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Reading non-fiction texts
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© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 1

Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3
Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen .................................................. 4

Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................. 8
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 14
Text 2: The Guardian article: ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’ 20
Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 22
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 26
Text 3: Excerpt taken from The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences by Sir Frederick
Treves .............................................................................................................................. 30
Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 33
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 41
Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by Christy Brown .................................................... 48

Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 51
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 53
Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her father .......................................................................... 57

Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 59
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 65
Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr ........................................ 69

Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 71
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 75
Text 7: Excerpt from Henry Morley, Household Words, ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’ ............ 82
Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 84
Lesson 2 ........................................................................................................................... 88
Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron ......................................................... 95

Lesson 1 ........................................................................................................................... 98
Lesson 2 ......................................................................................................................... 100
Text 9: Excerpt from Charles Darwin The Voyage of the Beagle .......................................... 105
Lesson 1 ......................................................................................................................... 107
Lesson 2 ......................................................................................................................... 112
Text 10: Excerpt from Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence ........................................................... 120
Lesson 1 ......................................................................................................................... 122
Lesson 2 ......................................................................................................................... 126
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 129

Extended, printable version of Kevin Rudd’s speech ...................................................... 130

Introduction
This GCSE pack is designed to help students engage with and prepare for the reading
non-fiction elements of the GCSE English Language specifications (2015). It contains 10
non-fiction texts from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Each non-fiction text has a
thematically linked ‘partner text’. This means that the texts can be taught discretely, or in
partnership with one another (looking at differences in perspective, context, language
and/or attitudes).
In addition to the non-fiction texts, the pack includes 20 lesson plans, accompanying
resources and suggestions for differentiation.
The pack has been devised for use with the English Language AQA, Edexcel, OCR and
WJEC Eduqas specifications. There are specific resources and exam practice questions
for each of these specifications included within the pack. The activities and ideas will help
students to: read and evaluate texts critically, compare ideas and perspectives across two
or more texts and analyse the use of language and structure to achieve effects and
influence the reader.
Which texts and activities you choose to study, and how many you use, will depend on the
nature of your classes and how much time you have available. The intention is that you
pick the activities that are best suited to your students’ needs.
Our thanks go to our contributor, Helen Millman Jones who wrote this pack.
We hope you enjoy using this pack. If you have any questions, please get in touch: email
support@teachit.co.uk or call us on 01225 788850. Alternatively, you might like to give
some feedback for other Teachit members – you can do this by adding a comment on the
resource page on Teachit. (Please log in to access this.)

Reading non-fiction, Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter
Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister,

Cassandra Austen
XXXIII
Godmersham Park: Saturday (August 24)
MY DEAR CASSANDRA,
How do you do; and how is Harriot’s cold? I hope you

are at this time sitting down to answer these questions.
Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable; I found Ly.

Gordon’s manners as pleasing as they had been
described, and saw nothing to dislike in Sir Janison,
excepting once or twice a sort of sneer at Mrs. Anne
Finch. He was just getting into talk with Elizabeth as the
carriage was ordered, but during the first part of the visit
he said very little.
Your going with Harriot was highly approved of by

everyone, and only too much applauded as an act of
virtue on your part. I said all I could to lessen your merit.
The Mrs. Finches were afraid you would find
Goodnestone very dull; I wished when I heard them say
so that they could have heard Mr. E. Bridges’ solicitude
on the subject, and have known all the amusements
that were planned to prevent it.
They were very civil to me, as they always are; fortune

was also very civil to me in placing Mr. E. Hatton by me
at dinner. I have discovered that Lady Elizabeth, for a
woman of her age and situation, has astonishingly little
to say for herself, and that Miss Hatton has not much
more. Her eloquence lies in her fingers; they were most
fluently harmonious.

George is a fine boy, and well behaved, but Daniel

chiefly delighted me; the good humour of his
countenance is quite bewitching. After tea we had a
cribbage-table, and he and I won two rubbers of his
brother and Mrs. Mary. Mr. Brett was the only person
there, besides our two families.
It was considerably past eleven before we were at

home, and I was so tired as to feel no envy of those
who were at Ly. Yates’ ball. My good wishes for its
being a pleasant one were, I hope, successful.
Yesterday was a very quiet day with us; my noisiest

efforts were writing to Frank, and playing at battledore
and shuttlecock with William; he and I have practised
together two mornings, and improve a little; we have
frequently kept it up three times, and once or twice six.
The two Edwards went to Canterbury in the chaise, and

found Mrs. Knight, as you found her, I suppose, the day
before, cheerful but weak. Fanny was met walking with
Miss Sharp and Miss Milles, the happiest being in the
world; she sent a private message to her mamma
implying as much. “Tell mamma that I am quite
Palmerstone!" If little Lizzy used the same language she
would, I dare say, send the same message from
Goodnestone.
In the evening we took a quiet walk round the farm, with

George and Henry to animate us by their races and
merriment. Little Edward is by no means better, and his
papa and mamma have determined to consult Dr.
Wilmot. Unless he recovers his strength beyond what is
now probable, his brothers will return to school without
him, and he will be of the party to Worthing. If sea-
bathing should be recommended he will be left there
with us, but this is not thought likely to happen.

I have been used very ill this morning: I have received a

letter from Frank which I ought to have had when
Elizabeth and Henry had theirs, and which in its way
from Albany to Godmersham has been to Dover and
Steventon. It was finished on ye 16th, and tells what
theirs told before as to his present situation; he is in a
great hurry to be married, and I have encouraged him in
it, in the letter which ought to have been an answer to
his. He must think it very strange that I do not
acknowledge the receipt of his, when I speak of those
of the same date to Eliz. and Henry; and to add to my
injuries, I forgot to number mine on the outside.
I have found your white mittens; they were folded up

within my clean nightcap, and send their duty to you.
Elizabeth has this moment proposed a scheme which

will be very much for my pleasure if equally convenient
to the other party; it is that when you return on Monday,
I should take your place at Goodnestone for a few days.
Harriot cannot be insincere, let her try for it ever so
much, and therefore I defy her to accept this self-
invitation of mine, unless it be really what perfectly suits
her. As there is no time for an answer, I shall go in the
carriage on Monday, and can return with you, if my
going on to Goodnestone is at all inconvenient.
The Knatchbulls come on Wednesday to dinner, and

stay only till Friday morning at the latest. Frank’s letter
to me is the only one that you or I have received since
Thursday.
Mr. Hall walked off this morning to Ospringe, with no

inconsiderable booty. He charged Elizabeth 5s. for
every time of dressing her hair, and 5s. for every lesson
to Sace, allowing nothing for the pleasures of his visit
here, for meat, drink, and lodging, the benefit of country

air, and the charms of Mrs. Salkeld’s and Mrs. Sace’s

society. Towards me he was as considerate as I had
hoped for from my relationship to you, charging me only
2s. 6d. for cutting my hair, though it was as thoroughly
dressed after being cut for Eastwell as it had been for
the Ashford assembly. He certainly respects either our
youth or our poverty.
My writing to you to-day prevents Elizabeth writing to

Harriot, for which evil I implore the latter’s pardon. Give
my best love to her, and kind remembrance to her
brothers.
Yours very affectionately,
J. A.
You are desired to bring back with you Henry’s picture

of Rowling for the Misses Finches.
As I find, on looking into my affairs, that instead of being

very rich I am likely to be very poor, I cannot afford
more than ten shillings for Sackree; but as we are to
meet in Canterbury I need not have mentioned this. It is
as well, however, to prepare you for the sight of a sister
sunk in poverty, that it may not overcome your spirits.
Elizabeth hopes you will not be later here on Monday

than five o’clock, on Lizzy’s account.
We have heard nothing from Henry since he went.

Daniel told us that he went from Ospringe in one of the
coaches.


Cassandra Austen
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Quick quiz. Put students into teams and give them five minutes (timing them
with the Teachit Timer) to write down as many facts as possible about Jane
Austen, such as when she lived, which books she wrote, where she lived etc.
2. Alternatively, give the Jane Austen: true or false quiz resource to each team.
Based on their findings, ask students to predict what information a letter from
Jane Austen to her sister might contain.
Main activities
1. The name game. While you read the letter to your students, ask them to
underline or highlight all of the proper nouns in the letter. They do not need to
know all of these references, but the most significant ones are included as
footnotes in the text.
Ask students to consider the high frequency of proper nouns – people and
places – and what that might suggest about Jane Austen’s life and her letters.
2. Uncovering context: What was life like in 1805? Get students to consider the
lifestyle presented in the letter by completing the Uncovering context activity
sheet. This is a useful activity for context, but also addresses Assessment
Objective 1: Identify and interpret explicit and implicit information and ideas and
Select and synthesise evidence from different texts.
There is a differentiated version of this task.

Plenary activity
3. Language change. Ask students to identify all of the features of the letter
which indicate that it was written in the 19th century. You might like to show
students the vocabulary table below and ask them to write a modern equivalent
for the words in bold. (Note: this is also available as an interactive matching
activity.)
Jane Austen’s phrase Modern equivalent
Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable
Excepting once or twice
Fortune was also very civil to me
With George and Henry to animate us
With their races and merriment
His papa and mamma
Have determined to consult
He will be of the party to Worthing
I have been used very ill
I implore the latter’s pardon

Lesson 1 resources
Jane Austen: true or false quiz
Statement True (tick) False (cross)
Jane Austen wrote Wuthering Heights.
Jane Austen had three children.
Jane Austen was American.
When Jane Austen was alive, Queen

Elizabeth I was on the throne.
Jane Austen lived in Bristol for some of her
life.
Jane Austen wrote about vampires.
Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice.
Jane Austen lived in the Georgian era of

British history.
Jane Austen’s father was a vicar.
One of Jane Austen’s heroes is called Mr

Darcy.
Jane Austen travelled all over the world
during her life.

Uncovering context: What was life like in 1805?
Find a quotation from Jane Austen’s letter to support each of the following
statements about society in the early 19th century.
1. The postal service took a long time and was often unreliable.
2. People travelled by horse and carriage.
3. Items of clothing were expensive and not easily replaced.
4. Letter writing was the main method of communication between family members who
lived a distance away.
5. People were entertained by traditional games and activities.
6. The upper classes were invited to many social events.
7. Letters were a means of sharing gossip.
8. Medical treatments were fairly primitive.
9. Children were expected to behave well.

Uncovering context: What was life like in 1805?
Differentiated version
Match up the following statements about society in the early 19th century with a
quotation from Jane Austen’s letter
A. ‘my noisiest efforts were writing to

1. The postal service took a long time
Frank, and playing at battledore and
and was often unreliable.
shuttlecock with William …’
B. ‘I have discovered that Lady

2. People travelled by horse and Elizabeth, for a woman of her age
carriage. and situation, has astonishingly little
to say for herself …’
3. Items of clothing were expensive and C. ‘How do you do; and how is Harriot’s
not easily replaced. cold?’
4. Letter writing was the main method of D. ‘If sea-bathing should be

communication between family recommended he will be left there
members who lived a distance away. with us.’
E. ‘I have received a letter from Frank …

5. People were entertained by which in its way from Albany to
traditional games and activities. Godmersham has been to Dover and
Steventon.’
6. The upper classes were invited to F. ‘The two Edwards went to Canterbury
many social events. in the chaise …’
G. ‘George is a fine boy, and well

7. Letters were a means of sharing
behaved, but Daniel chiefly delighted
gossip.
me …’
8. Medical treatments were fairly H. ‘I have found your white mittens …

primitive. and send their duty to you …’
9. Children were expected to behave I. ‘I was so tired as to feel no envy of

well. those who were at Ly. Yates’ ball.’

Interactive resources
We’ve included a screenshot of the interactive

version here so you can see the resource. To
access this resource please log in to the
Teachit website and search for ‘24832’ or click
here.


Cassandra Austen
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Picture clues quiz. Put students into teams and show them the Picture clues.
The idea is that they find a quotation from the letter to illustrate each of the
pictures.
Main activities
1. Breaking it down. Give students a copy of the Reading non-fiction text

analysis grid which offers students a framework for analysing a single text.
Alternatively, give students the Reading non-fiction text comparison grid and
ask them to complete the first column, in readiness for a comparison task.
2. Exam Pic’n’mix. The following exam-style questions are tailored to suit

different specifications. They all address the following Assessment Objectives:
AO2
Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to
achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to
support their views
AO4
Evaluate texts critically and support this with appropriate textual references.
Ask students to write a plan for one of the following exam-style questions,
according to the specification you are following. (Note: All of the points on
students’ plans should be supported with a relevant quotation.)

AQA-style question
How does Jane Austen use language to explain and describe her
experiences?
OCR-style question
Explore how Jane Austen uses language and structure to explain and describe
her experiences.
Support your ideas by referring to the text, using relevant subject terminology.
Edexcel-style question
Analyse how Jane Austen uses language and structure to interest and engage
her reader.
Support your views with detailed reference to the text.
Eduqas/WJEC-style question
Jane Austen sets out to explain and describe her experiences to her sister.
How does she do this?
You should comment on:
 what she says about her experiences
 her use of language and tone
 the way she structures her ideas.
Plenary activity
1. Discuss and evaluate. Share examples from students’ plans and discuss the
ways in which they are effective.
Extension/ homework activity
Exam practice. Ask students to write the answer which they have planned.

