the pearl by john steinbeck - 1000s of english … · the pearl by john steinbeck ... using...

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

© 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1356.doc of 21

Teacher’s notes

This text has the advantage of being a short class reader of only six chapters. It focuses on the struggles of a poor Mexican Indian faced with the prospects of great wealth and tackles several moral issues. The scheme is intended for use early on in the academic year as it begins to introduce and prepare pupils for the new SATs style questions. The scheme is also compliant with the Literacy Framework. I intend the material to last for approximately six weeks. Chapter One

1. John Steinbeck research. Homework/IT Room task. Pupils to research the life of Steinbeck, using Internet sites. The information should be used to compile a Personality Profile for a teen magazine, with the assumption that Steinbeck is still living and has just released The Pearl in novella form! The profile should contain facts only but be written in a tone appealing to teenagers. The aim of the profile is to encourage pupils to appreciate the sound of Steinbeck and his latest book. Pupils to fill out Resource 1 (Chapter 1) (A4 or A3) in the research stages, then transform into magazine profile format.

2. Before starting to read the text the teacher could play the Pearls of Wisdom? Word Game with the class. See Resource 2 (Chapter 1) with answers. This tackles some of the more difficult vocabulary in the text in a Call My Bluff style. Pupils could work individually with a whiteboard, but this is flexible. Vocabulary in the first three chapters could be used as a start and the game returned to at a later stage. Pupils could then be encouraged to use class dictionaries/ work at home to make up their own questions for the class.

1. Pupils to read Nissim Ezekiel’s Night of the Scorpion. Answer SATs style questions Resource 3 (Chapter 1) in timed conditions. Teacher feedback.

Chapter Two

Travel Writing based on the book’s La Paz setting.

2. Pupils to read the Michael Palin passage from Full Circle, then work in pairs to annotate small extracts from the passage using the prompts on the worksheet as a guide. Then feedback. Resource 4 (Chapter 2).

3. Follow this with a discussion of the common ingredients of travel writing, then pupils to work individually on a SATs style task, answering questions from a worksheet Resource 5 (Chapter 2). The extract can be found in a publication called Among the Cities (A P Watt on behalf of Jan Morris) and in the SATs extension Paper 1998 (available from the QCA shop: http://www.qcashop.org.uk/) The extract begins: The road passes through a landscape more lunar than celestial.....and ends with: When you come to La Paz from the north....slovenly among the tailings.

4. Pupils to have a go at their own travel writing. Think of a journey they have taken...a journey to school, to a friend’s house...It does not have to be exotic. Their aim is to bring the journey to life for the reader. Emphasise that this need not be a long piece of writing but a very concentrated piece.

Descriptive writing

1. See Resource 6 (Chapter 2) Under the Sea. Pupils to read the passage from Steinbeck’s Cannery Row. Then answer SATs style questions about this descriptive writing.

2. Pupils to write a short description about a swimming pool. This must include techniques seen in Steinbeck’s writing so it may be useful to reread Under the Sea passage.

3. Teacher to mark and then class to hear good examples. Typing up the best bits from pupils’ work and asking the class to annotate for literary devices is very effective.



Teacher’s notes cont… Chapter three

Persuasive Writing

• Based on the 45minutes SATs Writing Paper Task. See Resource 7a. (Chapter 3). Pupils to write a speech for a debate: Resource 7b (Chapter 3). This can be either for or against the motion: “It would be fantastic to win a million pounds”

The teacher must discuss the conventions of debate writing. The planning space on the sheet will help to guide this. There must be a class discussion of ideas for arguments and counter arguments. Tone, emotive language, rhetorical questions, humour...all need discussion.

Chapter Four

1. Now would be a good point to play the second half of the Pearls of Wisdom? Word Game, prior to reading the final three chapters.

2. Symbols task. Ask pupils to choose one of the novel’s symbols: the pearl or the scorpion. Research for homework should include appearance and habitats...Pupils to design a fact sheet with clear explanation, on one side of A4 only. This should be aimed at Year 7 pupils.

