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I hope that this resource proves
useful to your students, and that
you enjoy teaching it. Please don’t
hesitate to email me if you have any
questions or queries, and know that
feedback is always
appreciated. Warm regards St
acey Lloyd Email: stacey_lloyd@ymail.com Blog: www.staceylloydteaching.com Store: h5p://www.teacherspayteachers.com/
Store/Stacey-­‐Lloyd-­‐8481 © 2015 Stacey Lloyd. All rights reserved. Purchase of this unit entitles the purchaser the right to reproduce the pages in limited quantities for classroom use only. Duplication for an entire
Terms and Conditions school, an entire school system or commercial purposes is strictly forbidden without written permission from the publisher. Stacey Lloyd, stacey_lloyd@ymail.com Copying any part of this product and placing it on the Internet in any form (even a personal/classroom website) is strictly forbidden and is a violation of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA). These items can be picked up in a Google search and then shared worldwide for free. ★ THE CONCEPT BEHIND THESE RESOURCES ★
Contained here are four unique short passages which provide brief snapshots into the lives of four individuals on the first day of school (a teacher
and three students). As you will see, these stories can stand alone, but they are also clearly and cleverly interwoven.
In addition, there are four creative worksheets to help students analyze these passages in terms of grammar, language, content and meaning.
Furthermore, there is a one-page handout with writing prompts based on these stories.
How do I use these Obviously, you can use these worksheets in any way you like to aid your teaching.
resources? However, below are three possible lesson plans you might wish to consider.
OPTION ONE
1
(PRE-LESSON: Print out passages &
worksheets. Place the 4 different worksheets
in 4 piles on your desk.)
² HAND OUT all four passages to students
and read through with the class.
² AFTER each passage, discuss with the class
what their initial impressions are:
• What do they think of the characters?
• How do the stories link together?
• What do they think happens next?
After reading and discussing all four...
² INSTRUCT students to choose which story
they identify with most (or enjoy the most),
and then they must come to the front and
collect the corresponding worksheet.
² INSTRUCT students to now work on their
worksheets individually.
If there is time remaining, students could
complete a second worksheet.
OPTION TWO
2
(PRE-LESSON: Print out passages. Arrange
classroom into groups of 4/5. Print copies of
the worksheets (one per group) and enlarge
onto size A2 paper or cardstock.)
² ASSIGN students to groups (4 or 5 per
group).
² HAND OUT a different passage to each
group (there may be some groups with the
same passage). And then give each group
the corresponding enlarged worksheet.
² INSTRUCT students to read their passage
within their group and then fill in the poster
worksheet as a group. Encourage them to
use colors and be creative!
When the students are finished in their groups
(about 25 minutes)...
² NOW read aloud the four passages.
Students might be surprised at how they link
together! Discuss this as a class.
OPTION THREE
3
*This lesson will take 2 classes to complete.*
(PRE-LESSON: Print out passages and
worksheets – enough for one per student.)
LESSON ONE
² ASSIGN students to pairs.
² HAND OUT the first passage and read as a
class. Discuss first impressions.
² HAND OUT the 1st passage worksheet and
instruct students to work through it in pairs.
² HAND OUT the second passage and read
as a class. Discuss first impressions.
² HAND OUT the 2nd passage worksheet and
instruct students to work through it in pairs.
LESSON TWO
² ASSIGN students to pairs.
² REPEAT as with lesson one, but this time
working through passages three and four.
HOMEWORK: Perhaps print and cut this page up, place the prompts in a hat and have students pick one out!
Instruct students to complete one of the writing assignments included.
PLEASE NOTE: All four passages used in this resources were written by Lara Ferrari: Storyteller, Copywriter, Wordsmith. © Lara Ferrari 2015
PASSAGE ONE Dennis Hatter They can sense your fear.
That was one of the first things he had been taught.
Show no weakness.
He stopped shuffling the papers on his new desk and stood a little
straighter.
You don’t need their respect, or their trust … the only thing you need from
the little animals is their obedience.
