Exploring Addie's speech in the climax of 'A Kind of Spark'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create a summarised version of Addie’s speech and I can empathise with her emotions and observations as she speaks.
Key learning points
- Writing is most successful when it is planned.
- Vocabulary can be generated to precisely match the emotions of a character.
- Thinking hard about vocabulary makes writing outcomes more powerful.
- Vocabulary choices can be made to highlight the emotions of a character to the reader.
- Precision in describing a character's emotions means getting inside the character's head.
Keywords
Climax - the point in the narrative where the suspense and excitement reaches its highest point
Summarise - to pull out the key information and ideas from the text
Empathise - to get inside a character’s head
Internal monologue - the inner voice of a character - their thoughts to themselves, not spoken aloud
Tableau - a group of motionless figures showing a scene from a story
Common misconception
Pupils may struggle to identify the key thrust of Addie's speech and instead focus on minor details.
When reading the text, say aloud your thoughts as a reader, for instance 'Ah, I can see Addie is trying to show the connection between what happened in the past and what's happened to Bonnie ...'.
Teacher tip
Ensure that pupils' summary speeches are kept for use in future lessons; they will feed into the writing task.
Equipment
You need a copy of the 2020 Knights Of edition of ‘A Kind of Spark’ written by Elle McNicoll, illustrated by Kay Wilson, for this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which statements are correct?
Q2.Which of the following might have made a person more vulnerable to witchcraft accusations?
Q3.When did the Scottish witch trials occur?
Q4.Put the events of Jean's story in order.
Q5.Why did Addie write Maggie's name on her hand during her speech?
Q6.Why might Maggie have confessed to witchcraft?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following events is the climax in 'A Kind of Spark'?
Q2.Which of the following are points made in Addie's speech?
Q3.Put these key arguments from Addie's speech in order.
Q4.Which of the following are features of speech as opposed to formal writing?
Q5.At what point might Addie be thinking the following piece of internal monologue in relation to her speech? 'People are really listening! Maybe they're being convinced ...'.
Q6.Put the things Addie notices before, during and after the speech in order.
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Exploring Addie's speech in the climax of 'A Kind of Spark', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 English lesson on: Exploring Addie's speech in the climax of 'A Kind of Spark', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 English lessons from the 'A Kind of Spark': narrative writing unit, dive into the full primary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.