Text English Book 1 Teacher Guide

Unit 3Gothic tales

3Gothic tales

Lesson plan

1 Features of Gothic stories

Resources needed: Student sheets 3.1–3.5 / Student Book pages 58–59
Lesson aims: By the end of this lesson students should be able to identify the main features of Gothic stories
Curriculum: Personal development – make a positive contribution: working collaboratively as part of a group discussion.
Framework objectives / Cross-curricular links
2.1b using some verbal and non-verbal technique; 6.1 understand the different ways in which texts can reflect their social, cultural and historical contexts. / Art and design – Cultural understanding and contexts; History – Chronological understanding, change and continuity, significance and interpretation; Science – Ethical and moral implications.
Starter (15 minutes)
Divide the class into two rows, facing each other. Tell them that for 4 minutes they are going to take turns to call out names of scary films or characters. You choose the team to start; the first person calls out and points to a member of the opposite team to reply. Each team member can only be used twice and they can only pass once. Answers can only be given once. Points are scored if the opposite team does not reply in 3 seconds. You keep score and list answers on the board.
Development (35 minutes)
Introduction (10 minutes)Write the word Gothic on the board. Ask: Have the studentsheard this word before? Where have they seen it written down? Have they seen any films that have been described as Gothic? Have they read any books that say they are Gothic? Where might the word have come from? After this discussion write the definition on the board: a style of writing, architecture and art that was popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Complete Activity 1 in the Student Book (using Student sheet 3.1).
Activity 2 uses Student sheet 3.2. In pairs, students take turns to read aloud the four passages in Activity 2. They have to read them in the dramatic style that is appropriate for each passage, adding emphasis to specific words, e.g. Extract A: soft, romantic voice emphasising ‘gazed’, ‘shiny’, ‘sighed’, ‘happiness’ etc; Extract B: deep voice emphasising ‘Heath Manor’, ‘dense, gloomy, fir trees’ etc; Extract C: reading quickly but pausing at each punctuation mark for dramatic effect; Extract D emphasising the speech with an authoritative, monotone voice. Class feed back about why they felt these passages were meant to be read in different ways. How did they know how to do it? As a class, discuss which of the story openings is most Gothic. Students should offer ideas about atmosphere, descriptive language, and setting.
Read the passage from Frankenstein in Activity 3. Using Student sheets 3.3 and 3.4, students use one coloured pencil or highlighter to identify the Gothic features in Frankenstein, and another colour to identify words that show the narrator’s feelings.
Plenary (10 minutes)
Assess your progressUsing Student sheet 3.5, students assess how far they have achieved the three levels that are given, ticking those they have achieved and writing down an example to demonstrate that achievement. After 8 minutes ask them to hold up their sheets: you should see by the ticks where individuals rate their abilities.
Homework
Students research the Gothic style of literature and architecture. Prompt them with questions such as ‘Who played a great part in the Gothic revival style of architecture and wrote one of the first Gothic novels?’ (Answer: Sir Horace Walpole, his novel: The Castle of Otranto) and ‘In what type of buildings do we still find evidence of Gothic architecture?’ (Answer: Churches and cathedrals traditionally show Gothicfeatures with their pointed windows and gargoyles).

Plan and activities