Teaching Resources
By Carol Magee MA, PCGE
Contents
Introduction
Introduction to ‘Mavis’s Shoe’
1. Setting the Scene 1A Imagery
1B Sensual Language
1C Imaginative Writing
1D Establishing Character
2. The Aftermath 2A Class Newspaper
2B Developing Character
3. Themes Carbeth and the New
Community
Searching/Belonging
Conflict and Peace
4. Critical Evaluation Discussion Starters
A. Critical Essays
B. Symbols and Symbolism
5. Ready-to-use Worksheets I-IV
6. Interview with the Author
Introduction
Introduction to ‘Mavis’s Shoe’
Mavis’s Shoe is a wartime novel which joins the genre of Second World War literature alongside such classics as ‘Carrie’s War’, ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ and ‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’. This, unlike the others mentioned, takes place in Scotland and is told through the eyes of Lenny Gillespie, a 9 year-old child. Lenny is desperately trying to be brave and yet make sense of two nights in which she loses everything – her home, her mother and her beloved sister, Mavis. The nights in question are Clydebank’s blitz – 13 and 14 March, 1941 – when the German bombers dropped 4000 bombs and killed over 500 people, maiming hundreds more. This is Lenny’s ‘story of the bombing’. In some respects it is a hard read and author, Sue Reid Sexton, whose background is in trauma, is not afraid to let us see the raw pain and horror of the aftermath. Some teachers may wish to use the novel with older readers; others may feel it is perfectly appropriate for their younger students. In discussion with other teachers, as part of the online SBT book group, the consensus was that P7 would be the earliest year group that could take on the novel ranging up to S1/S2 or Second/Third Level of Curriculum for Excellence, perhaps depending on the maturity of the group.
I have tried in the resource to provide a teacher’s guide with a variety of activities, which can be used as you find them, or modified as you see fit. There are ready-to-use worksheets and discussion questions; there are more open ended ideas. In all things I have tried to be faithful to the spirit of the book and its themes. Ultimately, this is the story of friendship and community which emerge from the destruction of the characters’ homes. The contrast between Carbeth and Clydebank at this time is obviously marked as is the closed-minded attitude of the town and the open-hearted warmth of the country. The literary techniques make it a very strong text from which to explore the writer’s craft, and its characterisation (especially the bond which grows between Lenny and Mr. Tait) makes it ideal for critical essay writing.
In terms of cross-curricular links, the subjects of History and Modern Studies would make obvious bedfellows but PSE, Art and Geography might be useful cross-over subject areas too. The idea of community epitomised in ‘Good Citizens’ could also be at the heart of this novel study and could include visits from older citizens who lived through this time to share their own stories. It could also provide opportunities to discuss what makes a good community. So many threads, so little time…!
I hope you and your class warm to the character of Lenny and her moving tale of determination and survival as much as I have and that Mavis’s Shoe becomes as highly regarded as those other classics of the genre.
Carol Magee
March 2012
1: Setting the Scene
Chapters 1-5 immediately drop us into the action of the Clydebank bombing raid in late March 1941. We find ourselves running alongside Lenny, our heroine, looking for Mavis. This search for family is one of the key ideas running though the novel and yet at the start is a simple goal that Lenny finds her little sister, who has run off. For Lenny, the timing could not have been worse. The description of the bombing is both powerful and compelling. Set against the burning landscape we discover a range of facts and hints about life for Lenny and her family in the neighbourhood she has been part of for the last two years.
There are many possible ways to explore Sue Reid Sexton’s dramatic opening. Here are a selection of ideas which could help your class to understand the writer’s craft and adopt some of the skills in their own writing.
Close Reading ENG 2-19a
1A – Using Imagery (With Worksheet I)
This is a great sequence of writing to look at how imagery (simile/metaphor/personification) can bring a piece of writing to life. There are many good examples and the worksheet below will give students the opportunity to identify the type of image in each example and go on to practice close reading skills they commonly find in the SQA exams. It is a good idea to do one or two worked examples on a smartboard if you have one. Discuss how the comparisons help us to imagine what Lenny is seeing and hearing. Look closely at how the building up of certain references (killer bees, deformed tracks, etc., create the horrific scene).