Consider:

• Organisation of the text

• The use of layout feature sot make explanation clearer

• How technical the information will be

• How formal vocabulary and sentence types will be

• The tone used to address the reader

Chapter Five After reading the chapter ask pupils to write a newspaper report following the hasty departure of Kino’s family from the town. Use the SATs style planning sheet: Resource 8 (Chapter 5). Chapter Six Kino and his wife are hunted like animals here. Look at moments in the novel where Kino is especially like an animal. Pupils to write an animal fable/parable dealing with the themes of The Pearl; Wealth can lead to greed, evil and envy.... Post Reading

Choose from the list below:

• Using their knowledge of characters this is a predictive task. Pupils to produce a brainstorm using words and pictures showing people and events as they might be two years later. Include both major and minor characters.

• Pupils could write their own story, or opening to a story, containing an object with power.

• Hot seat Kino and Juana after the pearl has been returned to the sea.

• Create another local family and write a script containing their gossip following recent events. Perform this.



Resource 1 John Steinbeck Research Notes

Born/Full name/Family details

Childhood influences/How he became interested in writing

Education

Best friend? Wife?

Other interests

First novel, best known books, book prizes… How The Pearl started out…

Jobs/The war



Resource 2 Sheet for teacher use – correct answers in bold

Pearls of Wisdom? Word Game

Chapter One

• Covey A covering on a baby’s cot An area of coastline consisting of several coves/bays A small party or group of people or things

• Dank Disagreeably damp and cold Disagreeably smelly A dance performed by Mexican Indians, traditionally in the dark

• Plaintively To speak plainly or bluntly To express sorrow/to sound mournful One eats a plain digestive biscuit plaintively

• Alms Charitable donations of money or food to the poor Weapons Branches of the military. Eg. Infantry, cavalry, artillery..

• Indigent Needy, poor Having no feelings/partiality for or against an issue Lacking in knowledge/uninformed

Chapter Two

• Bulwark A festive decoration found on a Christmas tree A defensive wall or a person An opinion considered by others to be foolish or silly

• Mirage A turret/tower attached to a building with an excellent view A stretch of swampy or boggy ground An optical illusion Eg. The appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on

a hot road from the reflection of light

• Gloating Triumphant satisfaction/smugness Twilight or dusk The act of shearing goats at the close of Spring time



Resource 2 cont…

Chapter Three

• Subjugation The process by which someone is brought into subjugation/are

subdued/vanquished The archaeological process of uncovering ancients pots, jugs, relics from

beneath the sub soil The cosmetic surgical process of pinning back the ears to prevent the unsightly

appearance of jug handles

• Consecrated Food dried/with the moisture removed for preservation purposes E.g. Coconut Something declared sacred/dedicated formally to a religious or divine

purpose A person who has caught a deadly disease from another person is said to be this

Chapter 4

• Freshet A rush of fresh water flowing into the sea or the flood of a river from heavy

rain or melted snow A young female known for her cleanliness A small starter meal of fish, admired for its freshness, caught a mere two hours

earlier

• Stalwart A wart on the skin which will not go away despite treatment A stalled vehicle, blocking the flow of traffic Strongly built/sturdy, or a courageous and determined person

• Benign The natural habitat of a small group of breakaway bees Harmful, malicious, nasty Gentle, mild, kindly

• Kelp Kind help A water-spirit usually in the form of a horse, reputed to delight in the drowning

of travelers Large broad-fronded brown seaweeds

Chapter Five

• Edifice A building, especially a large, imposing one A round Dutch cheese, with a red rind A book that has been reduced or edited by more than half of its original length

before publication



Resource 2 cont…

Chapter Six

• Covert To keep secret or private. A shelter, a thicket. To desire greatly something belonging to another person A small party or group of people or things

• Sentinel A creature in Greek mythology with the head, arms and torso of a man and the

body and legs of a horse A unit of mass, equal to one-hundredth of a nel A sentry is a soldier stationed to keep guard. A sentinel is a lookout

• Gourd A disease with swelling of the smaller joints, especially the toe Any of various fleshy, usually large fruits with a hard skin, often used as

containers, ornaments etc A flat, round cheese, usually Dutch, with a yellow rind.

• Amulet A rare orange coloured stone An ornament/small piece of jewellery worn as a charm against evil An emu nest

• Malignant Harmful, feeling or showing intense ill will A feeling of tiredness/lethargy A slowing down in the delivery of mail



Resource 3

Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel

1. The poet’s mother was once stung by a scorpion. This was a life or death situation. In the opening 4 lines of the poem what facts about this event add to the sinister atmosphere.

