Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’: the character of Del
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how Pinnock presents the character of Del, and explores the theme of identity through her character.
Key learning points
- Unlike Viv, Del appears uninterested in obeah and her culture at the start of the play.
- Del feels her opportunities in life are hampered by the fact she is a second generation immigrant.
- Del struggles to see where she fits in with both her family and Britain.
- At the end of the play, Del’s calling to obeah could reflect a sense of understanding about her place in the world.
Keywords
First generation immigrant - A person who was born in one country, but moves to live and establish their life in another country.
Second generation immigrant - People who have grown up in a country that at least one of their parents was not born in.
Discrimination - Unjust treatment of people based on certain characteristics. For example, race, gender, age.
Calling - A strong urge or impulse towards a particular career, or path in life.
Home - A place where you live. The word home is often connected to ideas of belonging, and security.
Common misconception
Del is uninterested in obeah until Mai realises it is her calling.
Del's interest in obeah is foreshadowed from Scene One onwards.
Teacher tip
Consider how you will make clear the detail required for the bullet pointed notes in both learning cycles. Consider whether you need to model more than one, or complete the first set of notes as a class.
Equipment
You need access to Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking' published by Nick Hern Books.
Content guidance
Contains strong language
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.In Scene One of 'Leave Taking', what does Del call obeah?
Q2.In Scene One of 'Leave Taking', Viv tells Del she wants to go to the West Indies. What reason does she give?
Q3.In Scene Six of 'Leave Taking', Mai speaks of her son. What does she say of him?
Q4.What does Scene One of 'Leave Taking' reveal about the difference between Viv and Del's views on identity?
Q5.In Scene One of 'Leave Taking', Mai tells Enid about her journey to becoming an obeah woman. Mai says her mother discovered she had the " " when she was thirteen.
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.In Scene Five of 'Leave Taking', Mai describes becoming an obeah woman as her " ".
Q2.In Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', Del and Enid have their biggest conflict. Why is Del particularly angry with Enid?
Q3.In 'Leave Taking', what are some of the challenges Del faces as a second generation immigrant?
Q4.In Scene Seven of 'Leave Taking', what does Mai discover about Del?
Q5.In Scene Eight of 'Leave Taking', after Mai leaves Del to complete her first obeah reading, the stage directions describe Del moving " stage."
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’: the character of Del, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 English lesson on: Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’: the character of Del, 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 4 English lessons from the Leave Taking: a sense of belonging unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.