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Step by Wicked Step

THEMES

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THEMES

1. Surviving divorce and remarriage When the five pupils realize that they all come from broken families, they share their stories. They discover that they are not alone in their problems. They all face various challenges as a result of their parents divorce and remarriage. A major problem for most is learning to accept a step-parent and step-siblings. Some of them were able to resolve their conflicts with their step-parents, e.g. Claudia and Pixie who have become friends with their stepmothers. Most of them face the dilemma of divided loyalties. They try to protect the wronged parent from further hurt. This is seen in Claudias case she dared not be friendly to Stella at first because she does not want to hurt her mother. Richard Harwick accuses Charlotte of being disloyal to their father because she accepted Mr Coldstone as her stepfather. 2. Family Love The families in the story portray family love. After Richard has left home, his mother and sister never stop looking for him. They wait desperately for his return. His mother uses up the family funds to find him. 3. Solving ones problems One must solve ones problems instead of running away from them. Richard chooses to run away from his problems with his stepfather. His stepfather picks on him and is often mean to him. However, he does not bother to win his stepfathers approval. Instead, he makes it worse and widens the gap between them. The situation becomes so unbearable that he feels compelled to leave home. 4. Handling problems with perseverance Stella believes in handling challenges with perseverance. Claudia rejects all her attempts to be friendly at the beginning. She treats Stella with coldness. She avoids conversations with Stella. She refuses to give Stella any chance to get close to her. However, Stella refuses to give up. The more difficult Claudia is, the more determined Stella is to overcome all her resistance. It all pays off when Claudia realizes that Stella is really a kind and caring person. She makes it up to Stella by wearing the green pyjamas. She goes downstairs and shows it off to her fathers friends and thanks Stella for buying the pyjamas for her. Claudia does this so that her fathers friends approve of Stella. All pain eventually heals and we have the power to change things for the better. 36

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5. Handling challenges with patience Lucy and Stella handle challenges with patience. Lucys stepdaughter, Pixie, does not think they can be a happy stepfamily. She goes all out to prove Lucy wrong. Lucy reasons things with Pixie who is screaming out her unhappiness. Her patience pays off when Pixie finally comes around. The tension between them is lifted and they start to get along. 6. Persistence and hope in getting what one desires One must be persistent and hopeful till one gets what one desires. Lucy, Pixies stepmother, believes that a stepfamily can be a happy family. She, her daughters, husband and stepdaughter live under the same roof. She firmly believes they can live in harmony and happiness. Her persistence pays off for her hope materializes when she achieves a better understanding with her stepdaughter, Pixie. 7. Facing the consequences of ones actions Richard faces unhappy consequences due to his actions. He leaves home, leaving behind a heartbroken mother and sister. His mother dies of heartbreak. His sister marries a man she does not love at the age of sixteen so that she can continue looking for him. She later dies in childbirth. This is the price Richard pays for his selfish action. 8. Responsibility Divorce and separation is a big thing for adults but it is more frightening for children when one of their parents remarries or moves in with a girlfriend or boyfriend. When Richards mother marries Mr Coldstone, his whole world falls apart. Richards story explores the need for adults to be more responsible when decisions that concern the children are made because these decisions can have dire consequences on their childrens happiness. When families break up, responsible parents can help children to adjust while irresponsible parents leave them to fend for themselves. 9. The voice of children In Richards story, Richard idoes not seem to have any opportunity to speak frankly and openly about his feelings. In may broken families, the children caught in complicated and demanding situations, are either not telling their parents their real feelings or are simply not given the chance to do so. Children lack choices and real opportunity to speak frankly and openly about their feelings and situations to the adults around them. Adults should look around them and listen.