1B – Sensual Language
Sue Reid Sexton uses sensory language to great effect in the opening sequence. Together with the imagery it helps us to share the experience of the victims of the blitz, yet remains personal to Lenny. The section on p.10 is particularly rich in sensory detail. Ask pupils to list the 5 senses and then in pairs to underline all the different references to taste, touch, sight, smell and sound. Ask pairs to make an A3 display, drawing symbols for the senses (an eye, a mouth, an ear etc). Ask them to write the references under or around the symbols to connect the quote to the sense.
Example:
‘There were no lights because of the blackout so I could see almost nothing and could see almost nothing and had no idea what I was going into but I could taste the smoke which was billowing all around me, clinging to everything….’
1C – Imaginative Writing or Imagined Response to Literature (Worksheet II)
ENG 3-31A Creating Texts (Writing)
Using the building blocks of 1A and 1B, ask pupils to imagine they are the ARP Man (like Mr. Chippie) in the photograph (this is a genuine photo of the Clydebank blitz). They will be writing an account of finding the little girl in the photograph using imagery and sensory language to bring their tale to life.
HW Opportunity – Ask pupils to research the role of the ARP in WWII and write down some of the tasks they had to perform.
Ask pupils to write down some of the events leading up to finding the girl. They might use a spidergram or similar brainstorming worksheet to plan their story. They should then look again at the author’s use of word-choice and imagery. Use the grid to practice a few ideas and to provide a checklist after.
Progression
This piece would also give opportunity to practice other technical aspects of grammar you are currently studying (eg using thesaurus, better vocabulary, spelling, sentence types and so on). Add more criteria or individual pupil targets as is deemed appropriate for the class.
1D Establishing Characters (Worksheet III)
Although full of action, these chapters give us lots of detail about the characters in the early part of the novel mainly through the technique of ‘flashback’. Lenny recalls how she lost Mavis p.38-40. The torments of the boys and the comments about accents tell us the Gillespies are outsiders in the neighbourhood. Early character profiles of Miss Wetherspoon, Mr. Tait, the bad boys and Peggy are all quickly established through the gossip of others.
Ask pupils to complete Worksheet III.
LIT 2-02a/3-02a Tools for Listening and Talking; ENG 3-17a Reading
2: The Aftermath
The escape to Carbeth over the hills provides Lenny with time to reflect. Her world is literally ‘upside down’.
2A Imaginative Writing: Class Newspaper
LIT 3-16a Reading; Creating Texts ENG 2/3-31a
A class newspaper is a great way to get everyone writing but with a variety of purposes. Reporting on the blitz gives pupils the opportunity to review the events so far.
Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4: Editorial, Newshounds, Special Features (this section can be subdivided), Graphics.
Ask each group to look at a variety of newspapers (First News is good for younger groups) and to focus on their section. Write down three key features of the section in terms of content and layout.
E.g. News Articles – layout is in columns, bold headlines and subheadings for each paragraph; content is a news report, third person narrative and sometimes uses sensational language.
Some ideas you could start out with include:
News: Bombing of the Factories
Civilian Casualties – facts and figures
Heroes of the Blitz
Editorial: The price we pay for freedom
Impact of Bombing on Scotland’s heritage/morale
Features: A survivor’s story
Finding family members – what to do and where to go
Keeping safe in the air raids
Microsoft Publisher gives templates for simple publications, which are easy to use and a four page ‘newsletter’ can be put together by the graphics team. If the articles are longer and more extensive, just increase the page numbers. Real photos can be sourced from the internet and pupils can look at the Daily Record’s ’70 years on article’ at the weblink below as example of journalistic style and content:
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/editors-choice/2011/03/14/70-years-on-we-remember-the-night-that-hitler-s-luftwaffe-blasted-clydebank-86908-22988603/
HW/Extension Opportunity – when the class has researched its article, send the ‘journalists’ home to write their article and keep a tight deadline. If possible they can email the article to you, Chief Staff Editor!
