Y8 Shared Narrative (Novel): Stone Cold

This unit focuses on the novels structure and how Swindells gains the readers sympathy for homeless people

Starter Activities drawn from the following objectives:

Word Level 7c. review and develop their ability to understand and explain exactly what words mean in particular contexts 10. extend the range of prepositions and connectives used to indicate purpose 11. appreciate the impact of figurative language in texts 12. recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice Sentence level 1. combine clauses into complex sentences, using the comma effectively as a boundary signpost and checking for fluency and clarity 2. explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures 3. to make good use of the full range of punctuation, including colons and semi-colons; 13. recognise some of the differences in sentence structure, vocabulary and tone between a modern English text and a text from another historical period

TEACHING SCHEDULE objectives

1 W7c. review and develop their ability to understand and explain exactly what words mean in particular contexts W11. appreciate the impact of figurative language in texts TLR5. trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts; TLR6. recognise bias and objectivity, distinguishing facts from hypotheses, theories or opinions SL5. ask questions to clarify understanding and refine ideas W12 recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice S2. explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures TLR5. trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts TLW5. develop the use of commentary and description in narrative SL16. collaborate in, and evaluate, the presentation of dramatic performances, scripted and unscripted, which explore character, relationships and issues.

teaching activities
Pre-reading activities to do with novels issues. Look at newspaper representations of begging and homelessness; look at structuring of viewpoints and use of figurative and emotive language. Close study of connotations of words in the novel. Prediction exercises based on early pages of novel and its cover.

Reading coverage pp. 1 - 15

Exploration of Shelters language. Groups devise an extra scene for Stone Cold and act it out. They evaluate each others performances and the plausibility of the creative extension. They write additional narrative for another scene. Use of sympathy charts to explore and record how Swindells manipulates the readers attitude and response.

Reading coverage pp. 16 - 39

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W10. extend the range of prepositions and connectives used to indicate purpose S3. to make good use of the full range of punctuation, including colons and semi-colons TLR5. trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts TLR11. investigate the different ways familiar themes are explored and presented by different writers SL10. use talk to question, hypothesise, speculate, evaluate, solve problems and develop thinking about complex issues and ideas SL12. take different roles in discussion, helping to develop ideas, seek consensus and report the main strands of thought W12. recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice S2. explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures S13. recognise some of the differences in sentence structure, vocabulary and tone between a modern English text and a text from another historical period TLR11. investigate the different ways familiar themes are explored and presented by different writers TLR16. recognise how texts refer to and reflect the culture in which they were produced S1. combine clauses into complex sentences, using the comma effectively as a boundary signpost and checking for fluency and clarity S6. explore and compare different methods of grouping sentences into paragraphs of continuous text that are clearly focused and well developed TLR10. analyse the overall structure of a text to identify how key ideas are developed TLW17. integrate evidence into writing to support analysis or conclusions SL12. take different roles in discussion, helping to develop ideas, seek consensus and report the main strands of thought S7. develop different ways of linking paragraphs, using a range of strategies to improve cohesion and coherence TLR13. read a substantial text (novel, play or work of one poet) revising and refining interpretations of subject matter, style and technique TLW18. write a critical review of a substantial text, taking account of the context in which it was written and the likely impact on its intended readers TLR10. analyse the overall structure of a text to identify how key ideas are developed

Connectives Groups explore the development of themes and viewpoints in Stone Cold and Orwells Down and Out in Paris and London Pupils develop their thinking through group talk and envoying

Reading coverage pp. 40 - 80

Comparison of style and sensitivities in Stone Cold and a modern account of Victorian London Exploration of interviews with and biographies of Swindells to identify his attitudes towards society and writing Comparison of Stone Cold with Edgar Allen Poes The Tell-Tale Heart Use of rainbow groupings and envoying

Reading coverage pp. 81 - 114

Sentence structures for effect Groups work on an aspect of Swindells structuring of Stone Cold to identify how he develops his ideas, and assemble evidence to summarise that aspect. Introduction of essay task. Class practices combining sentences into paragraphs.

Reading coverage pp. 115 - 132

Class write essay (at least six paragraphs) about Stone Cold, taking account of its social, political and literary context, and its persuasive approach to its readers. Pupils are prompted to refer to textual details, including language style and persuasive techniques.

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Overview of objectives covered in Shared Narrative: Stone Cold unit

Word level 7c. review and develop their ability to understand and explain exactly what words mean in particular contexts; 10. extend the range of prepositions and connectives used to indicate purpose, e.g. in order to, so that, or express reservations, e.g. although, unless, if; 11. appreciate the impact of figurative language in texts; 12. recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice; Sentence level 1. combine clauses into complex sentences, using the comma effectively as a boundary signpost and checking for fluency and clarity, e.g. using non-finite clauses; 2. explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures, e.g. recognising when it is effective to use short direct sentences; 3. to make good use of the full range of punctuation, including colons and semi-colons; 6. explore and compare different methods of grouping sentences into paragraphs of continuous text that are clearly focused and well developed, e.g. by chronology, comparison or through adding exemplification; 7. develop different ways of linking paragraphs, using a range of strategies to improve cohesion and coherence, e.g. choice of connectives, reference back, linking phrases; Text level - Reading 5. trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts; 6. recognise bias and objectivity, distinguishing facts from hypotheses, theories or opinions; 10. analyse the overall structure of a text to identify how key ideas are developed, e.g. through the organisation of the content and the patterns of language used; 11. investigate the different ways familiar themes are explored and presented by different writers; 13. read a substantial text (novel, play or work of one poet) revising and refining interpretations of subject matter, style and technique; Speaking and Listening 5. ask questions to clarify understanding and refine ideas; 10. use talk to question, hypothesise, speculate, evaluate, solve problems and develop thinking about complex issues and ideas; 12. take different roles in discussion, helping to develop ideas, seek consensus and report the main strands of thought; 16. collaborate in, and evaluate, the presentation of dramatic performances, scripted and unscripted, which explore character, relationships and issues. Text level - Writing 5. develop the use of commentary and description in narrative, e.g. by addressing the reader directly; 17. integrate evidence into writing to support analysis or conclusions, e.g. data, quotation; 18. write a critical review of a substantial text, taking account of the context in which it was written and the likely impact on its intended readers.

13. recognise some of the differences in sentence structure, 16. recognise how texts refer to vocabulary and tone between a and reflect the culture in which modern English text and a text they were produced, e.g. in their from another historical period; evocation of place and values.

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ENGLISH WEEKLY PLAN

Unit:
les so n

YEAR 8
week main
Choose a few of the groups starter statements and use them to establish the definition of fact, opinion and belief. Now show 1 OHT of first 3 paragraphs of A Problem thats Model identifying fact, opinion, belief. Now share the process with the class for the rest of the paragraphs. Ask class which of their statements have been corroborated by the text.

