GRADE 11A: The book club Discussing and reviewing literature

About this unit

This unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of English lessons. It provides a link between the standards for English and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities in this unit should help you to plan the content, pace and level of difficulty of lessons. You should adapt the ideas in the unit to meet the needs of your class. You can also supplement the ideas with appropriate activities from your schools textbooks and other resources. In this unit, students read a story and examine development of the plot and characterisation. They write a book review and make a presentation of their favourite book to the class.

UNIT 11A.2 10 hours

Resources
The main resources needed for this unit are: an appropriately levelled book from the text range identified for Grade 11A; monologues of two or three people talking about their reading preferences; a listening text of two people talking about a film adaptation of a wellknown book; a formal book review of approximately 400500 words.

Expectations
By the end of the unit, most students will: understand and respond to a range of information given in face-to-face or audio-only situations in monologues and dialogues of up to 15 exchanges on unseen but more abstract subjects ; recount and compare events and experiences, and report what people say or believe; understand and respond to persuasive arguments and discussions with two participants, infer points of view; discuss and evaluate films, plays, books, poems; prepare and make a10-minute presentation to an audience, on a topic to inform or persuade; read extensively from appropriately levelled texts, in a variety of genres in the text range identified for Grade 11 Advanced; understand how narratives are structured to create points of view, mark the passage of time and how language is used to imply moods, intentions, relationships and values; evaluate stories and recounts critically; write persuasive texts, presenting arguments and evidence in a logical structure for particular audiences. Students who progress further will: independently compose texts of at least 20 sentences in a coherent structure using connected paragraphs, varied sentence structure, and choice of words and phrases for precision and effect. Students who make slower progress will: compose texts of 20 sentences in a coherent structure using connected paragraphs and a range of sentence structures and vocabulary.

Key structures and functions

Talking about events in the past and in the present: The hero escaped through the window. Reporting statements and questions: She said she would not marry him. They asked if they could come in.

Vocabulary
Films and books: critique, review, synopsis, character, plot, mood, fiction, humour, image, motive, performance, romantic, scene, scenery, screen, stage, style, talent, theme, climax, etc. Reviewers opinions: boring, imaginative, thrilling, fast, uninspiring, exciting, moving, entertaining, fascinating, lifelike, confusing, astonishing, tragic, delightful, fine, subtle, careful, etc. Feelings: happy, sad, pleased, angry, disappointed, ashamed, miserable, etc. Consult the film/text for specific vocabulary.

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Standards for the unit

10 hours
1 hour Books 4 hours Discussing plot and character 3 hours Writing a book review 2 hours Making a presentation 10A.5.10 Prepare and present to an audience an opinion or point of view to convince or persuade, in a series of complete utterances with appropriate use of: first and second person language; expressions to indicate degrees of certainty; connectives for reasons and consequences. 11A.6.2 11A.6.3 11A.5.8

Unit 11A.2
CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards
11A.3.2 Understand and respond to persuasive arguments, debates and discussions with two participants: follow the progression of points, despite changes of speaker; infer speakers points of view and intentions; surmise meaning where there are gaps in the message, through interruptions, extraneous noise, elision etc.; distinguish fact from opinion; respond through drawing conclusions, expressing views, agreeing or disagreeing, referring to what was said in the text. Prepare and present to an audience, or discuss in a simulation, a proposal that convinces or persuades: establish and develop a logical and controlled argument; consistently use common organisational structures as appropriate; include relevant and memorable evidence; use strong, positive language, short utterances for emphasis, and a friendly manner to be convincing; be prepared to address counter-arguments or listener bias. 12A.5.5 Prepare and present to an audience, or discuss in a simulation, a proposal that convinces or persuades: use persuasive strategies such as rhetorical devices; anecdotes and appeals to emotion, authority, reason, pathos and logic; differentiate between evidence and opinion to support position and to address counter-arguments or listener bias.

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Read extensively from appropriately levelled texts, in a variety of genres in the text range identified for Grade 11 Advanced. Recognise a wide range of features of formal written English through reading a variety of genres. Note particularly: purpose and intended audience; language features use of discourse markers for explicit logical organisation, frequent use of modal verbs to express possibility, condition, and to stress the distance of the speaker; wider use of passive voice and indirect forms. 12A.6.3 Identify and interpret a wide range of features of formal written English through reading a variety of genres.

