PRACTISING CLOSE READING IN CLASS
Giving pupils the reading skills to succeed!
Paddy Salmon MA PGCE
Head of English SIS (Sèvres)
1993-2012
paddysalmon.wix.com/english-courses
1 HOLIDAY READING
It's a good strategy to set at least TWO holiday readers per class during the summer holidays. This book test can be published on-line for all to see.
Teachers have very little to prepare beyond reading the novels and choosing ONE page to photocopy, though the books could be allowed in the exam itself. The test is NOT a memory test, but rather an exercise in close reading and discovering and explaining significance.
22 APPENDICES (Further Ideas)
BOOK TEST (in ONE hour)
You will be allowed the books but will be given the extract if you have forgotten the book.
Turn to Page X and read the passage from “*****…..” to “****…..”
1 Describe what is going on and what significance this passage has in terms of the plot and storyline. (5 marks)
2 What do you understand to be the key theme(s) or idea(s) of this book and how does this passage relate to them? Be prepared to refer to other moments, details, quotations and other evidence in the book, which support your ideas. (10 marks)
3 Either Give your thoughts on the ending. How suitable/disappointing/ satisfactory is it? Expected? Unexpected? Thought-provoking…? Support your answer with evidence if possible. (5 marks)
Or Imagine an interview with the author, in which you are questioning her/him about just one main character from the book. Write the Questions and the Answers… (5 marks)
2 THE THIRD MAN
Close viewing as another form of close reading.
Here is a film, which is easy to procure on Amazon or elsewhere.
The sound is not brilliant at the beginning, which is made up of a very fast opening sequence, so you need to play the opening more than once and warn the group to listen very carefully. Also ask them to try to remember the voice and later identify who it is.
The film is called "The Third Man", so ask the group to keep the title in mind as they try to work out what is going on.
There are several points of confusion in the film – Holly and Harry sound similar as names and are revealingly confused by Anna Schmidt at one point. Holly Martins, a cheap cowboy/thriller writer, has come to post-war Vienna (the film is set in actual post-war Vienna) because his friend Harry Lime has offered him a job. He has almost no money and needs the job. He finds, however, that Harry has just died, and at the funeral sees some of his friends and his girl friend Anna, who's an actress.
The British police chief, Calloway and his good-hearted sergeant, Payne, warn him against becoming involved, but gradually Holly Martins, who wants to find out more about how Harry died, slowly pieces together clues which lead to the dramatic discovery that Harry Lime is not dead, but very much alive.
We, as viewers, also have to piece together visual clues (for example, in the opening sequence there is something bobbing about in the river – what? And what is the connection with the several wrist-watches worn, whilst the narrative voice tells us about people having to resort to the "black market"?).
This is a film where the teacher will need to pause and consolidate the observations of the group quite often. Questions are crucial, so you as teacher must see the film first and prepare.
One question to put is "what is the effect of the distorted camera angles?"
Another, which can only really be understood after the climactic revelation scene, when Harry Lime, played compellingly by Orson Welles, is caught in the light (think "limelight"!!!) with that highly ambiguous smile on his lips – to be freeze-framed and examined closely- is "how does the music help the viewer in understanding what is going on – and how does it add to the ambivalence of the character of Harry Lime?"
What clues are there from the music? My pupils have always grasped very quickly that the music is light-hearted, but it is also tense and menacing at the same time. It grows to a crescendo of tenseness to relax into the "Harry Lime" tune that seems to mirror his personality. We are somehow drawn to him at the same time as being repulsed by what he is doing.
What, too, is the symbolic value of the big Ferris wheel? The wheel of fortune? The raised viewpoint from which Lime views the world dispassionately to ask whether one would really miss one of those human dots which can be seen beneath.
What is the symbolic value of the hunting of Lime through the actual Vienna sewers? The ultimate "sewer rat".
How much pity does the viewer have for the stark picture of the fingers straining for freedom beyond the manhole cover in the road?
How are the Viennese police portrayed (Nazi-like) as they pile into the sewers after just one man?
How does the killing of the sergeant alter our sympathies for the hunted man?
How do we feel about the betrayal of a "friend" to the police?
Was Holly Martin doing it because Calloway had really made him understand the enormity of Lime's crime or because he hoped to help (and ultimately win over?) Harry's girl, Anna?
