Reading in depth
Exam preparation
The Breadwinner
This unit will help you to:
Understand and interpret the detail of a
text
Use detail from the text when answering
questions
Develop your personal response to a text
Compare characters in a text
Reading in Depth
Lesson Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson I will be able to:
 Find the relevant detail in a text.
 Interpret and comment on this detail.
Key words
Relevant, interpret, evidence
Turn to page 19
Understanding detail
Understanding detail in a text helps you to
read between the lines.
While reading the story, be thinking about
individual interesting words and what they
mean to you
how you feel about the characters
what is your understanding of the meaning
Reading skills
Reading between the lines
Reading between the lines is a very important skill. You will need
to
 ask yourself if there is any other meaning than the obvious one
in the text you are reading.
 Think about what images the words create in your mind
For example:
The parents of a boy of fourteen were waiting for him to come
home with his first weeks wages
Look again at the following extract from The Breadwinner.
Parents - implies
protection / love
Boy - seems young
- not important enough
to be given a
name
‘boy’ - working for a
week – unlike
contemporary culture
The parents of a
boy of fourteen
were waiting for
him to come
home with his
first week’s
wages.
Question
Why is a 14 yr old
working?
What job does he
do?
Why are his
parents
waiting for him
/ his wages?
Why aren’t his
parents
working? Or
are they
working?
Using Evidence and Quotations
Learning Outcome:
By the end of the lesson I will be able to
find evidence to support comments about
a text
Keywords:
Point, Evidence, Explain, Language
Writing to Analyse
1. Write in standard English
2. Vary words and phrases when introducing
evidence, e.g.
• This suggests…
• This implies…
• This could mean that…
• This is evident when…
3. If you do not have firm evidence to support your
point use words such as;
• ‘might’
• ‘it could mean’
• ‘possibly’
How to PEE ( L )
P
E
Point
Evidence
Make a point
Give a quote as evidence to
support your point
E
Explain
Explain how your evidence
proves your point
(L)
Language
Use individual words in
the text to help explain how it
makes you feel, how you understand the
characters etc.
The PEE(L) Chain
The PEEL Chain.doc
Look at another sentence from the
story. It is about the mother.
‘She looked
tired and
frequently
sighed
heavily.’
STARTER
Write the sentence in
your yellow book and try
to read between the
lines. (2mins)
 Look at individual words
and think about the
images and feelings they
create.
 think about what else the
words could mean
What kinds of things have we understood about this sentence?
What do the words TIRED, FREQUENTLY, SIGHED and HEAVILY
suggest about the mother?
Reading between the lines
Asking those questions allows us to read
between the lines; our answers may not be
right, but by suggesting what we think might
be happening, we can show an examiner we
can
read in depth
see the characters as real people
imagine different situations
Activity 1 – What do you learn about the relationship
between the mother and father? (Red Book)
Step 1: Re-read the story and write down details that seem
particularly significant – any information about their
relationship.
Step 2: Ask yourself questions such as the following:
•Why has the writer used particular words?
•What is the writer trying to tell the reader?
•What is there about the characters’ behaviour and
appearance that is particularly significant?
Step 3: Put the details together and answer the question,
using evidence from the text to support your comments.
Activity 2
Complete the chart below by finding an appropriate
detail or quotation from The Breadwinner, pages 19–21,
to support the comments about the boy.
The first one has been done for you.
Comment on the boy
Evidence
He looked younger than We are told that the boy
his age.
was fourteen but that
‘He did not look older
than ten or eleven
years’.
He shows courage when
dealing with his father.
He refuses to give in to
his father.
He is very upset by what
has happened.
He cares about his
mother.
He shows courage when ‘he went over to him
dealing with his father.
biting his lower lip to
keep in the tears’
He refuses to give in to
his father.
‘the boy sank to the floor,
but did not cry out’
He is very upset by what ‘he was sobbing bitterly,
has happened.
his face in the pillow’
He cares about his
mother.
‘he raised his head and
smiled at her’.
Lesson 3: Developing your
Personal Response
Learning Outcome
• Develop your personal response to a text
• Write in a formal style
Key words
• Personal response
• Formal style
Developing your personal response
to a text
The story of The Breadwinner will affect different people in
different ways, depending on life experience and backgrounds.
You need to be able to work out how YOU are affected by a story
and WHY. This is called a personal response.
A question that targets a personal response is:
What do you think
of the way the father behaves in this story?
This question is asking you 2 things:
To answer this you need to spend some time thinking about the
father.
