A_Dangerous_Place

A Dangerous Place by Philippa Werry From School Journal, Part 1, Number 1, 2005 Overview A group of apprentice chefs find out about some of the hidden dangers there can be in a kitchen. Suggested Teaching Purpose Based on the information I have about my students’ learning needs, what would be an appropriate teaching purpose for this session' Examples of an appropriate teaching purpose are listed below. • To support the students in developing the comprehension strategies of analysing and synthesising, making and testing hypotheses, evaluating, and inferring • To read a play with an understanding of the roles and personalities of the characters • To identify vivid language and use it for dramatic impact. Features of the Text to Consider in Context What features of this text would make it appropriate for teaching particular comprehension strategies or language features' • The use of adjectives to describe something vividly, for example, “squishy”, “floury”, “drippy”, “gooey”, “frothy”, “gurgly”, “steamy”, “wriggly” • The repetitive structure. Readability Noun frequency level: 8.5–9.5 What aspects relating to this text might constitute challenges for my students' • Making effective use of the stage directions • Maintaining the flow and pace of the play by picking up cues promptly • Colloquial expressions, for example, “on the dot”, “I don’t think I’m really cut out to be a cook”, which could be challenging for ESOL students • Words that some students may find challenging: “electrical”, “gruesome”, “tentacles” • The irregular plurals, for example, “potatoes”, “dishes”, “knives”. What prior knowledge would support my students in reading this text' • Knowledge of how a play is structured • Familiarity with the purpose and use of dialogue and stage directions • Knowledge of the hazards of machines and tools in the kitchen. Sharing Learning Outcomes with Your Students I will be able to: • understand the way dialogue and stage directions are used to show the personalities of the characters in a play • use my voice expressively to show what a character is thinking and feeling • read fluently and with expression • find examples of expressive language and use it in my own writing. How will I help my students to achieve the learning outcomes' In the sections below, particular comprehension strategies have been identified in brackets. Many of these relate directly to the highlighted teaching purpose, but other strategies have also been identified where appropriate. Before reading • Share the teaching purpose and learning outcomes with the students. • “This play tells what happens to three apprentice chefs in the kitchen where they work.” • “What features would you expect to find in a play'” (Making connections with prior knowledge and with other texts) • “Who are the characters in the play'” “What is an apprentice'” (Making connections with prior knowledge) • “If these cooks are apprentices, I wonder how they might act in the kitchen.” “How might the head chef and the apprentice chefs be different'” Ask the students to discuss their ideas with a buddy and then share them with the whole group. (Hypothesising) • “How do we know what each of the characters is doing in the play'” Clarify the purpose of the stage directions with the students so that they can use them appropriately. (Awareness of the features of a play) • “What are some of the things that the chefs might need to be careful about in the kitchen'” (Making connections with prior knowledge) • “What do you think might happen in the play' Think about the title and the characters to help you make your hypothesis.” (Forming hypotheses) During reading You might begin with a shared reading of the text. You could follow this with a guided reading session using some of the following questions and prompts to extend and deepen the students’ understanding of the text. • Ask the students to read to the end of page 9 to find out what kind of a person the head chef is. “What clues in the text help you to think this'” (Confirming hypotheses) • “Read on to the end of page 11 to find examples of the dangers in the kitchen. Are these what you predicted'” (Confirming hypotheses) • “Find some examples of adjectives that describe the dangers vividly. How would you read these lines to convey their meaning to an audience'” (Analysing and synthesising) • “How are the head chef and the apprentice chefs different' How do you know'” Ask the students to discuss their ideas with a buddy and then share them with the whole group. (Analysing) • “Find a small section of dialogue that tells us what the apprentice chefs are like.” Ask the students to discuss their ideas with a buddy and decide how they would say the lines. Then ask them to share their ideas with the whole group. (Analysing and synthesising) After reading • “Could these events really have happened' What clues in the play support your opinion'” (Analysing) • Reflect with the students on how well the purpose has been achieved and note any teaching points for future sessions. Revisiting the Text What follow-up tasks will help my students to consolidate their new learning' 1. Have the students prepare a tape-recorded reading of the play. • “With a buddy or in a group, read the play together and think about how you would convey the personalities of the different characters.” • Have the students allocate parts and read the play aloud. • “The author has created many sounds in this play. Can you identify what they are' How might you recreate these sounds'” The students could use a chart like the one below to support them. Noise Item Needed • Have the students record the play onto a tape and add the appropriate sounds as they are needed. (Analysing and synthesising) 2. “Locate and list the adjectives that the author used to describe one of the monsters. Then write a poem that captures the same ideas. For example, you could write a chorus poem.” This is a poem that repeats a chorus line after every other line, for example: Frothy, steamy, boiling monster In the kitchen Chocolate, brown liquid In the kitchen … (Analysing and synthesising) Associated Websites TKI Hot Topic – Food Safety www.tki.org.nz/r/hot_topics/foodsafety_e.php This site includes a range of activities related to the theme of food safety.