__________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

2. How do we know that this story is told from personal memory/recollection?

__________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

3. List three phrases in the poem that give the reader a sense of the place where Nissim Ezekiel grew up.

_________________________________________ _________________________________________

(3 marks)

4. Find two points where the poet writes negatively of the neighbour’s presence in his home. Comment on the poet’s use of language in each case.

Quotation Meaning 1.

2.

(4 marks)



Resource 3 cont…

5. There is a contrasting image of the scorpion. It is shown as helpless and timid. It is also shown as powerful and dangerous. Pick out two phrases which show this contrast.

Helpless and timid

__________________________________________

Powerful and dangerous

__________________________________________ (2 marks)

6. There is repetition used in lines 16-33. What effect does this have?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)

7. What does the following image show you about the poet’s mother?

My mother twisted through and through. (line 34)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)

8. Give two reasons why the poet might have chosen to separate the last three lines from the rest of the poem.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)



Resource 3 cont…

9. Look at the way that the various people behave in the whole poem. Consider the peasants, the father and the mother.

You should write about:

• what the people do

• what the poet thinks of their behaviour.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________

(5 marks)



Resource 4

Travel Writing – La Paz Read the passage from Michael Palin’s Full Circle. In this book he writes of his ambitious expedition through the eighteen countries which border the Pacific Ocean, travelling for almost a year. Palin paints a vivid picture of the people and places around him, making him one of the world’s favourite travel writers. Day 180 finds him in La Paz, Bolivia. In pairs read the following extracts taken from the passage. Annotate them as thoroughly as you can, looking for the following:

• Use of fact and opinion

• Use of humour

• Vivid descriptive language – active verbs, adjectives and adverbs, sensuous words (describing sights, sounds, textures, tastes, smell) similes, metaphors

• Sentence length variation for effect

Mud-walled houses are piled up the walls of the canyon, while a modern high-rise city occupies the centre. Between the two is a labyrinth of steep steps that tempt the eye but test the unacclimatized walker.

The pavements groan beneath sackfuls of socks, piles of shoes, mountains of embroidered brassieres and hectares of Stayprest trousers.

Full Circle copyright © Michael Palin



Resource 4 cont… Higher up the hills behind the fine stone façade of the Basilica of San Francisco I find very odd things for sale, including dried Llama foetuses. Apparently they bring good luck. I’m told that no self-respecting new building goes up in La Paz without a Llama foetus in the foundations. (Other bits of Llama are put to good use as well. La Paz was the first capital in South America to have its own electricity supply. It was powered in those early days by Llama dung.)

Minibuses squeeze past me through the streets with children at their open doorways shouting a list of destinations in a lilting monotone, like a priest absolving sins.

……in time to watch the sun slip behind the surrounding hills and the canyon walls turn into a carpet of sparkling lights.

Full Circle copyright © Michael Palin



Resource 5

Travel Writing: La Paz Travel writing shows us places and people through the eyes of the writer.

• It reports on the experiences of going to places and meeting people

• It usually aims to inform as well as entertain us

• It usually uses the first person

• It is usually told in chronological order

• It aims to paint pictures in words, using much descriptive writing. Read the extract about La Paz written by Jan Morris and then answer the following questions. 1. In the first paragraph Morris writes about the road to La Paz. Comment on the repetition

of the word sometimes. What is the effect of this?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark) 2. What features of the landscape in the opening paragraph make Jan Morris compare it to a

lunar/moon landscape?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2 marks)

3. Travel writers sometimes use words from the culture they are visiting. Find 1 example in the first paragraph.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)



Resource 5 cont…

4. Why use these terms rather than the English phrase?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

5. There is a negative tone to the first paragraph. Find 2 adjectives to support this.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

6. What do we learn about the lives of the Aymara Indians living in La Paz from the first paragraph?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(2 mark)

7. In the third paragraph Morris provides facts and opinions. List two facts.

_________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

8. List two opinions.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)

9. In the fourth paragraph what is meant by the word prodigy?

__________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark)



Resource 5 cont…

10. In the second paragraph the build up of dramatic tension seen in the first paragraph reaches an exciting climax when Morris sees La Paz. Write about how Morris achieves this. Consider:

