ENGLISH DEPARTMENT – ELLON ACADEMY
FIRST YEAR COURSE
CONTENTS
CORE 1
PAGE
2-4
CORE 2
5-10
CORE 3
11-15
READING AND WRITING
SECTION 1
17-24
SECTION 2
26-32
SECTION 3
34-42
LISTENING AND TALKING
LISTENING
44-45
TALKING
46
1
VILLAINS
CORE 1
INTRODUCTION
Think about villains you’ve read about or seen on television, at the cinema or in videos.
Your class will discuss what makes a ‘good’ villain.
This description is of Miss Trunchbull, from the book ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl.
Matilda has just started at school for the first time.
Miss Trunchbull
Before the first week of term was up, awesome tales about the Headmistress, Miss
Trunchbull, began to filter through to the newcomers. At lunchtime on Friday one of
the older girls, Hortensia called to them, “Hey, welcome to Borstal! You haven’t met
the Trunchbull, yet, have you? You’ve got a treat coming to you – she hates small
children."
Matilda and Lavender were standing in the corner of the playground when something
strange happened. The playground, which up to then had been filled with shrieks and
the shouting of children at play, all at once became silent as the grave.
“Watch out!” Hortensia shouted in their direction.
Matilda and Lavender glanced round and saw the gigantic figure of Miss Trunchbull
advancing through the crowd of boys and girls with menacing strides. The pupils
immediately parted to let her through. A frightening figure she was, too, in her
belted smock and green breeches. Below the knees her calf muscles stood out like
grapefruits inside her stockings.
2
“Come here, girl!” she bellowed towards a tiny girl called Amanda.
Matilda and Lavender saw a giant in green breeches advancing upon the girl. Amanda
wore the expression of one who is trapped in a small field with an enraged bull which
was charging flat-out towards her.
Miss Trunchbull had now reached the victim and stood
towering over her. “I want those filthy pigtails off
before you come back to school tomorrow!” she
barked. “Chop ‘em off and throw ‘em in the dustbin,
you understand?”
(Adapted from “Matilda” by Roald Dahl)
Your teacher will ask you to:



Look at the way the Trunchbull’s appearance is described by Roald Dahl.
Look at what she says and how she says it.
Look at the effect this villain has on the children.
Your teacher may write some of the words and phrases on the board and ask you to
identify
ADJECTIVES
(used to describe a character and help tell us she’s a villain)
VERBS – ADVERBS (used to tell us what she does and how she does it)
NOUNS
(used to name other descriptive details such as clothes)
VIDEO OF MATILDA (10 min approx)



Discuss how the filmmaker has made Miss Trunchbull look so big.
Which of her actions do you find most frightening?
Look closely at the reactions of the children.
If you have time you might draw a picture of Miss Trunchbull and label it with some
of the adjectives or adverbs you have found.
3
CORE 1
Now it is your turn to write.
Writing
At some time in the past, you will probably have seen a child behave in a very
argumentative and angry way. Perhaps it was at the shops, in the park or in the
playground. Think about how they looked, what they said and the effect they had on
those around them. Remember what you noticed about the Trunchbull!
You are now going to imagine that you behave like this for a whole day!
Write the story of what you do and how the
people at home and school react. Describe how
things look to you, what you say, how you feel.
How does it all end?
You might find it useful to use the plan.
Plan
P1
At home, before you leave for school – what happens to make you have a
tantrum? Describe what happens, how you feel and what you say. How do the
people at home react?
P2
On the way to school – what happens on the bus or with friends? What do you
do? What do you say? How do the people around you – or your friends – react?
P3
At school. Imagine one or two incidents that happen in class or at lunchtime.
(You could put some dialogue between you and a class teacher.)
P4
At school.
P5
On the way home or at home. How has it all ended? How do you feel now? Can
you explain your behaviour to yourself? How will you undo it?
4
CORE 2
Now it is time to read about a boy called Kirk. He is a ‘likeable rogue’ rather
than a villain as you will see.
Kirk
1. Kirk was a born leader.
When we went fishing,
Kirk skilfully caught a
fat trout while we had
to do with tiny
sticklebacks. He also
showed us how to tie
fancy knots and how to
make fish-hooks out of
horse-shoe nails. He
even put together a
radio for our gang’s hut!
He was always out in front, and whenever there was anything important to
be done it was Kirk who did it best.
2. The people of my home town still talk about Kirk’s jumping. The first time
he jumped from the Brig o’Doom was one Sunday afternoon when we would
have been about twelve. We had gone for a walk, the pair of us. And we
were leaning over the parapet of the Brig into the pool some sixty feet
below when Kirk said, “Bet you couldn’t jump it!”
I said, “Bet you couldn’t either!”
And Kirk jumped it.
5
3. When I told them at school they wouldn’t believe it so I laid bets with them all
and the following Saturday the whole school turned up to see Kirk jump from
the Brig o’Doom again. Everybody was scared stiff when he climbed up on the
parapet, but after it was all over some of the older boys said it was easy
enough that side. They’d like to see him do it on the other side, between the
rocks, that’s where they bet he wouldn’t jump. So Kirk jumped on the other
side, between the rocks, and while he was jumping Alan Maxwell fainted, and at
least half of us didn’t dare look.
Kirk said it was easy; he would jump it any time we wanted, but none of us
who had seen him do it wanted to see him do it again. Of course there
were some who had missed the fun and so for several Saturdays Kirk,
accompanied by bands of boys, went out to the Brig o’Doom and for a
collection of pennies, marbles and chewing gum jumped from the Brig.
4.
Next it was the Town Bridge. I don’t know who first threw out the challenge by
saying it was impossible to jump from the Town Bridge. It might have been any
of us for - goodness knows - we all knew very well how impossible it was! The
Town Bridge is even higher than the Brig o’Doom, and there isn’t more than five
or six feet of water at the deepest point.
5.
Kirk was to jump at ten o’clock on a Saturday morning. By nine o’clock there was
such a press of boys on the bridge that traffic was at a standstill. There were
hooting lines of cars at both ends, and the police were out in force trying to
move us on. When Kirk appeared, Sergeant Munro collared him and led him by
the scruff of the neck to the police station.
6.
Kirk said he had a bad time in the police station. They told him all about Borstal
and that he would be sent there, broken neck and all, if he ever dared to jump
from the Town Bridge.
7.
Well, Kirk didn’t jump.
He dived, and he got off lightly, breaking only his left arm and collar-bone and
cracking open his skull. He wasn’t send to Borstal, but he spent five weeks on
his back in Palmer’s Hospital.
(adapted from Neil Gunn)
CORE 2 Kirk
SECTION A
6
This will test your understanding of the main ideas in the story about Kirk.
Write your answers in your jotter, using sentences.
1. What was the main activity that Kirk was famous for in his home town?
(1)
2. How many bridges are mentioned in the story?
(1)
3. How high was the Brig o’Doom?
(1)
4. To jump from the Town Bridge is very dangerous. Can you find two reasons why?
(1)
5. Why do you think the policeman was really anxious to stop Kirk from jumping from
the Town Bridge?
(1)
6. What did Kirk promise at the police station?
(1)
7. Can you work out why the author has used the following:



Exclamation marks in Paragraphs 1 & 2
Italics in Paragraph 3
Semi colon in Paragraph 3
Short sentence in Paragraph 7
(4)
TOTAL 10
SECTION B
This section will test your understanding of the writer’s feelings, attitudes and
opinion . Choose the best word from the ‘feelings’ box. Write it in your jotter.
1.
From Paragraph 1 it is clear the writer feels____________ for his friend, Kirk.
jealousy
admiration
friendship
sadness
2. The boys feel_____________ when Kirk is about to jump for the first time in
front of them all. (Paragraph 2)
sick
scared
excited
amused
7
3. While Kirk was jumping into the rocky river, the boys
felt__________________.
(Paragraph 3)
frightened
horrified
worried
scared
4. Kirk repeated this jump on Saturdays so he must have felt___________ about
doing it. (Paragraph 3)
strange
fine
fearful
confident
5. At the end of the story (Paragraph 7) the writer feels Kirk was ___________to
survive the dive from the Town Bridge.
unlucky
satisfied
lucky
clever
TOTAL 5
SECTION C
In this section you are asked to identify words from the passage to match given
meanings.
Find the word or words in the passage which mean:1. a low wall or railing along the edge of a bridge
____________________
(p2)
2. to go somewhere with someone (p3)
____________________
3. a call for a contest (p4)
____________________
4. a prison for young offenders (p6)
____________________
TOTAL 4
Write the answers in your jotter.
8
SECTION D
This section tests your ability to find supporting ideas.
Write your answers in your jotter.
1. Name two things which show Kirk is a ‘born leader’. (Paragraph1)
(2)
2. Name two types of ‘payment’ for jumping which Kirk received from the boys.
(Paragraph 3)
(2)
3. What two pieces of evidence are there that the Town Bridge was ‘impossible’ to
jump? (Paragraph 4)
(2)
4. How do you know that Sergeant Munro is angry with Kirk in Paragraph 5? (1)
5. What did Kirk do instead of jumping off the bridge? (Paragraph 7)
9
(1)
TOTAL 8
SECTION E
This section tests your awareness of genre and knowledge about language.
Choose a,b or c as the correct answer.
Write the answers in your jotter.
1. The writer is describing events from his own life. This type of writing is from
a. a biography
b. a story book
c. an autobiography
2. Which punctuation mark is used in all of the following?
o’Doom
Is
a)
b)
c)
o’clock
wouldn’t
didn’t
it:
exclamation mark
apostrophe
comma
3. Only one piece of dialogue is written down in the story. Who are the speakers?
a) the policeman and Kirk
b) Alan Maxwell and Kirk
c) Kirk and the writer of the story
(3)
TOTAL 30
Extension Work (Writing)
You have finished the work on Kirk. If you have time, imagine
you are in Kirk’s class at school. Write a short Diary entry on
why you would like or dislike Kirk as a classmate.
10
CORE 3 Paired Activity
With your partner you are going to read more extracts from new and old novels for
teenagers.
Extract 1. Harry has just started at secondary school - a castle called
Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Professor Snape is
the Potions teacher.
The Potions Master
At the start of the term banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape
disliked him. By the end of his first Potions lesson, he knew he had been wrong.
Snape didn’t dislike Harry - he hated him!
Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons at Hogwart’s. It was colder
here than up in the main castle and creepy. Snape started the class by taking the
register- and paused at Harry’s name.
“Ah, yes,” he said softly, “ Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity.”
Some of the boys sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names
then looked up at the class. His eyes were black and cold and empty. They made
Harry think of dark tunnels.
“You are here to learn the science and exact art of potion-making,” he began.
He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. Snape had
the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. Silence followed this little
speech.
“Potter!” said Snape suddenly. “What would I get if I added root of asphodel to
wormwood?” He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them all.
“I d...don’t know, Sir” said Harry.
Snape’s lips curled into a sneer. “Tut, tut – fame clearly isn’t everything.”
Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes.
1. List all the descriptions of Snape which would make you dislike him.
2. Which descriptions of setting here help you to feel the
atmosphere of Harry’s classroom?
Extract 2. Mandy is leaving school alone, hoping she has missed Kim and her
gang.
Kim from ‘Bad Girls’
11
(adapted
from
“Harry
Potter
and the
Philosophe
r’s Stone”
by J.K.
Rowling)
Discuss
the
followin
g
questio
ns with
your
partner
:
I saw them the moment I turned the corner. They were waiting near the
bus stop- and she was there. Kim, the worst one of them all. I couldn’t see
clearly that far, even with my glasses, but I knew Kim would have that great
big smile on her face.
“Look at Mandy! She’s going to go rushing back to school. Baby!” Kim yelled.
She seemed to have her own magic glasses that let her see right inside my
head!
Soon, she was right in front of me. I couldn’t stare past her any more. I had
to look at her. Her bright black eyes and her glossy hair and her big mouth
smiling showing all her white teeth. I could even see her when I shut my
eyes. It was as if she’d stepped through my glasses, straight into my head.
Smiling and smiling.
“She’s got her eyes shut. Hey, let’s bump into her!” sneered Kim to Melanie.
Melanie always said she hated Kim. But now she was her best friend. If Kim
wants you as a friend then that’s it. You don’t argue with her. She can be so
scary.
I opened my eyes up quick…….
(adapted from ‘Bad Girls’ by Jacqueline Wilson)
Discuss the following questions with your
partner:
1. List all the things which, in your
opinion, make Kim a ‘baddie’.
2. How do you know she’s the gang
leader?
