Reading Lesson Plan – 'Time of Thy Flight'
Year Group: 8
Learning Area: English
Topic: Short Story
Time: 4 – 5 periods of approximately 50min
Context:
Students have been studying points of view on technology and its advances
through written 'factual' or transactional texts such as newspapers, magazines
articles, reports and letters to the editor. They are beginning to learn how
texts are constructed partially (i.e. they are incomplete and biased) to be
persuasive.
Aim:
Students will learn how an issue, concept or point of view can be constructed
within a narrative structure so as to influence the readers' own thoughts and
opinions.
Objectives:
As a result of this lesson the students will demonstrate an ability to:
•
Identify issues, concepts and ideas within a text
•
Examine the issues, concepts and ideas within a text through group
discussion of the text
•
Justify an opinion or point of view by referring to the text for supporting
details.
•
Understand that the text constructs and presents a partial view of the
issues, concepts and ideas presented.
Linked to English Learning Area Student Outcome Statements 4.1 and 5.1,
use of texts.
Students will demonstrate their understanding of their learning by writing an
article for a future magazine (3004) regarding students lives in 2004.
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Prior knowledge:
Students have previously explored how newspaper and magazine articles can
be a source of information and address various issues in a confrontative way.
Students have a previous understanding of article writing for a magazine
based on researching a topic and presenting 'facts'.
Resources / Preparation:
•
Examples of gramophone record, vinyl LPs, cassettes, CD's, MP3 players.
(appendix 1)
•
28 copies of the 'Predictions for the Future' worksheet (appendix 2)
•
7 copies each of the four different 'illustrated dictionary' sheets
(appendix 3)
•
class set of scissors
•
class set of glue sticks
•
collection of magazines for cutting up
•
28 copies of the sort story “Time of Thy Flight”
•
28 copies of the 'Retrieval Chart' worksheet (appendix 4)
•
7 copies of the '3 Level Discussion Guide' (appendix 5)
•
28 copies of the '3 Different Interpretations' guide (appendix 6)
•
14 pieces of A2 blank paper
•
14 large felt tip markers
•
28 copies of the 'Re-mastered Paragraph'. (appendix 7)
•
28 copies of the 'Compare and Contrast' worksheet. (appendix 8)
Procedure:
[italics in square brackets indicate and explain the teacher's thinking]
Introduction:
[Bring all students down onto the mat area as a large group]
•
Explain the aim of the lesson: From what we've looked at previously, we
can understand that newspapers and magazines often express different
opinions on different topics, and that it's really easy to understand what the
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author's opinion is. Over the next few lessons we're going to look at how
authors can express opinions more subtly by putting them into a different
form of writing. We'll be looking at a short story about the future and
discovering the author's opinion hidden there, but before we get started on
that, I have a few activities for you to get you thinking about technology and
the future.
[This is to orientate the students as to what the focus of the lesson will be,
and linking it to work done previously]
Before Reading:
[still down on the mat as one large group]
•
Large group discussion chaired by teacher:
Who can tell me what this is? (Gramophone record)
What did it do?
How old do you think it is?
What replaced it?
Continue on to vinyl LP, then through to MP3 player.
Discuss how quickly technology changes today, (how long ago did CD's
come out? MP3 players?) and how it's constantly improving (how is
each better than the last?)
Explain that this is just one example of the progress of technology. Ask for
other examples.
•
Move students back to their seats and explain the 'Predictions for the
Future' worksheet. Distribute copies, allowing 10 - 15 minutes to complete,
and 5 minutes for sharing with the rest of the class.
[By now the students should be thinking futuristically, and the teacher can
introduce some of the terms used in the short story]
•
Direct students to work in groups of 4 (their desks should be arranged this
way already) to complete an 'illustrated dictionary' of terms. These terms
are already on the worksheets. Students are asked to collaboratively
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decide on what the term describes, and to make a collage to pictorially
represent the term. Distribute the scissors, glue, magazines and one of
each of the 'illustrated dictionary' worksheets to each group.
When finished, ask students to staple these sheets together to form the
'dictionary' and place them where they can be accessible for reference by
other students.
During Reading:
[Bring all students down onto the mat area as a large group]
•
Teacher to read the first episode (up to 'Lions roared and paced in boxed
darkness')and then ask students for verbal predictions ('hands up')of what
might happen in the rest of the story.