The film seems to me to be beautifully finely balanced in its play on our sympathies, with wonderful touches of ironic humour (most notably the hectic journey in the car to the appalling lecture Holly has to deliver on literature! But also on Holly Martin as a fiction writer, whose detectives or cowboys "always get their man"!).
The characterisation in the film is superb. The use of shadows in the black and white format of the film leads us to think of black/white and perhaps shades of grey.
At some point, the group should consider the effect of having the narrative voice of the lecture organiser, Crabbin at the beginning. Why him?
What is the effect of that very very long shot at the end?
What, too, is the effect of the close-ups on faces, everywhere? The cat sitting on the shoes? The little boy who must have seen the killing of the janitor?
There is ambiguity to be spotted everywhere in the film. Anna Schmidt resorts harmlessly (but is anything harmless?) to smuggled tea and cigarettes at the theatre.
After all the discussion, it may be good to get the class writing and arguing in a more formal way. What follows is help in structuring such writing for 14/15 year olds.
THE THIRD MAN
You are going to write a critical essay on this film. The question is
“How far does the film of The Third Man, using all its resources, balance our sympathy for Harry Lime?”
(Copy out the title first)
Plan your Introduction Para 1 - Who is Harry Lime? How do we hear of him? What is said about him? What view does Holly Martins get of him? Think of Major Calloway, Anna, the Caretaker, his “friends” Baron Kurtz, the Doctor and Popescu? How do the black and white photography, the music and the locations help in creating a picture of Harry?
Para 2 – Our first view of Harry. The cat, the music, the lighting, the way the actor smiles….What are our impressions? How do we respond etc.?
Para 3 – The Fairground wheel. The symbolism, the conversation. What does Harry say? How dangerous do we feel him to be? Is there any good point about him?
Para 4 – The visit to the hospital. Why? What do we see? Do we see the children? Why not?Para 5 – Betrayal. Holly’s decision. How important? Anna? How is she presented? Is she innocent? How is love shown? What does the film make u notice…why?
Para 6 – The chase in the sewers. How does the film create sympathy for Harry? Don’t forget his killing of Sergeant Payne. Do you remember the image of the fingers through the bars, reaching for freedom? Describe how this scene is created in the film. His death? Ambiguities? The very end with his funeral and Anna’s presence – how does this add to how we feel about Harry and Holly?.
Conclusion Para 7 - This is YOUR essay, so make your conclusion personal as well as intelligently critical.
When writing your essay you should try to signpost your paragraphs so that your ARGUMENT emerges stylishly and carefully.
Every paragraph should be aimed at answering the QUESTION at the beginning.
Details
1949 Graham Greene wrote the scenario
Carol Reed the Director - Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard
Penicillin – meningitis
Ferris Wheel or the Riesenrad (famous in Vienna) at the Wurstenpratel Amusement Park
Music by Anton Karas, a Viennese café performer, whose theme tune became world famous
3 Here are some ideas for encouraging creative writing with younger pupils, who may need more direction at first, if they are unused to writing creatively. By using the "model" but injecting their own elaborations, pupils will be building up a piece of writing that should instil some useful habits regarding dialogue and description in a reasonably controlled way.
Tell them that they are awarded marks first for ACCURACY. The additions MUST be in good grammatical sentences etc.
AND, secondly, marks will be awarded for STYLE. Good choices of words, stylish comparisons, setting out of sentences etc.
Tell them their additions are NOT limited to a particular number of words, so they can feel free to develop as they like.
Creative Writing 1
The Bully
Clutching my schoolbag, I ran round the corner and ran smack into the class bully, Derek. He was a tall boy with………… On his face he had a nasty smile, which told me that……….
The first thing he did was to push me so hard that…………….
“Ha!” he said as ……………… “ I am going to make sure that………….”
I stared at him helplessly, thinking to myself that…………………. What on earth could I do?
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted…………………….. I had a moment’s hope. Perhaps I could ………………………….
Derek, laughed in a very unpleasant way.
“Don’t think that you………………,” he said. “You haven’t got a chance! I am going to…………….”
As he began to push me again, suddenly I saw my opportunity. I darted to ……………….. and managed to ………………… Derek was chasing after me and I could hear ………………. Luckily I was very fast and as I turned the corner of the road, I saw an open door in………… and I ……………………
Hiding behind the door, I saw Derek rush by. I waited …………. and then when the coast was clear, I ………………….. Derek was nowhere in sight, but returning to the place where he had pushed me, I found his schoolbag next to mine.
