Intermediate 2

Lesson One aims:  Watch a video of Anne Donovan being interviewed about her writing  Read the story  Write a bullet-point summary of the story  Have an understanding of the narrative style of the story  Headspace: Mary

Narrative Style 1. a) What narrative perspective is used in this story? - First person narrative is used b) Why do you think Anne Donovan does this? - So that we get Mary’s uncensored thoughts /feelings and sympathise with her more. 2. The story is written in Scots, using a Glaswegian dialect, how does this help the reader relate to the character more effectively? - It helps make Mary more ‘real’ because we can ‘hear’ her voice, almost like she is speaking to us and telling us about her time at school. It is very informal. - Broad Glaswegian dialect helps us understand that Mary is from a poorer area of Glasgow.

First Impressions 1. How do you feel about the main character Mary? We feel sympathetic towards Mary. 2. What event from Mary’s story makes the reader feel the most sympathy for her?

What event(s) from Mary’s story makes the reader feel the most sympathy for her?  Primary school teacher is quite patronising: “my little assistant” suggests Mary is only capable of small, menial jobs.  Peers distancing themselves from her: “ah fund masel oot the dance wioot a parnter. And it wisnae nice.”

What event(s) from Mary’s story makes the reader feel the most sympathy for her?  Her Mum thinks she’s a bit silly, “Ma mammy thoat a wis daft,”  Mr Kelly always tries to make her look stupid and draws attention to her, “insteid a bein like the ither teachers and jist leavin’ me in peace or sending me a message or sumpn he had tae make hissel smart by drawin attention tae me.”  The teachers made her sound a bit thick, “ Ah hud a readin age of 6.4 and a spellin age of 5.7”  Everyone pre-judges her as being lazy, “She’s lazy you mean”

Recap of 04/06/13  The story is called Hieroglyphics  It was written by Anne Donovan  It is written in a first person narrative  The author has used a Glasgow dialect throughout  The story is about a teenager called Mary, who has dyslexia  She is thinking back (reflecting) on her education in primary and secondary school, and how her teachers and peers treated her.  The reader feels sympathy for Mary.  The story has a positive ending.

Headspace: Mary In green pen, note down anything we know about Mary’s physical appearance and external things we know about her, such as: where she lives, family situation, schooling etc. In blue pen, note down anything we know about Mary’s personality

Recap of 06/06/13  Mary is a creative girl - she devises her own way of overcoming her dyslexia; she draws pictures for meaning.  She is a kind, caring girl – she enjoyed look after the “weans” at Primary School; she thinks about her mammy and sisters.  Mary is clever /has common sense – she is aware (even at Primary School) of what teachers and mammy think about her work; she sees how silly it is to have different rules for every class.  She is opinionated – she forms strong opinions about her teachers and the way they treat her.  Mary is strong – despite the isolation from her peers and being singled out by Skelly Kelly, she still tries her hardest.

Lesson Aims:  Revise figures of speech: simile, metaphor and personification.  Identify imagery within the story  Explain the effectiveness of this imagery in conveying the emotions of characters

 Task: Identify examples of imagery in the short story and comment on how effectively it conveys meanings.  Example: “ah could never tell them aboot the letters diddlin aboot, and oanyway, naebdy ever asked me whit it wis like”  In Mary’s description of the words she personifies the letters, describing them as ‘diddlin aboot’, meaning that they wouldn’t stay still for her. The personification gives the impression that the letters were mocking Mary and her efforts and this clearly conveys her irritation and frustration with reading

“they were birlin and dancin roond like big black spiders. A couldnae keep a haunle on them fur every time ah thoat ah'd captured them, tied them thegither in some kindy order they jist kep on escapin.” Para 1 The simile “dancin roond like big black spiders” suggests that when Mary looks at the letters they appear to be crawling all over her page, like insects. “dancin” and “birlin” suggests that they move quickly. “Spiders” creates the idea that Mary is scared of the words in front of her as spiders are a common source of fear. The personification “captured them” again suggests an element of fear; capturing is something that is done to dangerous criminals or animals.