•
Teacher to continue reading the story with expression, clarifying unfamiliar
words as necessary. Allow 1 minute for discussion/talking and 2 minutes
for questions or responses on the mat. Allow reference to 'illustrated
dictionaries' as necessary.
Students identify issues, concepts and ideas within a text.
[Move students back to their desks.]
•
Remind students that we are looking for the author's hidden opinion about
the future, and explain that we are going to use a retrieval chart to do this
by exploring the different actions of the characters and general emotion of
the short story.
•
Distribute a copy of the short story and a retrieval chart to each student.
Students may work in pairs if they wish.
Students examine issues, concepts and ideas through group discussion.
•
Encourage students to discuss their findings from the retrieval chart with
the other people in their group while waiting for others to finish.
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•
Students are asked to discuss the various issues and values in groups of
four using the '3 Level Discussion Guide', making reference to the story
and retrieval chart as necessary. Distribute one guide per group.
•
Teacher chairs a full class discussion of the answers to elicit different
interpretations of values and concepts.
[This is necessary to ascertain, and the teacher should explain, that there
are not necessarily right or wrong answers; different students interpret
different values from the text according to their personal values, background
experience, prior knowledge etc.]
Students justify their views with supporting details from the text.
•
Teacher distributes 3 different interpretations of the story and ask students
to decide individually which reading they support and why. They are
encouraged to make notes.
•
In groups of 4 students are asked to take it in turns to present their
argument supporting their chosen interpretation by referring back to the
text. After all students have presented, they are directed to discuss and
question other's arguments.
•
Teacher surveys the responses by using a tally on the whiteboard.
Students are asked to come up and put a mark in the column of the
interpretation they supported. Teacher then questions the students to elicit
the dominant arguments for each.
[Teacher needs to frame these questions to focus on the arguments being
supported by details from the text]
Students understand that the text constructs a partial view.
•
Teacher explanation: If I were to tell you that Joe Bloggs was a doctor
working on the cure for cancer, with many awards for his contribution to
society and medicine, would you believe me? Of course – there is no
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reason not too. If I was to tell you that he was a divorced father of three
children that he is too busy to see, would that change your opinion of him?
Does this additional fact change your original interpretation of Joe Bloggs?
Why? Are either of these views more accurate than the other?
You can start to see how an author can manipulate the information they
give you to construct a particular point of view.
•
Teacher directs students to work in groups of 4 to make an explosion chart
of the different values or opinions that are presented in the paragraph
describing the Fourth of July celebrations – students may wish to refer
back to their retrieval charts for this activity. Distribute paper and felt tip
pens to all groups.
•
Teacher then distributes a re-worked version of the paragraph. Students
are asked to make another explosion chart, using the same headings,
documenting these new values or opinions.
•
Teacher distribute the 'compare and contrast' worksheet and explain how
they work and asks students to work through it individually, using their
group's explosion charts, to find the similarities and differences in values
between the two paragraphs.
[Teacher may need to explain how the chart works, using the overlapping
area of the circles to identify what the two reading have in common, and the
exclusive areas of the circles to identify what is unique to each reading.]
•
Teacher chairs a whole group discussion about the similarities and
differences in the two readings, and how they have been constructed to
persuade the reader.
After Reading:
Teacher guides the students through the preparation of writing a fictional
magazine article for The New Australian Magazine, 3004. They are required
to write about the life of ancient students from 2004 AD.
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Students can use their worksheets to help choose a particular viewpoint or
opinion to focus on, being aware that they are constructing a partial view
through the information and language they use.
[Alternatively the students could write their own futuristic short story
presenting a particular opinion or interpretation based on, and incorporating
their answers for, their original worksheet 'Predictions for the Future']
Conclusion:
Reflection that narratives can often contain an opinion or viewpoint of the
author's that they are subtly trying to convey to the reader through language
and content or information. Do students feel that they can recognise an
embedded viewpoint when reading a narrative? Do they recognise that
different readers may interpret the viewpoint differently, and by discussing the
narrative with others they may discover other interpretations? Do they feel
capable of writing in a way to present a personal viewpoint to the reader
persuasively?