3. What does Mandy mean when she
says Kim seems to have her own
magic glasses?
4. In this short extract, the writer
mentions Kim’s teeth and smiling
many times. What do you think the
writer wants us to feel about the
kind of person she is?
Extract 3.Gollum is a water creature
who lives in dark cave under the
earth. In this extract a
hobbit called Bilbo Baggins has strayed
into the cave and does not know how to get out.
12
Gollum
Deep down by the dark water, on a slimy island in the middle of the lake,
lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. He was as dark as darkness, except
for two big round pale eyes in his thin face. He paddled his boat - with his
large feet dangling over the side- across the deep and deadly cold lake. He
was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish, which he grabbed
with his long fingers as quick as thinking….
But now he was back on the island watching Bilbo from a distance with his
pale eyes like telescopes. Bilbo, though, could not see him as he sat
altogether confused and at the end of his way and wits. Gollum got into his
boat and shot off from the island. Suddenly up came Gollum out of the
water and whispered and hissed,
“Bless us and splash us, my precious..s.s; a tasty morsel it’d make us, gollum!”
And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throatand that was how he got his name, Gollum, although he always called himself
‘my precious’.
The hobbit nearly jumped out of his skin when the hiss came in his ears, and
he suddenly saw the pale eyes sticking out at him.
“Who, are you?” he said thrusting his dagger in front of him.
similes in this description and discuss why you liked them.
2. The writer tries to give you a clear picture of what Gollum looks like but does
he give you any idea of the touch or noise of Gollum?
*Your teacher will ask you to feed back to the class your findings on the three
extracts.
13
(
adapte
d from
“The
Hobbi
t” by
J.R.R.
Tolkei
n)
Disc
uss
the
follo
wing
ques
tions
with
your
part
ner :
1.
Pick
out
all
the
CORE 3 WRITING
Choose one of the following written tasks. Write in the first person:
1.
Imagine you are the person writing the story in Extract 2. You decide that it’s
time to stand up to Kim. Write the story of how you do this and what the
outcome is. Start like this: ‘I opened my eyes up quick…. just as she lunged her
heavy school bag into my side.’
2.
Bilbo eventually gets away from Gollum (Extract 3) after a very long time.
Imagine that you are Bilbo writing your diary entry at the end of the day.
Concentrate on what you saw and heard in the cave and how you felt about
meeting such a slimy creature in the dark.
3.
You can create a new villain of your own in a frightening story called ‘Creepy
Cottage’. You have to imagine why you are there, who you meet and what
happens.
You can start like this:
The cottage loomed in front. From the iron gate to the blistered
front door a path was trodden in the long grass. The two lower
windows were blocked on the inside, so that the cottage looked
blind. The little window in the roof had a rag stuffed in it to keep
out the rain and cold draughts. Bits of thatch straggled down. The
garden was a wilderness of grass, dock leaves and thistles. The
place was dirty and looked empty and abandoned.
Trembling, I knocked on the door….
14
Try to make the story gripping but believable.
 You can use the plan below, if you like
 Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence
 Use any of the vivid verbs, adverbs, adjectives you have discussed in class
Paragraph plan for ‘Creepy Cottage’
1. Why are you there? The cottage is described. It’s frightening.
2. You knock at the door. What happens?
3. The door opens. Describe the person.
4. You go in. Describe inside the cottage and try to create a
gripping atmosphere.
5. )
6. ) What happens inside? Plan each step.
7. )
8. )
9. Do you manage to escape? Are you rescued? Or will it be a
horrific ending?
15
SECTION 1
READING AND WRITING
16
READING - EXTENSION
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
1. All this time I was getting closer to the river; but however fast I went, I
couldn’t warm my feet. I know my way to the Battery pretty well,
because I had been down there on Sunday with Joe.
2. However, because of the confusion and the mist, I found myself at least too
far to the right therefore I had to scramble back along the riverside. As
quickly as I could, I crossed a ditch which I know was close to the Battery . At
that precise moment however, I saw a man sitting there before me. His back
was towards me, he had his arms folded and he was nodding forward sleepily.
3. While carrying his breakfast, I softly touched him upon his shoulder. He
instantly jumped up, but it wasn’t the same man, it was another man!
4. However, this man was also dressed in coarse grey clothes and had a huge iron
on his leg. He was lame, hoarse, cold – just like the other man had been but
this one’s face was quite different.
5. As soon as he noticed me, however, he swore and swiped at me. He then ran
into the mist and disappeared.
6. Soon afterwards I reached the Battery and there before me was the right
man! He was hugging himself from cold and was limping – just waiting for me. I
handed him the file and I thought he was going to eat it!
What’s in the bottle, boy?” he asked
“Brandy, sir,” said I.
7. He swallowed the mincemeat greedily down his throat like a dog and drank
some of the alcohol straight from the bottle. All this time he shivered
uncontrollably.
17
“I think you are ill,” said I.
“I’m much of the same opinion, boy,” said he.
“It’s bad out here when you’ve been lying on the wet marshes and they’re
desperately damp.”
He was gobbling mincemeat, bread, cheese and a pork pie – all at once –
staring suspiciously into the mist, sometimes stopping to listen.
“You’re not a deceiving imp? You brought no one with you?” growled the
convict.
“No, sir! No!”
“Well,” said he, “I believe you.”
