheet9.2), following the example for the yo-yo.

26

Teacher planner 9.1Lesson 9

A yo-yo. It was slightly larger than normal, made of black plastic.“Let’s start with this,” Smithers said.Alex shook his head. He couldn’t believe any of this. “Don’t tell me!” he exclaimed. “It’s some sort ofsecret weapon ...”“Not exactly. I was told you weren’t to have weapons. You’re too young.”“So it’s not really a hand grenade? Pull the string and run like hell?”“Certainly not. It’s a yo-yo.” Smithers pulled out the string, holding it between a podgy finger and thumb.“However, the string is a special sort of nylon. Very advanced. There are thirty metres of it and it can lift weights of up to one hundred kilograms. The actual yo-yo is motorized and clips on to your belt. Veryuseful for climbing.”

Extract from Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

Alex let go of the steering wheel, grabbed the harpoon gun and fired. The harpoon flashed through the air.The yo-yo attached to Alex’s belt spun, trailing out thirty metres of specially designed advanced nylon.The pointed head of the harpoon buried itself in the underbelly of the plane. Alex felt himself almostbeing torn in half as he was yanked out of the Jeep on the end of the cord. In seconds he was forty, fiftymetres above the runway, dangling underneath the plane. His Jeep swerved, out of control. The other twoJeeps tried to avoid it – and failed. Both of them hit it in a three-way collision.

* * *Alex saw little of this. He was suspended from the plane by a single thin white cord, twisting round andround as he was carried ever further into the air. The wind was rushing past him, battering into his face anddeafening him. He couldn’t even hear the propellers, just above his head. The belt was cutting into hiswaist. He could hardly breathe. Desperately he scrabbled for the yo-yo and found the control he wanted.A single button ... he pressed it. The tiny, powerful motor inside the yo-yo began to turn. The yo-yo rotatedon his belt, pulling in the cord. Very slowly, a centimetre at a time, Alex was drawn up towards the plane.

Extract from Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

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© Pearson Education Limited 2004. This may be reproduced for class use solely within the purchaser’s school or college.

Pupil worksheet 9.1Lesson 9

27

1 Working in pairs, explain to each other the following definitions:

• scanning: when you want to find a particular piece of information in a text, you can scanread for a key word.

• skimming: reading a whole text quickly to get an overall understanding of what it isabout, picking out key words as you read.

2 Now skim read the extracts from Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz below which describe thegadgets that are supplied to Alex to help him with his assignment, and how to use them.

3 Extracts 1–5 each refer to a different gadget. Identify the name of the gadget and thenhighlight where each gadget is described in Extract 1.

Extract 1

Extract 2

Extract 3

Extract 4

Extract 5

There was only one thing Alex could do. He lifted the book and pointed it at Fiona, thenpressed the spine once, hard. There was no noise, but he felt the book shudder in hishand. Fiona put her hand to the side of her leg. All the colour drained out of her face.

All the bedroom windows were fastened with a steel rod that allowed them to open tencentimetres but no more. Alex picked up his Discman, put in the Beethoven CD andturned it on. The CD spun round – moving at fantastic speed – then slowly edgedforward, spinning, until it protruded from the casing. Alex pressed the edge of the CDagainst the steel rod. It took just a few seconds. The CD cut through the steel like scissorsthrough paper. The rod fell away, allowing the window to swing fully open.

He knew enough. It was time to call for the cavalry. He pressed the fast forward buttonthree times, then went to have a shower.

Now was the time to put it to the test. Alex reached up and unscrewed the ear-stud. Hepulled it out of his ear, slipped the two pieces into the keyhole and then counted to ten.

Nothing happened. Was the stud broken, like the Discman transmitter? Alex was about togive up when there was a sudden flash, an intense sheet of orange flame. Fortunatelythere was no noise. The flare continued for about five seconds, then went out. Alex wentback to the door. The stud had burned a hole in it, the size of a two pound coin. Themelted metal was still glowing. Alex reached out and pushed. The door swung open.

