Alone on a Wide
Wide Sea
Teacher’s Resource
by Lucy English
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Text  HarperCollins Publishers Limited 2006
Maps  Tim Stevens 2006
Extracts from Alone on a Wide Wide Sea  Michael Morpurgo
Collins Readers Teacher’s Resources can be downloaded and duplicated as required for institutional use.
However, this material is copyright and under no circumstances may copies be offered for sale.
Author: Lucy English
2
Contents
Introduction
5
Introducing the novel
Lesson 1: Questioning the world
Map 1
Map 2
OHT 1: Chapter 1 title
OHT 2: Opening paragraph
6
Lesson 2: Hook that reader!
Worksheet 3: Narrative hooks
Worksheet 4: Opening lines
11
Lesson 3: What’s in a name?
OHT 3 What’s in a name?
OHT 4: How to have a perfect start to school
Worksheet 5: Peer-Assessment sheet
14
Lesson 4: How do you feel?
OHT 5: Emotion chart
18
Lesson 5: Analysing character
OHT 6: Aunty Megs
OHT 7: Analysing Aunty Megs
OHT 8: Analysing Aunty Megs
20
Lesson 6: Leading the reader through
Worksheet 6: Connective categories
OHT 9: Connectives
OHT 10: How could connectives be used here?
Worksheet 7: Connectives bingo
24
Lesson 7: Getting to work
OHT 11: Gissa Job
29
Lesson 8: The Power of Pictures
OHT 12: Australian recruitment poster
OHT 13: Kim Phuc (1972)
OHT 14: Kim Phuc today
Worksheet 8: Bloom’s Taxonomy
Worksheet 9: War Photographer
Worksheet 10: What were they like?
31
Lesson 9: Over to Allie
Worksheet 11: Rank the phrases
38
Lesson 10: All at sea
40
3
Contents
OHT 15: Dear Mum and Grandpa
OHT 16: I want to change your mind…
Lesson 11: Why does it work?
OHT 17: Why the novel works for me
Worksheet 12: Why the novel works for me
43
Lesson 12: Assessment writing
Worksheet 13: Assessment sheet
46
Further teaching suggestions
48
4
Introduction
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
Eagerly anticipated by his many fans, Alone on a Wide Wide Sea is multi-award winning author Michael
Morpurgo’s latest novel for young readers. A lyrical and life-affirming story incorporating a number of challenging
themes, it was described by Kate Kellaway in The Observer as ‘his best book in years’.
The novel first tells the story of Arthur Hobhouse, shipped to Australia after WWII. Having lost his sister, his
country and everything he knows, Arthur endures mistreatment, neglect and forced labour in the Australian outback
before finding a home. Throughout his life, he is saved again and again by his love of the sea, and when he meets
and marries a nurse whose father owns a boat building business, all the pieces of his fractured life come together.
The second half of the novel tells the story of Arthur’s daughter Allie, whose love of the sea is as strong and vital
as her father’s. She embarks on an epic solo voyage across the world’s roughest seas, in search of her father’s longlost sister. Both moving and original, the novel is interwoven with Coleridge’s ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, and
tackles a number of challenging and difficult themes with gentleness and humanity.
The teaching suggestions below are designed for Year 7 students – however, the novel may be suitable for older
classes as well. Students do not need to have any specific background knowledge before reading Alone on a Wide
Wide Sea, but will need to be made familiar with ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ during their study of the book,
as well as the history of child migrants.
The Author
Michael Morpurgo has written over 90 books and has an unparalleled reputation in the world of children's fiction.
His works have been adapted for the cinema, TV and theatre and he has won numerous awards including the Blue
Peter Book Award, the Whitbread Children's Book Award and the Smarties Prize. In 2003, he was appointed the
third Children's Laureate.
Michael Morpurgo is, in his own words, “oldish, married with three children, and a grandfather six times over.”
After attending schools in London, Sussex and Canterbury, he went on to London University to study English and
French, followed by a job in a primary school in Kent. It was there that he discovered what he wanted to do.
“We had to read the children a story every day and my lot were bored by the book I was reading. I decided I had to
do something and told them the kind of story I used to tell my kids - it was like a soap opera, and they focussed on
it. I could see there was magic in it for them, and realised there was magic in it for me.”
Further reading

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
ISBN 0 00 720548 1

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo
ISBN 0 00 718246 5

The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo
ISBN 0 00 675103 2
Toro! Toro! by Michael Morpurgo
ISBN 0 00 710718 8


Cool! by Michael Morpurgo
ISBN 0 00 713104 6
5
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
Lesson 1: Questioning the world
Framework Objectives
R6
R14
S&L13
Adopt active reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning
Work together logically and methodically to solve problems
Enlarged versions of Map 1 and Map 2 (A3, ideally) will be needed, as well as marker pens and a stopwatch.
Starter

Allocate students to mixed ability groups of four or five members for a Collective Memory Game. Give each
team an A3 copy of Map 1 and a marker pen. An A3 version of Map 2 should be stuck to a flipchart and hidden
from the students’ sight. They should not have access to the novel.

Explain that they are going to work in teams to reproduce, as accurately as possible, the image you are going to
show them. One person from each group comes to the front of the class in each round, where they are shown the
image for 15 seconds (place the flipchart so no-one else can see it). They then go back to their group and add
what they have seen and plan the next person’s turn (allow 30 seconds for this). Each group member is given
two chances to see the image. The whole group has three minutes to plan their strategy. Remind students not to
let other groups see or hear their work.