At this point I plucked up courage to say, “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Thankee, my boy. I did,” he answered.
8. He reminded me of a large dog of ours as he ate. Just like our dog, he’d take
strong sharp bites. He snapped up every mouthful, too soon and too quickly,
looking sideways as he ate. In all these ways, he just reminded me of a dog.
9. At this point I timidly said, “I’m afraid you won’t leave any food for the
other man.”
“Who’s him?” he said. “Where is he?”
“Over there,” I answered. “I thought it was you at first!”
10. Suddenly he grabbed me by the collar and I thought he was going to cut
my throat.
“Did you notice anything about him?” said he glaring viciously at me the
whole time.
“He had a badly bruised face,” I stammered.
“Here?” questioned the man striking his own cheek. “Here?”
Cramming more food into his mouth he managed to ask,
“Where is this man? Where is he? Show me where he went. I’ll pull him
down like a bloodhound! Give me the file boy!”
18
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
SECTION A
Place these events in the order they occurred beginning with the earliest. Write the
correct letter in your jotter using 1-5.
a) Pip gave food to the prisoner
b) Pip is afraid for his own life
c) The prisoner is going to look for the other man
d) Pip saw a different man to the one he expected
e) Pip had problems finding his way
CORRECT ORDER
1
Earliest
2
3
4
5
TOTAL 5
SECTION B
This section tests your understanding of the main ideas in the passage.
1. Explain why Pip knows where he is going?
(1)
2. The weather is cold and unpleasant. Write an expression from Paragraph 1
that
a) tells you how cold it is
b) suggests eeriness
(2)
3. What two things show Pip that the fist man is an escape convict?
(2)
4. The second convict tries to make Pip scared of him but can you find an
expression in Paragraph 7 to show he can be polite?
(1)
5. What sort of things does the second convict say and do that make us think he
is vicious?
(2)
TOTAL 8
SECTION C
19
This section tests your understanding of the feelings of the main characters. Choose
one word from the box below to complete each sentence. Use each word once only.
You will not need to use all the words.
GUILTY
PUZZLED
WORRIED
AFRAID
EXHAUSTED
ANNOYED
RELIEVED
AGGRESSIVE
SYMPATHETIC
1. In Paragraph 2 on his way to meet the convict Pip felt
2. In Paragraph 3 when Pip touched him on the shoulder he felt
3. In Paragraph 7 when Pip comments on the dampness of the marshes he feels
4. In Paragraph 7 when the convict interrogates Pip, the convict is feeling
5. In Paragraph 10 when Pip is questioned about the other man, Pip feels
TOTAL 5
SECTION D
Decide whether each of these sentences is TRUE of FALSE or whether you CAN’T
TELL from the passage. Write in your jotter T or F or CT for each one.
TRUE/FALSE
1.
2.
3.
4.
CAN’T TELL
The first man was fast asleep (Paragraph 2)
His leg was injured (Paragraph 4 and 6)
The prisoner concentrated totally on eating
(Paragraph 7)
The prisoner isn’t sure whether to trust Pip
(end of Paragraph 7)
TOTAL 4
20
SECTION E
Throughout the passage the author chooses his words carefully, sometimes using
words which sound like the noises he wants us to imagine. This is called
ONOMATOPOEIA (e.g. sizzle, clatter etc)
Find a word which sounds like the noise described in
1.
2.
Paragraph 7
And
Paragraph 8
(2)
A SIMILE is a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to another using LIKE
or AS (e.g. The stars sparkled like diamonds)
1. Find a simile from Paragraph 7 which describes how he eats
2. Find a simile from Paragraph 10 which describes how he intends to deal with
the other man
(2)
TOTAL 26
EXTRA: When you are finished try this.
Pip and the prisoner meet years later. Try to imagine where this might take place,
whether the characters have changed at all and what they might say to each other.
Look back first at how the writer has told the story so far with your teacher.
Check:
 who the narrator is
 which tense is used (past present or future)
 how direct speech is set out
 whether any dialect (local words) is used
 how the writer tells us about feelings
 how the characters are described
 how the setting is described
Now write the conversation between Pip and the prisoner in the same way the writer
has done. Remember you must decide first how many years have passed.
21
EXTENSION 1
WRITING
READ THROUGH THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE CAREFULLY.
NOTE HOW THE BOY IMAGINES THE PIGMAN’S APPEARANCE AND NOTE THE
BOY’S FEELINGS TOWARDS THE PIGMAN.
THE PIGMAN
The Pig-man, for instance. He had let the Pig-man worry him far too much. None of
the grown-ups acted as if the Pig-man was anything to be afraid of. He probably just
looked funny. That was all. If, instead of avoiding him so carefully, he went outside
one evening and looked at him, took a good long, unafraid look, leaving the back door
open behind him so that he could dart in to safety and warmth of the house…no! It
was better, after all, not to see the Pig-man; not until he was bigger, anyway; nearly
six was quite big but it wasn’t really very big…
And yet it was one of those puzzling things. No one ever told him to be careful not to
let the Pig-man get hold of him, or warned him in any way; so the Pig-man must be
harmless, because when it came to anything that could hurt you, like the traffic on
the main road, people were always ramming it into you that you must look both ways,
and all that stuff. And yet when it came to the Pig-man no one ever mentioned him;
he seemed beneath the notice of grown-ups. His mother would say, now and then.
“Let me see, it’s today the Pig-man comes, isn’t it?” or. “Oh dear, the Pig-man will be
coming round soon, and I haven’t put anything out.” If she talked like this Eric’s spine
would tingle and go cold; he would keep very still and wait, because quite often her
next words would be “Eric, just take these peelings,” or whatever it was, “out to the
