Week 2 Monday's lesson

Maestro – look at the gap on page 13 after Paul runs out of Keller’s room. Write the next section from Keller’s point of view. What did Keller do next? What did he think as he contemplated the scene which had just taken place? Use your narrative to reveal Keller’s attitude to growing up and to Paul. In planning, consider Keller’s experiences and how these might affect his attitude to what growing up entails. Read the section pages 63 – 67. What does this tell us?

Tuesday's lesson and homework

The novel begins with Paul giving his first impressions of Keller. Identify each of the sections in which Paul describes Keller. Note the use of language.

No wdescribe Paul as you see him, using language as effectively as you can. Try choosing a scene and imagining what Paul looks like in this situation.

Editing checklist

 

Sentence length – varied length or deliberately chosen length
Sentence openings – varied openings
Punctuation – used correctly and with variety
Have you tried to use something other than commas and full stops?
Vocabulary – try to find two or three places where you can use a more effective word – look at verbs particularly
Use of figurative language - similes, metaphors
Alliteration
Assonance

Wednesday/Friday's lesson

What are your first impressions of Paul as an adolescent? What is his relationship with his parents like? What aspects of Paul's life are affecting his development to adulthood? How do other relationships affect his development or demonstrate aspects of his growth. Justify your answers with evidence from particular sections of the novel. Discuss in a group and take notes. For the last question, each group  is to focus on one relationship – Keller, Rosie, Bennie, Megan, The Band. Write up your answers and email to me.

Friday's lesson

Read the story “My Father’s Axe” by Tim Winton. It is on the blog page below this blog.

Choose a point in the story and write a monologue in which the mother talks to her husband about watching her son grow up and what that means to both him and his father. In other words, what does the boy think it means to grow up or to be grown up? What does the father think it means? Are there differences in their views?

What does the mother think it means to grow up? What would she say about their relationship?

She gives a new (perhaps female) perspective. Try to give her an authentic voice. This may vary from person to person according to your view of the character but try to make it clear and consistent.

Thursday's lesson

Look at the advertisement picture again - plan and write an imaginative response which involves the girl as a character and which challenges the representation of growing up constructed in the advertisement. Your choice of genre and your choice of point of view. You could write as the girl or as one of her friends or as her parent. You could narrate an event, write a letter, write a journal entry or a news report. Post to your blog at the end of the lesson. 

Week 2 - Reflecting on Growing Up

Write a personal reflection on what it is like to grow up on the Gold Coast in 2015. What are the positives? What are the negatives? Try to let your own voice emerge. Do you want to write in a serious way? Do you want to put a humorous slant on the topic? Allow some your own concerns/ideas to come through. For example, if you have strong feelings about the place of women in society, this might affect your thoughts on the topic of growing up on the Gold Coast. Be careful about your use of tense and remember to check your last post for consistent use of tense as well.  Post to your blog by Monday's lesson.