The scornful voice of his educational psychology professor echoed round
his head. He had disagreed with his professor on a lot of things – which
was why he had spent his summer interning at a psychiatric counseling
center for troubled teens, getting enough extra credit to graduate. But he
had graduated – barely. And now he was going to prove his professor
wrong. These kids needed a helping hand, not an iron fist.
Right now, though, his hand was shaking: the hallway sounded like it had
been invaded by a thunderous, excitable horde of wild beasts. Hurriedly
erasing his illegible scrawl, he carefully rewrote his name on the large
board at the front of the class. Joined up and loopy, it looked like an
example exercise from an elementary school handwriting book. Mr.
Hatter. His professor hadn’t considered the challenge of filling highschoolers with fear when your name sounded like something from Alice in
Wonderland. But, despite his nerves, he was looking forward to the
moment they came through the rabbit hole.
They were his first ever class; what happened in this classroom could
determine their lifelong attitude to literature and set the tone for his whole
career. A small voice at the back of his head told him he was aiming too
high, putting too much pressure on himself, as usual. But Dennis Hatter
had wanted to be a teacher for as long as he could remember and he
wasn’t going to mess it up. As his father, a used car salesman, used to love
saying: you only get one chance to make a first impression.
The bell rang and Dennis’s trembling fingers dropped the board pen. As it
rolled under the desk, he found himself on his hands and knees staring at a
stampede of size 10 designer sneakers, bright high-tops, thick-soled
boots, and sparkly ballet flats. He could just imagine his professor rolling
his eyes.
PASSAGE TWO Alice Beaumont She forced a bright smile onto her face. She had been up at 5am,
curling her hair, carefully choosing her outfit, going over her cover
story – again and again. She had to be perfect. Hairspray, makeup,
fashion… these tools were her armor. These and the little bottle of
pink pills she hid so well even the servants wouldn’t find them. Show no weakness. “Alice! Ali!” A shrill streak of platinum blonde hurled itself at her,
nearly knocking Ali into a locker. Ali hugged Dana with relief: her
best friend was thrilled to see her – which meant she didn’t know.
And if the biggest gossip in school didn’t know… Ali might be safe. “Thank god you’re back,” Dana sighed, dramatic as ever, “I can’t
believe you had to spend the whole summer with your grandparents
– even if they did take you to Europe. Please tell me you at least
managed to sneak away long enough to get into some trouble?”
Dana wiggled perfectly plucked eyebrows. Ali didn’t even blink. “Obviously…” the lie sliding off her tongue, “Italian boys are so worth
getting into trouble for. And Greek and Spanish and French…” Dana’s eyes were wide. “I knew it! I want to know everything.”
Linking her arm with Ali’s, they followed the swarm of chattering
students into the classroom, the river of bodies parting to let their
queen bees through. Ali felt her shoulders relax; this was her
school, these were her subjects, summer was behind her and –
most importantly – nobody knew where she’d really been. A mop of curly hair popped up from behind the teacher’s desk. “Who is that?” Dana whispered as Ali froze. The man stood
awkwardly, correcting the wire-rimmed glasses that sat skewed on
his familiar face. No makeup could mask Ali’s panic. She knew
exactly who she was looking at: the one person who could still end
her reign. Great start.
© Stacey Lloyd 2015 © Stacey Lloyd 2015 PASSAGE THREE PASSAGE FOUR Rose Murphy Instead, she felt… exposed.
Two girls brushed past her, arm in arm – one blonde, one dark, their ponytails
swinging in tandem. Attention immediately shifted from Rose: boys and girls
alike were too busy staring after Dana Fields and Alice Beaumont – who hadn’t
spared Rose a glance. Rose had hoped Ali might remember the little girl next
door that she’d played dress up with all those years ago. Rose hadn’t seen Ali
even once over the summer, which made sense: she’d heard Ali had been
touring Europe. But Ali hadn’t spoken to Rose in years. Why would she? Alice
Beaumont was perfection personified and Rose… Rose had to work a little
harder.
Following the rowdy mob of football players, Rose told herself it didn’t matter.
She was more interested in finally being noticed by Evan Thorne. He hadn’t
joined the others yet – but he would.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she spotted him; it took Rose a
moment to sort them all out. He was as beautiful as ever but something had
changed over the summer. His eyes still crinkled the way she loved but his
smile was strained and there was an intensity about him she’d never seen
before. He stood with his friends but seemed somehow separate.
