Close reading

Australian Curriculum: English sub-strand: Language – Expressing and developing ideas

Deconstruct a section of text (for example, page 92–93) identifying key language features such as; sentence types, noun and verb groups, adjectival and adverbial groups and how reader engagement is built through language choices. Highlight the use of particular literary devices such as exaggeration and figurative language. Compile a bank of the language features and identify the impact on plot development of word choice.

Students will: Brainstorm other word choices for the passage and discuss the most powerful choices for humour and escalation of plot. Suggest some less powerful word choices and compare the differences.

Exploring humour

Australian Curriculum: English sub-strand: Language – Expressing and developing ideas

Identify an extract from the text that has been constructed for humorous effect, (such as on page 69 where Albert tastes the curry). Create a co-operative cloze from the extract on an interactive whiteboard, omitting key words that add to the humour. Discuss with students the ways in which timing and pace between key scenes also contribute to the progression of the plot and the engagement of the reader.

Students will: Select appropriate vocabulary choices that contribute to comic engagement and scaffold these for use in a cooperative cloze passage.

Exploring beginnings

Australian Curriculum: English sub-strand: Literature –Creating literature

Review the opening paragraph of the book with students. Discuss how a text should begin in a way that encourages readers to read on. Provide students with several possible opening sentences for a story about another humorous incident in Albert’s life. Ask students to provide ideas for the further development for one of the sentences so that it will be more engaging.

Students will: Jointly construct text, adding adjectives, adverbs and phrases to make chosen sentences more effective and to build suspense and tension. Select one of the sentences as a narrative beginning and suggest possible plot developments. By consensus students select one plot line and contribute to the joint construction, adding sentences, including dialogue, to move the plot along.