Imaginative Response S2 Homework Task - November

Checklist Section A Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Answer questions Read a summary Produce a summary Section B Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3 Create a character Write a short paragraph Explain “Key Event” Section C Creating character, Theme, and Key Event Write at length using my own imagination Activity 1 Using imagination

Learning Intentions: I can summarise a piece of non-fiction writing using my own words as far as possible. LIT 3-24a LIT 3-14a LIT 3-26a LIT 3-31a Curriculum for Excellence ‘Experiences and Outcomes’ My characters are interesting and convincing. I have followed the requirements of the task. I have organised my ideas sensibly.

Section A – Writing a Summary

There are 3 activities to complete in Section A.

This month we are looking at how we understand and respond imaginatively to books. Section A - Activity 1 In a short paragraph write down why you think that being able to use your imagination is important…

Summary Tips on Composing a Summary Summarizing condenses in your own words the main points in a passage.... Reread the passage, jotting down a few keywords. State the main point in your own words.... Be objective: Don't mix your reactions with the summary. Check your summary against the original, making sure that you use quotation marks around any exact phrases that you borrow.quotation marks

Summary: A summary gives a short overview, or the main points, of something longer.

How to Write a Summary Preparing to Write: To write a good summary it is important to thoroughly understand the material you are working with. Here are some basic steps in writing a summary: 1.Skim the text, noting in your mind the subheadings. If there are no subheadings, try to divide the text into sections. Consider why you have been assigned the text. Try to determine what type of text you are dealing with. This can help you identify important information. 2. Read the text, highlighting important information and taking notes. 3. In your own words, write down the main points of each section. 4. Write down the key support points for the main topic, but do not include minor detail. 5. Go through the process again, making changes as needed.

Writing the Summary: When writing the summary there are three main “ingredients”: 1. The summary should cover the original as a whole. 2. The material should be presented in a neutral fashion (don’t take sides). 3. The summary should be a condensed (shorter) version of the material, presented in your own words.* Do not include anything that does not appear in the original. (Do not include your own comments or evaluation.) ** Be sure to identify your source.

Example of a Summary PASSAGE: Introducing the Scottish Highlands and Islands The mountains of Scotland come in various shapes. There are the green friendly fells of Perthshire, where the great River Tummel winds idly in its oak tree gorge and salmon flash in the pools of Killiecrankie. There are the grim crags of Glencoe – oppressive and even scary on days of low cloud, wind and beating rain. When the clouds do lift and the sun comes out, it's still oppressive and scary because you can see just how high they go. SUMMARY: Scotland has many mountains which come in many shapes and sizes. Scotland is also home to lots of beautiful scenery – whether in the sun or pouring rain. From Killiecrankie to Glencoe, every visitor is sure to find something to see.

Section A - Activity 2 Read the following passage: The best thing about the weather in Scotland is that whatever you write about it will probably be true at some point in the year. And it’s all because of where Scotland is – sticking out into the North Atlantic. You could think of the skies above Scotland it as a battlefield, where the prevailing south-westerlies with their mild airs meet the more stable air of the continental land mass. The resultant mix means the weather in Scotland never gets very warm or very cold. It’s just a cool temperate climate. Ho-hum. Best pack a light waterproof, just in case. Especially if you are heading to the West Highlands. Oh, unless the forecast is for an east wind, in spring. In this case, the west will be dry. You see what I mean? Even explaining the weather in Scotland can be very complicated. How my heart used to sink when I had to write those earnest descriptions of Scotland weather for promotional area guidebooks. I used to catch myself writing the word ‘moisture’ instead of ‘rain’ because it somehow sounded, well, drier. But you can't blame Scotland's tourism industry for not wanting to dwell on the weather in Scotland because – and there’s no way I can say this gently – it definitely rains a lot in some parts of Scotland, especially in the west. Time it wrong and an Atlantic weather front will slice the tops of those soaring mountains, and a grey wet curtain and a wind off the sea may make you seek recreation indoors. The upbeat part is that if you expect the worst, then, when the weather in Scotland shows signs of improving, you can relax and enjoy the glorious interplay of cloud and light, and the mist rising on the crags, and all that stuff. Oops. I knew I would break out in brochure-speak at some point.