When the game is finished, compare results and display Map 2. Teams discuss what they did well and how they
would change their strategy if they were to repeat the task. (This provides an excellent opportunity for
discussions about team-work, as well as focused reading.)
Introduction

Ask students to suggest what they think the novel will be about. Then display OHT 1 and lead the class in
‘unpicking’ the title of Chapter 1, to work out what it might mean. Include discussion of:
 why a capital letter has been used for ‘Happening’
 what other words could be used for ‘Happening’
 why this might be considered a strange phrase (What would one normally expect of a ‘Happening’?)
 what it might suggest about Arthur Hobhouse.
Development

Students then formulate questions they would like to ask the author or narrator (re-cap the difference) of the
story. Display OHT 2. Read this and give the class two minutes, working in pairs, to write a set of questions.
Then take feedback and discuss the sort of things students would like to know, categorising questions into
different groups. Why does the reader want to know these sort of things at the beginning of the novel?

Students work in pairs to read the rest of Chapter 1 and write questions for either the author or narrator.
Plenary

Draw the class’s questions together, categorising them as appropriate. Ask students why they think the author
has written an opening that raises so many questions. Why is it good writing to make an audience ask questions?
(Aim at the idea of engagement and ‘captivating’ the reader).
Homework
Ask students to think of their first ‘real’ memory and write notes about it.
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6
Map 1
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Map 2
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OHT 1: Chapter 1 title
Arthur Hobhouse
is a Happening
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OHT 2: Opening paragraph
I should begin at the
beginning. I know that. But
the trouble is that I don’t
know the beginning. I wish
I did. I do know my name,
Arthur Hobhouse. Arthur
Hobhouse had a
beginning, that’s for
certain. I had a father and a
mother too, but God only
knows who they were, and
maybe even he doesn’t
know for sure. I mean, God
can’t be looking
everywhere all at once, can
he? So where the name
Arthur Hobhouse comes
from and who gave it to me
I have no idea. I don’t even
know if it’s my real name. I
don’t know the date and
place of my birth either,
only that it was probably in
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10
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
Lesson 2: Hook that reader!
Framework Objectives
Wr1
Wr5
Wr7
S&L1
Plan, draft, edit, revise, proofread and present a text with readers and purpose in mind
Structure a story with an arresting opening, a developing plot, a complication, a crisis and a
satisfying resolution
Use a range of narrative devices to involve the reader
Use talk as a tool for clarifying ideas
Thesauruses and dictionaries should be available to students in this lesson.
Starter

Look back at Lesson 1 and remind students of how they formed a number of questions about the first chapter of
the novel from reading the opening. Recap the discussion from the Plenary, and note that making a reader ask
questions is one of several key ways to hook them into a story.

Put students into pairs or groups of three. Give each pair or group a set of cut-up cards from Worksheet 3. They
can then work to match each of the hooks with an example. Take feedback and write the seven different kinds
of hook on the board.
Introduction

Explain to the class that different writers and readers prefer different narrative hooks. However, they will need
to try all different kinds of opening if they are to develop as writers.

Distribute Worksheet 4. Using the notes they made about an early memory for Lesson 1 homework as a basis,
students write opening sentences using each style of narrative hook. (The number of styles they are asked to
attempt can be differentiated according to ability.)

Students share their work within their previous pairs and groups. Then, as a class, discuss their findings. Which
openings did they think were most successful, and which were particularly difficult or easy to write?
Development

Students develop one or more of their styles into an opening paragraph, story outline and, if time allows, a full
story. (Higher ability students could be encouraged to develop more of their openings.) Before they begin
writing, point out that what informs a writer’s decision when choosing how to open a piece of writing is their
consideration of purpose and audience. The purpose of narrative writing is to entertain and inform. The
audience, in this case, will be their classmates (however, language should be kept fairly formal rather than
colloquial).
Plenary

Students read their work to each other in their pairs/threes and discuss. Gather feedback from groups to identify
which styles suited which writers/stories.

Ask students how they will use these ideas in future writing? (Aim to discuss purpose and audience again).
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11
Worksheet 3: Narrative hooks
Narrative hook
Example
The Puzzler – raises
questions that puzzle the
reader
I’m never really sure if it’s a real memory or just something
that’s become more solid over time. But I’m sure that my
brother once tried to murder me.
The Salesperson – stops
So you want to know all about me? Well, stay there and I’ll
the reader in their tracks and
begin…
addresses them directly
The Hinter – the subtle
approach, drops hints so the
reader has to put the pieces
together
It wasn’t as if we hated each other. I don’t really think he
knew what he was doing. I wasn’t much better.
The sky was dark, the pavements shining with drizzle and
The Weatherman – sets the
reflected lights from lamp-posts and car headlights. I
atmosphere
sploshed along in my cosy wellies.
The Painter – paints a
visual image of the scene
My bright red wellies shone as they splashed through the
puddles on the black tar pavement. Multi-coloured cars
raced past, cutting through the drizzle and the dark of the
winter…
The Comedian – the funny
approach
Being splashed by a car so comprehensively that you are
soaked to your underwear is really funny. Unless it happens
to you.
The Interrupter – brings
you in during a conversation
“I can’t believe he did that! What happened next?” Liz
demanded…
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12
Worksheet 4: Opening lines
Have a go at using each Narrative Hook by writing an opening sentence in each of the different
styles. You may find that you need to change your opening focus as well as your style.
The Puzzler – raises questions that puzzle the reader
The Salesperson – stops the reader in their tracks and addresses them directly
The Hinter – the subtle approach, drops hints so the reader has to put the pieces together
The Weatherman – sets the atmosphere
The Painter – paints a visual image of the scene
The Comedian – the funny approach
The Interrupter – brings you in during a conversation
13
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
Lesson 3: What’s in a name?
Framework Objectives
R8
R14
S13a
Wr11
Infer and deduce meanings using evidence in the text
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning
Revise the stylistic conventions of information writing
Select and present information using detail, example, diagram and illustration as appropriate
Students should have read up to ‘Wes Snarkey’s revenge’ (page 40)
Starter