Stone Cold
objectives starter
In groups, come up with statements about homeless beggars: e.g. we should feel sorry for homeless people; most beggars are addicted to drink or drugs, etc. Now groups sort statements into fact, opinion, belief.

of

6 review
Ask pupils to suggest facts, opinions, beliefs. Mark these on OHT of text, challenging where necessary. Ask why (or if) it is important to know the difference between the three. Why are beliefs important in the world? What is their effect? Pairs perform. Ask some pupils to note down an example of biased viewpoint; others to note down an attempt to base a view on fact; others to decide how one character tried to persuade the other. Show OHT of Beggars we must tackle the causes. Point out that opinions are put forward as though they are facts. How does the text try to persuade us? Ask a couple of pupils to read out their question and ask the rest of the class to write them under their own question. Get pupils to volunteer answers. Tease these out with your own clarifying questions. Set homework.

development
Distribute 2 - copies of the article to pairs. Some pairs annotate paras 4-7, others 8-11. After five minutes the pairs join with pairs who did the other paras and then swap annotations and discuss.

TLR6 Bias & objectivity

W11 Figurative vocab.

TLR6 Bias & objectivity

TLR5 Trace developments

W7c Words in context

Ask: who or what are affected badly by the presence of beggars? Show OHT of Pigeon Post and read it through with the class. Ask pairs to identify puns and metaphors. Now ask the pairs to compose the missing 1020 words. Pairs read out their version. Secure meaning of pun & metaphor. Draw attention to the extended military metaphor. What is the effect of the figurative language? Use 5a & 5b Shelter the national campaign for the homeless to explore how context gives clues to meaning. Ask pupils to use context to precisely define authentic, recruiting, indulging & anticipation on p.7 of Stone Cold when you get to that point.

Review bias/objectivity. Point out that the Pigeon Post text was a newspaper editorial. What is the purpose of that sort of text? (Persuade opinion/belief, some fact) Distribute 4a & 4b cards of Beggars we must tackle the causes. Ask groups to reassemble these into the original order to investigate the texts structure. Draw attention to cohesion devices which allow us to reassemble the text (connectives, pronouns, etc). Draw attention to the texts metaphors (e.g. sea, feed, lift the lid) and ask class to consider their effect on the reader.

In pairs, pupils role play a dialogue between the editorial writer and the beggar. Ask pupils to write down the main points of the other beggars argument at regular intervals. They should use these reflective intervals to agree how to develop the dialogue.

SL5 Questions to clarify or refine

Now imagine that the writer of this editorial is approached for The point is to develop the money by a beggar. Model the start of the conversation with a beggars argument. volunteer (a plant!) Show the cover of Stone Cold: Now read through from page 3 to 15, drawing pupils get class to speculate about the attention to novel. Now study 6 Links and the slang language used by Link & Shelter, Shelters first chapters. Think aloud the narrative structure (dual narrator), about the questions that Links how Link gains our sympathy for his words prompt. Ask each pupil to decision to go to London. write in their book a clear question about Link and/or Shelter.

Homework

Pupils write answers to the questions they have written down, drawing on their knowledge of the first 15 pages of the novel, its structure and language and its characters.

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ENGLISH WEEKLY PLAN

Unit:
lesson

YEAR 8
week 2 of 6
main development Examine pp. 16-17. Model first two paragraphs, identifying choices of vocab and sentence structure (use OHT) and what these reveal about Shelter. Get class to share the process for a few lines. Get class to annotate rest of 16-17 in trios. Take feedback. Read pp. 18-24. review What have we learnt about Shelter and the way he operates? In what ways is his language important? Direct attention to pp. 23-24 Show on OHT and get individuals to come out and mark the passage for formal/informal syntax and vocab. Why does Shelter choose to speak in the manner he does? What is the effect of his language on p.24? Review what has been learnt this lesson: how does language contribute to creation of setting, character, mood? Set homework Generate ideas about content and stylistic features.

Stone Cold
objectives W12 recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice starter Provide big picture of remaining 5 weeks of unit: what we are doing & trying to achieve. Introduce sympathy chart (see resource 7a). Feed ideas from last weeks homework into marks on the chart.

S2 explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures TLR5 trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts

W12 recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice

Ask class to imagine Shelter buying the cat (p.16). If he bought it from a shop how would he speak to the shopkeeper? Why? Pairs improvise the scene. One pair performs, and then you get the class to generate performance judgement criteria. Write these on the board. Pairs perform for and rate each other. Gather comments from class. Read pp 25-27. Pairs act prepare and act out the confrontation between Link and his landlord. Pairs perform for and rate each other. Gather comments from class. Read pp 28-35. Class marks sympathy chart at p.35

S2 explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures SL16 collaborate in, and evaluate, the presentation of dramatic performances TLW5 develop the use of commentary and description in narrative TLR5 trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts

Draw attention to TLW5. Use 8a & 8b para. 2, p.26 as model. Establish its relevant features. Now model & share the writing of an extra paragraph before the first para. on p.27. Individuals now finish this paragraph. Get individuals to read out. Discuss.

Introduce intensified version of sympathy chart, just for pp 31-35. (See resource sheet 7b.) Model process for p.31. Now ask groups of four to continue the process, highlighting words and phrases in the chapter that guide our sympathy levels.

Debrief the chart-filling process, referring back to the objective. Read pp 36-39. Other than murder, what makes Shelter such an unsympathetic character? (Callousness, duplicity, cunning, etc)

Homework

Write extra paragraph(s) for p.27 straight after the penultimate paragraph (down the stairs).

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ENGLISH WEEKLY PLAN

Unit:
lesson

YEAR 8
week starter main 3 of 6 review development
Partners read each others homework. Get them to write comments about descriptive detail, economy of commentary, etc. Read pp 40-50. Ask pupils to watch out for prepositions and connectives used to indicate purpose, and to raise their hand when they spot them. Discuss briefly the first few. Discuss how sympathy is steered by Swindells. Ask pupils to fill in their sympathy charts at p. 50 Get pairs (using whiteboards) to summarise how we feel about Link at the end of p.50. Ask each pair to use each of the following words/phrases at least once: although in order to so that even if despite Urge them to make more selections from the list in the Key Objectives. Briefly thought flood similarities and differences, hear some of the summaries. Set homework. Now ask trios to come out and role play Orwell and Link (or Swindells) being interviewed about living rough. The interviewer needs to encourage the interviewees to air their differences. (You could extend this by asking the Evening Post editorial writer to join the interview - see week 1) Do envoy exercise to allow each group to convey its answers to the questions to other groups and to receive their wisdom in return. (See Group Talk module in Literacy Across the Curriculum training file.) Ask volunteer to summarise pp 75-80.