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10 hours
10A.7.1

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

Read a variety of narratives and investigate how authors create settings and portray characters through the use of: adjectives and adjectival phrases which pre- or post-modify and collocate correctly with the noun; vocabulary to capture degrees or shades of meaning; more precise, powerful or expressive verbs; some uses of figurative language. 10A.7.2 Recognise that a narrative can be presented from different perspectives: identify, by reference to the text, the point of view from which a narrative is told; recognise how the same incidents in stories can be told from other points of view. 11A.7.2 11A.7.1

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

From Grade 10 Advanced, extend investigations of how authors create settings and portray characters and events through use of: adjectives and adjectival phrases which pre- or post-modify; vocabulary to capture degrees or shades of meaning; more precise, powerful or expressive verbs; uses of figurative language and personification. Compare and evaluate some of these devices in relation to the authors intentions and the impact on the reader. 12A.7.1

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Extend work on narratives from Grade 11 Advanced, to understand: how authors choose language to influence readers; how narratives are differently structured, noting how paragraphs and chapters are used separate, sequence and link the text; how the point of view in narratives varies and can be manipulated for effect.

Recognise that a narrative can be presented from different perspectives: identify, by reference to the text, the point of view from which a narrative is told and how this affects its structure and the readers response; recognise how the same incidents in stories can be told from other points of view; understand that stories commonly have an unknown narrator and recognise how this is marked in the text through the use of third person references to characters, places and events; recognise how first and third person viewpoints are represented; experiment with changing the point of view in extracts or short narratives.

11A.7.3

Trace the development of themes, ideas and events through a story and infer underlying moods, relationships, intentions and values. Form a critical opinion of a story by relating it to own views and preferences, comparing and synthesising information from different parts of the text to justify opinions.

12A.7.3

Infer underlying moods, intentions and values in stories and other narratives. Form and present a critical opinion of a text by: comparing the text with other relevant texts on the same or similar themes, by the same author or in similar genre.

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10 hours

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

11A.7.6

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

Respond to, evaluate and criticise persuasive texts, referring to the texts for evidence: assess the validity of the point of view presented in relation to its internal coherence and objectivity, distinguishing fact from opinion; evaluate arguments, claims and recommendations, comparing them to other evidence, beliefs and values beyond the text; analyse the use of persuasive language intended to imply half truths or pseudo-truths. 11A.8.4 Use the full range of punctuation appropriately with 85% accuracy. Independently compose texts of at least 20 sentences in a coherent structure using: connected paragraphs, as appropriate to the text; varied sentence structure, and choice of words and phrases for precision and effect; cohesion markers, such as lexical repetition, reference, ellipsis and substitution and use of pronouns for reference and cohesion.

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

10A.9.1

Independently compose texts of approximately 1015 to sentences in a coherent structure using: three connected and coherent paragraphs; varied sentence structure, and choice of words and phrases for precision and effect; connecting words and phrases to link sentences cohesively.

11A.9.1

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Activities
Objectives
1 hour Books Students are able to: understand a spoken text containing complex utterances; identify persuasive language in a text. 4 hours Discussing plot and character Students are able to: understand a spoken text containing complex utterances from TV or film; discuss and evaluate the feelings, behaviour and intentions of characters from a book or film; read extensively from graded readers in the 15002000 key word range; recognise through reading a narrative how authors create settings and portray characters; recount and compare events and experiences, and report what people say or believe; summarise a story through diagrams and charts which identify main characters and events. Students read the story during class time and for homework; provide regular comprehension activities to guide reading. Handout the worksheet and have students work in pairs to sequence the events into an outline of the whole story. Pairs compare their sequences in the whole class. Encourage students to justify their sequence, for example: Henry got married before he started his job. By demonstrating on the board, show students how to use the corrected sequence to construct a line graph with the key events along the horizontal axis and showing how the fortunes of the main character change (up for good, down for bad). For example: Choose an appropriately levelled book from the text range identified for Grade 11A. Prepare a worksheet with about 10 key events from the story in the wrong order (the correct sequence should outline the complete story).

Unit 11A.2
Possible teaching activities
Students read a page from a book club magazine promoting 45 different books (e.g. a romantic novel, a thriller, a travel book, a book about a hobby). Students read the advertising blurb and respond to true/false statements. They identify the use of persuasive language and record new vocabulary. Students listen to 2 or 3 monologues of people talking about the type of books they like reading; they decide which of the books from the magazine best matches their interests. They discuss their ideas in small groups, referring to the spoken text to support their decisions.

Notes

School resources
This column is blank for schools to note their own resources (e.g. textbooks, worksheets).

She got a new job

Her father died

She went on holiday

She met a new friend

They read closely for words that describe the character at each of these key stages. Students work in small groups to construct their graphs and then exchange their graphs with other groups. Encourage them to justify their graphs, for example: This was a very bad experience. This made her feel because I think she felt unhappy then because Students identify, by reference to the text, the point of view from which a narrative is told and how this affects its structure and the readers response. They experiment with recounting a key incident in the text through the eyes of another character: for example, they write a letter to a friend about an event.