Quickly Alex zipped up the ski suit. Smithers had said it was bullet-proof and it occurred tohim that he was probably going to need it. He put the goggles around his neck … Therewas no moon now. Alex found the switch concealed in the goggles and turned it. Heheard a soft hum as the battery activated, and suddenly the side of the mountain glowedan eerie green and Alex was able to see the trees and the deserted ski-run falling away.

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Pupil worksheet 9.1Lesson 9

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Extract 6

“The school doesn’t allow Game Boys – or any computers at all, for that matter. Theysupply their own laptops. I could have hidden a dozen gadgets inside a laptop, but thereyou are! Now let’s see …” He opened the case. “I’m told there’s still a lot of snow up atPoint Blanc, so you’ll need this.”

“A ski suit,” Alex said. That was what Smithers was holding.

“Yes. But it’s highly insulated and also bullet-proof.” He pulled out a pair of green-tintedgoggles. “These are ski goggles. But in case you have to go anywhere at night, they’reactually infrared. There’s a battery concealed in the frame. Just press the switch and you’llbe able to see for about twenty metres, even if there’s no moon.”

Smithers reached into the case a third time. “Now, what else would a boy of your agehave with him? Fortunately, you’re allowed to take a Sony Discman – provided all the CDsare classical.” He handed Alex the machine.

“So while people are shooting at me in the middle of the night, I get to listen to music,”Alex said.

“Absolutely. Only don’t play the Beethoven!” Smithers held up the disc. “The Discmanconverts into an electric saw. The CD is diamond-edged. It’ll cut through just aboutanything. Useful if you need to get out in a hurry. There’s also a panic button I’ve built in.If the balloon goes up and you need help, just press fast forward three times. It’ll send outa signal which our satellite will pick up. And then we can fast forward you out!”

“Thank you, Mr Smithers,” Alex said. But he was disappointed and it showed.

Smithers understood. “I know what you want,” he said, “but you know you can’t have it.No guns! Mr Blunt is adamant. He thinks you’re too young.”

“Not too young to get killed though.”

“Yes, well. I’ve given it a bit of thought and rustled up a couple of … defensive measures,so to speak. This is just between you and me, you understand. I’m not sure Mr Bluntwould approve.”

He held out a hand. There was a gold ear-stud lying in two pieces in the middle of hispalm; a diamond shape for the front and a catch to hold it at the back. The stud lookedtiny surrounded by so much flesh.

“They told me you’d had your ear pierced,” he said. “So I made you this. Be very carefulafter you’ve put it in. Bringing the two pieces together will activate it.”

“Activate what?” Alex looked doubtful.

“The ear-stud is a small but very powerful explosive device. Separating the two piecesagain will set it off. Count to ten and it’ll blow a hole in just about anything – or anyone, Ishould add.”

“Just so long as it doesn’t blow my ear off,” Alex muttered.

“No, no. It’s perfectly safe so long as the pieces remain attached.” Smithers smiled. “Andfinally – I’m very pleased with this. It’s exactly what you’d expect any young boy leavingfor school to be given, and I bought it specially for you.” He produced a book.

Alex took it. It was a hardback edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.“Thanks,” he said, “but I’ve already read it.”

“This is a special edition. There’s a gun built into the spine and the chamber is loaded witha stun dart. Just point it and press the author’s name on the spine. It’ll knock out an adultin less than five seconds.”

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Pupil worksheet 9.2Lesson 9

29

Group task1 Working in groups, and following your teacher’s example, extract information from the novel

about the gadget which you have been allocated by your teacher. Focus on its key featuresand how it is used.

2 Transfer this information to the gadget record sheet below.

Gadget record sheet

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored what motivates the characters

• made links between what we read and what we write

• skim read an extract that describes the gadgets given to Alex

• skim read the extracts that show how the gadgets were used.