The girl talking to him was another reason for Rose’s mixed emotions. Lily,
Rose’s best friend, was as chubby and nerdy and unfashionable as Rose had
been before spending the last three months transforming herself. She had
encouraged her friend to join ‘project bloom’ – as Lily insisted on calling it –
but Lily had been too busy working at her father’s law firm all summer. Rose
felt pity and frustration: you can’t choose paperwork over working on yourself
and still expect someone like Evan to look at you as if you’re Alice Beaumont.
But Rose recognized the pain of rejection on Lily’s face and pity won.
The bell rang. Rose hesitated for a second but changed direction and followed
Lily into the classroom. Her best friend needed her; some things don’t change.
© Stacey Lloyd 2015 Fist bumps. Chest bumps. High fives. Evan went through all the traditional
post-summer rituals with his tribe, dreading the moment they started
sharing stories about their holidays. He hadn’t seen any of the guys all
summer and he was hoping they’d just assume he’d been away at an
athletics camp – football, basketball, baseball, hockey ... he could plausibly
have enrolled in any of them. Instead he’d chosen to intern at a local law
firm. His father still hadn’t forgiven him.
Evan had been planning to come clean. He wanted to. Just because he
wanted to go to law school after graduation, it didn’t mean he couldn’t still
captain the team one last year. Maybe he’d have to cut down a bit, miss a
few practices, sit out the less crucial games - but he could still have it all.
Evan Thorne Rose checked the mirror in her locker for the millionth time before closing the
door. She’d been so excited: a new Rose for the new school year. But doubts
crowded into her head, so loud she could barely think. She felt everyone
staring at her. She swallowed and pushed her shoulders back. This was what
she wanted, she reminded herself: to finally be noticed.
But he knew that wasn’t the real problem. It was who he was: the jacket he
wore, the lunch table he sat on, the trophies in the cabinets, the photos on
the walls – they were as much a part of his identity as his own name. The
moment he walked through the school doors, he lost himself in them
again. They bought him membership to this exclusive group, but he had to
hold up his end of the bargain.
Dating Lily wasn’t part of the bargain.
Working together, they had seen each other every single day. She was the
only person who understood what he was trying to make of himself, and
she was also the first girl who hadn’t liked him for his position in the team
(if anything, that had worked against him). She was also smarter than him,
which he found strangely attractive. And he made her smile; she had a
beautiful smile. Which is why his heart fell through his chest when he saw
the hurt, disappointed look on her face and knew that he had put it there.
Evan had been planning to tell his friends the truth. Yet when she’d found
him in the hall and given him her shy smile, his friends had humiliated her
with crass jokes. And he just stood there.
The last three months had been hard, but Evan had felt like he was finally
in the driving seat, taking control of his life. It helped that he had found
someone to share that with; but school hadn’t even started and he
realized, ashamedly, that it had only taken him a few minutes to regress to
the same scared little boy he’d always been.
© Stacey Lloyd 2015 Passage ONE
3. Is he an experienced teacher? Explain how you know.
_______________________________________________________________________________
4. Where is Mr. Hatter when his students enter the classroom?
_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Do you agree with the idea that first impressions are so important? Explain.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Do you feel sympathy for Mr. Hatter? Explain why or why not.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
which describe
his emotions
_____________________________ _____________________________ ANALYZING
Figurative Language
_____________________________ QUOTE
In your opinion,
Dennis Hatter will be ...
(tick as many as apply)
3
words
q
q
q
q
q
GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR OPINION
a very good teacher.
a terrible teacher.
an irrational teacher.
a very caring teacher.
a lazy teacher.
TECHNIQUE
EXPLAIN THE EFFECT
MAKING Inferences
what you
think Mr.
Hatter looks
like:
Describe
How has Dennis’s professor influenced his first day?
1. Why do you think he ‘stood a little taller’?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. How can you tell that Dennis is nervous?
(give two reasons)
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
“...not an iron
fist.”