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Question 1

Choose a theme from the novel you have read and say what you have learnt from it. Give reasons to support your answer with close reference to the text.
Suggestions to teachers: 1. Teacher tells students to memorize at least three main themes, but only identify one theme for this question. 2. Focus on just one story eg. Richards story 3. Remind students to use the pronoun I regularly because the question asks for personal opinion (what you have learnt from it) 4. Teacher begins by narrating the completed text. 5. Teacher tells the students to listen carefully and fill in the blanks. Recommended outline: Name the novel and the author that you have chosen State the theme you want to write about State what lesson you have learnt from the theme State the main theme again in the conclusion Choose a theme from the novel you have read and say what you have learnt from it. Give reasons to support your answer with close reference to the text. Novel Choose a theme Give 1st example Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine The Importance of Love In a Family Richard did not love his family enough to stay home and protect his mother and sister as what he had promised to his dying father Lesson I learnt His father died and left his mother and sister, Charlotte alone. A year later, his mother married Mr Coldstone Although he loved his mother and sister very much, he could not accept his stepfather. His stepfather became stricter. He sent Richard to Mordanger School When he left the boarding school, Richard decided to leave home

Elaborate 1st example

The lesson I have learnt here is that we must love our family and stick together especially in difficult times. 38

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Give 2nd example Elaborate 2nd example

Richards mother and sister loved him so much that they never gave up hope in searching for Richard. Richards mother and sister kept on searching for Richard for many years. They spent a fortune just to find Richard. Although Mr Coldstone was angry because Richards mother had spent so much money to look for him, she ignored her husband because she loved her son more.

Lesson I learnt Give 3rd example Elaborate 3rd example

The lesson I have learnt here is that we must never give up hope to keep the family bond and love alive and strong. His mother and his sister loved him so much that they died broken-hearted after failing to find him. After years of not hearing any news about Richard, his mother missed him so much. She became sick and finally died of heartbreak

Lesson I learnt Sum up/Conclusion (relate back to the question)

The lesson I have learnt here is that a mothers love is very strong. The theme that I want to highlight here is The Importance of Love In a Family. From the examples given, I have learnt that without love, a family can be destroyed. On the other hand, with love, a family can become very happy and will stay together. Finally, I also learnt that with strong family love, we can face any difficulties that come our way.

Richard of heartbreak so much money Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine Mordanger School love love our family sister for many years The lesson I have learnt here Mr. Coldstone

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Rewrite the answer by filling in the blanks below using the words or phrases above .

The novel Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine showed a very important theme that is, the importance of love in a family. It also highlighted many important lessons. From the first example, we can see that Richard did not love his family enough to stay home and protect his mother and sister as what he had promised his dying father. His father died and left his mother and sister, Charlotte alone. A year later, his mother married Mr Coldstone. Although he loved his mother and sister very much, he could not accept his stepfather. His stepfather became stricter. He sent Richard to Mordanger School. Eventually, Richard decided to leave home. The lesson I have learnt here is that we must love our family and stick together especially in difficult times. From the second example, we can see how much Richards mother and sister loved him that they never gave up hope searching for Richard. Richards mother and sister kept on searching for Richard for many years. They spent a fortune just to find Richard. Although Mr Coldstone was angry because Richards mother had spent so much money to look for him, she ignored her husband because she loved her son more. The lesson I have learnt here is that we must never give up hope to keep the family bond and love alive and strong. The third example shows the importance of love in the family. This can be seen when his mother and his sister died broken-hearted after failing to find him. This showed how much they loved him. After years of not hearing any news about Richard, his mother missed him so much and she became sick and finally died of heartbreak. The lesson I have learnt here is that a mothers love is very strong. The theme that I want to highlight here is The Importance of Love In a Family. From the examples given, I have learnt that without love, a family can be destroyed. On the other hand, with love, a family can become very happy and will stay together. Finally, I also learnt that with strong family love, we can face any difficulties that come our way.

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Question 2
The theme Responsibility can be seen from the novel Step by Wicked Step. How has this theme influenced the main character? Give evidence from the novel to support your answer. Suggestions to teachers: 1. Teacher tells students to memorize at least three main themes, but only identify one theme for this question, that is responsibility. 2. Focus on the main character to highlight this theme - Richard 3. Remind students to sum up or conclude the answer by relating it back to the topic. Recommended outline: Name the novel and the author that you have chosen State the theme Name the main character How the theme has influenced the main character THEME Responsibility

CHARACTER Richard Harwick

No Content 1 Richards dying father made him promise to look after his mother and sister. Richard promised him that he will be responsible for them 2 However, Richard is irresponsible by running away and joining a ship without informing his mother and sister, leaving them wondering where he was. 3 His lack of responsibility was again shown when he never went to see his mother and sister even after becoming a wealthy and successful captain. He was too coward to face them and consequently protecting them from the evil, cold-hearted Mr. Coldstone