Lesson 2 resources
Picture clues
A B
C D
E F
G H

Answers
A. ‘playing at battledore and shuttlecock with William …’
B. ‘I was so tired to feel no envy of those who were at Ly. Yates’ ball.’
C. ‘I have found your white mittens …’
D. ‘Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable …’
E. ‘The two Edwards went to Canterbury in the chaise.’ or ‘‘He was just getting into talk
with Elizabeth as the carriage was ordered.’
F. ‘If sea-bathing should be recommended he will be left there with us …’
G. ‘Her eloquence lies in her fingers; they were most fluently harmonious.’
H. ‘I have received a letter from Frank …’
I. ‘After tea we had a cribbage-table …’

Reading non-fiction text analysis grid
Feature of text Text 1
Content and ideas –

what is the text about?
Audience – who is the

text aimed at?
Purpose – why might

the text have been
written?
What do you notice

about the writer’s
perspective and/or
attitudes?
What do you notice

about:
a. the text’s style and
b. the text’s
language?
What do you notice

about the text’s
organisation and
structure?
What are your

thoughts on the text’s
format (layout and
presentation)?

Reading non-fiction text comparison grid
Feature of
Text 1 Text 2
text
Content and
ideas – what is
the text about?
Audience – who
is the text aimed
at?
Purpose – why
might the text
have been
written?
What do you
notice about the
writer’s
perspective
and/or
attitudes?
What do you
notice about:
a. the text’s
style and
b. the text’s
language?
What do you
notice about the
text’s
organisation and
structure?
What are your

thoughts on the
text’s format
(layout and
presentation)?

Reading non-fiction, Text 2: Table manners Guardian article
Text 2: The Guardian article: ‘Why teaching

table manners can do more harm than good’?
Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good
It might be messy, but children should My own childhood memories of

play with their food to stop them mealtimes are still marred by my mum
becoming fussy eaters. What are your constantly pestering me to hold my knife
rules at mealtimes? right and telling me off for sculpting faces
in my Angel Delight with my spoon. No, if
My seven-year-old daughter has a friend
I wanted my children to explore food by
round for dinner. They’re pretending that
eating it, I was going to have to relax and
raspberries are lipstick and squidging
let them explore it in any other ways, too.
them against their lips, with lots of giggles
and red-stained fingers. I could object. Food is, after all, multisensory. It doesn’t
Instead, I smile and start loading the appeal to us through taste alone. The
dishwasher. smell of freshly baking bread can sell
houses. The colour of the inside of a
It’s not that I think table manners are
perfectly ripe avocado is good enough to
entirely unimportant. I have no intention
be painted on living room walls. And the
of raising slurpy, finger-licking, face-
snap of a carrot stick is a rather satisfying
smearing chimps. But I’ve always
sound. A young child learns about the
instinctively felt that if I wanted my
world directly through their senses. Just
children to grow up with a positive, happy,
as a five- or six-month-old puts toys in
healthy, adventurous attitude to food,
their mouth as part of their developmental
nagging them from a young age to
process, so babies and toddlers naturally
behave like mini adults at the dinner table
want to touch food, feel it, squidge it,
was going to be counterproductive. Not
squelch it, sniff it and see what noises it
only would it create tensions at the table,
makes. It’s not a substitute for eating, or a
it would crush their enthusiasm and open-
distraction from it. It’s an important part of
mindedness towards food pretty damn
learning to love food and to be
quickly.
comfortable around it.

Reading non-fiction, Text 2: Table manners Guardian article
Anna Groom is a lead NHS paediatric of her rice, make a clown’s nose out of
dietitian. She works with children who are cherry tomato or put a blob of peanut
“selective eaters” (fussy buggers to you butter on her boiled egg just to see what it
and me) on a daily basis. “It’s really tastes like. I am teaching her table
important to let children explore the manners, but I’m doing it gradually and
sensory side of food as a whole – not just gently. In fact, I believe it has the most
what it tastes like,” she says. “It makes it impact when I talk to her about them
more familiar to them. It makes them feel away from the table, when she’s not
‘safe’ with it.” The idea is that they are hungry and trying to enjoy her food. The
more likely to try it, and less likely to other day, as she was engrossed in using
become fussy. her fork to make fossil patterns in her
mashed potato, she looked up and said:
She points out that the emphasis on
“You know Mummy, I wouldn’t do this if I
keeping everything clean and tidy and
was in a restaurant.”
under control at mealtimes often starts at
weaning. Watch many a parent feeding My other child is now 14. He has always
her baby and notice how they scrape the eaten everything and anything that comes
spoon around the baby’s mouth after his way, with the exception of raw tomato.
each mouthful, how they hold the bowl at How are his table manners? Pretty good.
arm’s reach when the baby swipes for it I’ve noticed he still likes to have a
eagerly. Yet exposure to a food, she (discreet) animalistic sniff of a frankfurter
explains – any exposure – is a vital first before he puts it in his mouth, but he
step, whether the child eats it or not. knows how to eat politely and conform to
“When I work with children who have society’s expectations.
become phobic about a particular food, I
By the time I’ve finished loading the
get them to draw it, touch it, play with it,
dishwasher, the girls have gone off to
smell it, kiss it, lick it!”
play. I go to clear the last things from the
So – even at age seven – I will continue table. The squashed raspberries have all
to let my daughter mould sand dunes out been eaten.

table manners can do more harm than good’
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Discussing the topic. Share and translate the following table manners written
by the six-year-old son of Chris Cleave, a Guardian writer.
1. sit on your cher nislee

2. eetign nislee
3. ask if yoy can get out ov the taibl
4. sai pleez and tank you
5. Lai the taibl
6. cleen away the tayb
7. chry evreefing on your food plat
Ask the class to imagine that they are parents.
 What order would they place the statements in (working from most to
least important)?
 What other table manners would they put on their lists?
Extension
You may wish to share The Guardian article by Chris Cleave at Down with the
kids: table manners | Life and style | The Guardian
Main activities
1. Summary skills (AO1, AO4). Once you’ve read the article with the class, ask
students to complete the Summarise and attack worksheet. This involves
getting students to put the writer’s main points in the order in which they appear.
It also draws a distinction between arguments and anecdotes or personal
experiences, which are used alongside each other in this article. (Note: This is
also available as an interactive sequencing activity) The counter argument
activity will also prepare students for the writing task which follows.
2. Letter to The Guardian. The next task addresses the following writing
assessment objectives:
AO5
Communicate clearly, effectively and imaginatively, selecting and adapting tone,

style and register for different forms, purposes and audience. Organise
information and ideas, using structural and grammatical features to support
coherence and cohesion and texts.
AO6
Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and
effect with accurate spelling and punctuation.
Before tackling a whole writing task, share examples of possible counter

arguments which might be used to challenge the writer’s views.
Then ask students to write a letter to The Guardian, arguing that teaching table
manners to children is important. They should counter the arguments in the
article and develop at least two new ideas of their own.
It will be helpful to remind students about:
 topic sentences
 formal letter layout
 connectives.
Students should be reminded to refer to the original article in their letter.
Plenary activity
1. Right to reply. Ask students to consider how the writer would respond to their
letter if it was printed in The Guardian. What might she say to demolish their
counter arguments?
Collect a few examples on the board and try to demolish these as a class.
Lesson 1 resources
Summarise and attack
Number these summary statements in the order in which they appear in the article:
q Parental control around food can cause children to be phobic about food.
q When I was young food was used as a means of discipline.
q My eldest child is not a fussy eater. He still enjoys the sensory aspect of food
but understands society’s expectations.
q Enjoyment of food is more important than table manners.
q I allow my child to play with her food because she understands in which
situations it is appropriate and in which it isn’t.
q My child likes to play with food and I let her.
q Food naturally lends itself to sensory exploration.
q Failure to allow children to explore food can often turn them into fussy eaters.
Which of the above statements are arguments? Highlight these in one colour.
Which of the above statements are anecdotes or personal opinion? Highlight these in a
different colour to the one used for question 2.
Now look at the arguments. Underneath each one, write down a counter argument to
challenge it.
Write up your counter argument. You may wish to use the following structure for your
points:
Although the writer states that … , I would argue …
I strongly disagree with the view that … ; on the contrary, I believe that …

here.
table manners can do more harm than good’
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Text features. Ask students to identify the features of this text which make it fit
the purpose of argue and persuade. Share the following checklist of features
and ask students to find an example of each:
 facts
 opinions
 rhetorical devices
 quotes from a reliable source/ expert opinion
 personal experience/ anecdote
 circular structure
Ask students if they can identify a secondary purpose for the text from this list:
 explain
 inform
 describe
 entertain
 advise
Main activities
1. Exploring food, exploring language (AO2, AO4). Ask students to complete

the worksheet exploring the effects of language in the text. They should
identify the technique being used by the writer and consider its effect. This
resource leads into a short exam-style answer. There is also a differentiated
version of this resource.
2. Prepare to compare. If you are preparing students for the AQA, OCR or WJEC
Eduqas specifications you might like to ask students to compare this text with
the Jane Austen letter by completing the Text comparison grid. Having
completed the comparison grid, you can ask students to ‘zoom in’ on one or two
sections of the grid and write a short comparative answer to a sample question
such as:
How do the two writers use language and structure to engage and interest
their readers?
If you are preparing students for the Edexcel specification, you may wish to find
a 20th century text to pair up with the 21st century Guardian article or give
students the Text analysis grid so that they can work on this single text.
If you are using the single text approach, then you can ask students to ‘zoom in’
on one aspect of the grid for detailed analysis.
Plenary activity
1. Advice for Parents. Tell students that they have been asked to write an advice
sheet for parents who want to know how best to introduce their toddler to food.
Get them into groups and ask them to write down about five or so examples of
advice that they’d give. Then share the suggestions as a class.
Lesson 2 resources
Exploring food, exploring language
1. Complete the following grid:
Quotation Technique Effect
‘What are your rules at

rhetorical question
mealtimes?’
‘I could object.’ short sentence
pattern of three
‘slurpy, finger-licking,
metaphor
face-smearing chimps’
compound adjectives
‘babies and toddlers

naturally want to touch
food, feel it, squidge it,
list of sensory verbs
squelch it, sniff it and
see what noises it
makes.’
‘fussy buggers to you
use of slang
and me’
‘I will continue to let my

daughter mould sand
dunes out of her rice,
make a clown’s nose pattern of three
out of a cherry tomato or metaphor
put a blob of peanut
butter on her boiled
egg.’
‘I’ve noticed he still likes

to have a (discreet) humour
animalistic sniff of a adjective
frankfurter.’
2. Now have a go at this exam-style question:
How does the writer use language to engage the reader with her opinions about
table manners?
Choose at least three of the examples from your grid to write about.
Reading non-fiction, Text 3: The Elephant Man
Text 3: Excerpt taken from The Elephant Man

and Other Reminiscences by Sir Frederick
Treves
The shop was empty and grey with dust. Some old tins and a few
shrivelled potatoes occupied a shelf and some vague vegetable
refuse the window. The light of the place was dim, being obscured by
the painted placard outside. The far end of the shop – where I expect
the late proprietor sat at a desk – was cut off by a curtain or rather by
a red tablecloth suspended from a cord by a few rings. The room was
cold and dank, for it was the month of November. The year, I might
say, was 1884.
The showman pulled back the curtain and revealed a bent figure
crouching on a stool and covered by a brown blanket. In front of it, on
a tripod, was a large brick heated by a Bunsen burner. Over this the
creature was huddled to warm itself. It never moved when the curtain
was drawn back. Locked up in an empty shop and lit by the faint blue
light of the gas jet, this hunched-up figure was the embodiment of
loneliness. It might have been a captive in a cavern or a wizard
watching for unholy manifestations in the ghostly flame. Outside the
sun was shining and one could hear the footsteps of the passers-by,
a tune whistled by a boy and the companionable hum of traffic in the
road.
The showman – speaking as if to a dog – called out harshly: “Stand
up!” The thing arose slowly and let the blanket that covered its head
and back fall to the ground. There stood revealed the most disgusting
specimen of humanity that I have ever seen. In the course of my

profession I had come upon lamentable deformities of the face due to
injury or disease, as well as mutilations and contortions of the body
depending upon like causes; but at no time had I met with such a
degraded or perverted version of a human being as this lone figure
displayed. He was naked to the waist, his feet were bare, he wore a
pair of threadbare trousers that had once belonged to some fat
gentleman’s dress suit.
From the intensified painting in the street I had imagined the
Elephant Man to be of gigantic size. This, however, was a little man
below the average height and made to look shorter by the bowing of
his back. The most striking feature about him was his enormous and
misshapened head. From the brow there projected a huge bony
mass like a loaf, while from the back of the head hung a bag of
spongy, fungous-looking skin, the surface of which was comparable
to a brown cauliflower. On the top of the skull were a few long lank
hairs. The osseous growth on the forehead almost occluded one eye.
The circumference of the head was no less than that of the man’s
waist. From the upper jaw there projected another mass of bone. It
protruded from the mouth like a pink stump, turning the upper lip
inside out and making of the mouth a mere slobbering aperture. This
growth from the jaw had been so exaggerated in the painting as to
appear to be a rudimentary trunk or tusk. The nose was merely a
lump of flesh, only recognizable as a nose from its position. The face
was no more capable of expression than a block of gnarled wood.
The back was horrible, because from it hung, as far down as the
middle of the thigh, huge, sack-like masses of flesh covered by the
same loathsome cauliflower skin.