Show OHT 3 and ask students to unpick the names and phrases.
Discuss how the language adds meaning to them – introduce concept of denotation and connotation.
Add the name ‘Piggy Bacon’ and ask students to unpick and explain how its difference warns the readers about
this character.
Introduction

Ask students what they would expect an instruction text to do, i.e. it tells you (how) to do something. What key
features they would expect of an instruction text, if any? (Expect answers including: Heading, sub-headings,
sequenced lists, illustrations with captions, connectives for cohesion, subject-specific vocabulary, imperative
verbs).


Either show OHT 4 or a relevant text of your own choice and ask students to identify these features.
Keep a list of them on the board.
Development

Imagine a new batch of children are being delivered to Cooper’s Station. Students have to write the instructions
that will help them to survive it. They should remember these are instructions to children from children – they
won’t been seen by Piggy Bacon or his wife. Students should draw on as much info from the text as possible.

They need to remind themselves of the conditions and try to use the conventions of instruction writing.
Plenary


Use the peer-evaluation sheet to assess the writing (Worksheet 5)
Look at the vocabulary used – does it keep the writing impartial or does it hint at the horrors at Cooper’s
Station?
Homework
Change the writing into a different non-fiction piece, using the appropriate conventions. Ask students to now
write an advert written by Mr Bacon to persuade children to come and work at Cooper’s Station.
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OHT 3: What’s in a name?
Mighty Marty
Silver dancing
dolphins
Lady Luck
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OHT 4: How to have a perfect
start to school
Starting school: how to do it perfectly
1. Establish what time you are meant to be
there and what you are meant to take.
2. Ensure you have the correct school
uniform. Shirts must be tucked in and
ties should be tied correctly (see
diagram).
3. Take a full pencil case which should
include:
 Blue and black pens (check they
work)
 Ruler
 Pencils (sharp)
 Highlighters
 Rubber
 Sharpener
 Paper clips (really useful for keeping
all the little bits of paper together)
4. Take a small dictionary, reading book and
notebook in your bag. These are
guaranteed to impress teachers.
5. Take a packed lunch, but also take some
cash in case your new friends are
going to the canteen – this means you
can stick with them and get yourself a
drink or snack.
6. Have a good night’s sleep the night
before
and get a good breakfast.
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7. Try to enjoy it!
16
Worksheet 5: Peer-Assessment sheet
Date:
Name:
Class:
The assignment involved...
What were the good points about the writing?
What needs to be improved?
Writing overview:
Focus
Poor
Average
Good
V Good
Sentence structure and punctuation
(the way your sentences are put
together; the accuracy and effect of
your use of punctuation)
Text structure and organisation
(the way your writing is organised; for
example, whether your paragraphs
help the reader to follow what you
want to say)
Composition and effect (the particular
choices of words and phrases used to
fit the sort of text you are writing) plus
how well you interest the reader.
17
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
Lesson 4: How do you feel?
Framework Objectives
W15
Wr2
Wr3
S&L13
Use a dictionary and a thesaurus with speed and skill
Collect, select and assemble ideas in a suitable planning format
Use writing to explore and develop ideas
Work together logically and methodically to solve problems, make deductions, share, test and
evaluate ideas.
Small squares of paper/sticky notes and thesauruses and dictionaries are required for this lesson.
Students should have read up to the end of ‘Couple of Raggedy Little Scarecrows’ (page 106).
Starter

Put students into groups of three of four, each student with a thesaurus and dictionary and a stack of small
squares of paper (or sticky notes)

They are to undertake a vocabulary race. Each team has to find and write down as many words describing
emotions as possible in three minutes. One word is to be written on each piece of paper/sticky note. Remind
them they can use the thesaurus to find new words but they also need the dictionary to check exact meaning.
(Might be worth reminding them of the terms synonym and antonym).

When they are done, share some of their favourites and check understanding. As a group they now need to
organise their word bank – they can arrange the vocabulary into a mind map or a shape that means similar
emotions are together. You might want to give them sugar paper to glue these onto.
Introduction

Show OHT 5 and, as a class, sketch the changing emotions Arthur has experienced since the start of the novel.
The line should go up and down according to emotional intensity and students should label where individual
emotions such as happiness or fear occur on this line.