bucket, dear, will you?” The bucket was about fifty yards away from the back door;
it was shared by the people in the two next-door houses. None of them was afraid of
the Pig-man, either. What was their attitude? He wondered. Were they sorry for
him, having to eat damp old stuff out of a bucket – tea-leaves and eggshells and that
sort of thing? Perhaps he cooked it when he got home, and made it a bit nicer.
Certainly, it didn’t look too nice when you lifted the lid of the bucket and saw it all
lying there. It sometimes smelt too. Was the Pig-man very poor? Was he sorry for
himself, or did he feel all right about being like that? Like what? What did the Pigman look like? He would have little eyes, and a snout with a flat end; but would he
have trotters, or hands and feet like a person’s?
22
WRITING
Lying on his back, Eric worked soberly at the problem. The Pig-man’s bucket had a
handle; so he must carry it in the ordinary way, in his hand – unless – of course, he
walked on all fours and carried it in his mouth. But that wasn’t very likely, because if
he walked on all fours what difference would there be between him and an ordinary
pig? To be called a Pig-man, rather than the Man-pig, surely implied that he was
upright, and dressed. Could he talk? Probably, in a kind of grunting way, or else how
could he tell the people what kind of food he wanted them to put in the bucket?
Why hadn’t he asked Dad about the Pig-man? That had been his mistake; Dad would
have told him exactly all about it. But he had gone. Eric fell asleep…
Using the information which you have read about the Pig-man, and adding your own
ideas to it, CONTINUE THE STORY, describing the boy’s nightmare and what
happens in it.
Try to work on a description of the Pig-man. Perhaps as he comes closer and closer
e.g. face, hands, body, etc.
And make sure that you bring out Eric’s thoughts and feelings.
23
WRITING
The back view of the Pig-man was much as he expected it to be. A slow, rather
lurching gait, hunched shoulders, and old hat crushed down on his head (to hide his
ears), and the pail in his hand. Plod, plod, as if he were tired. Perhaps this was just a
ruse, though; probably he could pounce quickly enough when his wicked little eyes saw
a nice tasty little boy or something…did the Pig-man eat birds? Or cats?
Eric stopped. He opened his mouth to call Pig-man, but the first time he tried
nothing came out except a small rasping squeak. His heart was banging like fireworks
going off. He could hardly hear anything.
“Mr Pig-man!” he called, and this time the words came out clear and rather high.
The jogging old figure stopped, turned, looked at him. Eric could not see properly
from where he stood. But he had to see. Everything, even his fear sank and drowned
in the raging tide of his curiosity. He moved forward. With each step he saw more
clearly. The Pig-man was just an ordinary man.
Write your description of what the Old Man really looked like.
You may use the photograph to give you some ideas – if you like.
24
SECTION 2
READING AND WRITING
25
READING - EXTENSION
Read over the next part of the story of Kirk
1. Kirk is a year and nine months older than me. When he was ten he built a boat
out of three-ply wood and petrol cans, and we sailed this boat on the open sea.
We were afloat for the whole day and sometimes we went so far out to sea
that we lost sight of land. When it blew up we shipped a lot of water, and then
I baled like fury with two Rowantree cocoa tins while Kirk sat crossed-legged
in the stern, keeping her bows up to the seas by judicious management of his
oar (my sister’s tennis racket with the gut out and a sheet of tin nailed in its
place.) He was never at a loss, never rattled, never afraid and twenty years
ago I had much the same degree of confidence in Kirk and his three-ply “Ruler
of the Waves” as I now have in Captain Illingworth and the “Queen Mary.”
2. One day during an aquatic gala in the harbour of a small town nine or ten miles
up the coast, Kirk paddled through the bottle-neck into the basin, and allowed
himself to be captured by the judges’ launch. When they asked him where he
had come from, he pointed out to sea and said, ‘Norge’. The local folks made a
great fuss of him, presented him to Lady somebody or other who was there for
the prize-giving, fed him on chocolate and ice cream and billeted him with the
Minister. The Minister then, had three young daughters – one of whom is now
my wife – and she told me that Kirk made such a powerful impression what with
slapping his chest, emitting growls and declaiming “Ach so?” that she and her
sisters were all slightly in love with him for weeks.
3. The imposture lasted less than a day, but it happened to be the day the weekly
county paper went to press and our normally reliable journal came out with a
sober account of Kirk’s adventure under the heading, ‘YOUNG VIKING’S
EXPLOIT.’
4. In due course Kirk and his boat were sent home in one of Alexander’s big
blue buses; the story was the talk of the town and my father discovering
that I sometimes had gone to sea with Kirk…
26
Answer the following questions in your own words:-
KIRK
1.
2.
3.
How old was the storyteller at the time of the exploit on the three-ply
boat?
(1)
We are told this story from the narrator’s POINT OF VIEW. How
does he feel about Kirk? Back this up with evidence.
Would you say that the adventure in the 1st paragraph was:
a) dangerous
b) amusing
c) courageous
d) sensible
(2)
(1)
4.
Explain the difference between “allowed himself to be captured” and “was
captured”?
(2)
5.
From dialogue and body language, what can we deduce about Kirk’s
personality?
(2)
Explain the difference in the use of inverted commas around “Norge”
(par 2) and around “Young Vikings Exploits” (par 3)
(2)
6.
7. Two types of punctuation are used for effect in paragraph 4, a semi-colon and
ellipsis. Can you explain their use here.
(2)
8.
