iGCSE Jan Mock Prep Lesson [Question 2 Extended]
- 1. Question 2: Demonstrating an understanding of how a writer creates effects through their word choices
- 2. The girl walked down the street, holding her bag Starter: Can you create your own effects? All of you will be able to edit the phrase to demonstrate the effect you have been given Most of you will be able to identify which effect another member of the class was going for and why. Some of you may be able to use punctuation or grammar changes to support the effect you are going for. Fear Happiness Sadness Loneliness Power
- 3. Introduction: Question Two is all about looking at the effect of words in a paragraph. Four words or phrases per paragraph Connotations & meanings! Unusual or interesting language only please! Focus on the word in context, not other meanings it may have… No long quotes (3/4 words max) Overall summative statement on the effect of the paragraph. Student Task: Practise this… using the other person’s work, which you were given, write a very brief summary. 1. What was the overall effect? 2. How did their language choices support this? What do their words make them think of.
- 4. Got it? Look at these words from the first selected paragraph. Which four would you pick? Volcano walkers Mouth of the crater Lowered in a basket Depths of the earth People once thought that volcanoes were portals to Hell Awe-inspiring Almost ethereal vastness Size of three full sized basket ball courts Size of a cathedral Human beings appear ant-like
- 5. Writing the comment “Mouth of the crater” creates the effect of fear as the word ‘mouth’ implies that the tourists are being swallowed or consumed by the volcano. It conveys the sense of fear the tourists would have and that the volcano may awaken at any moment. Your task: Pick another one of the phrases from the paragraph, and explain the effect. Other words to use… suggests… creates the image of… Evokes a mood/feeling of… Signifies… Depicts…. Reinforces… shows… reminds the reader of… implies… infers… indicates…
- 6. Got it? Lets try it from scratch 1. Draw a square round the paragraph. 2. Pick out four powerful words or phrases 3. Next to each one, note a linked word (what does it make you think of in that context?) 4. Write each one up, thinking about connotations and associations 5. End with a summative statement . Overall the effect of the paragraph is to….
- 7. Great Work! The general effect suggests that the crater is a work of art, carefully crafted by an artist. A place of stunning beauty and power. “scorched with colours” – sounds like an artistic technique but also refers to the heat that the crater has endured during the volcano eruption. “magma pushed out with brutal force” – refers to the power of the eruption and violent action which formed the crater and the colours. “Mother Nature’s Secret Place” – nature is personified here and this image suggests that she hides here. The image alludes to the crater being private/secret/a retreat and very special. “Her private art studio” – again personifying nature. This time the image indicates that Mother Nature is proud of her work on the walls, the colours and patterns/formations. It makes it sound like the crater was a deliberate creation not just an accident and that nature is proud of what it has created. “Tapestry of patterns and formations” – continues the ‘art’ theme and suggests that there is great skill involved in creating such amazing work. “moulded by heat, pressure and time” – the word “moulded” suggests it has been deliberate and painstaking. The word links to the artist theme. “sparkle” – magical word. At appears that the ‘artist’ has created a deliberate gloss through the rain dripping into the crater, even that does not seem a coincidence but the work of a creator. “glowing red with fiery heat” – links back to the force and power of the volcano.
- 8. Band mark!
- 9. Exit Slip I can identify interesting, powerful and unusual words or phrases I can explain what they make me think of I can use the connotations of words to explain what effect they create I can make a concluding comment on each paragraph, summing up what the overall effect is.
Editor's Notes
- #3: Assign students an emotion and then they change the sentence on their whiteboards to convey the emotion (focusing on the effect of the words). Swap with someone on the other side of the room. Can they work out the effect the first student was going for? Can they say why? Idea to pick individual words/short quotes and focus on connotations or associations.
- #5: Have animated them so that the suggestions from the exam board change colour. Students need to focus on those that create connotations and words that they can expand on, not literal descriptions.
- #6: They can comment on the type of word, or the figurative effect etc. or even the punctuation! However, I have used the advice from Angie in putting this together to try and make it shorter and make more sense to the students.
- #8: Students can self and peer mark each other. The MS says credit any reasonable inference or suggestion, so they may vary a little.
- #10: Students to tick or cross these to demonstrate their understanding of how to tackle the exam question (copies to be printed out are on the next two slides, hidden so the students won’t see them)