Ask the group to divide these experiences between them and allocate appropriate vocabulary from their word
bank. (You might like to differentiate for students at this point, or allow them to self-differentiate).
Development

Students are to write a personal recount of their experience, as if they are Arthur. However, they need to try to
use some of their new vocabulary.
Plenary




Each group puts their pieces together and crafts it to ensure it works.
Ask: Have the new words helped or have they gone a bit over the top?
Ask: Should there be a rule about using new vocabulary?
Lead a discussion about this.
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OHT 5: Emotion chart
On the boat
Journey to
Cooper’s
Station
Cooper’s Station
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Journey
with the
Aborigines
Meeting
Aunty
Megs
19
Lesson 5: Analysing character
Framework Objectives
R12
Wr11
Wr19
S12
Comment, using appropriate terminology on the how writers convey setting, character and
mood through word choice and sentence structure
Select and present information using detail example, diagram and illustration as appropriate
Write reflectively about a text, taking account of the needs of others who might read it
Organise ideas into a coherent sequence of paragraphs, introducing, developing and concluding
them appropriately.
Students should have read up to the end of ‘You’re my Boys, Aren’t You?’ (page 139).
Starter

Show OHT6 and ask students what it tells us about Aunty Megs. Remind them of the connotations of what is
said – they often have to read between and beyond the lines.

Can they find a phrase or short quotation that tells us something about Aunty Megs? Ask students to explain
what they have chosen and why they have chosen it to a learning partner.
Introduction

Remind students of the PEE rule (Point, Evidence, Explanation). The quotations they have been working with
act as the evidence and the unpicking they have been doing is the explanation. All they need to do is add a point
to create an analytical paragraph.

Model this or use OHT7 to show students how this works. Get them to identify the different parts of the
paragraph.

Mini plenary: Why are quotations needed in analysis paragraphs?
Development


Students write a series of analysis paragraphs about Aunty Megs using the PEE Rule.

You might like to display OHT8 which has these ideas and some phrases that might help the students analyse
their chosen quotations.
They should aim to explore the following:
o Her character and personality
o Her behaviour and beliefs
o Her relationship with the boys
o How the author prepares us for what might happen in the future.
Plenary



Hear and evaluate some of the paragraphs.
As a class, write the rules for successful analytical paragraphs.
Lead a discussion about the hints that the author has given us about what might happen next – why and how has
he done this?
Homework
Find and note down places in the book where the author gives us hints of what is going to happen in the future.
Extension: why has he done this?
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20
Alone6:on
OHT
Aunty
a Wide
MegsWide Sea
She made it perfectly clear that
this wasn’t an excuse in
sentimentality, wasn’t just to make
herself feel good. It was to give
them a second chance of life, a
chance they all deserved. It was a
chance everyone deserved, she
said, animals and people alike.
21
OHT 7: Analysing Aunty Megs
Aunty Megs is direct and matter-offact, ‘this wasn’t an exercise in
sentimentality, wasn’t just to make
herself feel good.’ This shows us
that she has real purpose to her
actions and she has thought about
what she is doing. It also tells us
that she has the strength to do
what she feels is right rather than
what she would prefer to do – this
makes us think about what might
happen to Arthur and Marty in the
future.
22
OHT8: Analysing Aunty Megs
Write about
o Her character and personality
o Her behaviour and beliefs
o Her relationship with the boys
o How the author prepares us for what
might happen in the future.
You might like to use some of these
phrases to help analyse the
quotations you have chosen:
This shows...
This tells us...
These words suggest...
From this we can see...
This language is ______ and suggests...
This implies...
She seems to be...
We can see that...
This suggests...
23
Lesson 6: Leading the reader through
Framework Objectives
S8
S12
W20
Wr10
Recognise the cues to start a new paragraph and use the first sentence effectively to orientate
the reader
Organise ideas into a coherent sequence of paragraphs, introducing, developing and concluding
them appropriately
Expand the range of link words and phrases used to signpost texts
Organise texts in ways appropriate to their content and signpost this clearly to the reader.
Students should have completed the task in lesson 5.
Starter


Show students OHT9 and ask them to write the connectives in the correct categories on Worksheet6

Check understanding of each one.
Lead discussion of why connectives are useful – they act as warning flags so your reader knows what is about to
happen in your writing.
Introduction

Ask students to look back at their analysis paragraphs about Aunty Megs. They’ll probably find they stand alone
rather than flow. This is where connectives can be really useful as they can help cohesion and coherence –
inside and between paragraphs.

Challenge students to work out how connectives can make the analysis on OHT 10 better.
Development

Students to work in pairs or small groups to craft their analysis and use connectives to improve the cohesion and
coherence.
Plenary

Connective bingo: give out Worksheet 7 and ask students to write an appropriate connective in each category.
Then, select students to read out an extract from their work. If they read out the connective that is on the sheet,
students can cross it off. The first to cross off all categories is the winner.

Lead a discussion about which are the most comment connectives and why this is.
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Worksheet 6: Connective
categories
Write the connectives into the correct categories
category
connectives
Starting
off
Moving
along
Moving up a gear
Doing a u-turn
Coming to a
stop
25
OHT 9: Connectives
Work out which category these connectives should go into and
write them on your worksheet.
Firstly,
However,
Furthermore,
Secondly
In conclusion
And
But
Because
Also
Moreover
To start with
To conclude
In addition
26
OHT 10: How could connectives be used here?
Aunty Megs is very caring but wants to return everything to
the wild, ‘she never talked to them, never stroked them. She
just fed them.’ This shows she didn’t want to domesticate them.
She wanted them to be able to return to where they should be.
It wasn’t that she didn’t love them, it was better for the animals.
Aunty Megs is fond of the boys. She even says, ‘I'm your
mother, aren’t I?’ This shows she loves them. She wants the
best for this. This is why she sends them away.
27
Worksheet 7: Connectives bingo
Write a connective in each category
category
connectives
Starting off
Moving along
Moving up a gear
Doing a u-turn
Coming to a stop
28
Lesson 7: Getting to work
Framework Objectives
S17
S&L4
S&L7
S&L11
Use standard English consistently in formal situations and in writing
Give clear answers, instructions or explanations that are helpfully sequenced, linked and
supported by gesture or other visual aid
Answer questions pertinently, drawing on relevant evidence or reasons
Adopt a range of roles in discussion, including acting as a spokesperson, and contribute in
different ways such as promoting, opposing, exploring and questioning.
Students should have read to the end of ‘One January Night’.
Starter


