Anita and Me A classroom writing activity Activity concept by Naomi Hursthouse

Ranking words pleaded, twirling, sighed, gasped, strolling, dragging, sagged, shuffled Arrange these words into order of Strong  Weak. Put the words that seem strongest at the top of your list and the ones that seem weakest at the bottom.

Ranking characters Read the following extract in your book: – pp 45–46, 'Don't tell Mr Christmas,’ to 'I heard the TV volume go up to full blast.’ Highlight all the verbs. What do you learn about the three characters Meena, Anita and Mr Christmas? Now arrange these characters on your ladder from Strong  Weak. Who's the most powerful? We will now complete a group activity to help you write about Anita's power in an analytical way.

Group activity In what ways does Anita appear powerful? Write a sentence on a piece of paper. – e.g. Anita appears powerful because she takes her time. Pass on your paper to the right.

Group activity Read the previous comment, now write down a quotation from the extract that proves the point. – e.g. This can be seen in the quotation, 'dragging her feet deliberately'. Pass on your paper to the right.

Group activity Now, add a relevant comment about how the evidence shows Anita is powerful. – e.g. This shows Anita as powerful because she makes Mr Christmas wait for her retort. Pass on your paper to the right.

Group activity Now, zoom in on a verb and explain how it shows Anita's power. – e.g. The verb 'dragging' suggests that Anita is prolonging her movements in order to get everyone's attention. Pass on your paper to the right.

Group activity Now, add a comment about the effect on the reader. – e.g. This makes the reader think that Anita has taken control of the situation because she appears stronger than the other characters. Finally, return the paper to the original writer. Read back through the paragraph. Highlight the portion you think works best. Write a sentence explaining what is successful about that portion and why it is successful.