The Garden Party 1 Which of the following adjectives best describes Laura? Discuss in pairs, giving

reasons for your choice.

2 Who says the following? What are they referring to and when do they say it?

A “My dear child, it’s no use asking me. I’m determined to leave everything to you children this year.”

B “Mother, isn’t it terribly heartless of us?”

C You’d like to look at ’im, wouldn’t you?”

D “Was it awful?”

3 Match the following phrases to the each character. Find examples from the story that illustrate each phrase.

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Characters

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Level 4 The Garden Party and Sixpence by Katherine Mansfi eld

bossy foolish helpful interfering naïve superfi cial thoughtful

4 Write a short description of Mrs Sheridan. What type of background does she come from? What is her attitude to her children and to the death of Scott? Why is she important to the story?

considers herself

superiorindulges herself is enthusiastic

is informal is self-centred

reacts spontaneously

lacks compassion

is sympatheticis informal is self-centred

Laura Mrs Sheridan

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Sixpence

1 Match the descriptions to the correct characters.

1 Believes in beating children. Has a strong character. 2 Is lively, affectionate and brave. 3 Has a weak character and is easily infl uenced. 4 Feels guilty for what happens in the story.

2 Form groups of four. Each person chooses one of the characters above. Retell the events of the story to your group as your character.

3 In pairs write down all you know about Edward Bendall. Describe him in as much detail as you can. Imagine what job he does, his likes and dislikes, his family and his house.

4 Imagine you are Dicky. You are now an adult and you have children of your own. Write a letter to your own child explaining why you do not believe in physical punishment and explain why.

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ADicky

BMrs Bendall

DMr Bendall

CMrs Spears