Now you are going to extract information about gadgets from the novel andtransfer it to a record sheet.

Objectives• R1 Locate information

• R2 Extract information

• R7 Identify main ideas.

Gadget Key features How it was used

• Yo-yo • Black plastic

• 30 metres of strong nylon

• Motorised

• Clips onto belt

Yo-yo was attached to belt. Cord was attached to aharpoon. Harpoon was fired at plane. Button waspressed. Motor drew Alex up to plane. He gained entry.

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Pupil worksheet 10.1Lesson 10

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Group task1 Select an item (e.g. a key ring) and adapt it as a gadget for a spy. Use a sheet of sugar

paper to help you organise your ideas about how you could adapt the object into a gadgetfor a spy.

2 Record the details on the gadget planning sheet below. An example has been started for you.

You will be swapping your gadget planning sheets with another group, so make sure thatyour explanation is clear. You may include illustrations and labelled diagrams.

Gadget planning sheet

3a) Write a description of the gadget, using the key features of the description of a gadgetnoted in your reading journals.

b) Write an explanation of how to use the gadget. Include how to treat it, what you must dowith it and safety tips during use.Think about which connectives you could use. Choose some from the following list:

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored what motivates the characters

• made links between what we read and what we write

• skim read extracts that show how the gadgets were used.

• explored which behaviours support collaborative group work.

Now you are going to work in groups and design your own gadgets.

Objectives• WR11 Present information

• WR13 Instructions and directions.

Object: key ring

Typical features: metal split ring, decorative attachment, e.g. plastic flower, leather fob

Possible adaptations:Split ring can be opened, straightened and then used for picking locks.Flower/fob attachment can be used as a secret camera.Flower/fob attachment can be used as a remote detonating button.

Name of gadget:

Special features:

How could it be used?

• for example• next• first

• second• third• after

• meanwhile• following.

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Teaching objectives• Sn11 vary the structure of sentences within paragraphs to lend pace, variety and

emphasis

• R12 comment, using appropriate terminology, on how writers convey setting,character and mood through word choice and sentence structure

• R14 recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning, e.g. repetition,emotive vocabulary, varied sentence structure or line length, sound effects.

Focus• Chapter 9

• Exploration of how the author builds a sense of unease.

Modelled readingModel a close reading of the extract below from Chapter 9, focusing on how the author builds a sense of uneasethrough word and sentence level features. Give pupils other sections to explore, following your example.

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Teacher planner 11.1Lesson 11

Chapter 9: page 103

The academy at Point Blanc had been built by a lunatic. For atime it had been used as an asylum. Alex remembered whatAlan Blunt had told him as the helicopter began its finaldescent, the red and white helipad looming up to receive it.The photograph in the brochure had been artfully taken. Nowthat he could see the building for himself, he could onlydescribe it as … mad.It was a jumble of towers and battlements, green sloping roofsand windows of every shape and size. Nothing fitted togetherproperly. The overall design should have been simple enough;a circular central area with two wings. But one wing waslonger than the other. The two sides didn’t match. Theacademy was four floors high but the windows were spaced insuch a way that it was hard to tell where one floor ended andthe next began. There was an internal courtyard that wasn’tquite square, with a fountain that had frozen solid. Even thehelipad, jutting out of the roof, was ugly and awkward, as if aspaceship had smashed into the brickwork and lodged in place.

from Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz

Suggestsdeception

Use of ellipsis fordramatic pause

Hints of madness

Suggests it isn’tgoing to bepleasant – weassociate‘looming’ withthreats

Sounds chaotic –nothing matches;nothing is ordered

Co-ordinatingconjunctionsuggests what itshould have been

Use of modal tosuggest it oughtto have beenordered

Nothing is as itappears

Bitterly cold

Vocabularysuggestssomethingunwelcoming

Synonym linkswith ‘lunatic’ and‘asylum’ above

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Teaching objective• Wr7 use a range of narrative devices to involve the reader, e.g. withholding

information.

