Teachers’ Notes
Raven Lucas
Book 2 Dead Wrong
Written by
Christine Harris
Teachers’ notes written by Madeline Holmes
OMNIBUS BOOKS
Contents
Category
Title
Junior fiction
Raven Lucas
Book 2 Dead Wrong
Author
Christine Harris
Extent
192 pp
Age
10+
ISBN
978 1 86291 928 0
Introduction………………..…………………………………….
2
About the author……………………………………………….
2
Reading the text………………………………………………..
2
After reading the text……….……………………………….
7
Teachers’ Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They may not be
redistributed for commercial sale or posted to other networks.
Introduction
The more Raven Lucas delves into the disappearance of her dad, Elliot, the more she
discovers how little she actually knows. And what she does know is getting her into
serious trouble. But since no one else has the answers, it falls to Raven to uncover
the mystery of her father and clear his name. Like any good detective, she knows
gathering all the pieces together will solve the case, but with her father’s enemies
blocking her every move there is a very real chance she might come up emptyhanded.
About the Author
Christine Harris is one of Australia’s busiest and most popular children’s authors. She
has written more than fifty books as well as plays, articles, poetry and short stories.
Her work has been published in the UK, USA, France and New Zealand. Dead Wrong
is the second novel in her Raven Lucas series.
Reading the text
Part One
Class discussion: first impressions
1) Have a class discussion about what a reader expects from a mystery novel
and make a class list. You may already have a good idea having read the first
Raven Lucas novel, Missing. Some things to consider: the type of characters
you expect to come across, the tone of the piece and the way the setting will
be described.
2) For those of you who have read other novels in this genre, you will be
familiar with two very different types of sleuths: either they know what they
are doing or they don’t. That is, one type of protagonist – this is another
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word for main character – will be an expert in solving cases and the other
type will be inexperienced. Raven has been thrust into a world of intrigue and
crime and she has very little idea of what she is getting into. Consider the
following questions: despite Raven’s inexperience, what qualities does she
possess that make a good sleuth? How do stories with experienced sleuths
differ from those with inexperienced sleuths? Which type of sleuth do you
prefer and why?
Research task: creating news
1) In groups talk about the role of a journalist. Raven describes the television
journalist in Dead Wrong, Christabel Grae, as a piranha scenting blood. How
would you define the word ‘journalist’? Discuss how important news is to
you.
2) Tonight, go home and watch the news and think about how each story is
made. Choose a particular story that interests you and analyse all the
elements. Write down the topic of the story, who was interviewed, whose
side of the story was told, the length of the story, whether the piece was
balanced (that is, were all sides of the story told), what kind of language was
used, what visuals or sound effects were used, how long the voiceovers were
and how often the reporter told the story compared to the different sources
who spoke.
3) Once you have analysed your piece, report your findings to your group the
next day. For many journalists a cornerstone of their profession is objectivity.
While this may not be actively practised, the idea of objectivity – that is,
reporting fair, balanced and impartial news – is what legitimises journalists’
activities. Discuss your idea of a responsible journalist. Do you think the
journalists of your stories reported responsibly? Did they report objectively?
Compare them to Christabel Grae’s style of reporting.
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4) Now that you have considered what makes a good journalist and analysed a
news story, it is time to create your own. Most news stories, as you will have
gathered from watching the news last night, do not last very long, so
remember that you want to tell a condensed version of a story. First think
about what makes a good story and what people might be interested in.
When you have come up with your idea, consider who you will need to
interview. If you check your notes, you should find that the news story you
selected had at least two different sources.
5) If you have access to video recording equipment, proceed as you might
imagine a real reporter would. Arrange to interview your ‘talent’ – this is
what reporters call the people they interview – and come up with a list of
questions that will help you with your story. Once you have finished with the
interviews, review your footage and pick the best quotes for your story (you
won’t need to use everything, so be picky!). Now you can write your own
script. Refer to the piece you studied for guidance. The first thing you need to
write is an introduction to your news piece that sums up the main points of
the story for the audience. Then you can use the quotes from your ‘talent’
and tie everything together with voiceovers or stand-ups (when the reporter
speaks directly to the camera). If you don’t have access to recording
equipment, use a voice recorder and create a piece for radio following the
same process.
Literary component: response blog
Continue with the blog you began when reading Missing to record your impressions
of the novel. Writing down your personal responses to the story will help when it
comes to class discussions and written activities. As you did when reading Missing,
take on the persona of a detective and keep a character record that details
relationships, motivations, characteristics and visual descriptions. In order to make
sense of the clues, you should include chapter summaries and map the journey of
the characters.
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Part Two
Class discussion: characterisation
Have a discussion about characterisation. Typically in mystery novels characters can
be divided into good or bad. This is not to say that these characters are stereotypes
of heroes and villains, rather the genre necessitates that some characters must be
good and others must act unlawfully. Gear your discussion around the following
questions:

What do you think makes a suspicious character?

What type of character do your prefer?

What sort of characters do you expect to encounter in a mystery?

Do you think good characters are more appealing than bad ones? Why?

Which characters in Dead Wrong most appeal to you?