Stone Cold
objectives
W10 extend the range of prepositions and connectives used to indicate purpose TLR5 trace the development of themes, values or ideas in texts See p.11, Teaching Approaches, of Key Objectives Bank: Y8 (DfES).

W10 extend the range of prepositions and connectives used to indicate purpose TLR11 investigate the different ways familiar themes are explored and presented by different writers

See p.11, Teaching Approaches, of Key Objectives Bank: Y8 (DfES)

S3 make good use of semi-colons

SL10 use talk to question, hypothesise, speculate, evaluate, solve problems and develop thinking about complex issues and ideas SL12 take different roles in discussion, helping to develop ideas, seek consensus and report the main strands of thought

Get trios to continue the process, exploring the two extracts printed side-by-side on A3. Get one member of the Read pp 52 59 (top of page any of it) trio to scribe a 50-word summary of the differences Look at 9a & 9b Sleeping Rough (Swindells) and similarities, making use of and A Tramps Life (Orwell). Model identifying the following connectives: differences and similarities. Look at While (contrast) Attitudes Although Assumptions Apart from Persuasive techniques In order to Emotive rhetoric And others from the list in the Key Objectives Language Get pupils to explore Read pp 62-66. Dwell on horror of p.66. Put Meanwhile, do guided difference between pupils into reading groups of 5. Give them a reading with least able The king died. The queen set of focus questions for pp 67-80 that they group, reading pp 67-74 died. and The king died; are going to read as a group (taking turns). The queen died. Give group members roles: and other similar examples. chair 2 note-takers (scribes) What do they conclude? envoy (The semi-colon implies a one to summarise pp 75-80 causal connection)

Read p. 51. Draw attention to the when (time) and because (cause) connectives. What sort are they? What is their purpose?

Homework

Pupils write one paragraph summarising the differences and similarities between Swindells and Orwells viewpoints AND read pages 59-61 and fill in sympathy chart.
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ENGLISH WEEKLY PLAN

Unit:
lesson

YEAR 8
week starter main
Read pp 81 92. Draw attention to the harsh, unsympathetic tone of Shelters references to homeless people. Which of the words/phrases in London Descriptions might he have used himself? List words Shelter uses for homeless people. If he was writing a letter to a newspaper about the subject and he wanted to sound respectable, which word might he use instead?

Stone Cold
objectives
W12 recognise how the degree of formality influences word choice TLR11 investigate the different ways familiar themes are explored and presented by different writers Pairs work on 10 London Descriptions sheet, deciding how they know which is which. What are the different and similar ways of presenting the theme of urban squalor? How do these images of London compare with Stone Cold?

of

6 review
Hear letters, invite comments on appropriateness of Shelters language. Ask for true Shelter versions of some of his respectable word choices.

development
Write start of Shelters letter (Dear Sir, I recently went on a time-travel holiday to Victorian London and I was shocked and disgusted by what I saw there.) Now generate a few ideas and get pairs to continue the letter. (Shelter uses respectable language to suit the relatively formal context.)

TLR16 recognise how texts refer to and reflect the culture in which they were produced, e.g. in their evocation of place and values

Why did Robert Swindells write Stone Cold? Take suggestions, list them.

Imagine Shelter has been on a time travel holiday to the London described in London Descriptions. Show 11 - OHT of Interview with Robert Swindells. Distribute copies of Robert Swindells (2 page Discuss. Model extracting from it answers to your interview).13 question, why did Robert Swindells write Stone Cold? Get pairs to read this and extract more Get pupils to copy down answers into their books. reasons Swindells wrote Stone Cold and also use the new information to confirm or Now show 12 OHT of Robert Swindells Biography challenge previous items on the list. Ask pairs and ask pupils to identify other reasons it suggests to be ready to justify their decisions. about why he might have written Stone Cold. Write good suggestions on board, justifying why you omit Review the lists and evidence to support any suggestions. Get pupils to continue the list in them. Help pupils to revise the lists in their their books. books. Summarise pp 100110. Ask questions about Shelter, particularly is he mad? Or just bad? Read pp 111 113. Mark sympathy chart. Read The Tell-Tale Heart. 14 Discuss with class the way the mind of the killer is presented in the story and how this compares with Stone Cold. Use 15 OHT of extracts to focus discussion. Draw attention to (among other things): cruel informality of Shelter the cold rational planning of both characters sentence structuring characteristic of each text, and how both use alternation between complex sentences and punchy simple sentences the characters motives the authors motives

Read pp 93-99. Complete the sympathy chart at p.99. Set homework. (You may need to have photocopies ten pages of the novel for this.)

S2 explore the impact of a variety of sentence structures S13 recognise some of the differences in sentence structure, vocabulary and tone between a modern English text and text from another historical period TLR11 investigate the different ways familiar themes are explored and presented by different writers

Groups should explore a particular aspect of differences between the texts (e.g. style, characterisation, vocabulary, author motive, etc.) Each group should number their members and then they should regroup so that all the same number are together. Everyone takes notes, possibly annotating their copy of The Tell-Tale Heart.

New groups share their ideas, members taking it in turn to contribute. To finish, the most able member of each group could envoy the groups ideas to other groups. (See Group Talk module in Literacy Across the Curriculum training file.)

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Homework Unit:
lesson

Read pp 100-110 of Stone Cold

ENGLISH WEEKLY PLAN

Stone Cold
objectives
S1 combine clauses into complex sentences, using the comma effectively as a boundary signpost and checking for fluency and clarity, e.g. using non-finite clauses

YEAR 8
week starter main
Read pp. 114-123. Ask pupils to put up their hands when they notice a non-finite clause. (e.g. A woman kept coming to a lighted upstairs window next door, seeming to look straight at us. p.116) Discuss purpose of these clauses.

of

6 review
Put a piece of text on OHT with commas removed. Ask pupils to come out and underline main clauses and put in commas.

development
Pairs write simple sentences about Link in this section: e.g. Link is lulled into a false sense of security Now ask pairs to join and add more information to their simple sentences by adding a clause: e.g. when he sees how Shelter treats Sappho + above

Drawn from p.16 of Key Objectives Bank: Y8 (DfES). Give students cut-up complex sentences drawn from Stone Cold and/or The Tell-Tale Heart