© Stacey Lloyd 2015
2. Where did Mr. Hatter spend his summer, and why?
_______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.
_______________________________________________________________________________
1. Do you agree that teachers only need their students’ obedience? Explain why or why not.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...
LET’S GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT
GIVING YOUR OPINION
Dennis Hatter
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE Questions
1. Explain the occasional use of italics.
Verbal Irony
_______________________________________________________________________________
?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________ Allusion
2. What is the name & function of the three dots on the
6th line? ________________________________________________________________
“...sounded like it had
been invaded by a
thunderous, excitable
horde of wild animals.”
_______________________________________________________________________________ 3. A synonym for ‘scornful’: 4. An antonym for ‘illegible’:
______________________________________ _______________________________________ Passage TWO
1. Is Alice the sort of girl you would be friends with?
Explain why or why not.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Does she come from a wealthy or poor family.
Explain how you know.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. Where might she have actually been over the
summer?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Why does she react the way she does when
she sees the teacher?
______________________________________________________________
1
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Do you sympathize with Alice? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Do you agree that one should never show weakness?
Explain why or why not.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE Questions
1. Explain the use of dashes either side of ‘most importantly’.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. In ‘wire-rimmed’, is this a hyphen or dash? What is its function?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Any three compound nouns: 3.
___________________________ /___________________________ /___________________________ 4. Why is ‘Europe’ capitalized?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“
Show no
weakness.
QUESTION
you’d ask Alice Beaumont
If you met her.
_______________________________________
”
Her makeup,
hairspray and
clothes
COMPARED TO...
Alice and
Dana’s status
in class
COMPARED TO...
The parting of
the students in
the hall
COMPARED TO...
A quote to show that Alice and Dana hold
positions of high social status:
“
?
______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________
UNPACKING THE
EFFECT EFFECT EFFECT
GIVING YOUR OPINION
____________________________________________________________________
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...
5. How does Alice react to seeing the teacher?
____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Metaphors
Words which describe Alice’s changing emotions
in this passage:
© Stacey Lloyd 2015
4. Why is Alice relieved when Dana hugs her?
______________________________________________________________________________________
1. Why might she have a ‘bottle of pink pills’?
______________________________________________________________
MAKING Inferences
3. Where does Alice say she was all summer?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Imagine Alice has FACEBOOK.
2. Why was Alice up at 5am?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Write her status at the beginning of the school day.
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Alice Beaumont
Passage THREE
_____________________________________________________________________
2.2. An antonym for relaxed: ________________________________________ 3. How can you tell she still feels insecure?
_____________________________________________________________________
2.3. A homophone for wood: ________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Explain the function of the colon in the second line.
Identify the narrative
perspective of this passage:
_______________________________
EFFECT
A quote which describes Rose’s
appearance before the summer:
GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR OPINION
Find one of each of the following...
Alliteration
Metaphor
describe Rose’s emotions.
a confident teenager.
a good friend.
insecure.
a normal teenager.
delusional & ridiculous.
Words in the passage which
q
q
q
q
q
4. Why do you think that she ends up following Lily?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
In your opinion,
Rose Murphy is...
(tick as many as apply)
4. Why does Rose pity Lily?
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. Why didn’t Lily join her with ‘project bloom’?
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. What is ‘project bloom’?
_______________________________________________________________________________
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.
_______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
LET’S GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT
2. Why do you think she embarked on ‘project bloom’?
_____________________________________________________________________
Hyperbole
GIVING YOUR OPINION
1. Who do you think made the best use of their summer: Lily or Rose?
Explain your choice fully.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why might Evan be standing with his friends, but ‘somehow separate’?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Lily Evan © Stacey Lloyd 2015
2.1. A synonym for unruly: ___________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Alice ______________________________________________________________________________
2. Find one of each of the following from within the passage:
1. Why does she check the mirror in her locker?
_____________________________________________________________________
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...
1. ‘She’d been so excited’
1.1. What tense is this? _______________________________________________ 1.2. How would it be different if it said: ‘She was so excited’?
____________________________________________________________________________
MAKING Inferences
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE
Questions Describe Rose’s relationship with these characters:
Rose Murphy
1. The author has used many contractions; give an example
and explain how it effects the tone of the piece.