Textual Evidence You must be good to your mother and sister. They will depend on you (pg 18) Yes, Father (pg 18) When a great ship strains at the tide, and needs a cabin boy (pg 25)

Twice, in the next few yearsour ship came home. And twice, instead of doing my duty as a son and brotherI stood like a trespasser in the shadow of the lime walk and watched the house. (pg 26) 41

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Conclusion The sequence of pictures below shows the overall plot of the story. Study these Richard did not show any responsibility and that caused a lot of unhappiness to his mother and sister and consequently led to their deaths.

Match the pictures to the paragraphs

Richards lack of responsibility was again shown when he never went to see his mother and sister even after becoming a wealthy and successful captain. He was too scared to face them and protect them from the wicked Mr. Coldstone. He never knew that his mother and sister were suffering because they were missing him so much. 1.

2.

As a conclusion, we can see how Richards lack of responsibility has caused a lot of unhappiness and pain to his mother and sister. In searching for Richard, they had also lost most of their money. Richards mother was so heartbroken because he never came home and eventually died.

3.

In this novel, Richard had promised his dying father that he would take care of his mother and sister, Charlotte. However, Richard is irresponsible by running away and joining a ship. This caused a lot of sadness and pain to his mother and sister and finally they died.

The novel that I have read is Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine. The theme that I have chosen is lack of responsibility. The main character here is Richard. In this essay, I will show how this theme has influenced Richard, especially when making decisions.

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Rewrite the paragraphs above into a complete essay: The novel that I have read is Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine. The theme that I have chosen is lack of responsibility. The main character here is Richard. I n this essay, I will show how this theme has influenced Richard, especially when making decisions.

In this novel, Richard has promised his dying father that he will take care of his mother and sister, Charlotte. However, Richard is irresponsible by running away and joining a ship. This caused a lot of sadness and pain to his mother and sister and finally they died. Richards lack of responsibility was again shown when he never went to see his mother and sister even after becoming a wealthy and successful captain. He was too scared to face them and protect them from the wicked Mr. Coldstone. He never knew that his mother and sister were suffering because they were missing him so much. As a conclusion, we can see how Richards lack of responsibility caused a lot of unhappiness and pain to his mother and sister. I n searching for Richard, they had also lost most of their money. Richards mother was so heartbroken because he never came home and eventually died.

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Question 3 Unity is important in a family. How is this shown in the novel that you have read? Support your answer with close reference to the text.
Suggestions to teachers: 1. Teacher tells students to memorize at least three main themes, but to focus on the given theme, unity is important in a family 2. Focus on two characters, Claudia and Pixie 3. Remind students to sum up or conclude the answer by relating it to the topic. Recommended outline: Name the novel and the author that you have chosen State the theme Give evidence (three) to describe the theme

The importance of preserving family unit

Claudia When Claudias parents fought, she became unhappy Claudia felt her father did not love her Claudia refused to accept her fathers new girlfriend, Stella Claudia was rude to Stella and ignored her However, when she saw her dads friends ignored Stella at a party, Claudia realized she had been bad to Stella too So Claudia decided to change her attitude and become nicer to Stella This incident has improved her relationship with Stella, thus preserving the family unit

Pixie At first, Pixie found it hard to adjust to her new family She was very upset when Hetty shared her room She also found it difficult to get along with her stepsisters She had an argument with her stepmother and she changed her attitude and things improved

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Conclusion The family unit must be kept to avoid sufferings on the children. Parents must protect their children Answer key from the effects of divorce. If a divorce is unavoidable, parents must ensure that every care is taken to make life as normal as possible for the children.

Unscramble the underlined letters to form correct words. You can refer to the words in the box below to help you. The novel Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine shows the importance of preserving family unit. This is the central assemge in the novel. Children will become the mitsvic when the family institution is broken as clearly shown in the novel.

When Claudia parents hgfout, she underwent tiomeollya painful and difficult moments. The rreaquls, the screaming demonstrate that the rmahoyn in her family has long gone. She made an impulsive sicideon. She was warm and ciaretiappve to Stella in front of her dads stgues in the hope that they would then be nicer to Stella. This incident improved her latireoshnip with Stella, thus preserving the family unit.