Show students OHT11 and ask them if they would give the writer a job
Lead discussion of what is wrong with the letter – leading to the idea of formal and informal language. Discuss
what makes language formal (discuss vocabulary and structure) and when it is required.
Introduction


Read pages 15-156.
Challenge students to imagine they are Arthur or Marty and to re-write the letter to get a job interview.
Development

Divide class into six groups (or into the correct amount to allow students to work on one as employer or
employee in a small enough group to contribute). Groups A, B and C have to imagine they are owners of a boat
yard who are looking for employees. They should write the questions they will ask at interview and consider the
answers they will expect in response.

Groups D, E and F are to imagine they are Arthur or Marty and preparing for interview. They should work out
what questions they might be asked and what they will say in response.

Remind all students of the need for formal language.
Plenary


Role-play the interviews, either all at once or watch a couple at the front of the class.
Lead a discussion about who was the most authentic employer, and why. Consider who they would employ, any
why.
Homework
Write a formal letter to the employee of your choice to offer him or her the job. Make sure you explain the
requirements of the job clearly and your expectations. You need to use Standard English and ensure you use the
correct level of formality.
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29
OHT 11: Gissa Job
Watcha Mate,
I heard you’ve a job going. I’d give it a go as I
like working with boats and stuff. I'm pretty
good at it all and like having a laugh with me
mates so I can get on with the whole crowd
you’ve got there also I'm really good at telling
jokes so everyone likes me.
What d’ya reckon? Shall I come over for a
natter and you can see how great I am?
See you soon,
Danny
30
Lesson 8: The power of pictures
Framework Objectives
R8
S&L1
S&L12
S&L15
Adopt active reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts
Use talk as a tool for clarifying ideas
Use exploratory, hypothetical and speculative talk as a way of researching ideas and expanding
thinking
Develop drama techniques to explore in role a variety of situations and texts or respond to
stimuli.
Students should have read to the end of ‘Things fall apart’.
Starter


Show students OHT12 and ask them to analyse it. What do they think its purpose was?


What impression of the men does the poster give? Why does it want to give this impression?
Lead discussion of this poster. Explain it was produced for and used by the Australian Navy to encourage
people to join during WWII.
Look again at page 168-9 where Arthur describes the smiling face on the poster he saw. Why did this have such
a great impact on him at this stage in his life? (Remind students the Vietnam War was 1959-1975 and Arthur
mentions the end of the war, so this would have been in the 1970s).
Introduction


Read pages 170-172 ‘the sea had become a place of blood’.
Show students OHT 13, the famous picture of Kim Phuc running after a Napalm attack in 1972. Ask them to
write questions about this photograph. You might like to give them Worksheet 8 with Bloom’s Taxonomy on it
to structure these questions.
Development


Depending on ability, distribute Worksheet 9 with the poem ‘War Photographer’ by Carol Ann Duffy.
Ask students to read this poem in groups and prepare a series of still tableaux to go with it.
Plenary


Watch the tableaux and invite comments and questions about what happened and what the poet is saying. What
does the poem suggest about the impact of war on people’s lives? Are people comfortable speaking about it?
Show OHT 14 of Kim Phuc today and explain she is now a peace activist. Ask what these experiences might
have done to Arthur.
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31
OHT 12: Australian recruitment
poster
32
OHT 13: Kim Phuc (1972)
33
OHT 14: Kim Phuc today
34
Worksheet 8: Bloom’s
Taxonomy
Knowledge
Define, name, state, recognise, recall, who, what, when, where,
how, describe...
Comprehension
Why, describe in own words, select aspects, explain, identify
Application
Dramatize, illustrate, interpret, solve, how is...an example of, why
is... significant?
Analysis
What is the motive? How and why has this happened? Compare,
contrast, categorise
Synthesis
Inference and deduction, what would happen if? What solutions
would you suggest ... and why?
Evaluation
Value decisions, resolving differences of opinion, prioritising, how
would you decide? What criteria would you use to assess?
35
Worksheet 9: War Photographer
War Photograher
by Carol Ann Duffy
In his darkroom he is finally alone
with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows.
The only light is red and softly glows,
as though this were a church and he
a priest preparing to intone a Mass.
Belfast. Beirut. Phnom Penh. All flesh is grass.
He has a job to do. Solutions slop in trays
beneath his hands which did not tremble then
though seem to now. Rural England. Home again
to ordinary pain which simple weather can dispel,
to fields which don't explode beneath the feet
of running children in a nightmare heat.
Something is happening. A stranger's features
faintly start to twist before his eyes,
a half-formed ghost. He remembers the cries
of this man's wife, how he sought approval
without words to do what someone must
and how the blood stained into foreign dust.
A hundred agonies in black-and-white
from which his editor will pick out five or six
for Sunday's supplement. The reader's eyeballs prick
with tears between bath and pre-lunch beers.
From aeroplane he stares impassively at where
he earns a living and they do not care.
36
Lesson 9: Over to Allie
Framework Objectives
R3
R10
Wr10
S&L9
S&L16
Compare and contrast the ways information is presented in different forms
Identify how media texts are tailored to suit their audience
Organise texts in ways appropriate to their content
Recognise the way familiar spoken texts are organised and identify their typical features
Work collaboratively to devise and present scripted and unscripted pieces, which maintain the
attention of an audience.
Students should have read to the end of ‘Two Send-offs, and an Albatross’.
Starter

Give students the phrases from Worksheet 11 and ask them to rank them in order of power. Which would make
the most effective headline for an article about Allie’s adventure?