Make a list of the characters in Dead Wrong and classify them as either
suspicious or not suspicious.
Research component: arguing your case
Now that you are familiar with how journalists research and put together news
stories, it is time to consider the moral dilemmas of the job. As a class revisit the role
and responsibilities of a journalist. The role of journalism is given credence because
it serves the public. It provides a public service, which is essentially ‘the public’s right
to know’. As a member of society, you have a right to know what is in the public
arena. Think for a moment if no one shared news at all. There would be no
newspapers, no TV news programs, no Internet news sites, no posting on social
media platforms like Facebook of happenings and events (because this is a form of
news!). How would you know anything? News is very important to our daily lives.
But as you have seen in Dead Wrong, the lengths to which a particular journalist
might go to report news could be harmful and invasive to individuals.
You have been invited to take part in a debate about the role of journalism: the
public’s right to know is more important than individual privacy. In teams of three,
argue for or against this statement. It is important to research and provide evidence
to demonstrate the truth of your argument.
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Literacy component: creating suspense
One of the reason mystery stories are so enjoyable is that feeling of suspense you
have when you read. As you read Dead Wrong, consider the elements that make for
suspenseful reading. Choose a passage in the novel that particularly appeals to you
and analyse how the author has created suspense. Look at the tone and what words
have been used to convey atmosphere. Consider the setting and how the landscape
is used as an element of storytelling. Setting doesn’t just refer to the immediate
scene: it can also refer to historical context, social context or maybe even the
psychological context, so be aware of this as you read. Using your chosen passage as
a guide, write the opening lines of a suspenseful story.
Part Three
Class discussion: human instinct
You may have heard of the ‘fight or flight’ instinct. It is a simple way of describing
what humans or animals might do when in danger. They might stay to face the
danger or they might run away to safety. Think about how Raven reacts to her
kidnapping. She is scared but she hasn’t given up and she won’t let her kidnappers
bully her. Consider how we instantly know when we are in danger. Some questions
to consider:

Were we born with a survival instinct or is it taught?

How does your body react to dangerous or scary situations – are there clues?

What would you do if in Raven’s situation? Would you tell your parents? The
police?

What do you think Raven should have done?

What do you make of Joe Marinelli?
Research task: creating a guide
What would you do if someone went missing? You may have some idea now that
you are familiar with Raven’s story, but some people may have very little idea. Your
task is to create a guide to provide information for families of missing people. Draw
ideas from Raven’s experience to begin mapping your guide. See what you can find
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out about the procedure for reporting missing persons. Perhaps think about whether
there are services or support groups for grieving families. Put yourself in Raven’s
shoes and think about all the questions you would have and see whether your
research can provide answers.
Literary component: plotting a story
Mystery stories, perhaps more than any other genre, require careful plotting. Where
other books may be character or setting driven, it is the plot with its twist and turns
that makes a mystery. Generally, if you analyse a plot you can divide it into four main
parts: the introduction, rising action, climax and resolution. As Dead Wrong is the
second in a series, there is no real introduction or resolution but you will observe
rising action and climactic moments. If you look over your notes on the story so far,
you will see how the plot has mapped these stages.
Most mystery writers will plan their story before they begin to write or, at the very
least, they will have some idea of how the story will progress. Now that you have
discussed different elements of mystery novels in previous activities, you have the
necessary tools to plot your own mystery. Present it as if a publisher has asked to
see the proposal before they read your story. It must be a detailed description with a
clear beginning, middle and end.
After reading the text
Final Discussion
Explore the resolution and have a discussion with the following questions as starting
points:

What does the novel suggest about family and secrecy?

Why do you think Raven is doing the right thing?

What do you think has really happened to Elliot? Write down five
possibilities.

What does the story say about the particular journalist in this book and her
style of reporting?
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
What did you make of Raven’s mum’s revelation that she knew about Bell
and Kym? Should she have told Raven and Jake? Why?

Raven is suspicious of Bell. Can you give reasons to justify this suspicion?

Why is Raven reluctant to trust Joe?

Who do you think Raven can and cannot trust?

Do you have a clear sense of what happened?

Think about the novel’s themes. What is this novel about? What ideas were
explored in the action, in the attitudes and the behaviour of the characters?
Written Response
Write a response to one of the following questions. Make sure to use examples from
the novel to strengthen your answer.
1) Consider Trudi’s statement: ‘Don’t trust your own shadow.’ Respond with
close reference to characters and relationships in the story.
2) Does the author tell the reader directly who the characters are, or does the
reader learn about the characters through dialogue and action?
3) Write a short creative piece where a character responds to a friend or family
member’s disappearance.
4) Imagine you are Raven’s younger brother, Jake. Write a series of journal
articles documenting what has happened since his father disappeared.
5) How does Raven take on the characteristics of a typical sleuth?
6) What role does Gerald Rooney play in the story?
Extension Activities
1) ‘What was one more secret to add to the pile?’ (pg 137) Use this sentence as
the opening line to a short creative piece.
2) Choose a scene and retell it from the point of view of Bell.
3) Create a blurb for Dead Wrong.
4) Revisit the book and consider Holly’s treatment of Raven. Write a news
article on the topic ‘bullying in schools’.
5) Write a review of Dead Wrong.
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