The right arm was of enormous size and shapeless. It suggested the
limb of the subject of elephantiasis. It was overgrown also with
pendent masses of the same cauliflower-like skin. The hand was
large and clumsy – a fin or paddle rather than a hand. There was no
distinction between the palm and the back. The thumb had the
appearance of a radish, while the fingers might have been thick,
tuberous roots. As a limb it was almost useless. The other arm was
remarkable by contrast. It was not only normal but was, moreover, a
delicately shaped limb covered with fine skin and provided with a
beautiful hand which any woman might have envied. From the chest
hung a bag of the same repulsive flesh. It was like a dewlap
suspended from the neck of a lizard. The lower limbs had the
characters of the deformed arm. They were unwieldy, dropsical
looking and grossly misshapened.
To add a further burden to his trouble the wretched man, when a boy,
developed hip disease, which had left him permanently lame, so that
he could only walk with a stick. He was thus denied all means of
escape from his tormentors. As he told me later, he could never run
away. One other feature must be mentioned to emphasize his
isolation from his kind. Although he was already repellent enough,
there arose from the fungous skin-growth with which he was almost
covered a very sickening stench which was hard to tolerate. From the
showman I learnt nothing about the Elephant Man, except that he
was English, that his name was John Merrick and that he was
twenty-one years of age.


Treves
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Complete the Pre-reading activity which compares an extract from this text
with an extract from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
After students have completed the task, let them know the following:
Text 1 is an extract from the science fiction novel The War Of The Worlds by H.
G. Wells. This novel – which was first published in 1897 – describes the effects
of a Martian invasion. In this extract, the narrator describes his first sighting of
the Martian.
Text 2 is an extract from the memoirs of Sir Frederick Treves, a prominent

surgeon at the London Hospital. In this extract, Treves describes his first
encounter with Joseph (John) Merrick the severely disabled man who was put
on display as part of a freak show and became known as The Elephant Man.
Ask students to think about their reactions to these texts:
 Does the contextual information now lead them to view them

differently? Why? Why not?
Main activities
1. First impressions. Read the first three paragraphs of the text and ask students
to answer the following questions:
 What sort of mood and atmosphere is conveyed by the description of

the setting in the first paragraph?
 What are the writer’s first impressions of The Elephant Man and the
way in which he is treated?
 How would you describe the writer’s attitude towards The Elephant
Man in paragraph three?
2. Unpicking imagery. Read the description of The Elephant Man in paragraphs
four and five and ask students to complete the Unpicking imagery grid,
finding an example of imagery to match each body part. (Differentiation – a
simpler matching activity is also available as an interactive matching activity.)
Students should then be encouraged to consider why the writer has used such
comparisons and explain the effects of the comparisons chosen by the writer. It
might be helpful to share ideas about which comparison is most vivid or most
unpleasant.
3. Introducing exam skills (AO2, AO4). Give students the following shorter AQA-
style question:
AQA-style question
How does the writer use language to describe The Elephant Man?
Answers should be structured in clear paragraphs and be supported by

quotations from the text. (Note: if short on time, students could plan their answer
using bullet points and supporting quotations. Alternatively, this could be a
homework task.)
Plenary activity
1. Word detective (also available as an interactive matching activity). Give

students the following words from the text and ask them to match them up by
guessing their meaning in the context of the article:
dank (adj) made from bone
manifestations (n) an opening or hole
osseous (adj) something which is seen or appears
occluded (vb) something which is crude or basic
aperture (n) hanging down
rudimentary (adj) obstructed or closed
pendent (adj) unpleasantly damp and cold

Lesson 1 resources
Pre-reading activity
Task 1
Read (or listen to your teacher read) the two extracts below. As you read/listen, try to
work out what might be being described.
Extract 1
A big greyish rounded bulk, the size, perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and
painfully … As it bulged up and caught the light, it glistened like wet leather.
Two large dark-coloured eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that
framed them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one might say, a
face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and
panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated
convulsively… There was something fungoid in the oily brown skin… Even at
this first encounter, this first glimpse, I was overcome with disgust and dread.
Extract 2
The thing arose slowly and let the blanket that covered its head fall back to the
ground. There stood revealed the most disgusting specimen of humanity that I
have ever seen … The most striking feature about him was his enormous and
misshapened head. From the brow there projected a huge bony mass like a
loaf, while from the back of the head hung a bag of spongy, fungous-looking
skin, the surface of which was comparable to a brown cauliflower … From the
upper jaw there projected another mass of bone. It protruded from the mouth
like a pink stump, turning the upper lip inside out and making of the mouth a
mere slobbering aperture.
Task 2
Your teacher will now give you some contextual (background) information on the texts.
Does this information surprise you? Does it cause you to view the subjects that are
described any differently? If so, why?
Task 3
Now complete the table below, making notes in each box.
Extract 1 Extract 2
the creature
or subject
how
language is
used to
create
description
attitudes
similarities
differences
Unpicking imagery
Task 1
Complete the following grid by doing a ‘close reading’ of paragraphs four and five of the
text in which The Elephant Man is described in detail.
Part of
Comparison Effect of comparison
body
the face
the hand
the skin
the brow
the thumb
the chest
the fingers
Task 2
Choose the comparison you think is most effective / works best. What effect does the
language have? What feelings or response does it create in you, as a reader?
Task 3
Now think about why the writer has chosen to use such comparisons. Discuss this with
your partner.

here.

here.

Treves
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Whizzy wiki. Give out the Wikipedia factsheet on The Elephant Man and
Frederick Treves. Split the class into two halves and see how many facts they
can pick out about their key person in five minutes. Use the Teachit Timer to
introduce an element of competition. Share facts on the board.
Discuss what new information students have learned about The Elephant Man
and the writer of this text.
Main activities
1. Elephant Man attitudes. Consider the attitudes and perspective of the writer
by completing the resource on Frederick Treves: Attitudes towards The
Elephant Man. (There are differentiated versions of this task and the tasks
build towards answering an exam-style question. The first resource is aimed at
middle to lower ability students while the second resource is aimed at higher
ability students and contains a less scaffolded approach.)
2. A doctor’s viewpoint. Share ideas with the class and gather a consensus
about Treves’ overall attitude. Ask students to consider his medical perspective
– how did this affect his attitude/perspective on his subject?
Plenary activities
1. More on Merrick. Share these statements which appear later in Treves’ journal
as he recounts his regular visits to Merrick once he was given a ‘home’ in the
London Hospital. Ask students whether these alter their perceptions of The
Elephant Man?
 ‘I found Merrick … remarkably intelligent. He had learnt to read and

had become a most voracious reader.’
 ‘He had a passion for conversation, yet all his life had had no one to
talk to.’
 ‘He showed himself to be a gentle, affectionate and lovable creature

… free from any trace of cynicism or resentment, without a grievance
and without an unkind word for anyone.’
2. Disabilities then and now. Ask class to discuss the following:
 To what extent have society’s attitudes towards disabled people

changed since John Merrick was alive in the 19 th century?
 What can we learn, if anything, from his story?
The above discussion will lead into Text 4 which deals with the experiences of
the writer and painter Christy Brown. You might wish to bridge the two
resources by asking students to complete some research about Christy Brown’s
life.
Lesson 2 resources
Whizzy wiki: Factsheet on The Elephant Man and Frederick Treves
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), sometimes
incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe
deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant
Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at
the London Hospital. Merrick was born in Leicester, Leicestershire and
began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life. His skin
appeared thick and lumpy, he developed enlarged lips, and a bony lump
grew on his forehead. One of his arms and both of his feet became
enlarged and at some point during his childhood he fell and damaged his
hip, resulting in permanent lameness. When he was 10, his mother died,
and his father soon remarried. Merrick left school at 13 and had difficulty
finding employment. Rejected by his father and stepmother, he left
home. In late 1879, Merrick, aged 17, entered the Leicester Union
Workhouse.
In 1884, after four years in the workhouse, Merrick contacted a

showman named Sam Torr and proposed that Torr should exhibit him.
Torr agreed and arranged for a group of men to manage Merrick,
whom they named the Elephant Man. After touring the East Midlands,
Merrick travelled to London to be exhibited in a penny gaff shop on
Whitechapel Road which was rented by showman Tom Norman.
Norman’s shop, directly across the street from the London Hospital,
was visited by a surgeon named Frederick Treves, who invited
Merrick to be examined and photographed. Soon after Merrick’s visits
to the hospital, Tom Norman’s shop was closed by the police, and
Merrick’s managers sent him to tour in Europe.
In Belgium, Merrick was robbed by his road manager and abandoned in Brussels. He eventually
made his way back to London; unable to communicate, he was found by the police to have Dr.
Treves’ card on him. Treves came and took Merrick back to the London Hospital. Although his
condition was incurable, Merrick was allowed to stay at the hospital for the remainder of his life.
Treves visited him daily, and the pair developed quite a close friendship. Merrick also received
visits from the wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society, including Alexandra, Princess of
Wales.
Aged 27, Merrick died on 11 April 1890. The official cause of death was asphyxia, although
Treves, who dissected the body, said that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck. He believed that
Merrick—who had to sleep sitting up because of the weight of his head—had been attempting to
sleep lying down, to ‘be like other people’.
The exact cause of Merrick’s deformities is unclear. The dominant theory throughout much of the
20th century was that Merrick suffered from neurofibromatosis type I. In 1986, a new theory
emerged that he had Proteus syndrome. In 2001, it was proposed that Merrick had suffered from a
combination of neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome. DNA tests conducted on his hair
and bones have proven inconclusive. In 1979, Bernard Pomerance’s play about Merrick called
The Elephant Man debuted, and David Lynch’s film, also called The Elephant Man, was released
the following year.
Attitudes towards the Elephant Man – version 1
Task one
Read the following sentences:

1. ‘this hunched up figure was the embodiment of loneliness.’
2. ‘The showman – speaking as if to a dog – called out harshly: Stand up!’
3. ‘at no time had I met with such a degraded or perverted version of a human being.’
4. ‘To add a further burden to his trouble the wretched man, when a boy, developed hip
disease.’
Task two
Now try to match the above quotations with each of the attitude words given in the first
column of the table below. (If you can’t fit each quotation in the table, simply record the
relevant number instead.)
Task three
In the ‘effect’ box, make a specific comment on the effect of the highlighted words or
phrase in the quotation.
Word(s) to
describe Quotation Effect of word(s) used
attitude
pitying
repulsed and
horrified
sympathetic
angry
Task four
Now have a go at one of the following exam-style questions:

(NB: Here you are being asked to write about one text only; in the exam you will be
comparing how two writers convey their different attitudes to a subject.)
AQA-style question
How does the writer use language to convey his attitudes towards John
Merrick?
How does the writer present his ideas and perspectives about John Merrick?
Support your answer with detailed reference to the text.
Answer in PEE paragraphs, using the ideas you put down in the grid above.
Attitudes towards the Elephant Man – version 2
Which of the following statements support Treves’s attitude towards John Merrick?
1. Working with a partner, tick the statements that you agree with.
 Treves is mocking in his description of The Elephant Man
 Treves is sympathetic towards The Elephant Man
 Treves is horrified at the sight of The Elephant Man
 Treves is emotionally moved by the sight of The Elephant Man
 Treves is angry at the treatment of The Elephant Man
 Treves is repulsed by The Elephant Man’s appearance
 Treves pities The Elephant Man

2. Find a quotation to support the statements that you agree with and write it beneath
each statement.
3. Now try one of these exam-style questions:
(NB Here you are being asked to write about one text only; in the exam you will be
comparing how two writers convey their different attitudes to a subject.)
AQA-style question
How does the writer convey his attitudes to John Merrick?
 What are those attitudes?

 What methods does he use to convey them?
 Support your answer with quotations.
How does the writer present his ideas and perspectives about John Merrick?
Support your answer with detailed reference to the text.
Reading non-fiction, Text 4: My Left Foot
Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by

Christy Brown
Chapter 1, The Letter ‘A’
I was born in the Rotunda Hospital, on June 5 th, 1932.

There were nine children before me and twelve after me,
so I myself belong to the middle group. Out of this total of
twenty-two, seventeen lived, four died in infancy, leaving
thirteen still to hold the family fort.
Mine was a difficult birth, I am told. Both mother and son

almost died. A whole army of relations queued up outside
the hospital until the small hours of the morning, waiting
for news and praying furiously that it would be good.
After my birth mother was sent away to recuperate for

some weeks and I was kept in the hospital while she was
away. I remained there for some time, without name, for I
wasn’t baptized until my mother was well enough to bring
me to church.
It was mother who first saw that there was something

wrong with me. I was about four months old at the time.
She noticed that my head had a habit of falling backwards
whenever she tried to feed me. She attempted to correct
this by placing her hand on the back of my neck to keep it
steady. But when she took it away back it would drop
again. That was the first warning sign. Then she became
aware of other defects as I got older. She saw that my
hands were clenched nearly all of the time and were
inclined to twine behind my back; my mouth couldn’t grasp
the teat of the bottle because even at that early age my
jaws would either lock together tightly, so that it was
impossible for her to open them, or they would suddenly
become limp and fall loose, dragging my whole mouth to
one side. At six months I could not sit up without having a
mountain of pillows around me; at twelve months it was
the same.
Very worried by this, mother told father her fears, and they
decided to seek medical advice without any further delay. I
was a little over a year old when they began to take me to
hospitals and clinics, convinced that there was something
definitely wrong with me, something which they could not
understand or name, but which was very real and
disturbing.
Almost every doctor who saw and examined me, labelled

me a very interesting but also a hopeless case. Many told
mother very gently that I was mentally defective and would
remain so. That was a hard blow to a young mother who
had already reared five healthy children. The doctors were
so very sure of themselves that mother’s faith in me
seemed almost an impertinence. They assured her that
nothing could be done for me.
She refused to accept this truth, the inevitable truth – as it

then seemed – that I was beyond cure, beyond saving,
even beyond hope. She could not and would not believe
that I was an imbecile, as the doctors told her. She had
nothing in the world to go by, not a scrap of evidence to
support her conviction that, though my body was crippled,
my mind was not. In spite of all the doctors and specialists
told her, she would not agree. I don’t believe she knew
why – she just knew without feeling the smallest shade of
doubt.
Finding that the doctors could not help in any way beyond
telling her not to place her trust in me, or, in other words,
to forget I was a human creature, rather to regard me as
just something to be fed and washed and then put away
again, mother decided there and then to take matters into
her own hands. I was her child, and therefore part of the
family. No matter how dull and incapable I might grow up
to be, she was determined to treat me on the same plane
as the others, and not as ‘queer one’ in the back room
who was never spoken of when visitors were present.
That was a momentous decision as far as my future life

was concerned. It meant that I would always have my
mother on my side to help me fight all the battles that were
to come, and to inspire me with new strength when I was
almost beaten. But it wasn’t easy for her because now the
relatives and friends had decided otherwise. They
contended that I should be taken kindly, sympathetically,
but not seriously. That would be a mistake. “For your own
sake,” they told her, “don’t look to the boy as you would to
the others; it would only break your heart in the end.”
Luckily for me, mother and father held out against the lot
of them. But mother wasn’t content just to say that I was
not an idiot, she set out to prove it, not because of any
rigid sense of duty, but out of love. That is why she was so
successful.