Focus• Exploration of how the author builds a sense of unease, focusing on Stormbreaker.

Modelled writingUsing the opening sentence of a paragraph from Stormbreaker (Chapter 7), model writing one paragraph,developing the strategies explored in Lesson 11. Move to shared writing for paragraph two.

Ask pupils to continue to draft a third paragraph in which a sense of unease is built, using the strategies exploredin the previous lesson.

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Teacher planner 12.1Lesson 12

Chapter 7: page 69

The car reached the main gate, where there was a security cabinand electronic barrier. A guard in a blue and grey uniform withSE printed on his jacket waved them through with his MP5SD6sub-machine gun. Alex was puzzled as to why the guardsneeded guns with silencers. But before he could phrase thequestion, a piercing alarm cut through his consciousness,making him wince and bring his shoulders up to his ears. The noise was excruciating. That, the silent guns and the bittercold that was gnawing away at his fingers, made Alex questionwhat he was doing in such a place. He was a long way fromhome.

Noun phrases allsuggest barriers –it isn’t easy to getinto this place Why is there an

armed guard?

Noun phrase andverb add detail

Pattern of threereinforces Alex’ssense of unease

Use ofconjunction forimpact

Simple sentencecontrasts withlength of previousco-ordinatingsentence

Simple sentencefor impact

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Teaching objectives• Wr9 make links between their reading of fiction, plays and poetry and the choices

they make as writers

• Wr18 identify criteria for evaluating a particular situation, object or event, presentfindings fairly and give a personal view.

Focus• Linking points to explain evidence.

Model the point/example/explanation process, using the ‘Post-it’ notes from the starter activity.

Use the example and the grid below to model how to link points to explain evidence. Show pupils how notes canbe remodelled into an evaluative comment.

Example

In Chapter 2, the writer describes Alex as being unsettled at school. The phrases ‘Another school day’ and‘part of him wanted it to happen all over again’ tell us this. This shows that Alex has changed, highlighting justhow much he has developed. He feels different from his peers.

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Teacher planner 14.1Lesson 14

POINT: what the writer does

• In the opening line the narrator talks about

• In this paragraph s/he describes

• In chapter … focuses on

compares … to …

suggests

uses … to …

EXAMPLE: evidence from the text

• For example, ‘quotation’

• For instance, ‘quotation’

• This is illustrated when the writer suggests …

• This is highlighted when the narrator says …

• The words ‘…’ and ‘…’

• The phrase ‘…’

• The description of …

• The alliteration of …

• The choice of …

EXPLANATION: what this effect has on you, the reader

This/which

• creates the/an impression of/that …

• shows that …

• emphasises that …

• makes the reader feel that …

• suggests that …

• conveys a sense of …

• highlights the …

• illustrates …

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Teaching objective• Wr6 portray character, directly and indirectly, through description, dialogue and

action.

Focus• Chapter 12

• Exploration of how Horowitz manages the transition between dialogue andnarrative comment.

Activation of prior knowledgeAsk pupils to explain what dialogue is.

Explain that a dialogue is when characters speak to each other (in for example, a novel) and their words are placedin quotation marks so that the reader knows which words each character has said.

Ask pupils why writers include dialogue in stories. Explain that dialogue can have many functions, and a goodwriter will try to give each piece of dialogue more than one function at a time, if possible. Focus pupils on some ofthe ways dialogue can be used, including:

• to convey the action – in other words, to function the same way as expository prose, but with a character doingthe explaining

• to show character

• to convey sense of place and time – by including specific phrases or words used in a particular time or place

• to develop conflict – dialogue is a great way to have characters argue, express feelings and opinions and muchmore.

Remind pupils that, although dialogue represents speech, it is not real speech. To help pupils understand why, askthem to write down a conversation word for word and then read it through. They will see that real speech isboring. This reinforces the point that we need to craft dialogue to give the illusion of speech while avoiding all theannoying aspects of actual conversation. Explain that one way to keep dialogue interesting is to make action partof dialogue as well as speech by interspersing the dialogue with sentences describing what a character is doing asthey speak.

