Week 9, Lesson 1 Epistolary fiction - Eckington School€¦ · Week 9, Lesson 1 Epistolary fiction...
Transcript of Week 9, Lesson 1 Epistolary fiction - Eckington School€¦ · Week 9, Lesson 1 Epistolary fiction...
Week 9, Lesson 1
Epistolary fiction
By the end of the lesson:
ALL will be able to explain
the effect of epistolary
features and experiment with
using them;
MOST will explore different
interpretations of examples of
epistolary fiction and create a
clear voice through your own
examples;
SOME will evaluate the
effectiveness of different
types of epistolary feature
and apply new understanding
to your own work.
Starter: Look at the note below.
What inferences could you make
about the writer and the intended
recipient?
Epistolary fiction is a popular genre in which the
narrative is told via a series of documents. Some
works are told entirely using documents; many more
use epistolary features to develop the narrative (e.g.
letters and character statements in ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr
Hyde’).
What types of document could a writer use
to help push the narrative forward, develop
relationships between characters or reveal
information about situations?
Create a list of examples.
In each case, why might it be more effective for
a writer to use this than to use conventional
dialogue or narrative description?
ALL will be able to explain the effect of epistolary features and experiment with using them;
MOST will explore different interpretations of examples of epistolary fiction and create a clear voice through your own examples;
SOME will evaluate the effectiveness of different types of epistolary feature and apply new understanding to your own work.
Task: Read and annotate the extract from ‘Great Expectations’
to explore the effect of using epistolary features such as letters.
Stuck?
How does the letter reveal that Joe has
not learnt to read or write?
How does the letter reveal that Pip has not
really stayed in touch since moving to
London?
Up for a challenge?
How might Pip feel as he reads the letter?
Why?
Explore – and justify – a range of
possibilities.
How does Dickens use epistolary features to subtly reveal
information about his characters and their situations?
ALL will be able to explain the effect of epistolary features and experiment with using them;
MOST will explore different interpretations of examples of epistolary fiction and create a clear voice through your own examples;
SOME will evaluate the effectiveness of different types of epistolary feature and apply new understanding to your own work.
This is an extract from the beginning of Chapter 27 of ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens.
The narrator of the novel, Pip, was brought up by his older sister and her husband (the blacksmith Joe Gargery, who cannot read or
write). Pip has gone from being a poor blacksmith’s apprentice to being a London gentleman. He receives this letter from Biddy, a
school friend of Pip’s who now helps to care for Mrs Gargery.
My dear Mr. Pip,
I write this by request of Mr. Gargery, for to let you know that he is
going to London tomorrow in company with Mr. Wopsle and would
be glad if agreeable to be allowed to see you. He would call at
Barnard’s Hotel Tuesday morning at nine o’clock, when if not
agreeable please leave word. Your poor sister is much the same
as when you left. We talk of you in the kitchen every night, and
wonder what you are saying and doing. If now considered in the
light of a liberty, excuse it for the love of poor old days. No more,
dear Mr. Pip, from
Your ever obliged, and affectionate servant,
Biddy.
P.S. He wishes me most particular to write what larks. He says
you will understand. I hope and do not doubt it will be agreeable to
see him even though a gentleman, for you had ever a good heart,
and he is a worthy worthy man. I have read him all excepting only
the last little sentence, and he wishes me most particular to write
again what larks.
Annotate the letter, considering the following:
• What do we learn about Biddy’s personality?
• What do we learn about Joe’s (Mr Gargery’s) personality?
• What do we learn about Pip?
• What do we learn about the relationships between these characters?
Task: Plan a very short story which
uses only text messages between
two characters.
When you’re ready, write your text
messages into the template.
Consider:
• Is the time relevant? You can add dates
and times here.
• Is it relevant that the time on the phone
is 10.47pm?
• Is it relevant that the battery is at 24%?
• Why are there two messages in a row
at the end?
• Will the sender be starting to type a
new message here? If so, what is it?
Ext: Annotate your story, explaining your
intended effect upon the reader.
Plenary: List three possible titles for your text message story.
Choose one and put it at the top of the story.
Explain why this is the best title for your story.
ALL will be able to explain the effect of epistolary features and experiment with using them;
MOST will explore different interpretations of examples of epistolary fiction and create a clear
voice through your own examples;
SOME will evaluate the effectiveness of different types of epistolary feature and apply new
understanding to your own work.