Christy Brown
Lesson 1
Starter activities
1. Artistic challenge. Ask students to take off their shoes and socks and try to
draw a picture using only the toes of their left foot. You might specify what you
want them to draw or give them freedom of choice.
Alternatively they might work in groups with one person volunteering to do the
drawing or you might ask students to complete the task as homework prior to
the lesson.
Students should be encouraged to display their pictures and discuss the merits
of the pictures produced and the difficulties which they encountered whilst doing
them.
2. Introducing Christy Brown. Show students this Bonhams auctions webpage

which details letters, paintings and papers produced by Christy Brown. These
images will open students’ eyes to what he managed to achieve, using only the
toes of his left foot. Explain that Christy Brown was a talented writer as well as
an artist and that you are going to be reading an extract from his autobiography.
Ask students what they can predict about the nature of his disability?
Main activities
1. Getting going (AO1). Read the first three paragraphs of the article and ask
students to share their first impressions of this autobiography. What information
do you learn about Christy’s beginnings in life?
2. Challenging negative perceptions. Read from paragraph four when Christy

explains the difficulties that he faced as a child with cerebral palsy.
As you read the text, ask students to find and highlight or underline each of the
following words or phrases, representing the views of the medical profession
about Christy.
 hopeless case
 mentally defective
 beyond hope
 imbecile
 crippled
 dull
 incapable
 idiot
Ask students to challenge all of those words by replacing them with an antonym
or other near equivalent.
3. Role play. Ask students to work in pairs and role play a conversation between
Christy’s mother and a doctor. During the conversation, the doctor outlines
Christy’s prognosis in negative terms, using some of the words from the text and
Christy’s mother challenges those views.
(Students should use some of the pairs of words which they came up with in
task 3 above.)
Plenary activity
1. Give students the opportunity to show their role plays.
2. Discuss early 20th century treatment of disabled people.
 Would Christy be treated like this by doctors today?
 Why or why not?


Christy Brown
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Attitudes and prejudices. Bring up these BBC news links to Ellie Simmonds
and Cerrie Burnell. (You could also link students to images of Stephen
Hawking, Warwick Davis or Stevie Wonder.) Ask students to identify the people
presented and discuss their contribution to society.
 What sort of attitudes and prejudices might they face in their lives on
account of their disabilities?
 How can we challenge those prejudices?
Main activities
1. Prepare to compare. This task is designed to address the following objectives:
AO2
Explain, comment on and analyse how writers use language and structure to
achieve effects and influence readers, using relevant subject terminology to
support their views.
AO3
Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed
across two or more texts.
Give students the worksheet on Exploring and comparing attitudes in this
text. This is aimed at preparing students to tackle a comparative question
which forms a key part of the assessment criteria for all exam boards. It is
important to note that this task asks students to compare ideas and perspectives
within one text.
2. Linked writing (AO5, AO6). Give students a choice of writing tasks which
reflect the style of tasks on the writing exam papers, along these lines:
 Write a speech in which you argue that disabled people are positive
role models in society.
 Write a letter to the director of Channel 4 outlining your views about

the representation of disabled people on television. The following link
might be helpful: The Undateables: Freak show TV or challenging
prejudice? - Features - TV & Radio - The Independent
 ‘Attitudes towards disabled people are as bad in the 21 st century as

they were in the 19th century.’ Argue your view.
Plenary activity
1. Drawing links between the writing of Christy Brown and Frederick Treves.
Give students the following statement, which is modelled on an OCR exam-style
question:
‘These texts are powerful because they show people standing up to

prejudice about disability.’ How far you do agree?
2. Planning task. You may wish to take this further with your class and ask them
to plan an exam answer in response to the above statement. If so, the following
bullet points will be useful at providing them with a structure. This is modelled
on an OCR exam-style question, but the bullet points will support all students to
consider what they learn from these texts:
 Discuss what you learn about prejudice and disability from the texts
 Explain the impact of these ideas on you
 Compare the ways ideas about prejudice and disability are presented. (Look
at structure and language.)
Use quotations from both texts to support your answer.
Lesson 2 resource
Exploring and comparing attitudes
Christy’s mother and the medical profession view Christy’s condition very differently. Use
the following grid to explore those differences.
1. Find a quotation to support each of the statements on the grid:
Extension: Add extra points of your own.
Christy’s mother The medical profession
Optimistic about her son’s prospects. Pessimistic about Christy’s prospects.
Believes that, despite his physical Believes that Christy is mentally deficient.
disabilities, he is intelligent.
Loves her son and wants him to be a part Believes that Christy should be ignored.
of her family.
2. Now write up your ideas as an answer this question:
Compare how the writer conveys the different attitudes of Christy’s

mother and the medical profession towards his disability.
Note that this type of question will normally require you to gather information from two
separate sources. Here you are using the material from one text to show that you can
make comparisons between the different attitudes shown.
 It is important to address the ‘how’ part of the question by exploring the effects
of the words in the quotations that you use.
 Here is an example:
In the extract from My Left Foot the writer tells us that his mother was optimistic
about his prospects, despite his physical disabilities. He writes that ‘mother’s
faith in me seemed almost an impertinence’ to the doctors. The quotation
suggests that his mother’s belief in him was very strong, despite the opposition
from the doctors. The word ‘faith’ is a hopeful word, suggesting that Christy’s
mother had an instinctive and deep conviction that her son could have a future.
Useful linking phrases for contrast:
In contrast to this … Whereas …
However… Whilst …
On the other hand …

Reading non-fiction, Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter
Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her

father
TO REV. P. BRONTË
‘112 GLOUCESTER TERRACE,
‘HYDE PARK, June 7th, 1851.
‘DEAR PAPA,—I was very glad to hear that you continued in

pretty good health, and that Mr. Cartman came to help you
on Sunday. I fear you will not have had a very
comfortable week in the dining-room; but by this time I
suppose the parlour reformation will be nearly completed,
and you will soon be able to return to your old quarters.
The letter you sent me this morning was from Mary
Taylor. She continues well and happy in New Zealand,
and her shop seems to answer well. The French
newspaper duly arrived. Yesterday I went for the second
time to the Crystal Palace. We remained in it about three
hours, and I must say I was more struck with it on this
occasion than at my first visit. It is a wonderful place—
vast, strange, new, and impossible to describe. Its
grandeur does not consist in one thing, but in the unique
assemblage of all things. Whatever human industry has
created, you find there, from the great compartments filled
with railway engines and boilers, with mill-machinery in full
work, with splendid carriages of all kinds, with harness of
every description—to the glass-covered and velvet-spread
stands loaded with the most gorgeous work of the
goldsmith and silversmith, and the carefully guarded
caskets full of real diamonds and pearls worth hundreds of
thousands of pounds. It may be called a bazaar or a fair,
but it is such a bazaar or fair as Eastern genii might have
created. It seems as if magic only could have gathered
this mass of wealth from all the ends of the earth—as if
none but supernatural hands could have arranged it thus,
with such a blaze and contrast of colours and marvellous
power of effect. The multitude filling the great aisles
seems ruled and subdued by some invisible influence.
Amongst the thirty thousand souls that peopled it the day I
was there, not one loud noise was to be heard, not one
irregular movement seen—the living tide rolls on quietly,
with a deep hum like the sea heard from the distance.
‘Mr. Thackeray is in high spirits about the success of his

lectures. It is likely to add largely both to his fame and
purse. He has, however, deferred this week’s lecture till
next Thursday, at the earnest petition of the duchesses
and marchionesses, who, on the day it should have been
delivered, were necessitated to go down with the Queen
and Court to Ascot Races. I told him I thought he did
wrong to put it off on their account—and I think so still.
The amateur performance of Bulwer’s play for the Guild of
Literature has likewise been deferred on account of the
races. I hope, dear papa, that you, Mr. Nicholls, and all at
home continue well. Tell Martha to take her scrubbing and
cleaning in moderation and not overwork herself. With
kind regards to her and Tabby,—I am, your affectionate
daughter,
‘C. BRONTË.’

father
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Make predictions. Give students the word sort activity sheet to encourage
students to make predictions about this text. This activity uses a crunched
extract of the text about the Great Exhibition to encourage students to
investigate vocabulary choices, group words according to categories and make
predictions about the text.
2. Creative extension. You might ask students to produce their own creative
response or text using some of the words in this extract. Suggestions might be:
a poem, a collage or a short piece of narrative writing.
Main activities
1. Read/reflect. Read the letter to your class and reflect on the predictions made
by students in the starter activity.
2. Uncovering context. Explain the context of the letter by introducing information

about the Great Exhibition. The following British Library webpage and slide
show is useful:
www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/victorians/exhibition/greatexhibition.html
The Victorian School is another useful website:
www.victorianschool.co.uk/Gt_exhib.html
You might also like to give students the Whizzy wiki factsheet and ask them to
complete the Great Exhibition quiz in teams.
3. Information retrieval (AO1). Ask students to consider the wider content of
Charlotte Brontë’s letter and retrieve information and ideas from it by completing
the Letter writing lingo sheet.
Plenary activity
1. Reflect on the main purpose of the letter by asking students to consider the
following question:
How successfully has the writer conveyed her experience of visiting the Great
Exhibition?
Lesson 1 resources
Word sort activity
The following words are all taken from this text and re-arranged here in alphabetical order
and frequency:
a a a a a all all all and and and and and and and and arranged as as as assemblage
bazaar bazaar be blaze boilers but but but called carefully carriages caskets colours
compartments consist contrast could could created created describe description diamonds
does earth eastern effect ends engines every fair fair filled find from from full full gathered
genii glass-covered goldsmith gorgeous grandeur great guarded hands harness has have
have have human hundreds if if impossible in in in industry is is it it it it it its kinds loaded
machinery magic marvellous mass may might mill most new none not of of of of of of of of
of of of one only or or pearls place pounds power railway real seems silversmith splendid
stands strange such such supernatural the the the the the the the the there thing things
this this thousands to to unique vast velvet-spread wealth whatever with with with with with
with wonderful work work worth you
Group the words according to categories of your choice:
Predicting the text

 What sort of text do you think this might come from?
 What ideas do you have about the content of the text?

Whizzy wiki: Factsheet on The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, was an
international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from May 1st to October 11th, 1851.
It was the first in a series of World’s Fair
exhibitions of culture and industry that were to
become a popular 19th-century feature. The
Great Exhibition was organized by Henry Cole and
Prince Albert, husband of the reigning monarch,
Queen Victoria. It was attended by numerous
notable figures of the time, including Charles
Darwin, Samuel Colt, members of the Orléanist
Royal Family and the writers Charlotte Brontë,
Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, George Eliot and
Alfred Tennyson.
Manufactures and Commerce as a celebration of modern industrial technology and design. It was
arguably a response to the highly successful French Industrial Exposition of 1844: indeed, its prime
motive was for “Great Britain [to make] clear to the world its role as industrial leader.” Prince Albert,
Queen Victoria’s consort, was an enthusiastic promoter of the self-financing exhibition. Queen
Victoria and her family visited three times. Although the Great Exhibition was a platform on which
countries from around the world could display their achievements, Great Britain sought to prove its
own superiority. The British exhibits at the Great Exhibition “held the lead in almost every field
where strength, durability, utility and quality were concerned, whether in iron and steel, machinery
or textiles.”
Sophie Forgan says of the Exhibition that “Large, piled-up ‘trophy’ exhibits in the central avenue
revealed the organisers’ priorities; they generally put art or colonial raw materials in the most
prestigious place. Technology and moving machinery were popular, especially working exhibits.”
She also notes that visitors “could watch the entire process of cotton production from spinning to
finished cloth. Scientific instruments were found in class X, and included electric telegraphs,
microscopes, air pumps and barometers, as well as musical, horological and surgical instruments.”
A special building, nicknamed The Crystal Palace, or “The Great Shalimar”, was built to house the
show. It was designed by Joseph Paxton with support from structural engineer Charles Fox, the
committee overseeing its construction including Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and went from its
organisation to the grand opening in just nine months. The building took the form of a massive
glass house, 1851 feet (about 564 metres) long by 454 feet (about 138 metres) wide and was
constructed from cast iron-frame components and glass made almost exclusively in Birmingham
and Smethwick. From the interior, the building’s large size was emphasized with trees and
statues. The building was later moved and re-erected in an enlarged form at Sydenham in south
London, an area that was renamed Crystal Palace. It was destroyed by fire on 30 November 1936.
Six million people—equivalent to a third of the entire population of Britain at the time—visited the
Great Exhibition. The average daily attendance was 42,831 with a peak attendance of 109,915 on
7 October. The event made a surplus of £186,000 (£17,770,000 in 2015), which was used to
found the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum.
Great Exhibition quiz
1. For how long was the exhibition held?
2. Where was it held?
3. Which member of the royal family was jointly responsible for organising it?
4. How many times did Queen Victoria visit?
5. Name two famous people who attended the exhibition.
6. What was the exhibition designed to celebrate?
7. Were all of the exhibits British?
8. Who built the Crystal Palace in which the exhibition was held?
9. What other name was the building known by?
10. How long did it take to build it?
11. How many people visited the exhibition?
12. How much money was raised by the exhibition?
13. What was the profit used for?