Ask how Swindells steers the reader during this section: We are left to wonder how Gail got the address out of Capt Hook Link explicitly falls for the Sappho trick Link addresses us directly Etc! S6 explore and compare different methods of Drawn from pp 19-20 of Class marks sympathy chart at p.123. Groups of five work on one Model writing one paragraph grouping sentences into paragraphs of Key Objectives Bank: Set essay title: method each; each member about the method you did. continuous text that are clearly focused and 2 Y8 (DfES) What methods does Swindells use in needs to take notes. Integrate evidence. well developed, e.g. by chronology, Stone Cold to engage the reader? How comparison or through adding effective is the novel for you? Create one very able group Set homework. exemplification Define methods (characterisation, and work closely with this language style, dual narrative, shock, one in guided reading. TLR10 analyse the overall structure of a text realism, etc); engage (grab and sustain the to identify how key ideas are developed, e.g. through the organisation of the content and readers attention); effective (reader the patterns of language used enjoyment/satisfaction, reader won over to sympathy for homeless) TLW17 integrate evidence into writing to Pupils make notes. support analysis or conclusions, e.g. data, Model the gathering of ideas about one of quotation the novels methods with relevant evidence inc. quotes. S6 explore and compare different methods of Reconvene Create new groups with representatives from each of Now ask all the groups to Read pp. 123 grouping sentences into paragraphs of yesterdays groups. the original groups. (Number all members of the original copy the process, each pupil 132. Mark the continuous text that are clearly focused and 3 Group members groups and then say, all 1s to that table, all twos to that taking their turn to report. sympathy chart. well developed, e.g. by chronology, share their table and so on. See Group Talk module in Literacy comparison or through adding exemplification homework, adding Across the Curriculum training file.) Work with one group whose ideas to their own membership you have TLR10 analyse the overall structure of a text to work where Now get one pupil to model for the rest of the class engineered. identify how key ideas are developed, e.g. appropriate, so that reporting to their new group on their method. Take through the organisation of the content and the patterns of language used each pupil now has a notes on a flipchart to demonstrate what listeners good bank of ideas should be doing. Ask the demo pupil occasional SL12 take different roles in discussion, helping about the groups questions of clarification and summarise what they say. to develop ideas, seek consensus and report method. Underline ideas you note down that you disagree with the main strands of thought to some extent. Challenge the pupil over these points at the end of their report. Invite discussion. Homework Pupils write at least one paragraph about their method 2002 www.teachit.co.uk 122863081.doc 8

ENGLISH WEEKLY PLAN

Unit:
lesson

YEAR 8
week main 6 of 6 review
Ask each group in turn to come out with their wipeboards and hold them up. Ask volunteers to put the group into a feasible order and then ask volunteers to suggest connectives to join each sentence to the next (e.g. however, although, on the other hand, meanwhile). Return to the objective.

Stone Cold
objectives
S7 develop different ways of linking paragraphs, using a range of strategies to improve cohesion and coherence, e.g. choice of connectives, reference back, linking phrases; Show 16 OHT of Stone Cold: a Pupils Review of the Novel. Draw attention to first sentence and then model marking the text for explicit references to gripping aspects of the novel. Stop at end of paragraph 4. Ask volunteers to come out and continue the process. Now begin to analyse paragraphs in terms of their topics: do they have topic sentences? Do they stick to their topics? Analyse the first three paragraphs and then ask pairs to continue the analysis on their copies. Take and filter feedback, marking the OHT. Now ask the class for ideas about how the review could have been better organised. Could it have been organised according to the methods we looked at last week? Ask about the purpose of the connectives, although and however, to start the last two paragraphs. TLR13 read a substantial text (novel, play or work of one poet) revising and refining interpretations of subject matter, style and technique TLW18 write a critical review of a substantial text, taking account of the context in which it was written and the likely impact on its intended readers. TLR10 analyse the overall structure of a text to identify how key ideas are developed Remind the class that yesterday we looked at how to sequence ideas, organising them into topic sentences that could begin paragraphs. They are now going to write the first paragraph - the introduction. Begin to demo-write a first paragraph which introduces the idea of the novel engaging the reader and points to specific methods of engagement without giving detail or exemplification. Ask pairs to try to finish the paragraph on mini-wipeboards. Then take feedback, filtering contributions, using them to continue your own paragraph.

development
Let class add to their lists of methods (from last week), drawing from the review. Then collect in the review sheets. Ask groups of pupils to (1) write a topic sentence for each of four methods of engaging the reader (each sentence to be written large on a separate mini-wipeboard), then (2) to decide the best order for these topics, and (3) to decide on (but not write in) apt connectives that could link the sentences

Wipe all the paragraphs - your and theirs, remind the class of the principles of a good introductory paragraph. Tell pupils to write their first paragraph. Give them ten minutes.

Now plan the rest of the essay with the whole class. Develop a mind-map on the board to develop ideas for five more paragraphs, including a conclusion (that focusses on the second question in the essay title). Get the class to copy down the map as it develops. Add detail to the paragraph boxes, using the class to contribute relevant quotations. Keep referring to the sympathy charts to suggest how Swindells engages our sympathy not just with Link, but also with homeless people in general.

TL13 read a substantial text (novel, play or work of one poet) revising and refining interpretations of subject matter, style and technique TLW18 write a critical review of a substantial text, taking account of the context in which it was written and the likely impact on its intended readers.

Follow yesterday's process to generate a whole-class second paragraph. Pay particular attention to the topic sentence, staying relevant to it, and using quotations

Now instruct the class to write the whole essay. Provide the least able with a frame that prompts an essay structure through a series of sentence stems for both topic sentences and exemplification statements (e.g. "I think this because....."; "I also think this because......")

Homework

Finish the essay

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Stone Cold: How our sympathy with Link rises and falls
Reader is SYMPATHETIC In great danger/ scared/ unhapp y/ lost control/ innocent victim/ trusting

7a

LINK

In control/ happy/ out of danger/ selfish/ unkind Reader is UNSYMPATHETIC

PAGE

15

35

50

61

80

99

113

123

132

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key moments

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expand sheet to A3

Stone Cold: How our sympathy with Link rises and falls in pages 31-35
Reader is SYMPATHETIC In great danger/ scared / unhap py/ lost control / innoce nt victim/ trustin g

7b

LINK
In control/ happy/ out of danger / selfish/ unkind Reader is UNSYMPATHETIC

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I found a doorway. A good deep one, so deep.you could sit with your back against it and not be seen by passers-by.

expand whole shee t to A3

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OHT

A Problem that's still Begging for a Solution

There is no dignity in begging. Despite sitting on the streets of Bristol in my dirtiest pair of black jeans, ripped T-shirt, black sweatshirt, and woollen hat I still felt like an impostor. It is easy to sit in the subway under St James Barton roundabout with a "homeless and hungry" placard in front of you, but it's much harder to feel like a beggar. The reason is drugs - or in my case, the lack of them. I wasn't begging because I was desperately trying to fund my next fix, and maybe that was why I was so unsuccessful in collecting money. During my first hour as a beggar 109 people walked past. Some seemed genuinely moved by my apparent plight, while others made little attempt to disguise their contempt. After an hour I moved on and my second 'pitch' was in the centre of Broadmead shopping centre. Home and I use the word loosely - for the next few hours was the entrance to an empty shop. My solution to the indignity of begging was to look mainly at people's feet. Bristol Evening Post