• The opening paragraph/ what comes before

• Use of dramatic language in the second paragraph eg. verbs and vivid description

• Use of onomatopoeia • Use of you

• Use of her

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(5 marks)



Resource 6

Under the Sea

Orange and speckled and fluted nudibrachs slide gracefully over the rocks, their skirts waving like the dresses of Spanish dancers. And black eels poke their heads out of crevices and wait for prey. The snapping shrimps with their trigger claws pop loudly. The lovely, coloured world is glassed over. Hermit crabs like frantic children scamper on the bottom sand. And now one, finding an empty snail shell he likes better than his own, creeps out, exposing his soft body to the enemy for a moment, and then pops into the new shell. A wave breaks over the barrier, and churns the glassy water for a moment and mixes bubbles into the pool, and then it clears and is tranquil and lovely and murderous again. Here a crab tears a leg from his brother. The anemones expand like soft and brilliant flowers, inviting a tired and perplexed animal to lie for a moment in their arms and when some small crab or little tide-pool Johnnie accepts the green and purple invitation, the petals whip in, the stinging cells shoot tiny narcotic needles into the prey, and it grows weak and perhaps sleepy while the searing caustic digestive acids melt his body down.

From Cannery Row by John Steinbeck copyright © John Steinbeck



Resource 6 cont…

Under the Sea

1. What does the writer compare the nudibrachs to in the opening sentence?

__________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark) 2. Explain why this comparison is effective.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark) 3. Find 2 more similes. Write them below. Don’t forget speech marks!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark) 4. Explain why one of these similes is effective.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark) 5. A metaphor describes the water as glassed over. Why?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(1 mark) 6. Explain what is meant by the word narcotic.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________

(1 mark)



Resource 6 cont… 7. Write about the way Steinbeck describes the contrasting features of the sea. It is tranquil

and lovely but also murderous. You should consider

• events in the passage

• the writer’s choice of words to describe attackers and victims

• the writer’s use of colour.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(5 marks)



Resource 7a

School Debating Society: Big Winnings! You are a member of your school’s debating society and have been chosen to speak in a debate which argues that

“it would be fantastic to win a million pounds”

You can speak either for or against the motion. Write what you are going to say in the debate. Planning - Use the spaces below to plan your work Words and phrases to begin and end your speech Ideas supporting your point of view Consider the opposition’s arguments. What can you say to weaken their points? Think of counter arguments.



Resource 7b

Writing a Speech – Checklist Think you have finished? Make sure you have included

• An introductory paragraph making your own opinion clear.

• Many key points, using a new paragraph for each new point. These points should be ordered, starting with your strongest argument. The reader should be guided through the argument by logical links.

• Exaggeration (making something out to be more than it really is) and short sentences.

School uniforms are a form of torture for most of us. The biggest reason why people hate this place is the uniform. Everyone is sick of those pink jumpers.

• Second guessing.

It is often said that school uniforms make everyone equal. This isn’t true…

The idea that the uniforms give us a sense of identity is a complete fantasy.

• Present tense and possibly future tense

• Use of you and we making your audience feel that you’re all on the same side.

We all believe that individuality is important. We have all heard that… Our future depends on… The problem we face is… This affects us al

• Rhetorical questions, commands, statements, repetition

Is this sort of thing acceptable in our society?

• Emotive words. Instead of using just one describing word in a sentence, use three.

Infact, the uniform is expensive, uncomfortable and embarrassing to wear, as most students will tell you.

• Range of punctuation

• Humour and anecdotes



Resource 8

Newspaper Report: Sudden Disappearance! You are a journalist for the local newspaper of La Paz. Your editor has asked you to report on the sudden overnight disappearance of Kino and his family, shortly after their discovery of a valuable pearl. You are expected to report on the recent misfortunes and fortunes of this family, to interview a variety of local people and to speculate as to why and where the family have gone. Write the newspaper report. Planning – Use the spaces below to plan your report Your headline and any sub headlines The standfirst/opening paragraph – remember that this should include Who? What (happened)? When? Where? The family’s recent misfortunes The family’s recent misfortunes cont,…



Resource 8 cont…

The family’s recent fortunes Some quotations from the local people

the pearl by john steinbeck - 1000s of english … · the pearl by john steinbeck ... using...

Documents