Letter writing lingo
Look at each of the following reasons for writing a letter to a family member in Victorian
times. Tick whichever purpose you think is relevant to Charlotte Brontë’s letter and find a
quotation from the text to support it.
Reason for writing Evidence from the text
conveying
personal news
enquiring about
family members
conveying news of
national
importance
giving opinions
sharing trivial
news or gossip
about people
giving
condolences
describing a
special or
noteworthy
experience

father
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Matching task. Ask students to complete the What was the Great Exhibition
like? matching activity in pairs. This will consolidate their ideas about Charlotte
Brontë’s visit to the Great Exhibition and provide them with quotations for
analysis later in the lesson.
Main activities
1. Discuss or debate. Ask for feedback about the word and quotation pairings.
Invite discussion about the best choice of quotations to illustrate the words.
There is likely to be some debate about the pairings, but this is to be
encouraged.
2. Language zoom. Ask students to select at least five word and quotation
pairings and highlight or annotate the quotation, highlighting interesting
vocabulary choices and considering their effect.
3. Unpicking imagery. In addition to the rich vocabulary choices, adjectives,

compound adjectives, adverbs etc., Charlotte Brontë also uses imagery to bring
the scene to life.
Ask students to identify the technique used, and its effect, in these examples:
1. ‘… it is such a bazaar or fair as Eastern genii might have created.’
2. ‘… as if none but supernatural hands could have arranged it’
3. ‘… the living tide rolls on quietly, with a deep hum like the sea heard
from the distance.’
4. Exam skills. Ask students to draw their work on language together and write an
answer to this exam-style question:
How does Brontë use language to describe her experiences of visiting the
Great Exhibition? (AO2, AO4)
Plenary activity
1. A modern exhibition. As a way of connecting this text to the next one, ask
students to write down what 10 features they might include if they were staging
an exhibition to celebrate the 21st century.
Lesson 2 resources
What was the Great Exhibition like?
All of the following words could describe Brontë’s view of the exhibition. Match up the
words with the quotations which follow. Cut out the 12 words so that you can move them
around as separate cards.
unique impressive magical
exotic colourful powerful
captivating varied popular
beautiful awe-inspiring extravagant

Cut out the 12 quotations so that you can move them around as separate cards.
‘It seems as if magic only

‘Whatever human
could have gathered this
‘It is a wonderful place’ industry has created, you
mass of wealth from all
find there …’
the ends of the earth.’
‘the glass-covered and

‘Its grandeur does not velvet-spread stands
consist in one thing, but loaded with the most ‘such a blaze and
in the unique gorgeous work of the contrast of colours …’
assemblage of all things.’ goldsmith and silversmith
…’
‘The multitude filling the

‘it is such a bazaar or fair
‘marvellous power of great aisles seems ruled
as Eastern genii might
effect.’ and subdued by some
have created.’
invisible influence.’
‘carefully guarded
caskets full of real
‘vast, strange, new and ‘the thirty thousand souls
diamonds and pearls
impossible to describe.’ that peopled it’
worth hundreds of
thousands of pounds.’
Reading non-fiction, Text 6: A History of Modern Britain
Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern

Britain by Andrew Marr
But other historic changes went ahead. Both devolution and the Irish
peace process reshaped the country and produced clear results. So
did other constitutional initiatives, such as the expulsion of most
hereditary peers from the Lords, ending its huge inbuilt Conservative
majority, and the incorporation of the European human rights
convention into British law, allowing cases to come to court here.
Neither produced the outcomes ministers expected. The Lords
became more assertive and more of a problem for Blair, not less of
one. British judges’ interpretation of the human rights of asylum
seekers and suspected terrorists caused much anguish to
successive home secretaries; and the ‘human rights culture’ was
widely criticized by newspapers. But at least, in each case, serious
shifts in the balance of power were made, changes intended to make
Britain fairer and more open.
Other early initiatives would crumble to dust and ashes. One of the
most interesting examples is the Dome, centrepiece of millennium
celebrations inherited from the Conservatives. Blair was initially
unsure about whether to forge ahead with the £1 bn gamble. He was
argued into the Dome project by Peter Mandelson who wanted to be
its impresario, and by John Prescott, who liked the new money it
would bring to a blighted part of east London. Prescott suggested
New Labour wouldn’t be much of a government if it could not make a
success of this. Blair agreed, though had the Dome ever come to a
cabinet vote he would have lost. Architecturally the Dome was
striking and elegant, a landmark for London which can be seen by
almost every air passenger arriving in the capital. Public money was
spent on cleaning up a poisoned semicircle of derelict land and
brining new Tube and road links. The millennium was certainly worth
celebrating. But the problem ministers and their advisers could not
solve was what their pleasure Dome should contain. Should it be for
a great national party? Should it be educational? Beautiful? Thought-
provoking? A fun park? Nobody could decide. The instinct of the
British towards satire was irresistible as the project continued
surrounded by cranes and political hullabaloo. The Dome would be
magnificent, unique, a tribute to daring and can-do. Blair himself said
it would provide the first paragraph of his next election manifesto.
A well-funded, self-confident management was put in place but the

bright child’s question – yes, but what’s it for? – would not go away.
When the Dome finally opened, at New Year, the Queen, Prime
Minister and hundreds of donors, business people and celebrities
were treated to a mishmash of a show which embarrassed many of
them. Bad organization meant most of the guests had a long,
freezing and damp wait to get in for the celebrations. Xanadu this
was not. The fiasco meant the Dome was roasted in most
newspapers and when it opened to the public, the range of mildly
interesting exhibits was greeted as a huge disappointment. Far fewer
people came and bought tickets than was hoped. It turned out to be a
theme park without a theme, morphing in the public imagination into
the earliest and most damaging symbol of what was wrong with New
Labour: an impressively constructed big tent containing not very
much at all. It was produced by some of the people closest to the
Prime Minister and therefore boomeranged particularly badly on him
and the group already known as ‘Tony’s cronies’. Optimism and
daring, it seemed, were not enough.

Lesson 1
Starter activities
1. Celebrating the 21st century. Following on from the lesson on Charlotte

Brontë’s letter, ask students to reflect on the features which they would include
in an exhibition to celebrate the 21st century. Discuss ideas and students’
reasons for them.
2. Introducing the Dome. Explain the concept of the Millennium Dome to

students. They might not have heard of the project, but will no doubt have heard
about or visited the O2.
Show students the following promotional video about the Millennium Experience.
Ask them to write down some words to convey its aims and aspirations as they
are watching the clip. They will refer back to these words after reading the
extract written by Andrew Marr.
The clip can be found at the following link: www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CgmQJfDkYCA
Main activities
1. Ways in. Read paragraph one of the text and ask students to highlight any
words which they do not understand. Discuss the words selected and explain
their meaning.
What can they predict about the writer’s perspective from the language
that is used?
2. Comprehension questions. Read the rest of the text with your class and give
students a copy of the task sheet Comprehending the text which provides
questions to be answered during the reading of this text.
The questions are designed to be answered in stages, so that you can discuss
and check students’ understanding after each paragraph.
Plenary
1. Key facts. Ask students, ‘What have you learned about the Millennium Dome?’
Working in pairs or small groups, get students to compile a list of key ideas or
facts based upon their reading.
Lesson 1 resources
Comprehending the text
After reading paragraph one
1. Which political changes in the 1990s brought positive results, according to Andrew
Marr?
2. Which political changes in the 1990s brought negative results, according to Andrew
Marr?
3. What does he say was the overall benefit of the changes that were made in politics?
Now read paragraph two …
1. How does Andrew Marr suggest that the Millennium Dome project was a failure?
2. How much money did the Dome project cost?
3. Which two politicians persuaded Tony Blair to go ahead with the project?
4. Which three reasons does Andrew Marr put forward in favour of the Dome project?
5. How does Andrew Marr suggest that the government was uncertain about the project?
Extension questions – looking at language
6. What does Andrew Marr mean when he says: ‘The instinct of the British towards satire
was irresistible as the project continued surrounded by cranes and political hullabaloo’?
What is the effect of the language in this sentence?

Now read paragraph three …
1. What two reasons does the writer give for the failure of the New Year’s opening for
VIPs?
2. What two reasons does the writer give for the failure of the opening to the public?
3. Who, according to the writer, suffered the most from its failure?
Extension questions – looking at language
4. What is the effect of the sentence: ‘Xanadu this was not’?
5. How does the writer use language to link the failure of the Dome project to problems
with the government (New Labour)?

Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Caption competition. Show students the photograph of the Queen and Tony
Blair at the opening night of the Dome. Ask them to come up with two captions for
the photograph:
 for a positive newspaper article
 for a mocking or satirical newspaper article.
Main activities
The following activities hit the following Assessment Objectives:
AO3
Compare writers’ ideas and perspectives, as well as how these are conveyed
across two or more texts.
1. Prepare to compare. Give students the What was the Millennium Dome
like? matching activity in pairs. Once they have completed the activity, they
should reflect on the words chosen and consider links between this text and
Charlotte Brontë’s letter.
2. Comparison chain. Give students a copy of the Chain of comparison sheet.

The first part of each paragraph has been scaffolded in order to demonstrate
how comparative paragraphs can be built up.
Students can complete the paragraphs by filling in the missing details. They can
then use this framework to write another comparative paragraph about this pair
of texts. The chain of comparison model can be used with other texts in the
pack.
3. Debating the Dome. As a class, complete a grid of reasons for and against the
Dome. Hold a class debate, along the lines of a debate in the House of
Commons. Divide the class into two factions – one in favour of the Dome
project and one against and prompt each side to question the other.
Plenary activity
1. Dome or no Dome? Hold a class vote to decide whether the Dome project
should go ahead.
Lesson 2 resources
Caption competition

What was the Millennium Dome like?
All of the following words could describe views of the Millennium Dome expressed in
Andrew Marr’s account. Match up the words with the quotations which follow. Cut out the
12 words so that you can move them around as separate cards.
potentially exciting impressive expensive
unpopular aimless disappointing
disorganised mocked embarrassing
regenerative controversial political

Cut out the 12 quotations so that you can move them around as separate cards.
‘Public money was spent

‘But the problem
on cleaning up a
ministers and their
poisoned semicircle of ‘The Dome was roasted
advisers could not solve
derelict land and bringing in most newspapers …’
was what their pleasure
new Tube and road
Dome should contain.’
links.’
‘Blair agreed, though had

‘Architecturally the Dome the Dome ever come to a
‘The £1bn gamble.’
was striking and elegant.’ cabinet vote he would
have lost.’
‘The project continued ‘Far fewer people came

surrounded by cranes ‘The fiasco.’ and bought tickets than
and political hullabaloo.’ was hoped.’
‘The range of mildly ‘The Dome would be

‘most of the guests had a
interesting exhibits was magnificent, unique, a
long, freezing and damp
greeted as a huge tribute to daring and can-
wait to get in.’
disappointment.’ do.’

Chain of comparison
Structuring a comparative answer can be tricky, but the following chain might help you to
organise your ideas.
1. Point of similarity
Both writers express the view that the exhibition that they are writing about was impressive.

Point about Text 1
Charlotte Bronte describes the Great Exhibition as impressive when she writes:

Quotation from Text 1
‘Its grandeur does not consist in one thing, but in the unique assemblage of all things.’

Analysis/comment on language
The word ‘grandeur’ is very effective at conveying both size and elegance, and the contrast
between ‘one thing’ and ‘all things’ makes the exhibition seem hugely impressive.

Link to Text 2
In contrast, Andrew Marr writes that the Millennium Dome was …



Effect of difference

2. Point of difference
The writers give different views about the popularity of the exhibitions that they are writing about.

Point about Text 1
Charlotte Bronte describes the Great Exhibition as popular

when she describes ‘the thirty thousand souls that peopled it.’

The huge number ‘thirty thousand’ helps to convey the sheer size and scale of the exhibition,
and the word ‘souls’ suggests that visiting the Great Exhibition was a spiritual experience.