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OHT

A Problem that's still Begging for a Solution

There is no dignity in begging. Despite sitting on the streets of Bristol in my dirtiest pair of black jeans, ripped T-shirt, black sweatshirt, and woollen hat I still felt like an impostor. It is easy to sit in the subway under St James Barton roundabout with a "homeless and hungry" placard in front of you, but it's much harder to feel like a beggar. The reason is drugs - or in my case, the lack of them. I wasn't begging because I was desperately trying to fund my next fix, and maybe that was why I was so unsuccessful in collecting money. During my first hour as a beggar 109 people walked past. Some seemed genuinely moved by my apparent plight, while others made little attempt to disguise their contempt. After an hour I moved on and my second 'pitch' was in the centre of Broadmead shopping centre. Home - and I use the word loosely - for the next few hours was the entrance to an empty shop. My solution to the indignity of begging was to look mainly at people's feet. Begging is a boring business. No thought is required and the aim is to cocoon yourself in the belief that you are being paid to do nothing. My policy of only looking at people's feet meant I was caught off guard when a man knelt down beside me and said: "I think you know what I'm going to do." Looking up I found the local face of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary bearing down on me. "The shopkeepers have been complaining," he said. "I don't want to nick you because I've got better things to do." In that one sentence he summed up the problems facing the police: arresting beggars is a futile task because the judicial system is not equipped to deal with them. Fining someone 20 for begging doesn't address the underlying cause: their addiction to drugs. While sitting outside All Saints Church in Corn Street I was approached by two men, who had an interesting proposition for me. "Do you want a bottle of methadone?" asked the first man, as he knelt down beside me. Looking at his associate he added: "We're both alcoholics and we only want 1.99 for a bottle of cider." He explained that he was also a recovering heroin addict so the methadone was prescribed. "The bottle is yours for 2, " he added. I returned to Broadmead. After a few minutes I was approached by one of the more aggressive beggars in the city. I nicknamed him Stigerthal because he was a cross between an old TV character called Stig, who used to live on a rubbish dump, and Neanderthal man. He appeared desperate and made me an unlikely offer. "Do you want to go halves with me on some crack?" he said. "It normally costs 15 but I can blag it for 13 or 14." He counted out 8.30 and said if I could come up with the rest I was "in". Although my sojourn into the world of begging was brief it was long enough to establish that a certain pecking order exists: the more experienced - or desperate - pitch up directly outside a cashpoint, while novices like me go for the submissive approach. Those who favour the proactive tactics normally have the worst drug habits. Stopping the public giving money is one solution but not even an optimist would view it as anything more than a short-term fix. My day on the street may have failed to produce much money - 5.65 - but it gave me an invaluable insight into the mind of the beggar.

BRISTOL EVENING POST

4 April 2002
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Crumbs! Theyve done it again. Now that Summers here the human army of beggars have once again stormed the best scavenging places in our city centres. We pigeons are being driven out by this human invasion and forced to .. ............................. We say councils should stamp out begging and well keep saying it. It might make us unpopular, but then weve never minded ruffling a few feathers.
The Pigeon Post

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print on card, 1 per group, sliced into paragraphs

4a

If people really want to make a difference they should put their donations in the various collection boxes scattered around shops in Broadmead to tackle the long-term problems of beggars. Many had been dumped by beggars, who operate in the nearby Broadmead shopping centre to feed their chronic drugs habit. The problem has prompted city centre traders to embark on a poster campaign in the next few weeks to discourage shoppers from giving money direct to the beggars. If there is a way of tackling Bristol's beggar problem it has to be by curing the causes and not just asking the police to plaster over the symptoms: addicts must be put on rehabilitation programmes. BEGGING: WE MUST TACKLE THE CAUSES

By his own admission he is a good liar and his only concern when begging was to get drugs. Anthony Fish is not proud of his past but he is open enough to lift the lid once and for all on the murky world of begging. Giving money directly to the beggars is no longer an option. Last week, the Evening Post published a shocking photograph of a sea of discarded needles in Bristol's Castle Park. In the meantime, everyone who visits Broadmead has a responsibility not to give in to the requests of "spare any change?" The story provoked a lot of interest, but if readers were left in any doubt about the real motives for begging then they should read the story of Anthony Fish.

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4b

BEGGING: WE MUST TACKLE THE CAUSES

Last week, the Evening Post published a shocking photograph of a sea of discarded needles in Bristol's Castle Park. Many had been dumped by beggars, who operate in the nearby Broadmead shopping centre to feed their chronic drugs habit. The problem has prompted city centre traders to embark on a poster campaign in the next few weeks to discourage shoppers from giving money direct to the beggars. The story provoked a lot of interest, but if readers were left in any doubt about the real motives for begging then they should read the story of Anthony Fish. By his own admission he is a good liar and his only concern when begging was to get drugs. Anthony Fish is not proud of his past but he is open enough to lift the lid once and for all on the murky world of begging. If there is a way of tackling Bristol's beggar problem it has to be by curing the causes and not just asking the police to plaster over the symptoms: addicts must be put on rehabilitation programmes. In the meantime, everyone who visits Broadmead has a responsibility not to give in to the requests of "spare any change?" If people really want to make a difference they should put their donations in the various collection boxes scattered around shops in Broadmead to tackle the long-term problems of beggars. Giving money directly to the beggars is no longer an option.
Bristol Evening Post 10 April 2002
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OHT/ copy per pair

5a

SHELTER
the national campaign for the homeless

Shelter believes we all have a _____________to a decent, secure and affordable ____________ so that we can work and link with others around us. Shelter works ______________ to prevent and _____________ homelessness. We propose solutions and we influence politicians, decision makers and public opinion to _______________ the lives of ______________ people. We work closely with governments to persuade them to pass new ____________ to help homeless and badly housed people.

Shelters staff give complimentary, professional and independent counsel to over 100,000 homeless and badly housed people each year. We run a free, national helpline bestowing information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also collaborate closely with local councils to find homes for ________________.
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OHT/ teacher guide sheet

5b

SHELTER
the national campaign for the homeless
Shelter believes we all have a right to a decent, secure and affordable domicile so that we can work and link with others around us. Shelter works indefatigably to prevent and alleviate homelessness. We propose solutions and we influence politicians, decision makers and public opinion to ameliorate the lives of homeless people. We work closely with governments to persuade them to pass new legislation to help homeless and badly housed people. Shelters staff give complimentary, professional and independent counsel to over 100,000 homeless and badly housed people each year. We run a free, national helpline bestowing information 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We also collaborate closely with local councils to find homes for ________________.

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OHT

You can call me Link. Its not my name, but its what I say when anybody asks, which isnt often. Im invisible, see? One of the invisible people. Right now Im sitting in a doorway watching the passersby. They avoid looking at me. Theyre afraid I want something theyve got, and theyre right. Also, they dont want to think about me. They dont like reminding I exist. Me, and those like me. Were living proof that everythings not all right and we make the place untidy. Hang about and Ill tell you the story of my fascinating life.