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Objectives

Possible teaching activities

Prepare some quotes (in direct speech) from the book. In pairs, students discuss the quote and the context. They attempt to explain who said it, when, where, why, what happened next, etc. In this way, students recount different parts of the story. Encourage them to use a range of reporting verbs. Highlight and revise different verb patterns as necessary, for example: verbs like say with that; explain, demand, confess, admit verbs like ask and tell with person and often the infinitive; urge, beg, warn verbs followed by the gerund; remember -ing, verbs which take prepositions followed by the gerund; accuse someone of -ing verbs followed by the gerund and the infinitive. stop, remember, forget Highlight and practise the difference in meaning between remember doing something and remember to do something (similarly the verbs forget and stop). Provide a gap fill exercise to practise different verb forms. Write a list of known and some new adjectives to describe character on the board. Encourage students to use dictionaries to check the meaning of unknown words in the list. Ask students to work in pairs and match the adjectives to the major characters in the book. They must justify their opinions with reference to the text. Groups report their ideas to the whole class. Students express agreement, partial agreement and disagreement, again supporting their opinions with reference to the text. In pairs, students write a description of one of the characters in the story. They should trace the development of the character through the story and support their ideas with reference to the text.

Notes
Prepare some quotes from the book the class has been reading. This activity can be made into a team game with different quotes given to each pair. Each pair scores points for correct information and correct verb forms. Quotes can be chosen to encourage practise of key functions from Grades 10A and 11A, for example, apologising, expressing regret, accusing.

School resources

3 hours Writing a book review Students are able to: follow a straightforward persuasive argument; recognise contexts, purposes and features of formal English through reading a critical review; [continued]

Students listen to two people talking about a film and comparing it with the original book. Students identify the speakers opinions and note their supporting arguments. Students identify the use of persuasive language, noting key words or expressions and some grammatical features. In small groups, students discuss other film adaptations of well-known books. They compare the film and the book and, if relevant, state their preference giving supporting reasons. Students read the book review quickly to identify the authors opinion. They read the review again and respond to true/false statements or multiple-choice questions focussing on comprehension of main ideas and detail.

Prepare a listening text of two people talking about a film adaptation of a wellknown book. They should compare the two, stating their preference. If possible have students read a book and then watch the film adaptation. Many graded readers have watch Prepare a formal book review of approximately 400500 words. Book reviews can be found in the arts section of newspapers or magazines.

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Objectives
[continued] independently compose texts of up to 15 sentences in three or more connected paragraphs.

Possible teaching activities

Students identify the purpose, content and organisation of the book review. They evaluate and criticise the text, referring to it for evidence. They note the use of persuasive language and distinguish fact from opinion. Students compare the formal written review with the dialogue above. They note features such as the impersonal style of the review for an unspecified audience. They note the higher levels of formality in written English than in spoken English, noting language features such as: use of discourse markers for explicit logical organisation; complete sentences rather than elliptical forms; frequent use of modal verbs to express possibility, condition, politeness, etc.; use of passive voice for impersonal and general effects, and to emphasise nouns and noun phrases by bringing them to the beginning of sentences as the topic for attention. Using the book review as a model, students individually write a book review of the book theyve read together. Discuss and agree evaluation criteria and use this to enable students to evaluate each others writing.

Notes

School resources

2 hours Making a presentation Students are able to: prepare and present an opinion, point of view or justification intended to convince or persuade.

Tell students that they have been asked to nominate their favourite book (or author) for a special award. They work in small groups to prepare a presentation to the selection committee. Brainstorm the type of information students might include and elicit a structure for the presentation. Students should plan to speak for about 5 minutes and involve all members of the group. Develop evaluation criteria. Allow students time in class to rehearse their presentation. Groups take turns to make their presentations. If possible invite one or two other teachers to take on the role of selection committee members. They should provide constructive feedback to each group and nominate a winner, providing clear justification for their choice.

Students could choose an English language book or an Arabic language book. Alternatively, they could choose their favourite author or their favourite character in a book.

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Assessment
Examples of assessment tasks and questions
Listening Students listen to two speakers talking about a book and show comprehension by answering written questions. In small groups students discuss a book they are reading or a character in a book.

Unit 11A.2
Notes
Listening carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Speaking carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Reading carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Writing carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

School resources

Speaking

Reading

Students read an extract from a story and show comprehension by answering questions. Alternatively, they sequence a set of sentences constituting a story or extract.

Writing

Students write a book review (about 200 words).

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