Link to Text 2
In contrast, Andrew Marr writes that the Millennium Dome was …



Effect of difference

Reading non-fiction, Text 7: ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
Text 7: Excerpt from Henry Morley: Household

Words, ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
Household Words periodical, June 1851
Our Phantom Ship: China
OUR Phantom Ship has deposited our friend, Henry Rubley, Esquire, at
Adelaide, and has now returned to China.
Since a typhoon occurs not much to blind us; it is quite as much as we
oftener than once in about three can do to see each other. Now the
years, it would be odd if we should wind howls and tears the water up,
sail immediately into one; but we are as if it would extract the waves by
fairly in the China seas, which are their roots, like so many Ocean’s
the typhoon’s own peculiar sporting teeth; but he kicks sadly at the
ground, and it is desperately sultry, operation. We are driven by the wild
and those clouds are full of night blast that snaps our voices short off
and lightning, to say nothing of a at the lips and carries them away;
fitful gale and angry sea. Look out! no words are audible. We are
There is the coast of China. Now for among a mass of spars and men
telescope to see the barren, dingy wild as the storm on drifting broken
hills, with clay and granite peeping junks; a vessel founders in our sight,
out, with a few miserable trees and and we are cast, with dead and
stunted firs. That is our first sight of living, upon half a dozen wrecks
the flowery land, and we shall not entangled in a mass, upon the shore
get another yet, for the spray begins of Hong Kong; — ourselves safe, of

Reading non-fiction, Text 7: ‘Our Phantom Ship: China’
course, for left at home whatever Hong Kong was one of the upshots
could be bruised upon the journey. of our cannonading in the pure and
How many houses have been blown holy Chinese war; and as for the
away like hats, how many rivers new town of Victoria, we shall walk
have been driven back to swell out of it at once, for we have not
canals and flood the fields, (whose travelled all this way to look at
harvest has been prematurely Englishmen. The island itself is eight
cropped on the first warning of the or ten miles long, and sometimes
typhoon’s intended visit,) we decline two or sometimes six miles broad. It
investigating. The evening sky is is the model of a grand mountain
very wild, and we were last night region on a scale of two inches to
under the typhoon at sea; to-night, the foot. There are crags, ravines,
are in the new town of Victoria, and wild torrents, fern-hills; but the
will be phantom bed-fellows to any highest mountain does not rise two
Chinaman who has been eating thousand feet. We stand upon it
pork for supper. The Chinese are now. Quite the contrary to our usual
very fond of pork, or anything that experience, we found, in coming up,
causes oiliness in man. A lean man the richest flowers at the greatest
forfeits something in their elevation. The heat and dryness of
estimation; for they say, “He must the air below, where the sun’s rays
have foolishness; why has he are reflected from bare surfaces, is
wanted wisdom to eat more?” said to be oppressive, and perhaps
the flowers down there want a
pleasant shade.

Lesson 1
Starter activities
1. Chinese wisdom. Show your students a range of Chinese proverbs and ask
them to translate them into a clear moral message. For example:
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool
forever.
It is always better to ask if you don’t understand something.
 He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skills of the
physician.
 You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but
you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.
 He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves.
 Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.
 A man of leisure will never taste the fruit of success.
Share this one from the text you are about to read. See if any of the class can
work it out:
 He must have foolishness; why has he wanted wisdom to eat more?
You can return to this once you have read the article with your class and ask
them again to work it out in context.
2. Look out! There’s a typhoon. In order to prepare students for the main focus
of this text, show them a video of a typhoon in China or Hong Kong. The
following link of typhoon Kalmegi might be useful, but others are available on
YouTube:
Typhoon Kalmaegi hits fishermen in China – video | World news | The

Guardian
Main activities
1. Read the text with your class and ask them to decide the purpose of the writing.
Can they find evidence for any of these purposes? Get them to highlight any
evidence they find in the text.
 to inform
 to explain
 to describe
 to persuade
 to argue
 to entertain
2. Zooming in. Ask students to complete The typhoon unravelled activity sheet
using an extract from the whole text.
Once they’ve done this, take feedback from the activity and lead students
towards answering the following question which addresses AO2 and AO4:
How does the writer use language to describe his experiences of a typhoon?
3. It’s on the news. Put students into groups of three or four and ask them to
script a television news report for the 10pm news about this typhoon. They will
need to interview the writer as an eye-witness and at least one other survivor.
Answers should reflect the language of the text.
Plenary activity
1. Fit for purpose? Listen to some of the news broadcasts and discuss how
successful students have been at capturing the authenticity of the language and
using relevant detail from the text.
Lesson 1 resources
The typhoon unravelled
Annotate the following extract from the text, labelling the following features:
 sensory details – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch
 use of imagery – simile, metaphor, personification
 use of present tense verbs
 use of sentence structure.
That is our first sight of the flowery land, and we shall not get another yet, for
the spray begins to blind us; it is quite as much as we can do to see each other.
Now the wind howls and tears the water up, as if it would extract the waves by
their roots, like so many Ocean’s teeth; but he kicks sadly at the operation. We
are driven by the wild blast that snaps our voices short off at the lips and carries
them away; no words are audible. We are among a mass of spars and men wild
as the storm on drifting broken junks; a vessel founders in our sight, and we are
cast, with dead and living, upon half a dozen wrecks entangled in a mass, upon
the shore of Hong Kong; — ourselves safe, of course, for left at home whatever
could be bruised upon the journey. How many houses have been blown away
like hats, how many rivers have been driven back to swell canals and flood the
fields, (whose harvest has been prematurely cropped on the first warning of the
typhoon’s intended visit,) we decline investigating.
Now answer the following question in PEE paragraphs. Aim to use at least four quotations
in your answer.
How does the writer use language to describe his experiences of a typhoon?
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Persuasive language focus. Remind students of some key persuasive

language techniques – emotive language, repetition, rhetorical questions,
contrastive pairs, imperatives, pattern of three etc.
Now ask them to re-write the final paragraph of the text for inclusion in a tourist
brochure.
Before they write, you may wish to show them this example and discuss its
persuasive features.
Explore Hong Kong tours
Hong Kong has many sides to its complex personality and not every visitor takes
the time to explore these to their fullest. Come and discover a different side to
the city with this series of tours that reveal Hong Kong’s local foodie secrets or
show you what cultural artefacts exist on its doorstep. These one-off special
interest adventures will make your holiday unforgettable!
Main activities
1. Exploring point of view. Ask students to complete the activity sheet Views
about visiting China. This will enable them to consider attitudes and
perspectives in this text, prior to comparing it to the one written by Colin
Thubron.
There is a differentiated version of this task which provides students with

some quotations to match up as evidence.
Plenary activity
2. Venn diagram. Give pairs of students the Comparing attitudes about China
Venn diagram resource sheet or draw/display one on the board. Now give each
pair the Attitude adjectives sheet and ask them to decide which words they
would use to describe the feelings and attitude of the writer. They must justify
their choices.
Extension
Decide on some additional words to add to the adjectives sheet. Students can
put the chosen words on the left hand side of the Venn diagram.
Lesson 2 resources
Views about visiting China
1. True or False? Decide whether you think that these statements about the attitude of
the writer are true or false.
 He is surprised that the ship sails into a typhoon. TRUE / FALSE
 He is impressed by his first sight of China. TRUE / FALSE
 He is very concerned about the destruction that he sees around him. TRUE / FALSE
 He is interested in the habits of Chinese people. TRUE / FALSE
 He wishes to discover what Hong Kong is like. TRUE / FALSE
 He finds Hong Kong different to expectations. TRUE / FALSE
2. Prove it! Provide evidence for your view of the statements by finding a quotation to
support each of them and writing it underneath.
3. ‘Zoom in’ on language

 Highlight or underline words in your chosen quotations which you find interesting.
 Identify examples of specific techniques which have been used e.g. imagery,
repetition, use of pronouns, vocabulary choices etc.
 Comment on the effect of the techniques used.

Views about visiting China (Differentiated task)
1. True or False? Decide whether you think that these statements about the attitude of
the writer are true or false.
True or false
A. He is surprised that that the ship sails into a typhoon.
B. He is impressed by his first sight of China.

C. He is very concerned about the destruction that he sees around
him.
D. He is interested in the habits of Chinese people.
E. He wishes to discover what Hong Kong is like.
F. He finds Hong Kong different to expectations.
2. Prove it! Provide evidence for your view of the statements by finding a quotation to
support each of them.
1. ‘Quite contrary to our usual experience, we

A. He is surprised that that the
found, in coming up, the richest flowers at
ship sails into a typhoon.
the greatest elevation.’
2. ‘we are fairly in the China seas, which are

B. He is impressed by his first
the typhoon’s own peculiar sporting
sight of China.
ground.’
C. He is very concerned about 3. ‘We shall walk out of it at once, for we have
the destruction that he sees not travelled all this way to look at
around him. Englishmen.’
4. ‘Now for telescope to see the barren, dingy

D. He is interested in the habits
hills, with clay and granite peeping out, with
of Chinese people.
a few miserable trees and stunted firs.’
E. He wishes to discover what 5. ‘The Chinese are very fond of pork, or

Hong Kong is like. anything that causes oiliness in man.’
6. ‘How many houses have been blown away

F. He finds Hong Kong different like hats, how many rivers have been
to expectations. driven back to swell canals and flood the
fields … we decline investigating.’
3. Now ‘Zoom in’ on language
Find and highlight or underline one example of each of the following techniques:
 inclusive pronouns ‘we’
 adjectives (words which describe)
 repetition of words or phrases.

Comparing attitudes about China
Henry Morley Colin Thubron

Attitude adjectives
inquisitive surprised unimpressed calm
shocked angry impressed nervous
embarrassed intrigued

Reading non-fiction, Text 8: Behind the Wall
Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by

Colin Thubron
People’s images of countries are rich in such buried sediment, which

goes on haunting long after experience or common sense has diluted
it. And by now – as we floated above the wrung-out steppes of the Gobi
– other strata had overlaid it first. In the anarchy of the Cultural
Revolution, between 1966 and 1976, the Chinese people had not
merely been terrorised from above but had themselves – tens of
millions of them – become the instruments of their own torture. The
land had sunk into a peculiar horror. A million were killed; some thirty
million more were brutally persecuted, and unknown millions starved to
death. Yet it was less the numbers which appalled than the refinements
of cruelty practised – in once province alone seventy-five different
methods of torture were instituted – and I never thought of the country
now without being dogged by a tragic question-mark.
The woman was rummaging in her handbag. In the seats behind us a

conclave of Beijing businessmen sprawled, their shirt collars open, their
eyes closed. I was seized by the foolish idea that each one of them
was withholding some secret from me - some simple, perfect
illumination. Because that is the foreigner’s obsession in China. At
every moment, round ever corner, the question Who are they? erupts
and nags. How could they be so led? How could they do what they had
done? And had they ever changed – this people of exquisite poetry and
refined brush-strokes and pitilessness?
A billion uncomprehended people.
Beneath us now, where the last hills tilted south-eastward out of Inner
Mongolia into the huge alluvial basin of the Yellow River, I could see
the divide between plateau and plain, agricultural hardship and
sufficiency, drawn vertically down the earth’s atlas with the precision of
a pencil-stroke. To the west brown, to the east green.
Within half an hour we would be landing in Beijing – old Peking – and
as if these last airborne minutes might liberate us from inhibitions, I
started talking with the woman about the Cultural Revolution. She
turned quizzically to me and asked: ‘What do you think of Mao Zedong
in the West?’
I said we thought him a remarkable leader, but inhumane.
She said coldly: ‘Yes. He made mistakes.’
Mistakes! He had caused more than sixteen million deaths. Sometimes

he had acted and talked about people as if they were mere disposable
counters on an ideological gameboard. And she talked of mistakes. It
was how the Russians spoke of Stalin. I said tightly – I felt this might be
my last (and first) chance to vent anger in China: ‘All that suffering
inflicted on your people! How can you forgive that?’ Then I added: ‘I
think he became a monster.’
She went quiet and stared somewhere beyond me. The fact did not
seem to have occurred to her before. Then she said simply: ‘Yes.’
For some reason I felt ashamed. Whatever she meant by her ‘Yes’, its
tone – distant, as if admitting something irrelevant – signalled that I did
not understand. She fastened her seat-belt. I said: ‘Of course it’s hard
for us in the West to imagine …’
Us in the West. We must seem outlandish, I thought, with our garish

self-centredness, our coarse opulence, our sentimentality. Somebody
had told me that the Chinese found our big feet and noses
preposterous, and that to them we smelt. The next moment I had asked
the woman penitently: ‘Do we smell?’
Her fragile face smiled back at me. ‘Yes, of course.’
I baulked. ‘Very much?’
‘Oh yes. All the time.’

I suppose that her bemused smile was there to cover the
embarrassment. But I asked finally, edging a little away: ‘Do I smell?’
‘Yes.’
It was too late to go back now. ‘What of?’
‘What?’
‘What of? What do I smell of?’
‘Oh!’ She plunged her face into her hands in a sudden paroxysm of
giggles. ‘Smell. I thought you said smile!’ The tinkle and confusion of
her laughter sabotaged the next few sentences, then she said: ‘Only in
the summer. Westerners sweat more than Chinese. That’s all, that’s all.
No, you don’t … smell. No, really … no …’
We were coming in to land.


Colin Thubron
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Show your class the following comedy clips based on misunderstandings

between people. They are good examples of how a misunderstanding based
on hearing something incorrectly or as a result of a language barrier can result
in humour and will therefore introduce a key aspect of this text.
Fork handles, the two Ronnies
Fawlty Towers – Basil gives Manuel a language lesson
Main activities
1. Understanding the text. Read the text with your class and give them the
Comprehending the text questions to answer either individually or in pairs.
There are some extension questions included, designed to encourage students
to probe the language of the text in some more detail.
2. Cross purposes talk. Ask pairs to read out the dialogue between the narrator
and the woman on the aeroplane without any narrative. Alternatively, choose
one pair of students to read it in front of the class.
Plenary activity
1. What does the narrative do? Ask students to consider the impact of leaving
out the narrative sections. Does it still manage to create humour? How
important is Colin Thubron’s narrative at conveying the reactions of the tourist
and the Chinese woman?