Pixie, on the other hand, initially found it hard to juadst to her new family. She also found it difficult to get along with her epstsisrtes. She was very seupt when Hetty shared her room. She tried to preserve the family unit when she had an antrmegu with her stepmother and finally she changed her tituatde and adjusted to her stepmother and stepsisters, Sophie and Hetty. In the end, things imovpred.

The family unit must be preserved to avoid seriffnugs on the children. Parents must tecprot their children from the effects of divorce. If a divorce is unavoidable,

parents must ensure that every cear is taken to make life as normal as possible for the children.

argument improved guests relationships fought message

attitude upset stepsisters quarrels appreciative emotionally

sufferings care decisions harmony victims adjust

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Suggested Sample answer: The novel Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine shows the importance of preserving family unit. This is the central message in the novel. Children will become the victims when the family institution is broken as clearly shown in the novel.

When Claudia parents fought, she underwent emotionally painful and difficult moments. The quarrels, the screaming demonstrate that the harmony in her family has long gone. She made an impulsive decision. She was warm and appreciative to Stella in front of her dads guests in the hope that they would then be nicer to Stella. This incident improved her relationship with Stella, thus preserving the family unit.

Pixie, on the other hand, initially found it hard to adjust to her new family. She also found it difficult to get along with her stepsisters. She was very upset when Hetty shared her room. She tried to preserve the family unit when she had an argument with her stepmother and finally she changed her attitude and adjusted to her stepmother and stepsisters, Sophie and Hetty. In the end, things improved.

The family unit must be preserved to avoid sufferings on the children. Parents must protect their children from the effects of divorce. If a divorce is unavoidable,

parents must ensure that every care is taken to make life as normal as possible for the children.

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Question 4

Making choices and their consequences How is this theme shown in the novel you have read? Support your answer with close reference to the text.
Recommended outline: Name the novel and the author that you have chosen. State the choices made by two characters and the consequences they face. State the main theme again in the conclusion. Pixies Choice Pixie visited her dad; she had to stay with his new family. She found it difficult to get along with her stepsisters. She changed her attitude and decide to get along with them

Richards Choice He had a difficult time adjusting to his stepfather and so he decided to run away

Consequences Caused heartbreak to his mother and sister, Charlotte This led to the death of his mother and sister. The now wealthy Richard felt guilty and devastated. He was left to decide whether to stay or leave home. Sum up The poor choices made by Richard caused his loved ones pain and sorrow

Consequences Pixie had a heart to heart talk with her stepmother over the misunderstanding with Hetty. Pixie changed her attitude and became more tolerant. This improved her relationship with her stepmother and stepsisters Sum up The good choices made by Pixie led to happiness.

Conclusion The choices we make will affect the people around us, and the people who care about us. The poor choices normally will cause our loved ones pain and sorrow While the good choices will lead to happiness.

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Suggestions to teacher: 1. Teacher needs to assist the students when they fill in the blanks because answers are not provided. 2. Teacher is required to go through the notes given tho roughly to ensure students understanding.

Suggested Sample answer The choices we make and their consequences form one of the main themes in the novel Step by Wicked Step by Anne Fine. The choices we make affect the people around us.

Richard had difficult time adjusting to his new stepfather who was very strict on him. He decided to run away to sea which caused serious consequences to his loved ones. It caused his mother financial ruin and led to her early death. His sister, Charlotte, had to marry a rich man whom she did not love, in order to finance the search for him. Richard made bad choices by running away from his past, which caused pain and sorrow to the entire family.

On the other had, the good choices made by Pixie, helped to strengthen relationships and prevent unhappiness. She had difficulty getting along with her stepsisters especially Hetty. Pixie had a heart-to-heart talk with her stepmother to clear their misunderstanding. Pixie changed her attitude and she was more tolerant. Her attitude towards her stepmother and stepsisters improved. The good choices made by Pixie led to happiness.

The choices we make will affect the people around us, and the people who care about us. Thus, making wise choices in our lives are very important because we have to live with the consequences from the choices we make.

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