“The French teacher took wan look at the dug's dinner ah wis producin an tellt me no tae bother.” Para 17 The technique being used is a metaphor. Mary’s work is being compared to a “dug’s dinner”. This suggests that Mary’s work is untidy, messy rubbish; not nice to look at.

“If ye kin imagine the class like a field a racehorses then he wus gaun at such a pelt that only the first two or three could keep up wi him… Me, A wis the wan that fell at the furst fence.” The technique being used is simile. The pupils in the class are being compared to a racehorses. This suggests that the speed they are writing at is very fast. Mary compares herself to a horse who has fallen at “the furst fence” and has had to leave the race; she has not been able to keep up with the pace of the class.

“The class were aw sittin up like circus lions at this point, wonderin whit the ringmaister wis gonny dae next.” The technique being used is simile. The class are being compared to circus lions. A metaphor is being used to compare Mr Kelly to a circus ringmaster. The image suggests that the pupils are watching Mr Kelly intently as circus lions would watch the ringmaster for their cues. The idea of the circus also suggests that this is a spectacle: that is, something to watch and be entertained by.

“when ye move up tae the big school it's a time when friendships kindy shuffle roond like wanny they progressive barn dances, and ye make new wans an ye lose auld wans and somehow in the middly aw this process ah fund masel oot the dance wioot a partner.” There are two techniques being used here: simile and metaphor. The simile compares the way friendships change at high school to a dance where people change partners as part of the dance. The metaphor compares Mary to someone who has been left without a dance partner. This suggests Mary’s loneliness and her isolation from her peers.

“And his teachin wisnae even as modern as the ancient Egyptians, oot the ark, mair like” This simile compares the modernity of Kelly’s teaching methods to Biblical events; the Ark meaning the Ark in the story of Noah. This pre- dated ancient Egypt and suggests that his teaching is extremely dull and boring.

“aw ye did wis write write, write till yer erm felt like a big balloon” This simile compares the pupil’s arms to balloons, suggesting that the amount of writing makes it feel like it is swollen through injury.

“Ma writin looked a bit like wee scarab beetles scurryin aboot the page and when he corrected it, it wis as if the wee beetles hud aw startit bleedin.” The similes compare Mary’s writing to “scarab beetles”. Scarab beetles are an insect associated with ancient Egypt, so this links effectively to the other Egyptian imagery and the Hieroglyphics of the story. It is the second insect comparison in the story. “bleedin” suggests that Kelly has made lots of corrections on her work.

 To recognise, identify and comment on the effect of foreshadowing

Foreshadowing? What does it mean?

 Foreshadowing is when detail is provided that prepares the reader for later events: subtle hints as to what may happen later in the story, in many cases they suggest something ominous

 Re-read the paragraph in which Mary describes the secondary school building. Pick out words and phrases that foreshadow what her time will be like there.  Analyse the effect of these words or phrases, explaining how they indicate that things may become more difficult for Mary – connotations!!!

Carousel  Mary’s Mother: How does Mary’s mother feel about her progress in school?  focus on her abrupt interruptions of the teacher and the fact that Mary is re-counting this conversation… what effect is created?  Use a quotation to support your answer  Remember to explain the quotation  Blue Group

Carousel  Remmy Wummin: How does the Remmy Wummin react to Mary?  Remember Mary is telling the story, so she must have been aware of how this woman was felling about her – how does this make the reader feel for Mary?  Use a quotation to support your answer  Remember to explain the quotation  Green Group

Carousel  Miss Niven: How does Miss Niven treat Mary?  Consider the fact that Mary feels Miss Niven was ‘kind’ to her, but was she doing her job as a teacher?  Use a quotation to support your answer  Remember to explain the quotation  Pink Group