Week 9, Lesson 2
Constrained writing
By the end of the lesson:
ALL will be able to
experiment with a range of
writing constraints;
MOST will construct
different examples of
original writing using a
range of constraints;
SOME will develop
interesting, effective pieces
of writing using a range of
constraints.
Starter: Write a sentence in
which the first word has one
letter, the second word has two
letters, the third has three, and
so on.
What’s the longest sentence you
can write that still makes sense?
Stuck? Start with I am not…
Ext: Can you write a complex
sentence in which every word has
the same number of letters?
Writers often challenge themselves by using constrained
writing, working within a strict set of rules or parameters.
Consider some forms of poetry – in what ways is
a sonnet a form of constrained writing?
Lipogram
In a lipogram, one letter of the alphabet is intentionally avoided.
The novelist Ernest Vincent Wright wrote the novel ‘Gadsby’
without using the letter ‘e’ once.
Constrained writing task 1: Lipogram
Choose one vowel to eliminate from your
writing. Write a paragraph about your morning
(be as imaginative as you like!) without using
that vowel.
What would be the most difficult
aspect of this task?
Ext: Develop your writing by including some of the words on your
vocabulary list – but only if they don’t include your forbidden vowel!
ALL will be able to experiment with a range of writing constraints;
MOST will construct different examples of original writing using a range of constraints;
SOME will develop interesting, effective pieces of writing using a range of constraints.
Mandated vocabulary
Novelist Doug Nufer’s novel ‘Never Again’
doesn’t use any word more than once.
What would be the most difficult
aspect of this task?
ALL will be able to experiment with a range of writing constraints;
MOST will construct different examples of original writing using a range of constraints;
SOME will develop interesting, effective pieces of writing using a range of constraints.
The first line of the novel is “When the
racetrack closed forever I had to get a
new job.”
In his first sentence, Nufer has used up:
• I
• the
• a
Imagine how tough it must
have been to write the rest
of the novel!
Mandated vocabulary
The 2008 novel ‘let me tell you’ uses only the 483 words spoken
by the character Ophelia in Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’.
What would be the most difficult
aspect of this task?
ALL will be able to experiment with a range of writing constraints;
MOST will construct different examples of original writing using a range of constraints;
SOME will develop interesting, effective pieces of writing using a range of constraints.
Dr Seuss’ publisher said it
would be impossible to write a
story using no more than 50
different words. Dr Seuss won
the bet.
Fun fact! The
book ‘Green
Eggs and Ham’
was written in
response a bet.
Constrained writing task 2: Lipogram or mandated vocabulary
Choice A: No repeats
Write the first paragraph(s) of a
novel called ‘Thursday’. You
may not repeat any word
throughout your writing in this
task.
Extra challenge: Don’t use any
of the words you used in
Constrained Writing Task 1.
Choice B: Set vocabulary
Write the first paragraph(s) of a
novel called ‘Thursday’. You
may use only the words below.
Do you
recognise
these
words?
From
which
poem are
they
taken?
Ext A: Develop your writing by
including some of the words on your
vocabulary list – but only once!
Ext B: Can you include an
extended metaphor in your piece?
Pilish
Pilish is an extraordinary form of constrained writing that
straddles the boundary between language and mathematics: it is
written in such a way that the letters in each successive word
are equal to the successive decimal places of pi.
E.g. the first word has 3 letters; the second has 1; the third has
4…
What would be the most difficult
aspect of this task?
ALL will be able to experiment with a range of writing constraints;
MOST will construct different examples of original writing using a range of constraints;
SOME will develop interesting, effective pieces of writing using a range of constraints.
Constrained writing task 3: Pilish
Write a 75-100 word story using Pilish. You have complete
freedom over the genre, subject and form (by all means make it
epistolary or use only dialogue if you prefer), but you must be
strict about the number of letters in each word.
I’ve separated pi out below, just so it’s easier to keep track of
where you are.
Ext: Develop your writing by editing in some of the words on your
vocabulary list – but make sure they have the right number of letters!
3.1415 92653 58979 32384
62643 38327 95028 84197
16939 93751 05820 97494
45923 07816 40628 62089
98628 03482 53421 17067
ALL will be able to experiment with a range of writing constraints;
MOST will construct different examples of original writing using a range of
constraints;
SOME will develop interesting, effective pieces of writing using a range of
constraints.
Plenary:
Which of the writing constraints did you find the most
challenging? Why do you think this is the case for you?
Homework reminder: Do your third piece now!
• Lipogram
• Mandated vocabulary
• Pilish