Try to work out how the context helps to make clear the meanings of the
following 4 words:a) judicious
b) billeted
c) declining
d) imposture
(4)
9.
There are a number of themes in the story Can you explain any two?
(2)
TOTAL 18
27
Read over the following passage about Kirk who was an adventurous young
rebel and punctuate it.
the most remarkable thing about him was his eyes I never noticed the colour of
anyone else’s eyes until I grew up and started looking at girls but I could not help
noticing Kirks they were greenish blue the colour of blue-bottle flies in the sun and
they were full of devil when Kirk flicked me with these blue-bottle eyes of his and
said what are we waiting for I just automatically said lets go I always went I guess Id
have gone anywhere at all with Kirk.
28
WRITING EXTENSION
ESCORT QUITS OVER SCHOOL BUS SNOWBALL
THROWING
By Gordon Coutts
A school bus escort quit
her job after pupils
smuggled snow-balls on
board and pelted the
driver as he drove.
The incident was the last
straw for Jean Gordon,
who resigned after 20
years’ of service with the
coach firm.
The bus driver today also
admitted he considered
packing in his job after the
attack.
The incident happened as
John Smith drove pupils
home to Greenvale from
Bridgetown School.
The children-all around 14
or 15 years old-sneaked
snowballs past him and
bombarded the windshield
of the double decker-bus
as he drove.
Experienced driver Mr
Smith, who has been with
coach firm Brown and
Jones for 17 years,
said:”Not long after we
left the school they
started throwing hard icy
snowballs and they were
smashing off the
windshield and hitting me.
“I stopped the bus and
asked them to stop but
they just came back at
me with a whole load of
cheek.”
“It was only about seven or
eight of the 70 or so
children aboard but I’ve
never experienced anything
like it in all my years of
driving. They were
completely out of control.”
Grandfather –of-two Mr
Smith, who lives in
Greenvale with wife, Mary,
managed to get the bus to
its destination but when he
stopped the same children
hurled snowballs at other
youngsters getting off the
bus.
The school bus escort, Mrs
Gordon, 50, of Bridgetown,
handed in her notice after
the incident.
Her boss, Joe Brown, of
coach firm Brown and
Jones, said: ”She had just
had enough, which is a
shame as she’d been with
us for 20 years. But some
of the children on that
service had become totally
out of control and she felt
she didn’t have to put up
with that any longer.
“They would use foul
language, refuse to do what
the escort told them, run
around the gangway and
jump all over the seats.
“It’s only a small minority
of the children and there’s
not problems like that on
other school services.”
Peter Ramsay, acting head
of Bridgetown School, said
the school had identified
one of the culprits and had
contacted his parents.
He said: “We have a very
good relationship with the
bus company and if
whenever there is a
problem we work together
to address it.”
“Our first priority is the
safety of the children and
we take incidents like this
very seriously.”
Councillor Jenna Thomson
said: “This needs to be
taken very seriously as
there is a very real danger
of a serious accident.”
“I hope parents take
responsibility to ensure
their children are
behaving.”
ADAPTED FROM ARTICLE IN EVENING EXPRESS 2/3/05
29
BUS ORDEAL OF DISABLED GRAN ABUSED BY CHILDREN
By Tom Kirk
A disabled grandmother
was attacked by local
schoolchildren as she took
a bus home from
Newtown, it emerged
yesterday.
The terrified 53-year-old.
Said pupils from the
town’s Newtown Academy
threw coins at her head
and stuck chewing gum to
her hair on the 130 bus
from Newtown to Aberdeen on Friday afternoon.
She has vowed never to
catch the Stagecoach
Bluebird service again.
The woman, from
Aberdeen, does not wish
to be named because she
is too frightened after
what happened.
But yesterday her
daughter, Lynne Aitken,
told how her mother was
attacked after a visit to
her Newtown home.
Mrs Aitken said her
mother, who has trouble
walking because she
suffered polio as a child,
was shouted and sworn at
by the children.
The pupils then stuck gum
to her mother’s hair, she
claims, before pelting her
with coins, one of which
struck her on the head.
Her mother told the
driver, who managed to
stop the pupils until they
got off at Dufftown.
She said: “She phoned me
when she got home and I
could tell by her voice
something was wrong. She
was sobbing her heart
out.”
“Why should bus drivers
and the general public be
subjected to this kind of
thing? It’s terrible.”
John Mcleod, rector at
Newtown Academy,
sympathised with Mrs
Aitken and her mother
and said the school was
investigating.
He said there had been
other incidents on the
same bus and some pupils
had been temporarily
banned from it as a result.
“I am very sorry to hear a
member of the public had
to put up with the
behaviour and experience
they had-it is quite
unacceptable,” he said.
“We are in the course of
gathering information
about what happened and
will then decide on
appropriate action.”
While Stagecoach Bluebird put escorts on their
designated school
services, there is no such
security presence on
public buses like the 130.
A spokeswoman said some
buses in the fleet are
fitted with CCTV cameras,
which could be deployed
to “problem” routes.
The company also has
longer term plans to
install CCTV on all its
buses.
The spokeswoman added:
“We look to the school to
take the matter in hand,
find the culprits and deal
with them.”
ADAPTED FROM ARTICLE IN THE PRESS AND JOURNAL 1/3/05
30
WRITING EXTENSION
You have been reading newspaper articles with your teacher about badly
behaved young people. Your teacher may ask you to do one or both of these
tasks.
TASK 1
SCRIPT
Choose one of the newspaper articles and write as a play the conversation the
headmaster of the school would have the next day with one of the culprits.
SCRIPT
Before you start, remember the rules for setting this out