Daily Routine Orders 1

Shelter. Yes. I like it. Its got a ring to it as Im sure youll agree. Shelter, as in shelter from the stormy blast. Its what theyre all seeking. The street people. What they crave. If they can only find shelter everything will be fine. Well get fell in, my lucky lads. Im ready for you.
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OHT

8a

It was Friday night. Eight oclock. Id just got in. The room was freezing cold and I was treating myself to a quick burst of the cash-gobbling electric fire before bed when there was this knock on the door. I opened up and it was him. He said two words, Evening, and Rent.

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teacher guide sheet

8b

short sentence fragments simple, dramatic & like Links thought patterns simple, corny description sarcasm

It was Friday night. Eight oclock. Id just got in. The room was freezing cold and I was treating myself to a quick burst of the cashgobbling electric fire before bed when there was this knock on the door. I opened up and it was him. He said two words, Evening, and Rent.
reader has to work to decide who this is the personification, gobbling, coupled with slang cash emphasise the greed of the fire and - by extension of the landlord

Now write this for the end of p.26 ..

sentence fragment; these first two sentences are Link commenting on his situation and another character use of adverb to economically convey Links state of mind

sarcastic commentary

Great another bully. He should have moved in with good old Vince. I looked desperately over his shoulder at the yellow hall light my only escape route, but my landlord was large and was sneering like a Rottweiler.
Implies what Link is thinking descriptions based on simple adjectives

more adventurous, dramatic, but amusing, exaggerated description using simile; pupils might suggest snarling rather than sneering (what is the effect?
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OHT & reproduced on A3 next to the Orwell extract, A Tramps Life

9a

Sleeping Rough
(1993)

from Stone Cold by Robert Swindells

If you think sleeping rough's just a matter of finding a dry spot where the fuzz won't move you on and getting your head down, you're wrong. Not your fault of course - if you've never tried it you've no way of knowing what it's like, so what I thought I'd do was sort of talk you through a typical night. So you pick your spot. Wherever it is (unless you're in a squat or a derelict house or something) it's going to have a floor of stone, tile, concrete or brick. In other words it's going to be hard and cold. It might be a bit cramped, too - shop doorways often are. And remember, if it's winter you're going to be half frozen before you even start. Anyway you've got your place, and if you're lucky enough to have a sleeping-bag you unroll it and get in. Settled for the night? Well maybe, maybe not. You could be peed on by a drunk or a dog. Happens all the time - one man's bedroom is another man's lavatory. You might be spotted by a gang of lager louts on the look out for someone to maim. That happens all the time too, and if they get carried away you can end up dead. There are the guys who like young boys, who think because you're a dosser you'll do anything for dosh, and there's the psycho who'll knife you for your pack. So, you lie listening. You bet you do. Footsteps. Voices. Breathing, even. Doesn't help you sleep. Then there's your bruises. What bruises? Try lying on a stone floor for half an hour. Just half an hour. You can choose any position you fancy, and you can change position as often as you like. You won't find it comfy, I can tell you. You won't sleep unless you're dead drunk or zonked on downers. And if you are, and do, you're going to wake up with bruises on hips, shoulders, elbows, ankles and knees - especially if you're a bit thin from not eating properly. And if you do that six hours a night for six nights you'll feel like you fell out of a train. Try sleeping on concrete then. And don't forget the cold. If you've ever tried dropping off to sleep with cold feet, even in bed, you'll know it's impossible. You've got to warm up those feet, or lie awake. And in January, in a doorway, in wet trainers, it can be quite a struggle. And if you manage it, chances are you'll need to get up for a pee, and then it starts all over again. And those are only some of the hassles. I haven't mentioned stomach cramps from hunger, headaches from the flu, toothache, fleas and lice. I haven't talked about homesickness, depression or despair. I haven't gone into how it feels to want a girl-friend when your circumstances make it virtually impossible for you to get one - how it feels to know you're a social outcast in fact, a non-person to whom every ordinary everyday activity is closed. So. You lie on your bruises, listening. Trying to warm your feet. You curl up on your side and your hip hurts, so you stretch out on your back so your feet stay cold and the concrete hurts your heels. You force yourself to lie still for a bit, thinking that'll help you drop off, but it doesn't. Your pack feels like a rock under your head and your nose is cold. You wonder what time it is. Distant chimes. You strain your ears, counting. One o'clock? It can't be only one o'clock, surely? I've been here hours. Did I miss a chime? What's that? Sounds like breathing. Heavy breathing, as in maniac. Lie still. Quiet. Maybe he won't see you. Listen. Is he still there? Silence now. Creeping up, perhaps. No. Relax. Jeez, my feet are cold.
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OHT & reproduced on A3 next to the Stone Cold extract, Sleeping Rough

9b

A Tramps Life
from Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell, 1933

The 'serve them damned well right' attitude that is normally taken towards tramps is no fairer than it would be towards cripples or invalids. When one has realized that, one begins to put oneself in a tramp's place and understand what his life is like. It is an extraordinarily futile, acutely unpleasant life, but there are three evils that need insisting upon. The first is hunger, which is the almost general fate of tramps. The casual ward gives them a ration which is probably not even meant to be sufficient, and anything beyond this must be got by begging - that is, by breaking the law. The result is that nearly every tramp is rotted by malnutrition; for proof of which one need only look at the men lining up outside any casual ward. The second great evil of a tramp's life - it seems much smaller at first sight, but it is a good second - is that he is entirely cut off from contact with women. This point needs elaborating. Tramps are cut off from women, in the first place, because there are very few women at their level of society. One might imagine that among destitute people the sexes would be as equally balanced as elsewhere. But it is not so. The cause is presumably that unemployment affects women less than men; also that any presentable woman can, in the last resort, attach herself to some man. The result, for a tramp, is that he is condemned to perpetual celibacy. For of course it goes without saying that if a tramp finds no women at his own level, those above - even a very little above - are as far out of his reach as the moon. The reasons are not worth discussing, but there is no doubt that women never, or hardly ever, condescend to men who are much poorer than themselves. A tramp, therefore, is a celibate from the moment when he takes to the road. He is absolutely without hope of getting a wife, a mistress, or any kind of woman except - very rarely, when he can raise a few shillings - a prostitute. Cut off from the whole race of women, a tramp feels himself degraded to the rank of a cripple or a lunatic. No humiliation could do more damage to a man's self-respect.
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Down and Out in Paris and London copyright George Orwell

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9c

Why Beggars Are Hated

by George Orwell (from Down and Out in Paris and London, 1933)