Discuss choices and recap the idea of emotive language.
Introduction


Recall the media interest in Allie as she sets off on her trip (see pages 209 and 210).
Discuss why this is a good story for the media (look for ideas involving Allie’s age, the story of Kittie, Arthur’s
dream, the whole family involvement, the sense of adventure, the interest in ‘good news’ stories etc).
Development

Divide the class into groups and ask them to complete at least one of the following media tasks:
o Produce a general news bulletin about Allie’s trip
o Interview Allie and the family for an evening news programme
o Interview Allie and the family for a daytime magazine show
o Write the script of an interview with Allie for one of the above
o Produce the radio coverage of Allie’s departure
o Write the newspaper report of Allie’s departure
Plenary

Watch/hear a selection of the work and discuss how it changes for different media forms and audiences.
Homework
Design the Kitty Four website. You may either do this on computer or on paper. Sketch the layout and key features.
Write the text for the main pages you will include. Remember it is useful to think of the overall website design
like a spider diagram or mind map with the home page in the middle and all the other pages branching out from
there.
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37
Worksheet 11: Rank the
phrases
Rank these phrases in order of power (from
least to most powerful).
Brave 18-year old
Allie’s Epic Voyage
Brave teenager
Heroic voyage
Family sailing trip
Battle with the waves
Allie’s awesome adventure
Allie sails away
Girl sails to England
Girl (18) goes to sea
Sailor takes to the seas
Allie Searches for Long Lost Auntie
The adventure begins
Start of the sailing trip
38
Lesson 10: All at sea
Framework Objectives
S15
S16
R7
Wr15
Vary the formality of language in speech and writing to suit different circumstances
Investigate differences between spoken and written language structures
Identify the main points, processes or ideas in a text and how they are sequenced and developed
by the writer
Express a personal view, adding persuasive emphasis to key points
Students should have read to the end of ‘Dr Marc Topolski (page 261).
Starter

Show OHT15 and ask students to identify the purpose, audience and text type. They should be prepared to
explain the key features.

Lead discussion of what makes this an informal email. Discuss the long sentences, the use of the dash, the lack
of capital letters for some proper nouns, the inconsistency – so there are capital letters for others, the fragment
sentences... You might like to point out informal emails are often like a stream of consciousness or someone
talking – and we don’t talk or think in sentences.

Why is this appropriate writing for Allie’s purpose and audience? Why do you think Michael Morpurgo uses the
device of including Allie’s emails to tell parts of her story? What do they add that conventional narrative
couldn’t?
Introduction

Grandpa somehow persuaded NASA to contact Dr Marc Topolski and allow him to phone Allie. This would
have taken some persuading!

Show OHT 16 and ask students to identify the persuasive techniques it uses. Look for the following: emotive
language, use of the collective pronoun ‘we’, rhetorical questions, facts and figures, pattern of three.
Development

Ask students to write or role play the letter or conversation where Grandpa persuades NASA to make contact
between Dr Topolski and Allie. Try to use as many persuasive techniques as possible, but remember not to get
aggressive or go over the top!
Plenary

Watch/read a selection of the students’ work. Lead peer-evaluation of its success and ask each student to write a
summary of the more effective persuasive techniques.
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39
OHT 15: Dear Mum and Grandpa
You’ll just have to imagine me up on deck belting out
my Whitney Houston special in a force 8 or 9 – and
ieeeiiieeei will always love you. I found myself
humming London Bridge is Falling Down in the cockpit
just now, like Dad did. I’ve got Dad’s cds – louis
armstrong, bob dylan, the beatles, buddy holly. I’ve
got “What a Wonderful World” on right now, one of
Dad’s favourites when we were at sea together. Got
my own stuff too – Coldplay, Red Hot Chilli Peppers,
few others. Couldn’t take much, not enough room, piled
high with junk down here, hardly any room for little
old me. feel like a really big sardine in a really small
can.
40
OHT 16: I want to change your
mind... knows that we in Britain have easier lives than many
Everybody
people in the developing world. But have you ever stopped to
really think about how life would be if we didn’t have access to
clean water?
Imagine you and your family lived in Tanzania, one of the most
beautiful places in the world - if you go to the thriving tourist
areas.
For the people who live there day to day it’s different, it’s harsh,
it’s deadly. Diarrhoea accounts for at least 20% of infant deaths.
Innocent babies die because they have to drink putrid, stinking,
deadly water. Yes, water is a killer here where 70% of the rural
population have no access to safe water. But it doesn’t just stop
there: 30% of people in towns have no access to safe water.
If you lived past your vulnerable childhood you could expect to
live to the age of 46 years. In Britain life expectancy is 80.
But it’s not all doom and gloom because you have the power to
change this terrible situation. You have the power to save lives.
Are you up for it?
41
Lesson 11: Why does it work?
Framework Objectives
R4
R8
Wr3
S&L10
Make brief, clearly-organised notes of key points for later use
adopt active reading approaches to engage with and make sense of texts
Use writing to explore and develop ideas
Identify and report the main points emerging from discussion
Students should have read to the end of the novel.
Starter