NO INVERTED COMMAS NEEDED
INDICATE WHO IS SPEAKING e.g. JOHN:
INDICATE HOW THEY ARE SPEAKING e.g (ANGRILY)
CAPITAL LETTERS AT START OF SENTENCES
FULL STOPS, QUESTION MARKS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS AT
END OF SENTENCES
STAGE DIRECTIONS e.g (CALMLY PICKING UP THE NEWSPAPER)

CONTENT
Before you start think about the characters involved. Will the boy or girl
be apologetic or defiant? Will the headmaster be angry or calm?

Plan what you are going to write e.g. make a list of all the bad things.

Does the headmaster have evidence or witnesses to back up his
accusations?

What will the punishment be?
31
READING EXTENSION
TASK 2
Choose one of the newspaper articles to base your letter on. As headmaster of
one of the pupils involved in the bad behaviour on the bus, you would like to
write to the parents.
LETTER
Before you start remember the rules for setting this out. If word processed
the lay out would be different.
Address of school
Postcode
Date
Name of Parent/Guardian
Address of Parent/Guardian
Dear Name of Parent/Guardian,
Yours sincerely,
Name of Headmaster
CONTENT
Before you start you need to plan what to write




THE CRIME (look back at newspaper report)
THE EVIDENCE (make this up)
THE PUNISHMENT (make this up)
OTHER POINTS e.g. – damage to the reputation of the school
- importance of good behaviour in the community
32
SECTION 3
READING AND WRITING
33
READING - EXTENSION
“The Bully Asleep” by John Walsh
One afternoon, when grassy
Scents through the classroom crept,
Bill Craddock laid his head
Down on his desk, and slept.
The children came round him:
Jimmy, Rodger and Jane;
They lifted his head timidly
And let it sink again.
‘Look, he’s gone sound asleep, Miss,’
Said Jimmy Adair;
‘He stays up all night you see.
His mother doesn’t care.’
’
‘Stand away from him, children.’
Miss Andrews stooped to see.
‘Yes, he’s asleep; go on
With your writing, and let him be.’
‘Now’s a good chance!’ whispered Jimmy;
And he snatched Bill’s pen and hid it.
‘Kick him under the desk,
hard;
He won’t know who did it.
‘Fill all his pockets with
rubbishPaper, apple-cores, chalk.’
So they plotted, while Jane
Sat wide-eyed at their talk.
Not caring, not hearing
Bill Craddock he slept on;
Lips parted, eyes closedTheir cruelty gone.
‘Stick him with pins!’ muttered Roger.
‘Ink down his neck!’ said Jim.
But Jane, tearful and foolish,
Wanted to comfort him.
34
“The Bully Asleep” by John Walsh
SECION A
This section tests your understanding of the main ideas. Choose the correct
word from the box below to complete the summary. You will need to use all the
words.
uncaring
opportunity
plan
bed
cruel
afraid
afternoon
In class during the
alone
work
bully
Bill Craddock, the
falls
asleep at his desk. To start with the other children seem a bit
of
Bill Craddock when they lift his head. One boy tells the teacher that Bill’s
mother is
towards him because he doesn’t have to go to
The teacher wants them to leave him
Jimmy wants to take the
.
and get on with their
to kick Bill. They
lots of nasty things to him. Jane is upset and feels for him. When
he is sleeping Bill didn’t look
any more.
(10)
SECTION B
This section tests your understanding of character.
Insert the correct word to complete each sentence and write in your
jotter.
1.
To begin with, the class were
excited
2.
happy
when Bill slept.
frightened
wary
When the teacher saw Bill sleeping she felt
surprised
disappointed
pleased
35
understanding
.
3.
When the class planned to treat Bill they were being
funny
4.
brave
nasty
When Bill slept he looked
cruel
innocent
5. Jane felt
being bad to him.
friendly
.
wicked
.
worried
happy
towards Bill when the others were
unfriendly
shocked
sympathetic
(5)
Now write a few sentences about what we have learned about Bill Craddock. (1)
SECTION C
This section tests your understanding of vocabulary. Find words or expressions
in the poem which mean the same as the following:MEANING
WORD OR EXPRESSION
MOVED SLOWLY
verse 1
BENT OVER
verse 4
GRABBED
verse 5
REASSURE
verse 5
(4)
SECTION D
This section tests your awareness of genre and knowledge about language.
1. “The Bully Asleep”
Underline the correct
is the
answers
of this poem.
Fact book
2. Bill Craddock is a
TOTAL 25
Character
in this poem.
Author
3. John Walsh is the
Fiction book
.
Chapter
4. This poem is
The title
separated into
Verses
sections called
Poetry book
.
5. The type of book I
would find this in is a
.
(5)
36
Read these poems for pleasure. They are both about Bill Craddock. How do
you feel about him now?
THE BLUE BALL
John Walsh
With many a bump
On the bouncy ground
Quiet and gentle
We pass it round;
Till Jennifer stumbles,
Sally-Ann fumbles,
And look, it’s over
The playground wall!
PLEASE-WILL-YOUTHROW-US-BACKOUR-BALL?
Back now it comes.
Jimbo catches it,
And holds it fast
Till Martin snatches it;
He throws to Tom,
Who, all unready,
Lets it go by;
It’s caught by Teddy.
Teddy will keep it
As long as he canToss it and bounce it;
But quickly Ann
Cries “Drop it you silly!”
In rushes Billy
And Kicks it over
The playground wall!
PLEASE-WILL-YOUTHROW-US-BACKOUR-BALL?
1
But close and sly
By the playground gate,
Big Bill Craddock
He lies in wait.
Straight to his feet
The blue ball bounces;
Bill Craddock leaps on it,
Bill Craddock pounces
Look! Off he goes with it,
Cutting mad capers;
Does all he knows with it –
Wild to escape us;
Turns a fierce grin
To the tongues that would scold him;
Tears himself free
From the hands that would hold him;
Using his cunning
At a tripping and running,
Turns about twistily,
Fights with his fist till he
Holds the ball high
And with a great cry
He hurls it over
The playground wall!
PLEASE-WILL-YOUTHROW US-BACKOUR-BALL
‘I’ve Got an Apple Ready’
My hair’s tightly plaited:
I’ve a bright blue bow:
I don’t want my breakfast,
And now I must go.
My satchel’s on my shoulder:
Nothing’s out of place:
And I’ve got an apple ready.
Just in case.
So it’s ‘Good-bye, Mother!’
And off down the street:
Briskly at first
On pit-a-pat feet.
But slow and more slow
As I reach the tarred
Trackway that runs
By Hodson’s Yard:
For it’s there sometimes
Bill Craddock waits for me
To snatch off my beret
And throw it in a tree.
Bill Craddock leaning
On Hodson’s rails:
Bill with thin hands
And dirty nails:
2
YOUR TEACHER WILL DECIDE IF YOU HAVE TIME TO DO
ONE OR MORE OF THESE
“VILLAINS” WRITING EXTENSION –
IMAGINATIVE STORY
Imagine you are a young person.
You have been in trouble for doing something wrong.
Now you have changed.
Write an imaginative story about this.
Planning
Decide first what sort of trouble you were in.
[Some ideas are shop-lifting, car theft, vandalism or bullying]
Explain what made you bad in the first place.
[Problems at home? Peer pressure? Money problems? Boredom?]
Describe the bad things you did.
[What did you do? Who did you hurt? What did you damage?]
What happened to make you change?
[Were you caught? Did your parents find out?]
Try to describe how you feel about your past now?
[Are you ashamed? Do you ever boast about it]
3
“Villains” – Extension Writing
- ANTI BULLYING LEAFLET
Writing For Information
Anti Bullying Leaflet