Following a shared reading of Chapter 12, model a close reading of Chapter 12 (focusing on pages 152–153 usingAnnotated text 15.2), exploring how Horowitz manages the transition between dialogue and narrative comment.

Then ask pupils to focus on pages 158–160 of Point Blanc and explore in pairs how the transition betweendialogue and narrative comment is handled.This could be an opportunity to work with a small guided group ofpupils who are weaker at exploring this aspect.

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Teacher planner 15.1Lesson 15

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DELAYING TACTICS

It was raining in London, the sort of rain that never seems to stop.The early evening traffic was huddled together, going nowhere.Alan Blunt was standing at the window looking out over the streetwhen there was a knock at the door. He turned away reluctantly, asif the city at its most damp and dismal held some attraction forhim. Mrs Jones came in. She was carrying a sheet of paper. AsBlunt sat down behind his desk he noticed the words Most Urgentprinted in red across the top.“We’ve heard from Alex,” Mrs Jones said.“Oh yes?”“Smithers gave him a Euro-satellite transmitter built into aportable CD player. Alex sent a signal to us this morning … at tentwenty-seven hours, his time.”“Meaning?”“Either he’s in trouble or he’s found out enough for us to go in.Either way, we have to pull him out.”“I wonder …” Blunt leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. Asa young man, he had gained a first class honours degree inmathematics at Cambridge University. Thirty years later, he stillsaw life as a series of complicated calculations. “Alex has been atPoint Blanc for how long?” he asked.“A week.”“As I recall, he didn’t want to go. According to Sir David Friend,his behaviour at Haverstock Hill was, to say the least, anti-social.Did you know that he knocked out Friend’s daughter with a stundart? Apparently, he also nearly got her killed in an accident in arailway tunnel.”“He was playing a part,” she said. “Exactly what you told him todo.”“Playing it too well, perhaps,” Blunt murmured. “Alex may nolonger be one hundred per cent reliable.”“He sent the message.” Mrs Jones couldn’t keep the exasperationout of her voice. “For all we know, he could be in serious trouble.We gave him the device as an alarm signal. To let us know if heneeded help. He’s used it. We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”“I wasn’t suggesting that.” Alan Blunt looked curiously at her.“You’re not forming some sort of attachment to Alex Rider, areyou?” he asked.Mrs Jones looked away. “Don’t be ridiculous.”“You seem worried about him.”“He’s fourteen years old, Alan! He’s a child, for heaven’s sake.”“You used to have children.”“Yes.” Mrs Jones turned to face him again. “Perhaps that doesmake a difference. But even you must admit that he’s special. Wedon’t have another agent like him. A fourteen year old boy! Theperfect secret weapon. My feelings about him have nothing to dowith it. We can’t afford to lose him.”

from Point Blanc by Anthony Horowitz

35

Chapter 12: pages 152 – 15315.2

The pronoun isused to avoidambiguity, to helpthe reader keeptrack

We are told thatBlunt is speaking,through hisaction.

‘She’ tells us MrsJones is speaking

This indicateshow he spoke, i.e.quietly, softly, as ifto himself

Again, we aretold through theaction whichcharacter isspeaking

Dialogue openswithstraightforward‘said’ – we aretold who isspeaking

We followrationally who isspeaking – it isn’tnecessary toindicate thespeaker when theexchanges areshort

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Pupil worksheet 16.1Lesson 16

36

Tension hooks readers and keeps them turning the page. Writers employ many methods ofkeeping the tension high. You are going to explore three ways of maintaining tension.

Group task – the clock, the crucible and the contract1 Work in a group of six and then subdivide into three pairs. Label yourselves A, B or C.