Section A - Activity 3 Now write a summary of the passage (using the “framing” questions): 1. What is the title of the passage? 2. What is the main idea of the passage? 3. Fill in the table below to outline the main points in the passage. 4. What is your final impression of the main points included in the article? How do they combine to support the main idea? 5. What ideas do you have for the letter that you will write in response to this article? What position will you take and why? Main PointConnection to Main Idea

End of Section A

Section B – Thinking about Theme Character Key Event

There are 3 activities to complete in Section B.

Theme

Theme: The central idea or ideas explored by a piece of literature.

Example Themes Change versus Tradition Desire to Escape Empowerment Evils of Racism Love Pride and Downfall Reunion Class Struggle Darkness and Light Isolation Growing Up Honour and Valour Casualties of War How Power Corrupts Selfishness

“Cowards die many times before their deaths/The valiant never taste of death but once.“ (Julius Caesar) This is a version of Shakespeare’s Complete Works and was smuggled into the Robben Island jail, and includes notes added by Mandela and other prisoners it was shared with. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years during the *apartheid years before being released in He went on to become the country's first black president. The theme of this quotation suggests the need for individuals to show bravery in the face of tyranny. Apartheid ("the status of being apart") was a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation by the National Party (NP) governments, who were the ruling party from 1948 to 1994, of South Africa, under which the rights of the majority black inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained

Section B - Activity 1 Note down what theme(s) contained in your favourite book. Write a one-paragraph imaginative response which has the same theme as your favourite book.

Character

Character: An imaginary person represented in a work of fiction.

Character properties Appearance Looks Dresses Actions What the character does/does not do What others in the story do to the main character Good Characters are: Believable Consistent Multi-dimensional (not stereotyped) Memorable Grow or change over time Thoughts and Conversation What the character says/feels What other characters say about the character

Section B - Activity 2 Create a character. Describe your character using a ‘character sketch’ diagram. (See below).

Key Event

Key Event: A significant moment in the text which creates tension and/or suspense, etc.

Key Event Example In another moment I had scrambled up the earthen rampart and stood upon its crest, and the interior of the redoubt was below me. A mighty space it was, with gigantic machines here and there within it, huge mounds of material and strange shelter places. And scattered about it, some in their overturned war-machines, some in the now rigid handling-machines, and a dozen of them stark and silent and laid in a row, were the Martians – dead! – slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared; slain as the red weed was being slain; slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things that God, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth. The torment was over. Even that day the healing would begin. The survivors of the people scattered over the country – leaderless, lawless, foodless, like sheep without a shepherd – the thousands who had fled by sea, would begin to return; the pulse of life, growing stronger and stronger, would beat again in the empty streets and pour across the vacant squares. Whatever destruction was done, the hand of the destroyer was stayed. All the gaunt wrecks, the blackened skeletons of houses that stared so dismally at the sunlit grass of the hill, would presently be echoing with the hammers of the restorers and ringing with the tapping of their trowels. At the thought I extended my hands towards the sky and began thanking God. In a year, thought I – in a year... With overwhelming force came the thought of myself, of my wife, and the old life of hope and tender helpfulness that had ceased for ever.

Section B - Activity 3 The previous passage is an excerpt from H. G. Wells’ classic tale of a Martian invasion of Earth, The War of the Worlds. The passage contains a key event which influences the novel’s ending. Questions for Reflection: 1.What is the key event in the passage? 2.Where exactly in the passage does the key event occur? 3.How is the key event described? 4.Why might this key event be so significant to the conclusion of the story?

Section B - Activity 3 Explain what, where, how, and why a key event is important in your chosen novel.

End of Section B

Section C – Write your Imaginative Response

There is 1 activity to complete in Section C.

Section C - Activity 1 Using your notes from Section A, you will be writing a continuous piece of prose. Your writing should be a work of your own imagination. This piece of prose should incorporate Character, Theme, and Key Event.

End of Section C End of November Homework