You are a pupil at secondary school

Write a leaflet about bullying

This will be read by new pupils

.
Make your leaflet lively and
interesting

Use headings

Bullet points

Drawings

Tell them about the dangers of
bullying

Tell them about what they should do
to get help
Before you start writing the leaflet you may do some extra work on setting out
leaflets with your teacher.
Remember
be helpful
be positive
4
PLANNING PAGE ADVICE
Remember: - don’t make the school sound too scary.
Where might they be bullied?
Write about the different places bullying can happen. Think about in school, at
breaktimes and on the way to and from school.
When might they be bullied?
Think about the danger times when bullies have a chance both in school and out
of school.
What might the bully say of do?
Remember, bullying is sometimes physical e.g. when you are hit or hurt in some
way. Sometimes it is psychological. e.g. when your feelings are hurt.
Now what advice would you give?
Suggest solutions to the problems.






Who can you help in schools? [remember peer support.]
Who can help out of school? [remember Childlines]
Where can they go? [remember lunchtime clubs]
Where should they avoid? [remember some of the problem areas you
listed eg woods]
How should they treat the bully? [try to be friendly? Remember the
danger of fighting back]
How should they react when bullied? [remember bullies like to see
victims upset]
5
PLANNING PAGE
Note down what you want to tell new pupils
Where might they be bullied?
When might they be bullied?
What might the bully say or do?
Now what advice would you give a new pupil if she/he was
bullied?
Suggest solutions to the problems.
If you want you could put advice in two lists
Do
Don’t
Now you are ready to produce your own leaflet
6
LISTENING AND TALKING
7
AURAL
THE BALACLAVA STORY
Listen with your teacher to the tape of this story
SECTION A - TONY
1. Why did Tony first wear a balaclava?
(1)
2. Why did Tony decide no one else could wear his balaclava?
(1)
1. What do the Balaclava Boys do?
(1)
2. From the list of words below choose 2 words which describe Tony
(2)
confident
spoiled
secretive
sympathetic
timid
assertive
TOTAL 5
SECTION B - THE BOY
1. From the list below give one reason why the boy wanted a balaclava
to keep warm
to look different
to join the Balaclava Boys
to help earache
(1)
2. Put the following in correct order
a) His mum offered him a new balaclava
b) He put Tony’s balaclava up the sleeve
c) The boy asked out from art
d) He flushed it down the toilet
e) He was afraid to put on his coat
(5)
8
SECTION C - CHARACTER & THEMES
What kind of person would you say the boy was?
Choose 2 from the following and explain why you have chosen them.
Dishonest, honest, shy, self-conscious, clever
(2)
Themes
This story makes us think about a number of themes
Choose one and explain it fully
acting out of character
not wanting to be different from other people
leadership
guilt
(3)
TOTAL 16
EXTRA
If you have time; make up a short description of the boy’s appearance and
personality.
Make clear what you thought of him.
9
VILLAINS: ORAL
VILLAINS AT SCHOOL
GROUP DISCUSSION
Your teacher will put you into a group of four
or five.
Choose a CHAIRPERSON to






Introduce the subject
Give everyone a chance to speak
Stop anyone saying too much
More on to the next point
Make sure everyone behaves
Sum up at the end
VILLIANS AT SCHOOL
3. In your group look at the list of school “crimes” and discuss how you think
each is.
Put the list in order of seriousness with a. being the worst. Make sure
you give reasons to back up your choice.
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
Often being late for school or class
Fooling around and stopping others working
Damaging school property e.g. graffiti on walls, desks, etc
Bullying other pupils
Truanting
Smoking
Stealing from other pupils
Not handing in the homework
Forgetting books and equipment
10
j) Being cheeky to teachers in and out of class
k) Using mobile phones in class
4. Now discuss what you think is the most suitable punishments for the
different offences.
3. Report back to the class explaining some of your choices.
11