Carousel  Mr Kelly: How does Mr Kelly treat Mary in his classes  Focus on what this reveals about his attitude towards her  Use a quotation to support your answer.  Remember to explain what the quotation reveals.  Yellow Group

Carousel  Mary’s Primary teacher: How does Mary’s primary teacher treat her in school and how does this reveal her attitude towards Mary?  focus on her patronising appraisal of Mary’s skills.  Use a quotation to support your answer  Remember to explain the quotation  Orange Group

Carousel  Mr McIver: What seems to be the head teacher’s priority when he discusses Mary with Miss Niven?  How does this convey a sense of disregard for Mary?  Use a quotation to support your answer  Remember to explain the quotation  Purple Group

Carousel  Her friends: How do the other pupils begin to treat Mary at school?  Focus on what this reveals about the attitudes of some teenagers  Use a quotation to support your answer.  Remember to explain what the quotation reveals.  White Group

 Essay Question: Discuss a short story which has an effective ending  Success Criteria 1: Understanding  Showing a knowledge of the central concerns (themes) of the text  Showing a knowledge of the text through the ability to use quotations to support your arguments  Showing a clear understanding of the text through an ability to write on it in an unseen context – through relating it to a question

 Success Criteria 2: Analysis  Displaying an ability to analyse relevant literary techniques (characterisation, setting, symbolism, foreshadowing, theme, etc.)  Displaying an ability to analyse relevant language techniques (word choice, imagery, sentence structure, tone, figures of speech, etc.)

 Success Criteria 3: Evaluation  Providing an opinion on the effectiveness of techniques in conveying an concept or theme  Relating to the text and empathising with the characters and their situations  Success Criteria 4: Technical Accuracy  To write accurately with respect to spelling, grammar and punctuation  To structure essays in a logical and clear manner that follows a line of argument

 Essay Plan Paragraph 1:Introduction T – Title A – Author R – Refer to the question; write it in your own words (DO NOT SAY “In this essay I am going to…” T – Themes S – Summarise the plot in a few brief sentences

Paragraph 2: Focus on how Anne Donavon first introduces Mary’s dyslexia and the difficulties it causes her. E.g. At the start of the story, Donovan establishes that the main character of Mary has dyslexia and that this is causing considerable difficulties for her.

Paragraph 3: Focus on Mary’s creative and intelligent solution to her difficulties at the end of the story. E.g. The ending is effective because the story that she produces shows that she is both intelligent and creative when she discovers that she can communicate in other ways.

Paragraph 4: Focus on Mary’s isolation from the lessons and the social activities of her peers. E.g. During the story, Mary is often isolated and made to feel different from other pupils. She struggles with the work and pupils even exclude her from social activities as they see her as different.

Paragraph 5: Focus on the ending being effective because Mary realises that she and her peers are all different. E.g. It is therefore significant that the ending shows Mary reach the realisation that she is really not that different from her peers.

Paragraph 6: Focus on the relationships Mary has with the different teachers DO NOT DISCUSS MR KELLY HERE. E.g. Throughout the story Mary encounters different teachers and different attitudes towards her difficulties, but none of them give her the support she needs.

Paragraph 7: Focus on the conflict between Mary and Mr Kelly and the ending being effective because it shows her being proud of her work. E.g. Finally, throughout the story there is a great deal of conflict between the character of Mr Kelly and Mary and it is therefore significant that the ending shows Mary being able to take pride in her work in his class.

Paragraph 8: Conclusion C – Concluding phrase A – Author’s name R – Refer back to question T – Themes S – State and justify your opinion of the overall effectiveness of the ending

Introducing a quotation  For example/Exemplified by  As shown by  For instance Introducing explanation/evaluation  This suggests  This conveys  This creates the idea NOT - This shows/This proves

Key Terms  Imagery – simile, metaphor, personification  Word choice  Foreshadowing  Characterisation  Scots dialect  1st person narrative  Social isolation  Learning difficulties/disabilities  Dyslexia