Aha! Now I could have my revenge! I took his bag and…………………….. Inside there were…………….. I took them all out and……………. Lastly I ……………………… That would serve him right, I thought.
Feeling very satisfied I made my way home. There I ………………..
The next day, Derek looked at me suspiciously.
“Where is……… and………………?” he asked.
“I’ve got no idea,” I replied innocently. “Where did you leave them?”
The rest of the class, who …………………….. all laughed at him. Derek turned bright red and………………. He finally found his bag…………………………… and I have to say that after that day……………………….. I felt much happier afterwards.
Here is a second exercise
Creative Writing 2
Read the following text carefully so you understand what is going on. Then copy it out making your own additions. They must be stylish and well written. You can then go on and write a cxontinuation in the same style, for another 20-25 lines. It does not have to have an ending necessarily.
2 The Holiday
It was going to be the “holiday of a lifetime”, according to my grandmother.
As a special treat, my grandparents were taking me on holiday with them. My brother and sister were jealous, at first, until they realised that it would be their turn next time.
For weeks, my grandmother, who loves the sun and the sea, had been devouring catalogues, with their descriptions of ………
“Listen to this!” she would announce. “It says here, ‘You will find yourself relaxing ………. The hotel offers…………….. The beach is situated 50 metres away and ……………’ Now isn’t that marvellous?”
My grandfather, however, who loved walking, would be scouring other catalogues and interrupting her with,
“No, listen to this! It says here, ‘Wonderful walks over………….. You will see……………….. and you will be able to …………………………..’ I think we should choose that one.”
In the end, they chose an interesting mixture of the two. You could ……………………, but you could also ………………………… and the scenery in both cases was breathtaking. There were ……………….. and ……………………… You could even ………………. They were hooked and so was I!
Our problems started on the drive to the airport. The traffic became slower and slower and finally stopped altogether. All the cars ……………… and we could see …………….. up in front.
My grandfather was driving and he looked rather nervous. “Don’t worry, dear,” said my grandmother, “…………………………………………”
Just at that moment, a police car passed us with its siren on and lights flashing. Up ahead we could see that ………………….
Finally we passed the scene of the accident; we could see…………….
“Poor things,” said my grandfather, “I hope they’re all right.”
We now had only fifteen minutes to go. My grandfather drove as fast as he could…………, ……………………… We drew into the car park with five minutes to spare.
Horrors! The car park was ……….. We couldn’t find a space anywhere. My poor grandparents were becoming very upset and they…………………..
At last, however, we found a place to park and rushed to the check-in counter. We were ten minutes late; would they let us through?
“Don’t worry,” the woman at the check-in said ………, when we got there. “There’s been a delay and ………………. You can go and …………………….. Be back here ……………"
“Whew!” said my grandmother. “I think……………………….”
And I was equally relieved, because……………………
4 Poetry of the First World War (Creative writing exercise)
This works well for 4e/3e pupils
For this lesson you will work with a partner and together you will write a poem.
GENERAL POINTS
In this poem, you are in the position of a soldier, who is going to describe some other soldiers who are being sent to France to fight in the trenches there.
They march to a train at a siding-shed (a station would be too public – this is a place where trains are kept and maintained, a bit like a garage) and you describe their departure, wondering who they were, where they are going and whether they will ever come back.
Don't worry about rhymes. Try to choose language which will get over your descriptions and your thoughts in a vivid way. Leave a gap between each section
The Poem
Lines 1-3 Describe them coming to the siding-shed. It was evening. They were trying to stay cheerful, but you could tell they were worried underneath the surface.
Lines 4-5 They had pinned white flowers to their chests and you noticed the irony that dead bodies are usually covered with flowers.
Lines 6-10 They were watched by porters, who didn't seem to care, and a tramp, who used to visit their camp. Then the signals were given for the train to move off.
Lines 11-15 You thought that they were treated like an embarrassment. Nobody seemed to take responsibility. You did not know these men and you never heard where they went to. You wondered if they were still alive or if the flowers that the women had given them became fit only for their graves.
Lines 16-20 You wondered if they would return to celebrations or whether just a very few might return back to their villages. Perhaps there would be no rejoicing at all.