Turn to page 25
Activity 4: Thinking about how the
characters behave
Think carefully about the father’s behaviour.
Make notes in your yellow book about how he behaves towards his wife and son. You
could think about::
Section 1
• How he speaks and behaves towards his wife
Section 2
• How he speaks and behaves towards his son
Section 3
• Explain how you feel about his behaviour
Read and complete Activity 4 in your yellow book. Write your answers in full sentences.
Remember to find evidence of the things you are saying from the text, for example, if
you are saying that his behaviour is violent, include the quote from the text where he
‘beats him unmercifully’.
Comparing Texts
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson I will be able to:
 compare characters in different texts, showing
their similarities and differences.
 Use connectives to link ideas
Key words
 compare
 Similarities
 differences
Connectives
Connectives are words that join one clause
to another:
Write down those connectives that could be
useful when comparing one thing with
another, for example:
Whereas
unlike
Did you get these ones?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
However
although
On the other hand
alternatively
Similarly
In contrast to
Nevertheless
In both cases
Both
They are similar (different) in that…
Writing a comparison
Remember:
 You need to write about the SIMILARITIES and
the DIFFERENCES
 Use a variety of connectives
 Always be looking to show you have extended
your vocabulary
 Check spelling and punctuation
TASK:
Copy and complete the following grid to enable
you to have the information on both characters
in one place. (10 minutes)
Weep Not My Wanton
1. Read again the first paragraph (lines 18).
• What kind of atmosphere has been
created?
• Note down the words that the writer has
included to give the reader this
impression.
• What does this tell the reader about the
rest of the story?
Weep Not My Wanton
1. Now read again the final paragraph (lines
74-80).
• What mood, atmosphere and emotions
do you associate with ‘greyness’?
• How does this contribute to the
atmosphere?
• What is the significance of the ‘gelded’
pigs?
Emasculate
1. To take away the strength of
2. To take away the masculinity of
3. To castrate
‘the young pigs, bloody and subdued’
Subdue – to be conquered and overcome defeated
Writing an Analytical Essay
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the lesson I will be able to:
 Compare characters in different texts
 Plan and write a formal essay using standard English
 Use PEEL in my writing
Key words:
 analyse
 Standard English
 connectives
Compare the mothers in ‘The
Breadwinner’ and ‘Weep Not My
Wanton’
Which mother do you feel most sympathy with?
In pairs or small groups discuss:
• The appearance of the mothers
• How each mother deals with her husband
• How each mother deals with her son
• Whether each mother was right to act as she did
• Other actions each mother could have taken
• Present your viewpoint back to the rest of the
class
A comparison of the mothers in ‘The Breadwinner’
and ‘Weep Not my Wanton’
Aim to use PEEL to identify two similarities and two differences
between the mothers
Paragraph 1: A short introduction that refers to the key words in
the question and briefly discusses the context of the texts
Paragraphs 2 & 3: Make two points that show the differences
between the mothers
Paragraphs 4 & 5: Make two points that show the similarities
between the mothers
Paragraph 6: Explain and develop your own point of view. Which
woman do you feel the most sympathy for
Example introduction
Paragraph 1: A short introduction that refers to the key
words in the question and briefly discusses the context
of the texts
This essay explores the differences and similarities
between the mothers in ‘The Breadwinner’ and
‘Weep Not my Wanton’. Both texts were set in
the past when divorce was rare and women
were expected to obey their husbands. Also,
poor children were expected to work and provide
money to support their families.
Activity 7
This will be your final assessed piece of work in this
unit. Remember there are two key aspects of
learning in this unit:
1) Using PEE (L) accurately. Keep your points
simple, use clear inverted commas (quotation
marks ‘ …’) and make sure you explain HOW
your evidence PROVES your point.
2) Showing your understanding of what you have
read by how well you answer the question.
When you have finished your
writing:
Assess your work by highlighting or
underlining in different colours:
1. References and quotations
2. Connectives that you have used to
identify points of similarity and difference
Exam
SILENCE
Exam: The Hitch-hiker
Assessment: The Hitch-hiker
As you read the following extract,
highlight words and phrases that tell
you something about either the
driver or the hitch-hiker. You could
also make notes in the margins.
Use your notes and highlighting to help
you answer the questions 1-5 on your
A4 worksheet:
Remember to give evidence from the text to
support your points. PEE.
Writing a comparison need not
be a difficult task.
For example, take a look at these two fruits:
the humble apple and juicy orange
Homework
Write a 100-140 word comparison of one of
the following in your yellow book:
A mug and a glass
A shoe and a slipper
A radio and a T.V