Ask students to work in twos or threes and discuss and write down their top three parts of the novel.
They should be ready to explain why these where the best bits.
Lead a discussion of the students’ best bits. You might find some liked the realism – characters die, which
doesn’t often happen in fiction for Year 7. Others might enjoy Arthur’s story more than Allie’s or vice versa –
come to the realisation there is something in this novel for everyone.
Introduction

Pick your favourite/most effective part and talk the students through why you find it effective. You might want
to use OHT 17 for ideas.

As a class, make a list of the features that make this novel so effective. You might like to include ideas such as
the detail, the immense range of the story, the realistic events and characters, the amount you learn, the two
different voices, the hints and hooks throughout the story, the descriptive passages, the historical insight the
book gives us, the styles of writing...
Development

Distribute Worksheet 12 and ask students to complete it with their ideas about what makes this novel so
effective.

If they really hate it, they can complete the worksheet to explain what makes the novel unsuccessful.
Plenary


Explain they are going to write an assessment essay next lesson, using these ideas.
Go through the ideas they have come up with, and discuss how they can change these into an essay by using the
PEE rule.
Homework
Prepare for the assessment essay: What makes Alone on a Wide Wide Sea so effective?
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42
OHT 17: Why the novel works for
me
Reminds us
it was
involuntary
Evocative
and
emotive
description.
Really
shocking –
we want to
find out
how this
can be true
– he’s a
little boy!
Who are
‘they’?
What
happens?
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st Qtr
I’ve had a lot of time to think things
over since. I'm still angry about
Cooper’s Station, about what they
did to us there. But we weren’t the
first. Two hundred years or so
before we were sent out from
England to Australia, others had
made the same journey as we did.
They had come in chains in the
stinking bowels of transport ships.
We may have come in a beautiful
ship, with pillar-box red funnels and
an orchestra, but we were prisoners
just like them. And they must have
very soon discovered, as we did,
that you weren’t just a prisoner, you
were a slave as well, and that when
you’re a slave they don’t just take
away your freedom, they take away
everything else as well because
they own you. They own you body
East
and soul.WestAnd the soul, we were
North
about to find out, was particularly
to our owners.
2nd Qtrimportant
3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
We know he
got past this
but we also
know the
experiences
we are about
to read about
are going to
be lifechanging in a
negative way.
We want to
read on
Sounds so
grand and
contrasts so
strongly with
his
experiences.
Reminds us of
the
‘establishment’
who sent him
out in the first
place –
increases our
sense of rage
In what way? This passage makes
me curious and also starts a sense of
rage and anger. I want to read on.
43
Worksheet 12: Why the novel
works forthis
methoughtmap with examples of
Complete
effective writing in the novel. You will need to add
ideas of you own as well.
Arthur
Marty
Realistic
characters
Allie
Child
migrants
Alone on a wide wide sea
Important
issues
Natural
world
Exciting
events
war
Cooper’s
Station
escape
44
Lesson 12: Assessment writing
Framework Objectives
R7
R12
R14
Wr12
Wr19
Identify the main points, processes or ideas in a text and how they are sequenced and developed
by the writer
Comment, using appropriate terminology on how writers convey setting, character and mood
through word choice and sentence structure
Recognise how writers’ language choices can enhance meaning
Develop ideas and lines of thinking in continuous text
Write reflectively about a text, taking account of the needs of others who might read it.
Students should have read to the end of the novel and completed the preparation in the previous lesson.
Starter

Distribute the Assessment Sheet (Worksheet 13) and ask students to highlight the key features they are aiming
to achieve. Discuss the techniques they can use to help them write their response (PEE rule, connectives,
evidence)

Discuss the task and emphasise they will not have enough time to write about everything so should choose their
most important points. You might like to differentiate at this point, to ensure students have the correct level of
challenge.
Introduction


Remind students of the title of the task: What makes Alone on a Wide Wide Sea so effective?
Take any final questions.
Development

Students to write their response. Ensure you give them time reminders.
Plenary


Pair students up according to ability. They are to read and peer-assess each other’s work and write a target on it.
Share some of the best bits.
45
Worksheet 13: Assessment
Sheet
Date:
Name:
Class:
The assignment involved...
What were the good points about the writing?
What needs to be improved?
Writing overview:
Focus
Poor
Average
Good
V Good
Sentence structure and punctuation
(the way your sentences are put
together; the accuracy and effect of
your use of punctuation)
Text structure and organisation
(the way your writing is organised; for
example, whether your paragraphs
help the reader to follow what you
want to say)
Composition and effect
(the particular choices of words and
phrases used to fit the sort of text you
are writing) plus how well you interest
the reader.
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46
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea
Further teaching suggestions
Word level

Unpicking meaning: Select a phrase such as: It was a grey day with drizzle in the air, the great sad cranes
bowing to the ship from the docks as we steamed past. Put this onto an OHT and lead the class in ‘unpicking’
the meaning and connotation of individual words to lead to an understanding of the whole phrase. Discuss the
impact of key words – how would the phrase change if one of them changed? As students get more confident
working in this way, they can select the phrases to use and can eventually write an analysis of them.