Lesson 1 resources
Comprehending the text
Answer these questions in full sentences and support with a short quotation wherever
possible.
1. How many people does the writer claim were affected by the Chinese Cultural
Revolution?
2. What does the writer find most shocking about the events which took place?
3. What does the writer think about China?
4. What do you think is the ‘foreigner’s obsession in China’ according to the writer?
5. When the writer looks out of the aeroplane window he uses a series of contrasts to
describe what he sees. Write down one of these contrasts. What might it suggest
about China?
6. How does the writer feel about the woman’s comment that Mao Zedong (also known as
Mao Tse-tung) ‘made mistakes?’
7. Which question does the writer ask the woman about western habits?
8. Which question does the woman think the writer has asked?
9. How does the woman’s confusion and misunderstanding create humour at the end of
the article?
Language and structure extension questions
10. The writer describes the Chinese as a ‘people of exquisite poetry and refined brush-
strokes and pitilessness.’ Which techniques has he used in this sentence to make his
point more powerful?
11. What does the writer mean when he writes, ‘We must seem outlandish … with our
garish self-centredness, our coarse opulence, our sentimentality’. What do you notice
about the writer’s use of language in this quotation?
12. How does the end of the excerpt contrast with the beginning of the excerpt? Consider
content, tone and language.


Colin Thubron
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Images of the revolution. Show the class the images of the Chinese
Cultural Revolution. Ask students to discuss these in light of the text they
have read. Do they reflect the information given by the writer? Why or why not?
This might lead into some interesting discussion about the role of propaganda in
communist dictatorships.
Main activities
1. Prepare to compare AO3. Return to the Attitude adjectives activity that

students did with the Phantom Ship. Ask students to re-visit the words and
decide which might be used to describe this writer’s attitudes about his visit to
China.
Words can be placed in the remaining sections of the Venn diagram. This
should lead to some discussion about the similarities and differences between
these writers.
2. Exam pic’n’mix. Ask students to plan and write an answer for an exam
question. The following questions are worded to reflect the longer comparative
question across different specifications:

AQA-style question
Compare how the two writers convey their different attitudes to visiting China.
In your answer you should:
 compare their attitudes
 compare the methods they use to compare their attitudes
 support your answer with quotations from both texts.
16 marks
OCR-style question
‘In these texts China is presented in a positive way.’

How far do you agree with this statement?
 discuss your impressions of China based on these extracts
 explain what you find interesting about their presentation of China
 compare the different attitudes of the two writers.
Support your response with quotations from both texts.

18 marks
Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their ideas and
perspectives about visiting China.
Support your answer with detailed reference to the texts.

14 marks
WJEC Eduqas-style question
Both of these texts are about visiting China. Compare the following:
 the writer’s attitude towards their visit
 how they get their experiences across to the reader.
10 marks

Plenary activity
1. Bringing it all together. After students have planned and/or written their
responses to the longer comparative exam question, gather ideas on the board
to summarise what they have discovered about the two writers’ attitudes and the
way that they are presented.
This might take the form of a comparison table, a mind-map with different
colours for each text, a continuum from positive to negative etc.
The summary should consider the what (what attitudes are shown) and the how
(how they are conveyed through methods and language).

Lesson 2 resources
Chinese cultural revolution
Propaganda poster during the Cultural Revolution, 20th century,

China CREDIT: Photo12 \ Universal Images Group
22nd November 1973: Chinese primary school children file past a

billboard. A quotation from Mao Tse-tung is written on the board
which includes drawings of children. CREDIT: Keystone / Hulton Archive Editorial / Getty
Images / Universal Images Group/ COPYRIGHT: © Getty Images

Photograph taken of posters of Mao and quotations along the

Nanking Road during the Cultural Revolution in 1967, Shanghai,
China, Asia
CREDIT: Ursula Gahwiler / Robert Harding World Imagery / Universal Images Group / COPYRIGHT: © Robert Harding
For Education Use Only. This and millions of other educational images are available through Britannica Image Quest.
For a free trial, please visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial

Reading non-fiction, Text 9: Darwin’s The Voyage of the Beagle
Text 9: Excerpt from Charles Darwin The

Voyage of the Beagle
While going one day on shore near Wollaston Island, we

pulled alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were
the most abject and miserable creatures I anywhere
beheld. On the east coast the natives […] have guanaco
cloaks, and on the west they possess seal-skins. Amongst
these central tribes the men generally have an otter-skin,
or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-
handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their
backs as low down as their loins. It is laced across the
breast by strings, and according as the wind blows, it is
shifted from side to side. But these Fuegians in the canoe
were quite naked, and even one full-grown woman was
absolutely so. It was raining heavily, and the fresh water,
together with the spray, trickled down her body. In another
harbour not far distant, a woman, who was suckling a
recently-born child, came one day alongside the vessel,
and remained there out of mere curiosity, whilst the sleet
fell and thawed on her naked bosom, and on the skin of
her naked baby! These poor wretches were stunted in
their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white
paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled,
their voices discordant, and their gestures violent. Viewing
such men, one can hardly make oneself believe that they
are fellow-creatures, and inhabitants of the same world. It
is a common subject of conjecture what pleasure in life
some of the lower animals can enjoy: how much more
reasonably the same question may be asked with respect
to these barbarians! At night five or six human beings,
naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of
this tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground coiled

up like animals. Whenever it is low water, winter or

summer, night or day, they must rise to pick shellfish from
the rocks; and the women either dive to collect sea-eggs,
or sit patiently in their canoes, and with a baited hair-line
without any hook, jerk out little fish. If a seal is killed, or the
floating carcass of a putrid whale is discovered, it is a
feast; and such miserable food is assisted by a few
tasteless berries and fungi. […]
Their country is a broken mass of wild rocks, lofty hills,

and useless forests: and these are viewed through mists
and endless storms. The habitable land is reduced to the
stones on the beach; in search of food they are compelled
unceasingly to wander from spot to spot, and so steep is
the coast, that they can only move about in their wretched
canoes. They cannot know the feeling of having a home,
and still less that of domestic affection; for the husband is
to the wife a brutal master to a laborious slave. Was a
more horrid deed ever perpetrated, than that witnessed on
the west coast by Byron [John Byron (1723-86),
navigator], who saw a wretched mother pick up her
bleeding dying infant-boy, whom her husband had
mercilessly dashed on the stones for dropping a basket of
sea-eggs! How little can the higher powers of the mind be
brought into play: what is there for imagination to picture,
for reason to compare, for judgment to decide upon? to
knock a limpet from the rock does not require even
cunning, that lowest power of the mind. Their skill in some
respects may be compared to the instinct of animals; for it
is not improved by experience: the canoe, their most
ingenious work, poor as it is, has remained the same, as
we know from Drake, for the last two hundred and fifty
years.



Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Who was Charles Darwin? Put students into groups and ask them to share
their knowledge. Compile information as a class.
Main activities
1. Quick quiz. After a first reading of the text, ask pairs to take part in the Quick
recall quiz.
2. Feelings about the Fuegians. Give out the Attitudes towards the native
tribes card sort activity to groups of students. After deciding which five words
best describe Darwin’s feelings, they should scan the text for evidence to
support each of them.
3. Modelling PEE. Before students answer the exam question which is relevant to
the exam board that they are studying, it is worth modelling PEE style
paragraphs. Here are two examples in answer to the AQA-style question:
How does Charles Darwin use language to convey his feelings about the
Fuegians?
Students can be asked to compare the paragraphs below and discuss the
difference between them.
Ask them where each example answer pinpoints specific comments about
language.

Example paragraph 1
Darwin dislikes the appearance of the Fuegians when he first sees them in the
canoe. He describes them as ‘the most abject and miserable creatures’. The
words ‘abject’ and ‘miserable’ suggest that Darwin finds them horrible to look at
and could imply that he feels a bit sorry for them.
Example paragraph 2
In this extract, Darwin seems to be surprised by the appearance of the Fuegians

when he first sees them in the canoe. He describes them as ‘the most abject
and miserable creatures I anywhere beheld’. In this quotation, Darwin uses the
adjectives ‘abject’ and ‘miserable’ to convey his feelings of dislike and possibly
pity for their appearance. Furthermore, the superlative ‘most’ heightens his
feelings towards them; it implies that he has seen many native tribes and the
Fuegians have the worst appearance of any that he has encountered.
4. Exam pic’n’mix. Give students an exam-style question to complete on this text.

Select the question which is most appropriate for your class.
AQA-style question
How does Charles Darwin use language to convey his feelings about the
Fuegians?
Support your answer with close reference to the text.
What do you think and feel about Charles Darwin’s attitude towards the
Fuegians?
You should comment on:
 what is said
 how it is said.

Charles Darwin attempts to engage the reader through the description of his first
encounter with the Fuegians.
 Evaluate how successfully this is achieved.
 Support your views with detailed reference to the text.
OCR-style question
Explore how Charles Darwin presents his feelings about the Fuegians.
Support your ideas by referring to the text, using relevant subject terminology.
Plenary activity
1. Peer assessment. Students should swap answers and complete a peer

marking activity using your in-house marking style which might be WWW (what
went well) and EBI (even better if) or another means of giving positive feedback
and targets.
Students should be encouraged to look for focused comments on language.

These could then be shared with the class.

Lesson 1 resources
Quick recall quiz
1. What is the name of the ship which Charles Darwin travelled in?
2. On which island in Tierra del Fuego was Charles Darwin near when he went on
shore?
3. How many Fuegians did Charles Darwin see in the canoe?
4. What did he notice about their clothing?
5. What did they have on their faces?
6. How do they sleep?
7. What do they eat?
8. Which part of the island do they live on?
9. How do they treat their wives?
10. What is their greatest achievement?

Attitudes towards the native tribes
Which words describe the writer’s attitude towards native tribes?
Cut out the 12 words so that you can move them around as separate cards.
 Consider and discuss all of the words.
 In groups agree on the five that best illustrate the writer’s view.
 Find textual evidence to support each word that you choose.
disbelief pity disgust
shock compassion revulsion
sadness admiration interest
curiosity fear horror


Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. Formal and informal vocabulary. Give students the Formal and informal
vocabulary grid and ask them to find informal alternatives to Charles Darwin’s
choices. A differentiated version of this activity is available as an interactive
matching activity.
Main activities
1. Writing technique (AO2, AO4). Charles Darwin not only writes in a

sophisticated, formal style, but he also uses a variety of techniques in this text.
Give students the Close-up on writing technique resource and ask them to
work with a partner or in a small group to find an example of each writing
technique. The key part of this task is for students to explore the effect of each
example chosen.
There is a differentiated version of this task which provides students with

relevant quotations. Extension: ask students to find an example of at least one
other technique used and add it to their grids.
2. Animal vs. human. Ask students to highlight or underline all of the places in
which humans are compared to animals. Imagine that Charles Darwin has to
put forward a case to people who are sceptical about evolution. He uses the
Fuegians to illustrate his theory that man is descended from apes. Write a short
speech in which Charles Darwin makes his case. (AO5, AO6). Remember to
use a range of rhetorical devices.

Plenary activity
1. Charlie in the hot-seat. Ask for a volunteer or several volunteers to represent

Charles Darwin in a hot-seating activity. Students should ask as many
questions as they can about the text and the student (or students) representing
Darwin should answer in role, drawing on their knowledge of the text.

Lesson 2 resources
Formal and informal vocabulary grid
Complete the following grid by providing an informal, modern equivalent for each of the
formal words in the left-hand column. Before you set about doing this, locate each word in
the text and use the contextual clues to help you with its meaning.
Word from the text Informal equivalent
abject
beheld
sufficient
mere
bedaubed
entangled
discordant
conjecture
tempestuous
putrid
lofty
unceasingly
laborious
deed
perpetrated
mercilessly
ingenious


here.

Close-up on writing technique
Charles Darwin employs a wide range of techniques to make this account vivid for the
reader. Find an example of each technique and explore its effect as thoroughly as you
can.
Technique Example Effect
adjectives
exclamatory
sentences
opinion
fact
lists

adverbs
rhetorical
questions
pattern of
three
simile or
metaphor
emotive
language

Close-up on writing technique (differentiated)
Charles Darwin employs a wide range of techniques to make this account vivid for the
reader. Comment on the effect of each example which has been provided for you.
Technique Example Effect
‘These were the most abject and

adjectives miserable creatures …’
exclamatory ‘the sleet fell and thawed … on the

sentences skin of her naked baby!’
‘Viewing such men, one can hardly

opinion make oneself believe that they are
fellow-creatures …’
‘as we know from Drake, for the

fact last two hundred and fifty years.’
‘their hair entangled, their voices

lists discordant, and their gestures
violent.’