It is worth saying something about the social position of beggars, for one cannot help being struck by the curious attitude that society takes towards them. People seem to feel that there is some essential difference between beggars and ordinary 'working' men. They are a race apart - outcasts, like criminals and prostitutes. Working men 'work', beggars do not 'work'; they are parasites, worthless in their very nature. It is taken for granted that a beggar does not 'earn' his living, as a bricklayer or a literary critic 'earns' his. Yet if one looks closely one sees that there is no essential difference between a beggar's livelihood and that of numberless respectable people. Beggars do not work, it is said; but, then, what is work? A navvy works by swinging a pick. An accountant works by adding up figures. A beggar works by standing out of doors in all weathers and getting varicose veins, chronic bronchitis, etc. It is a trade like any other; quite useless, of course - but, then, many trades are quite useless. I do not think there is anything about a beggar that sets him in a different class from other people, or gives most modern men the right to despise him. Then the question arises, why are beggars despised? - for they are despised, universally. I believe it is for the simple reason that they fail to earn a decent living. In practice nobody cares whether work is useful or useless, productive or parasitic; the sole thing demanded is that it shall be profitable. In all the modern talk about energy, efficiency, social service and the rest of it, what meaning is there except 'Get money, get it legally, and get a lot of it'? Money has become the grand test of virtue. By this test beggars fail, and for this they are despised. If one could earn even ten pounds a week at begging, it would become a respectable profession immediately. A beggar, looked at realistically, is simply a businessman, getting his living, like other businessmen, in the way that comes to hand. He has not, more than most modern people, sold his honour; he has merely made the mistake of choosing a trade at which it is impossible to grow rich.
Down and Out in Paris and London copyright George Orwell
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10

LONDON DESCRIPTIONS:

Two of these paragraphs are from a modern American description of old London, and the other paragraph is from Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. Which are which? How do you know?

Imagine yourself in the London of the early 19th century. The homes of the upper and middle class exist in close proximity to areas of unbelievable poverty and filth. Rich and poor alike are thrown together in the crowded city streets. Street sweepers attempt to keep the streets clean of manure, the result of thousands of horse-drawn vehicles. There were a good many small shops; but the only stock in trade appeared to be heaps of children, who, even at that time of night, were crawling in and out at the doors, or screaming from the inside. The sole places that seemed to prosper amid the general blight of the place, were the public- houses; and in them, the lowest orders of Irish were wrangling with might and main. Covered ways and yards, which here and there diverged from the main street, disclosed little knots of houses, where drunken men and women were positively wallowing in filth; and from several of the door-ways, great ill-looking fellows were cautiously emerging, bound, to all appearance, on no very well-disposed or harmless errands. The city's thousands of chimney pots are belching coal smoke, resulting in soot which seems to settle everywhere. In many parts of the city raw sewage flows in gutters that empty into the Thames. Street vendors hawking their wares add to the cacophony of street noises. Pick 2002 www.teachit.co.uk 122863081.doc 28

pockets, prostitutes, drunks, beggars, and vagabonds of every description add to the colorful multitude.
OHT

11

Interview with Robert Swindells

Q. Were you a keen reader when you were a child? If so, what did you read? A. Voracious! I'd read any fiction, plus non-fiction on natural history Q. Which of your books do you think is the best? A. "Room 13" and "Stone Cold". "Room 13" has entertained great numbers of children. "Stone Cold" has made some people more aware of homelessness. Q. If you hadnt been a writer what would you like to have been instead? A. A marine biologist, an egyptologist, or a drummer with a rock band! I'm not clever enough for the first two, and too ugly for the third! Q. Are there any subjects you wouldnt tackle in a childrens book? A. Yes. Dancing, computers, fairies, and talking animals who wear clothes. Q. Has anything funny ever happened to you on your many visits to schools?! A. Many times. I once spent an hour talking to a young audience about myself and my work, and a kid stuck his hand up and said "Do you know Robert Swindells?" Dork!

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Q. What's the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you about books? A. Never use a rasher of bacon to mark your place in a book: A squashed frog is much better.

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12

Robert Swindells Biography

Born: Bradford, Yorkshire, 1939 Previous jobs: RAF, teacher

Robert - always known as Bob - was shy and quiet at school and useless at everything except English, Art and cricket. He got through his boring childhood by discovering the local library when he was nine. First he had to get past the fierce old librarian. But once he started reading, he realised that he could go anywhere and be anyone he wanted. Discovering the library turned him into a reader and later made him a writer, too. Bob left school at 15. He worked on a local newspaper for a couple years before joining the RAF. He hoped to fly spitfires but ended up with a job on the ground. Bob then trained as a primary school teacher and worked as a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. In 1984, Bob wrote Brother in the Land, a hard-hitting story about the collapse of society, after the nuclear bomb had been dropped. It reflected his active involvement with the CND, which on one occasion led to his arrest and a week in prison. Since then he has written over 20 books that are contemporary, thought-provoking novels about society including Stone Cold that won the Carnegie Medal in 1994. Bob is a Buddhist. He believes that we are all responsible for each other and that we should be careful not to harm anyone. He writes books that encourage young readers to think the same.

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1 copy per pair

13

Robert Swindells

has been writing for almost 30 years. His books include Daz 4 Zoe, Room 13, Stone Cold and Dosh. He was born in Bradford in 1939. After leaving school at 15 he had a variety of jobs including a spell in the RAF before settling into a teaching career in the early 1970s.

Robert Swindells spoke to Schoolsnet's Robert Porter about his career to date and his love of writing. Most of your books that I've read (I'm thinking Room 13, Dosh, Invisible, Inside the Worm) focus on events surrounding schoolchildren. How do you manage to write about teenagers so well? Do you put this down to your time as a teacher? Having taught certainly helps, especially with pitching at age groups. However, since I taught seven-to-nine-year-olds it doesn't explain how I reach teenagers. I take an interest in what young people are doing and my two teenage grandchildren answer any questions I have, so I suppose that's how I manage. I've also never forgotten that I was a teenager myself and that I used to believe people should be shot before they reached my present age. That helps. I particularly enjoyed your new book - A Wish for Wings. Is the dream of becoming a pilot something you've personally always wanted to do? Yes, I wanted to fly from an early age, but as an eleven-plus failure who wore glasses I couldn't qualify to learn. I flew as an ATC. cadet and spent three years in the RAF flying a desk, but that was as close as I got. However, my 15-year-old grandson wants to be an airline pilot and I'm fortunate enough to be able to fund his lessons .... Some of your books, Dosh in particular, are rather stark in their depiction of reality. In your experience are some schools controlled by groups of thugs such as those in Push? I have no evidence that any school is controlled by thugs, but I know some schools have gangs of bullies who run protection rackets and/or push drugs. That some of these might work for adult criminals is speculation on my part, though my grandson knows a 16-year-old who carries a gun. When you write about serious issues such as those in Dosh, how conscious are you of the messages you're sending out to your readers? With books such as Dosh, Daz 4 Zoe and Smash, I hope to convey two messages. The first is that reading for pleasure is a worthwhile pursuit and not in the least un 2002 www.teachit.co.uk 122863081.doc 32