Recognise how word choices such as alliteration can enhance meaning: Look at examples such as Mighty
Marty or Lady Luck and discuss the impact the alliteration has on our understanding. Students can then make up
their own alliterative names for themselves or other characters in the novel.

Using a dictionary: Look at the diagrams of Kitty IV on pages 214 and 215; students should look up any
unfamiliar words in a dictionary.

‘Marooned in a sea of serpents’: Read this section on page 268 and the relevant stanzas of ‘The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner’. Students should imagine they are sea-snakes, and write the chant they might say as they
writhe around Allie’s boat. They should think about the sort of vocabulary and sounds that would go with this –
maybe lots of long vowel sounds and sibilance?
Sentence level

Use speech punctuation accurately to integrate speech into larger sentences: Provide students with a
passage from the novel that includes speech, but remove the punctuation. Ask students to work out where it
should go.

Conventions of non-fiction: Revise how dictionary entries are written. Ask students to select a new word from
the text and write the dictionary definition for it.

Analyse the use of a sentence to hook and lead the reader on: Look at the following sentence on page 132:
When she told us, she told us straight. Ask students to outline why this is a successful sentence and predict what
might happen next. They should provide evidence for their ideas (such as how Aunty Meg always returns her
animals to their natural habitat).

Use of sentence length to create pace and emphasis: Look at the sentence lengths in the first paragraph of the
chapter “You’re my Boys, Aren’t You?” (pages 133–134). What is the effect of starting so many sentences with
‘She’? What is the effect of the short sentences?

Mixing metaphors: Ask students to compile a bank of clichéd metaphors, such as: the icing on the cake or the
cat that got the cream. Discuss why they are used and what they mean. Can students invent some new ones?

News headlines: Look at some of the ones Allie mentions on page 209. How are headlines different to
sentences? Why is this? Ask students to make up headlines for other events in the novel.

Stylistic conventions of email: Give students a copy of Allie’s first email on pages 216–218 and ask them to
highlight all the errors and then explain why they are errors to a partner.

Fog and mist: Look at the fog and mist stanzas in ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. You might also like to
look at the opening of Bleak House by Charles Dickens. How have sentence structures been manipulated to
reflect and represent the fog?
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47
Wor
kshReading
Students research the child migrants (see the Afterword for a useful web address to start your
eet Research:
research; also try www.naa.gov.au or type ‘child migrant’ into a search engine).
key: Explore the power of symbols. Ask students to make a thinking map of all that the key means to
23: Lucky
Arthur. To extend this, students can make their own symbol thinking map.
the author’s craft: Look at Piggy’s ‘welcome speech’ on pages 31–33. Unpick this to work
The Understanding
out the techniques used to support his ideas. Include analysis of repetition, the use of the collective pronoun
emotive language and cliché.
gold ‘we’,
Active reading: Read the descriptions of Cooper’s Station and The Ark; students make collages of each to
en highlight their differences. They should pick out key quotations to layer over the top of the collage.
 The power of the image: Show the class some recruitment posters and discuss how each image works and how
is still referred to today. Students can make their own recruitment posters using digital cameras and ICT photo
feathitmanipulation
programs. They will need to consider purpose and audience if these are to be effective.
er  War: Use ‘What were they like’ by Denise Levertov to introduce the Vietnam War. Ask students to read the
Feather
Boy
poem and use Bloom’s taxonomy of thinking skills to write questions about the poem. The photograph referred
to in the novel (page 174) can also be used (search for ‘Kim Phuc photo’ online).

Reading pictures: Look at the diagrams of Kitty IV on pages 214–215 and use them to explore Allie’s
character. What can we learn about her from these diagrams?

The Ancient Mariner: As students encounter the poem in the text you might like to provide the missing
stanzas. With each stanza they should dramatise or storyboard what is happening.


The Storm Blast: unpick vocabulary to check understanding and then create a picture or cartoon of this stanza.
Shooting the albatross: (page 238) Remind students of the way the key became a symbol of hope for Arthur.
What does the albatross symbolise for Allie? In the Coleridge poem the Ancient Mariner shoots the albatross –
students should predict what will happen next in the poem and the novel.
Writing

Writing a letter to persuade: Students should imagine they are one of the social workers trying to obtain a
placement for one of the immigrant children, and write a letter to persuade a farmer to take a child. Recap
conventions of letter-writing as well as persuasive techniques with the class.

The policeman’s report: Aunty Megs takes the boys to a police station to tell their story. Recap conventions of
a formal report. Students write the report.

Conventions of formal writing: Outline conventions of obituaries (include purpose and audience). Students
write an obituary for Aunty Meg.

Conventions of newspaper articles: Students write the newspaper report of Allie’s departure.
Speaking & Listening

Hot-seat: Using the research on child migrants, set up a hot-seating activity. To prepare, students write
questions they would like to ask the children, the authorities sending them and the people receiving them. These
characters can then be hot-seated. To extend the activity, roles such as ship passengers, workers on the ship, the
people re-housing the children and other people in the places the children end up can also be hot-seated.

Persuasive speaking: Recap persuasive techniques and split students into two groups. One group should write
and perform speeches persuading Arthur to join the Navy, while the other should persuade him not to join.

News interviews: Students role-play Allie, Grandpa and the news team as they interview Allie about her
forthcoming adventure and her search for Kitty. Remember all the participants will have a different message
they want to focus on!
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48