‘they are compelled unceasingly to

adverbs wander from spot to spot …’
rhetorical ‘How little can the powers of the

questions mind be brought into play?’
‘for imagination to picture, for

pattern of reason to compare, for judgment to
three decide upon?’
‘about as large as a pocket-

simile or handkerchief.’
metaphor
‘coiled up like animals.’
‘her bleeding dying infant-boy,

emotive whom her husband had
language mercilessly dashed on the stones
…’

Reading non-fiction, Text 10: Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
Text 10: Excerpt from Follow the Rabbit-

Proof Fence
In this section, two young Aboriginal girls are forcibly removed from their family and home.
Molly and Gracie finished their breakfast and decided to take all their
dirty clothes and wash them in the soak further down the river. They
returned to camp looking clean and refreshed and joined the rest of
the family in the shade for lunch of tinned corned beef, damper and
tea. The family had just finished eating when all the camp dogs
began barking, making a terrible din.
“Shut up,” yelled the owners, throwing stones at them. The dogs
whinged and skulked away.
Then all eyes turned to the cause of the commotion. A tall, rugged
white man stood on the bank above them. He could easily have been
mistaken for a pastoralist or a grazier with his tanned complexion
except that he was wearing khaki clothing. Fear and anxiety swept
over them when they realised that the fateful day they had been
dreading had come at last. They always knew that it would only be a
matter of time before the government would track them down. When
Constable Riggs, Protector of Aborigines, finally spoke his voice was
full of authority and purpose. They knew without a doubt that he was
the one who took their children in broad daylight – not like the evil
spirits who came into their camps in the night.
“I’ve come to take Molly, Gracie and Daisy, the three half-caste girls,
with me to go to school at the Moore River Native Settlement,” he
informed the family.
The old man nodded to show that he understood what Riggs was
saying. The rest of the family just hung their heads refusing to face
the man who was taking their daughters away from them. Silent tears
welled in their eyes and trickled down their cheeks.

“Come on, you girls,” he ordered. “Don’t worry about taking anything.
We’ll pick up what you need later.”
When the two girls stood up, he noticed that the third girl was
missing. “Where’s the other one, Daisy?” he asked anxiously.
“She’s with her mummy and daddy at Murra Munda station,” the old
man informed him.
“She’s not at Murra Munda or at Jimbalbar goldfields. I called into

those places before I came here,” said the Constable. “Hurry up then,
I want to get started. We’ve got a long way to go yet. You girls can
ride this horse back to the depot,” he said, handing the reins over to
Molly. Riggs was annoyed that he had to go miles out of his way to
find these girls.
Molly and Gracie sat silently on the horse, tears streaming down their
cheeks as Constable Riggs turned the big bay stallion and led the
way back to the depot. A high pitched wail broke out. The cries of
agonised mothers and the women, and the deep sobs of
grandfathers, uncles and cousins filled the air. Molly and Gracie
looked back just once before they disappeared through the river
gums. Behind them, those remaining in the camp found strong sharp
objects and gashed themselves and inflicted wounds to their heads
and bodies as an expression of their sorrow.
The two frightened and miserable girls began to cry uncontrollably;

their grief made worse by the lamentations of their loved ones and
the visions of them sitting on the ground in their camp letting their
tears mix with the red blood that flowed from the cuts on their heads.
This reaction to their children’s abduction showed that the family
were now in mourning. They were grieving for their abducted children
and their relief would come only when the tears ceased to fall, and
that would be a long time yet.


Proof Fence
Lesson 1
Starter activity
1. Give students the Pre-reading exercise to complete individually or in pairs.

Share ideas about the text.
Main activities
1. Getting to grips with the text. Read the rest of the text and ask students to
underline the reactions of the children and their families. Now give out the
resource on the The language of pain and suffering (AO2) which also asks
students to consider the writer’s perspective (AO3). Write an exam-style
answer.
2. White vs. aboriginal. Compare the presentation of the aboriginals with the
white man in this text. Identify the language used to present Constable Riggs –
his appearance, his actions and his language. Does this fit with or challenge our
view of the writer’s perspective?
Plenary activity
1. Uncovering context. Watch the video about the Stolen Generation at this link:
Stolen Generations / Australian Aboriginal Brief History - YouTube
This also includes extracts from the 2008 apology by the Australian Prime
Minister, Kevin Rudd.

Lesson 1 resources
Pre-reading activity
The following extract is taken from a longer text which you will be using to develop skills
for the GCSE Reading non-fiction exams. Read and annotate it carefully, using the
questions which follow as prompts.
Then all eyes turned to the cause of the

commotion. A tall, rugged white man stood on the
bank above them. He could easily have been
mistaken for a pastoralist or a grazier with his
tanned complexion except that he was wearing
khaki clothing. Fear and anxiety swept over them
when they realised that the fateful day they had
been dreading had come at last. They always
knew that it would only be a matter of time before
the government would track them down. When
Constable Riggs, Protector of Aborigines, finally
spoke his voice was full of authority and purpose.
They knew without a doubt that he was the one
who took their children in broad daylight – not like
the evil spirits who came into their camps in the
night.
 What type of text is this extract from?
 Where is it set?
 What is happening in this extract?
 What do you learn about the man who is described?
 What predictions can you make about the rest of the text?

The language of pain and suffering
The following extracts from the text use emotive language to convey the pain and suffering
of Molly, Gracie and their families when they are forcibly removed from their home.
Complete the following grid. The bold text draws attention to one or two specific language
techniques for you to explore.
Quotation Technique Effect
‘the rest of the

family just hung alliteration
their heads’
‘Silent tears
welled in their
eyes and trickled verbs
down their
cheeks.’
‘tears streaming
down their present participle verb
cheeks ...’
‘A high pitched
adjective and noun
wail …’
‘Cries of
agonised adjective
mothers …’

‘the deep sobs of

grandfathers,
adjectives
uncles and
three part list
cousins filled the
air.’
‘gashed
themselves and
inflicted wounds
verbs
… as an
expression of
their sorrow’
‘The two
frightened and
miserable girls adjective
began to cry adverb
uncontrollably
…’
‘the family were

now in metaphor
mourning.’
What does the language used by the writer suggest about her attitude towards the events
that are being described?
Choose five quotations to write about.


Proof Fence
Lesson 2
Starter activity
1. What does this extract teach us about Aboriginal culture? Think about the
following things:
 lifestyle
 the importance of family
 treatment of animals
 superstition and religion.
Main activities
1. Filming the extract. Ask students to prepare a 10 shot storyboard for this
scene. Compare with the film version of the scene. The link can be found at:
Rabbit Proof Fence Stolen Generation - YouTube
2. Comparing with Darwin (AO3). Return to the card sort activity relating to the
writer’s attitude towards native tribes. Put students into groups and ask them to
choose words which best describe this writer’s attitude towards the aboriginals.
What similarities and differences are there between this writer’s perspective on
native tribes and Darwin’s?
3. Exam pic’n’mix. Ask students to plan and write an answer for an exam
question. The following questions are worded to reflect the longer, comparative
question across different specifications:

AQA-style question
Compare how the two writers convey their different attitudes and perspectives to
native tribes.
 compare their different attitudes.
 compare the methods they use to compare their attitudes.
 support your ideas with quotations from both texts.
16 marks
OCR-style question
‘In these texts the writers present negative attitudes towards native tribes.’
How far do you agree with this statement?
 discuss what you learn about their attitudes
 explain the impact of their attitudes on you
 compare how their views are presented.
Support your response with quotations from both texts.
18 marks
Compare how the writers of Text 1 and Text 2 present their ideas and
perspectives about native tribes.
Support your answer with detailed reference to the texts.
14 marks
Both of these texts are about native tribes. Compare the following:
 the writers’ attitudes towards the native tribes
 how they get their attitudes across to the reader.
10 marks

Plenary activity
1. Nana Fejo’s story. Direct students to the following apology speech, given by
Kevin Rudd, Australian Prime Minister in 2008. Share the story of Nana Fejo as
explained by Kevin Rudd in his speech. You might also find the following links
useful:
 extended, printable version of Kevin Rudd’s speech
 the Australian News full transcript of PM’s speech
 full video of Kevin Rudd’s speech on YouTube.
2. What similarities are there between her experiences and those of Molly and
Gracie? What can we learn from her story?

Acknowledgements
Extracts
Text 2: Claire Potter, ‘Why teaching table manners can do more harm than good’,
The Guardian. Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 2013, reprinted by
permission
Text 4: From My Left Foot by Christy Brown, published by Secker. Reprinted by

permission of The Random House Group Ltd
Text 6: From A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr, published by Pan Books.
Copyright © Andrew Marr, 2007. Reprinted by permission of Pan Macmillan
UK
Text 8: From Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron, published by Secker. Reprinted by
permission of The Random House Group Ltd
Text 10: From Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington/Nugi Garamara,
published by University of Queensland Press. Reprinted by permission of
University of Queensland Press
Images
Cover: Typewriter image adapted from the original image, shared freely by Florian
Klauer on Unsplash
Page 77: © Alpha / Globe Photos INC
Page 103-4: From Britannica Image Quest. For Education Use Only. This and millions of
other educational images are available through Britannica Image Quest. For
a free trial, please visit www.britannica.co.uk/trial

Exploring context
Extract from Kevin Rudd’s 2008 Apology speech: Nana Fejo’s story
Let me begin to answer by telling the parliament just a little of one person’s story –
an elegant, eloquent and wonderful woman in her 80s, full of life, full of funny
stories, despite what has happened in her life's journey. Nanna Nungala Fejo, as
she prefers to be called, was born in the late 1920s.
She remembers her earliest childhood days living with her family and her
community in a bush camp just outside Tennant Creek. She remembers the love
and the warmth and the kinship of those days long ago, including traditional dancing
around the camp fire at night.
She loved the dancing. She remembers once getting into strife when, as a four-
year-old girl, she insisted on dancing with the male tribal elders rather than just
sitting and watching the men, as the girls were supposed to do.
But then, sometime around 1932, when she was about four, she remembers the
coming of the welfare men. Her family had feared that day and had dug holes in
the creek bank where the children could run and hide.
What they had not expected was that the white welfare men did not come alone.
They brought a truck, two white men and an Aboriginal stockman on horseback
cracking his stockwhip.
The kids were found; they ran for their mothers, screaming, but they could not get
away. They were herded and piled onto the back of the truck. Tears flowing, her
mum tried clinging to the sides of the truck as her children were taken away to the
Bungalow in Alice, all in the name of protection. A few years later, government
policy changed. Now the children would be handed over to the missions to be
cared for by the churches. But which church would care for them?
The kids were simply told to line up in three lines. Nanna Fejo and her sister stood
in the middle line, her older brother and cousin on her left. Those on the left were
told that they had become Catholics, those in the middle Methodists and those on
the right Church of England.

She and her sister were sent to a Methodist mission on Goulburn Island and then
Croker Island. Her Catholic brother was sent to work at a cattle station and her
cousin to a Catholic mission.
Nanna Fejo’s family had been broken up for a second time. She stayed at the
mission until after the war, when she was allowed to leave for a prearranged job as
a domestic in Darwin. She was 16. Nanna Fejo never saw her mum again. After
she left the mission, her brother let her know that her mum had died years before, a
broken woman fretting for the children that had literally been ripped away from her.
I asked Nanna Fejo what she would have me say today about her story. She
thought for a few moments then said that what I should say today was that all
mothers are important. And she added: Families – keeping them together is very
important. It’s a good thing that you are surrounded by love and that love is passed
down the generations. That’s what gives you happiness.
Nanna Fejo’s is just one story. There are thousands, tens of thousands of them:
stories of forced separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from
their mums and dads over the better part of a century.
The 2008 Kevin Rudd apology speech was reproduced from the Parliament of Australia website with the kind permission of
the Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Parliamentary Services). The Hansards can be downloaded for free from
parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F2008-02-
13%2F0003%22 subject to copyright conditions.

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Reading non-fiction texts

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 1

Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister, Cassandra Austen .................................................. 4

Text 4: Excerpt taken from My Left Foot by Christy Brown .................................................... 48

Text 5: Charlotte Brontë’s letter to her father .......................................................................... 57

Text 6: Excerpt from A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr ........................................ 69

Text 8: Excerpt from Behind the Wall by Colin Thubron ......................................................... 95

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 129

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 2

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 3

Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister,

Godmersham Park: Saturday (August 24)

How do you do; and how is Harriot’s cold? I hope you

Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable; I found Ly.

Your going with Harriot was highly approved of by

They were very civil to me, as they always are; fortune

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 4

George is a fine boy, and well behaved, but Daniel

It was considerably past eleven before we were at

Yesterday was a very quiet day with us; my noisiest

The two Edwards went to Canterbury in the chaise, and

In the evening we took a quiet walk round the farm, with

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 5

I have been used very ill this morning: I have received a

I have found your white mittens; they were folded up

Elizabeth has this moment proposed a scheme which

The Knatchbulls come on Wednesday to dinner, and

Mr. Hall walked off this morning to Ospringe, with no

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 6

air, and the charms of Mrs. Salkeld’s and Mrs. Sace’s

My writing to you to-day prevents Elizabeth writing to

Yours very affectionately,

You are desired to bring back with you Henry’s picture

As I find, on looking into my affairs, that instead of being

Elizabeth hopes you will not be later here on Monday

We have heard nothing from Henry since he went.

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 7

Text 1: Jane Austen’s letter to her sister,

There is a differentiated version of this task.

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 8

Jane Austen’s phrase Modern equivalent

Our visit to Eastwell was very agreeable

Excepting once or twice

Fortune was also very civil to me

With George and Henry to animate us

With their races and merriment

His papa and mamma

Have determined to consult

He will be of the party to Worthing

I have been used very ill

I implore the latter’s pardon

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 9

Statement True (tick) False (cross)

Jane Austen wrote Wuthering Heights.

Jane Austen had three children.

Jane Austen was American.

When Jane Austen was alive, Queen

Jane Austen wrote about vampires.

Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice.

Jane Austen lived in the Georgian era of

Jane Austen’s father was a vicar.

One of Jane Austen’s heroes is called Mr

© www.teachit.co.uk 2015 24747 10