cool. All of my books are designed carry this message, because reading changes lives. The second message is a socio-political one about such things as homelessness, drugs, league tables. These secondary messages are not aimed at children, and are confined to my work for young adults. Which books have you most enjoyed writing? The book I most enjoyed working on was Room 13, because it is based on a week I spent in Whitby with a class of 10-year-olds. They gave me the idea for the story, and many of them are in it under their own names, including the three teachers. The children are adults now, but to me they'll always be 10 years old. Have you always wanted to be a writer? No, I wanted to be a spitfire pilot, then an archaeologist, then a merchant seaman. I think it turned out right in the end though. What motivates you to write? I love to write: it's a way of showing off. The gas bill is a motivation too. What do you enjoy most and least about writing? I enjoy most the power to create characters and decide what happens to them. Also the freedom of no set hours, no dull routines, no boss. Not to mention the fact that people think writers are special. They're not. Do you ever get writer's block? No writer's block ... not yet. Writer's laziness many a time. You know: cup of coffee, nice walk, chat on the phone. Anything not to get stuck in. Would you have enjoyed your books when you were young? Oh yes. In fact that's how I judge my work: would I have been happy to find this book in the library? Any advice for budding writers? Advice? Read, read, read. Start keeping a notebook to jot down ideas. Write short stories, set them where you live, use people like the ones you know as characters. Stephen King calls this "making skyhooks out of old coat hangers". He means exciting stuff can happen anywhere, to anyone. Show your stuff to someone you respect. Listen to constructive advice, ignore those who laugh at you or put you down. Keep on reading!

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one copy per pupil

14

The Tell-Tale Heart

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 49)
TRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How then am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily, how calmly, I can tell you the whole story. It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain, but, once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture - a pale blue eye with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me my blood ran cold, and so by degrees, very gradually, I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever. Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded - with what caution -with what foresight, with what dissimulation, I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him. And every night about midnight I turned the latch of his door and opened it oh, so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern all closed, closed so that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly, very, very slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! would a madman have been so wise as this? And then when my head was well in the room I undid the lantern cautiously - oh, so cautiously - cautiously (for the hinges creaked). I undid it just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nights, every night just at midnight, but I found the eye always closed, and so it was impossible to do the work, for it was not the old man who vexed me but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber and spoke courageously to him, calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he had passed the night. So you see he would have been a
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very profound old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept. Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers, of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was opening the door little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea, and perhaps he heard me, for he moved on the bed suddenly as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back - but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the shutters were close fastened through fear of robbers), and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening, and the old man sprang up in the bed, crying out, "Who's there?" I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed, listening; just as I have done night after night hearkening to the death watches in the wall. Presently, I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief - oh, no! It was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself, "It is nothing but the wind in the chimney, it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or, "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes he has been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions d stalked with his black shadow before him and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel, although he neither saw nor heard, to feel the presence of my head within the room. When I had waited a long time very patiently without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little - a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened it -you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily - until at length a single dim ray like the thread of the spider shot out from the crevice and fell upon the vulture eye.
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It was open, wide, wide open, and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect distinctness all a dull blue with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones, but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person, for I had directed the ray as if by instinct precisely upon the damned spot. And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but overacuteness of the senses? Now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It increased my fury as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage. But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eye. Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder, every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! - do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me - the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But for many minutes the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more. If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. I took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly so cunningly, that no human eye - not even his - could have detected anything wrong. There was nothing to wash out - no stain of any kind - no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. When I had made an end of these labours, it was four o'clock - still dark as midnight. As the bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door. I went down to open it with a light heart, - for what had I now to fear? There
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entered three men, who introduced themselves, with perfect suavity, as officers of the police. A shriek had been heard by a neighbour during the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused; information had been lodged at the police office, and they (the officers) had been deputed to search the premises. I smiled, - for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search - search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse of the victim. The officers were satisfied. My MANNER had convinced them. I was singularly at ease. They sat and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears; but still they sat, and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definitiveness - until, at length, I found that the noise was NOT within my ears. No doubt I now grew VERY pale; but I talked more fluently, and with a heightened voice. Yet the sound increased - and what could I do? It was A LOW, DULL, QUICK SOUND - MUCH SUCH A SOUND AS A WATCH MAKES WHEN ENVELOPED IN COTTON. I gasped for breath, and yet the officers heard it not. I talked more quickly, more vehemently but the noise steadily increased. I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations; but the noise steadily increased. Why WOULD they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men, but the noise steadily increased. O God! what COULD I do? I foamed - I raved - I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder -- louder - louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly , and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! - no, no? They heard! - they suspected! - they KNEW! - they were making a mockery of my horror! - this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! - and now - again hark! louder! louder! louder! LOUDER! "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! - tear up the planks! here, here! - it is the beating of his hideous heart!"
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I smiled, - for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all over the house. I bade them search - search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the wild audacity of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which reposed the corpse.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe (1840)

Id just got back from buying boots and was feeding the damn cat when they arrived. Two officers in an Escort. One male, one female. I considered not answering the door but then I thought, why not? This was bound to happen eventually. Confront the enemy, Shelter old lad. No retreat. No surrender. I was magnificent. Stowed my purchases in the cupboard. Smiled on the step, invited em in, offered coffee which they declined. How could I be of help? Were making inquiries about a young woman, they said. This woman. They pushed a snapshot at me, suddenly, hoping Id flinch or something give myself away. Not a chance.
Stone Cold copyright Robert Swindells

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OHT and one copy per pair

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Stone Cold
Review of the novel submitted by Redlum (8. Jul 2002)

Stone Cold is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller about a boy named Link, who lives on the streets. The book is written in the first person (I) and starts with Link leaving home because of problems with his mum's boyfriend, Vince, and follows his journey as he searches for a job, begs for money and meets a guy called Ginger. There is also dual narration with a 47 year old ex-sergeant "Shelter" (written also in first person) who writes about his experiences of a different sort, which adds an exciting and pretty gross twist to the overall story. The beginning starts off well, with the authors choice of words drawing you inside the book, making you feel like you are with Link. For less confident readers, at first Shelter's story can seem confusing as it is hard to work out what is going on, even though the two people's stories are written in different fonts. But soon readers will start to grasp the concept of the parallel entries. The middle of the book is well written and believable, and is full of tension and suspense. It describes Link's basic experience well (for example - when Link loses Ginger and meets Gail) and in both stories (especially Shelters) there are lots of cliff hangers. Although the beginning and middle of the story were good, the ending felt like it had been rushed and was quite short compared to all the tension that had been building up to it. Although there was one part of the ending that was unexpected, it was not altogether a good surprise. However, despite the weaker ending, Stone Cold is an enjoyable, nice to read book. The book is written for kids, but does not try to pretend that everything is alright in the world. Through Link's eyes it shows how people can be uncaring.
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