A quote to show that Evan is an
athletic student:
LET’S GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.
_______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ 2. What did Evan do with his summer, and why?
_______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ his2 tribe, dreading the moment3 they started4 sharing stories about
their holidays.” Identify the parts of speech of the underlined words.
1: _______________ / 2: _______________ / 3: _______________ / 4: _______________
5. Explain the function of the brackets found in this passage.
______________________________________________________________________________ q
q
q
q
q
a kind, thoughtful guy.
a coward.
just a normal teenager.
an intelligent young man.
a complete jerk.
what you
think Evan
looks like:
How does Lily feel after her interaction
with Evan and his friends?
________________________________________________________ Imagine Evan has FACEBOOK.
“
Write his status at the beginning of the school day.
MAKING Inferences
1. What does the fact that Evan chose to intern at
a law firm tell us about his personality?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. Describe the type of social group you think
Evan is a part of:
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. What do you know about Evan’s father and
their relationship?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. How does Evan feel about his own behavior
after the interaction with Lily? Give evidence.
______________________________________________________________
Metaphors
EXPLAIN THE
COMPARISON
______________________________________________________________
YOUR OPINION
GIVING
Find a Metaphor
Things which Evan finds
attractive about Lily:
UNPACKING THE
____________________________________________________________________
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...
4. How does Even react when his friends humiliate Lily?
_______________________________________________________________________________
GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR OPINION
______________________________________________________________________________ Describe
3. How does Even know Lily? What’s his opinion of her?
_______________________________________________________________________________
”
4. “Evan went through all the traditional1 post-summer rituals with
In your opinion,
Evan Thorne is...
(tick as many as apply)
2. A synonym for ‘crass’:
3. An antonym for ‘regress’:
______________________________________ ______________________________________ 1. Do you agree that Evan can ‘have it all’? Explain.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think about the way Evan treats Lily in the hall?
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
List the things
which inform
Evan’s identity
© Stacey Lloyd 2015
?
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE Questions
Evan Thorne
Fist bumps. Chest
bumps. High fives.
Passage FOUR
Write a short passage with Lily as the
central character; your passage should
detail her thoughts and experiences on
the first day back at school and should
somehow link with the passages your
have already read. You must focus on passage two
(Alice Beaumont’s story) and
continue the story, writing what
happens next. You must focus on the character of Mr. Hatter. Now
imagine it is three months before and write a similar
passage, but as though it were the final day of his teacher
education program. You must write about his thoughts,
plans and feelings about the upcoming summer.
Choose any one of the passages,
and rewrite it from a first-person
narrative perspective. Write a short passage with Dana as the
central character; your passage should
detail her thoughts and experiences on
the first day back at school and should
somehow link with the passages your
have already read.
You must focus on passage
one (Dennis Hatter’s story)
and continue the story,
writing what happens next. You must focus on the character
of Rose. Now imagine it is three
months before and write a similar
passage, but as though it were
the final day of the previous
school year. You must write about
her thoughts, plans and feelings
about the upcoming summer. Write a short passage with one of Evan’s
football friends as the central character; you
must give him a name and your passage should
detail his thoughts and experiences on the first
day back at school. Remember to somehow
link his story with the passages your have
already read.
Imagine that you are Mr. Hatter’s educational
psychology professor, and you are sitting in during his
first lesson. Write a passage in which you detail all you
see and think about Mr. Hatter’s performance, and the
students in his classroom during those first few
moments of the lesson. You must focus on the character of
Evan. Now imagine it is three
months before and write a similar
passage, but as though it were the
final day of the previous school
year. You must write about his
thoughts, plans and feelings about
the upcoming summer. You must focus on passage four
(Evan Thorne’s story) and
continue the story, writing what
happens next.
You must focus on passage three
(Rose Murphy’s story) and continue
the story, writing what
happens next. You must focus on the character of Alice. Now imagine it is
three months before and write a similar passage, but as
though it were the final day of the previous school year. You
must write about her thoughts, plans and feelings about the
upcoming summer. © Stacey Lloyd 2015
Writing Prompts
All of the following pieces should be written in the same style as the reading
passages, and they should be about the same length (350-400 words)