2 Each pair must explore how their method of applying tension works in Point Blanc. You drawa mind-map to map your ideas. Refer to the novel and to your reading journals for ideas.

3 Now come together and provide feedback to each other about your findings.

4 Read Chapter 13 together. Can you see more examples of the clock, the crucible and thecontract in this chapter? What happens to the tension?

1 The clock – Pair A

Set your action against the shadow of a ticking clock. This is not a real clock, but a time limitwhich presents automatic tension. Time forces your characters to take action. The clock canprovide:

• mental tension (a personal goal for your character)

• emotional tension (the character will suffer embarrassment or shame if the task is notcompleted on time)

• impending danger (harm will come to the character or someone he or she cares aboutwhen the time is up).

2 The crucible (a crucible is a vessel in which substances are heated to hightemperatures) – Pair B

Constrain your characters as you apply the heat. Lock them in so that when you turn up theheat they cannot run away – they have to find solutions to their problems. James Bond isalways being put in a crucible – and he always works it out!

3 The contract – Pair C

Make promises to your reader and then keep them. Good writers fill their novels withpromises to their readers. For example, if a writer mentions a loaded shotgun in a cupboard,readers will expect that, if they keep reading, the gun will be used. This promise is calledforeshadowing and creates tension. Remember – if you make a promise to your reader, itmust be kept!

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored characters, with a focus on inference and deduction

• developed how to integrate evidence in writing to analyse, review and comment

• explored Horowitz’s narrative style.

Now you are going to explore the stucture of the novel and how it can be used tocreate tension.

Objectives• R2 Extract information

• R3 Compare presentation

• R15 Endings.

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Pupil worksheet 18.1Lesson 18

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1 Working in pairs to fours, list the common factors belonging to all the spy novels and filmswhich you have read/seen.

2 Update your timeline for Point Blanc and then identify the similarities and differences betweenthe structure of Point Blanc and the generic structure of spy novels/films. Use the grid below torecord your ideas. If you have read other Horowitz novels in this series use this knowledge too.

Similarities between Point Blanc Differences between Point Blanc and spy novels/films and spy novels/films

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored characters, with a focus on inference and deduction

• developed how to integrate evidence in writing to analyse, review and comment

• explored Horowitz’s narrative style

• explored the structure of the novel and the creation of tension.

Objective• R20 Literary heritage

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Pupil worksheet 19.1Lesson 19

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The role of the action hero1 Identify action heroes from your reading/film viewing. Working in pairs, note the key

characteristics of an action hero, in a spider diagram. You may want to revisit your notes onthe key features of the action/adventure genre explored earlier.

• A hero: is a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deedsand noble qualities. Anyone can become a hero when they act courageously and nobly.

• An idol: is any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration or devotion.

2a) Can you think of any idols, rather than heroes?

b) How is a hero different from an ‘action hero’?

3 Now you are going to explore Alex’s role in Point Blanc. Working in pairs, discuss thefollowing statements about Alex. Say whether you agree or disagree with each statement,supporting your answer with evidence from the novel.

4 Is Alex a hero? Support your answer with evidence from the novel.

ContextAs a group we have:

• explored characters, with a focus on inference and deduction

• developed how to integrate evidence in writing to analyse, review and comment

• explored Horowitz’s narrative style

• identified the similarities and differences between Point Blanc and spy novels/films.

Now you are going to explore the role of the action hero.

Objective• R7 Identify main ideas.

Statement Agree Disagree Evidence from Point Blanc

1. Alex is brave and strong. Agree Disagree

2. Alex is caring and thoughtful. Agree Disagree

3. Alex is selfish. Agree Disagree

4. Alex is never frightened. Agree Disagree

5. Alex makes mistakes. Agree Disagree

6. Alex is never dishonest. Agree Disagree

7. Alex puts others before himself. Agree Disagree

8. Alex stands up for himself. Agree Disagree

9. Alex never gets angry. Agree Disagree

10. Alex is always a popular person. Agree Disagree