Teams can ‘peer assess’ each other’s writing for its technical accuracy and its success in meeting the remit of their type of article. This has worked really with classes I have taught in the past. Once the ‘newspaper’ is laid out and printed, pupils are delighted with their collective talent.
N.B. If small gaps in the copy exist, research 1940s ads and ask pupils to make up little columns or a crossword, etc., to fill out empty space.
2B: Developing Characters
The aftermath of the attack completely decimates Lenny’s neighbourhood. She is suddenly thrown together with an unlikely assortment of people, most of whom she did not even like before. It is as if the bomb explodes not only the physical lives of the Clydebankers, but also their perceptions. Lenny finds herself looking at people she thought she knew in a different way.
DISCUSSION: LIT 202a/302a Listening and Talking; LIT 317a-217a Reading
If you have looked at Activity 1D, you might print off or screen these quotations.
Sandy ‘Sorry,’ he said…I couldn’t smile so I nodded and hoped he understood. I was very surprised to see him say sorry. I didn’t think bad boys said sorry. (P.39)
Miss Wetherspoon ‘Somehow in the midst of my crying I heard a whine, like the whimpering of a dog that’s been left behind and which turned out to be not wee Rosie but Miss Weatherbeaten…I wiped the tears so I could see her weeping into the faded silk scarf that had been around her neck.’ (p.60)
Mr. Tait ‘The scary man had his arm around [Miss Weatherbeaten’s] shoulders and was murmuring to her; I couldn’t make out what. I heard her sob, and just like I had done, she was retching, and then I heard her voice but it was too quiet to hear properly’. (P.85)
Ask pupils to discuss some or all of the following:
1. What might Lenny be thinking about these characters now?
2. How has her view changed from the comments in earlier chapters?
3. How has the use of the bombing as a plot device given the author unusual circumstances for Lenny to meet and reassess these people?
3: Themes:
· Carbeth and a New Community
· Searching/Belonging
· Conflict and Peace
A New Setting
The chapters 8 -10 deal with the arrival in Carbeth. The majority of the rest of the novel is set there, with Lenny still drawn to Clydebank in her search for Mavis, but always finding her way back to this sanctuary in the countryside. After the arduous overnight journey, they are warmly welcomed by the hutters’ community. Even when Lenny and Rosie abort a late night search for Mavis and have to find an unused hut for shelter, the owner welcomes them (Ch. 11).
Commentary
The natural setting helps Lenny to recover physically and also allows Mr. Tait to become a more valued member of the group. He shows great understanding to Lenny and is patient when she is distressed and rebellious. Miss Wetherspoon adapts less well to the freer, less structured lifestyle; she finds it hard to contain her emotions, losing control which is so important to a woman in her profession and leaves Carbeth earlier than she should, regretting it later.
Mr. Tait, an outsider before, is at his best here. He is valued by Mrs. Mags, and gradually Lenny, as he keeps his promises and treats her with respect and great kindness. In Clydebank, he was treated as a figure of fun- a bogie man- by the children and accepted neither by the workers, nor the management at the Singer’s Factory. At Carbeth, he begins to see his role – to protect Lenny and build a new home. Unlike the idle gossips at Clydebank, Mr. Tait ‘was a man who thought before he spoke’. For ‘Bad George’ he is a father figure, finally helping him to find a bit of purpose and his ‘wooden leg’ is a forerunner of Peggy’s own lost limb – a beacon of hope that adversity can be overcome.
The minor characters, Mrs. Mags, Mr. Tulloch and ‘Red’ Mr. Tulloch, Mr. McInnes, Miss Read at the school and the other children, all help to show a generous attitude to the newcomers. There are no outsiders as all the evacuated families are homeless and made equal in their grief and desperation. Whereas in Clydebank, Lenny tries to change her accent and Peggy is the victim of jealous sniping and gossip, at Carbeth there is inclusion and support for everyone. Though initially, Mr. Tait as ‘a gaffer’ is viewed with a little wariness by the working men (p.303), strong and feisty Mrs. Mags shows them that he too needs compassion (p.302-3) and Mr. Tait in return learns to adopt a more generous attitude to the workers - ‘a blind eye as well as a wooden leg’ (p.419).