Lastly – Give a title to your poem. The title should try to capture some of the spirit or tone of your poem.
Then you can show the pupils this poem, which is discussed (and compared with The General by Siegfried Sassoon) in COMPARING TEXTS earlier.
THE SEND-OFF by WILFRED OWEN
Down the close darkening lanes they sang their way
To the siding-shed,
And lined the train with faces grimly gay.
Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray
As men's are, dead.
Dull porters watched them, and a casual tramp
Stood staring hard,
Sorry to miss them from the upland camp.
Then, unmoved, signals nodded, and a lamp
Winked to the guard.
So secretly, like wrongs hushed-up, they went.
They were not ours:
We never heard to which front these were sent;
Nor there if they yet mock what women meant
Who gave them flowers.
Shall they return to beating of great bells
In wild train-loads?
A few, a few, too few for drums and yells,
May creep back, silent, to village wells,
Up half-known roads.
5 Here are two models for getting younger pupils to structure essays around their reading:
A Analytical essay writing about a novel you have read.
How important is the idea of change and transformation in the novel you have been reading ?
Gathering ideas:· Do situations change? How? Why?· Do people change? How? Why?· Do places change? Ideas change?· Are the changes good or bad? How do people react to them?
INTRODUCTION
In no more than 10 – 12 lines give an overview (summary) of the story. You must mention the idea of change or transformation with a clear example of one important aspect of this idea.
DEVELOPMENT
The first paragraph must begin with these words:
We first become aware of the idea of change (or transformation) when…………
Other paragraphs can develop more ideas. Always back these up with examples or quotations.
You may wish to start a later paragraph with these words:
Some things do not change in the course of the story and…….
Consider the ending particularly carefully in the final paragraph before your conclusion:
The ending shows that as far as change is concerned, ……..
CONCLUSION
In your conclusion you MUST finally show how important you consider this idea to be in the novel as a whole (eg very important, but only as far as the main character is concerned, or people change but places don’t etc….). You might like to reserve a good quotation, which deals directly with this, to punch home your idea forcefully.
B Analytical essay writing about a novel you have read.
How important is the idea of conflict and tension in the novel you have been reading ?
Gathering ideas:· What conflicts can we see? Where?Verbal? Physical?· How do conflicts arise? Why? Who involved?· What results? Negative? Positive? Resolutions?· Normal? Natural? Inhuman? Can they be prevented? Wider issues?
INTRODUCTION
In no more than 10 – 12 lines give an overview (summary) of the story. You must mention the idea of conflict or tension with a clear example of one important aspect of this idea.
DEVELOPMENT
The first paragraph must begin with these words:
We first become aware of the idea of conflict (or tension) when…………
Other paragraphs can develop more ideas. Always back these up with examples or quotations.
You may wish to start a later paragraph with these words:
Some things are not sources of conflict and yet are also important. We can see this …….
Consider the ending particularly carefully in the final paragraph before your conclusion:
The ending shows that as far as conflict is concerned, ……..
CONCLUSION
In your conclusion you MUST finally show how important you consider this idea to be in the novel as a whole (eg very important, but only as far as the main character is concerned, or people can engage in conflict which may be damaging but which leads to positive situations etc….). You might like to reserve a good quotation, which deals directly with this, to punch home your idea forcefully.
6 Creative Writing for older students
IT WAS on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplish-ment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! -- Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
No guesses where this passage is take from!
Your assignment is to read it carefully and, without rereading the original, try to continue it in the same style for one paragraph of about 350 words.
The following briefly summarises what happens next. You must try to capture the “gothic” style of the original if you can.
Horrified by his creation, the narrator reflects on the difficulty and sacrifices he has made in giving life to this creature. He rushes off to his bedroom, where he finds it difficult to sleep. He falls into an uneasy slumber during which he has a dream of kissing his beloved Elizabeth, which turns into a nightmare as he finds himself embracing the dead body of his mother! and wakes to discover his creation staring at him…..! Terrified, he hides down in the courtyard of his house.
We shall later show you the next paragraph in the original to compare:
Here it is:
The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room, and continued a long time traversing my bedchamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured; and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain: I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her; but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed: when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down stairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.
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Dedicated to my father, Rider Salmon (1921-2001), who taught English at Bootham School (York), The Cathedral School (Bombay), Rydal School (Colwyn Bay) and St David's College (Llandudno).