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Appendix 1
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
Examples of gramophone record, vinyl LPs, cassettes, CD's, MP3 players.
[In a true classroom example I would endeavour to bring in the actual objects,
however as they are bulky and inappropriate to hand in as part of this
assignment, I have included pictures of these objects instead]
Gramophone Records:
Vinyl Records
Cassettes
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Compact Discs
MP3 Players
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Appendix 2
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
'Predictions for the Future' worksheet
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Predictions for the Future
Many things have happened today that
people hundreds of years ago could never
have imagined - from flight to space travel,
television to computers, even the humble
lightbulb!
List 2 things that you think could happen in the future:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
List 2 things that you think would never happen in the future:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Describe and draw one thing that you would like to invent for the future:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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Appendix 3
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
'Illustrated dictionary' sheets for
“Psychovision”
“Time Machine”
“'Machine Day' Holiday”
“Underground Hive City”
Dictionary cover sheet
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Illustrated Dictionary:
Psychovision
What is it?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Illustration:
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Illustrated Dictionary:
Time Machine
What is it?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Illustration:
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Illustrated Dictionary:
'Machine Day' Holiday
What is it?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Illustration:
15
Illustrated Dictionary:
Underground Hive City
What is it?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Illustration:
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Illustrated Dictionary
Vocabulary for
“Time In Thy Flight”
by Ray Bradbury
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Appendix 4
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
Retrieval Chart' worksheet
18
19
Janets
rebellion
Halloween
celebrations
Fourth of July
celebrations
The Circus
The time
machine first
lands
What are the
'Time Children'
doing?
What are the
'normal' children
doing?
What is the
general 'feeling'
of this section?
What language is
used to convey
this feeling?
'Time of Thy Flight' Retrieval Chart
What attitude or
idea about the
past is obvious?
What attitude or
idea about the
future is obvious?
Appendix 5
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
3 Level Discussion Guide
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TIME OF THY FLIGHT – 3 Level Discussion Guides
Refer to the story to support your decisions:
Reading for information:
What year did the Time Children travel to?
How many stops did the time machine make?
Why did Janet want to see the circus again?
Making Connections:
Why does Janet think that 'mothers' and 'fathers' are strange?
How could Robert, William and Janet look exactly the same and not be
related?
Why would Mr Fields refer to war when hearing the fireworks explode?
Making Judgements:
What feelings might Janet be experiencing at Halloween?
What is Mr Fields opinion about the past?
Why would future cities be underground, and everything made of
metal?
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Appendix 6
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
'3 Different Interpretations
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Here are three interpretations of 'Time of Thy Flight”.
Read the three passages, decide upon the one you agree with most and why,
and prepare to present your decision to the rest of your group. Refer back to
the story to support your argument.
1. The Time Children are misbehaved youngsters from a youth reform school
for children disrupting society in the future. They are taken to the past to
understand the consequences of not being orderly, and see what the world
was like when ancient rituals and celebrations dictated peoples' behaviour.
They find this disorder and disgusting traditions more appealing than their
own world and take a chance on escaping to live in this ancient world.
2. The Time Children are visiting the past as part of their ancient history class.
They've been studying ancient rituals and customs and why they have been
replaced with more logical celebrations in their society. Their teacher has
some strong viewpoints about the past that he has taught the children, but
when they come to experience it for themselves, they find they disagree with
their teacher. The more they experience of the ancient world, the more they
seem to like it. They finally decide that they would rather live in this ancient
world with it's old-fashioned traditions than the new world with all of its
technology.
3. The Time Children are part of an elite group of children who have been
groomed to take over government in the future. They have been
brainwashed with information about how great their new world society is
and how children need to work hard because they are the future. When
taken on a trip back in time to understand how terrible the old way of living
was, the smells, sounds and sights begin to break down the brainwashing
and the children realise what they've been missing out on. They decide that
they would prefer to stay in this past world and do what old fashioned
children do rather than rule the new world.
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Appendix 7
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
'Re-mastered Paragraph' taken from 'Time of Thy Flight'
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Appendix 8
“TIME OF THY FLIGHT”:
'Compare and Contrast' worksheet
25
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What values or interpretations are present in both readings?
What values or interpretation are unique to each reading?
Original Reading
'Time in Thy Flight'
values and interpretations
New reading