MONICA WOOD’S ‘DISAPPEARING’

Lesson information

Lesson: EnglishClass duration: 50’

Focus on:

Plot: Obesity / discrimination / obsession / disappearance

Style: ellipsis / vocabulary

Aims

 By the end of the lesson, Ss are expected to: critically reflect on the story Recognize writing tools (ellipsis / imagery)

and understand to what effect these are used

Analyse character motivation / interpret character actions / use textual evidence to support their opinions / infer meaning from text

Learning styles  Reading comprehension and elicitation

of information (read and re-read)

Peer and tutor support (pair work and open class discussion)

On-line discussion forum

In-class and take-home exercises

Preparatory work

Students have been asked to read story at home at least once and, use dictionary for unknown vocabulary; think about Qs from 1/A (p. 170) as a

means of forming initial impressions on story.

Warm-up /focusing on plot

First impressions / views on story. What strikes you most plot-wise?

How the character evolves. Her obsession with water. Her obsession with disappearing. Her r/s with her husband. …

Form pairs and take a look at Qs from 1/B (p. 171).

Answer Qs orally.

Story re-reading

Upon re-reading the story, take a couple of minutes to reflect on your initial reaction to the story and see whether it has shifted in any way.

Author’s style

What is it that strikes you most in terms of the author’s style?

Lack of punctuation Powerful imagery Elliptical phrases / sentences

Ellipsis / Elliptical Construction In order to have collective meaning as a

sentence / phrase, words should follow a certain order (construction).

e.g. Mary likes pizza (Subject + Verb + Object)

Ellipsis occurs when a phrase / sentence misses a word/words which can easily be understood from the context.

e.g.  The garden was overgrown, **** the weeds **** thick and matted. [and] [ were]

e.g. In my yard, the flowers come first, **** the garden **** second. [and] [comes]

Common elliptical constructions 1. omission of ‘that’, e.g. They knew … they

could not afford losing one another. 2. elliptical NPs, e.g. Paul asked for the red

car but the company gave him the blue … 3. ellipsis of the V and its

objects/complements, e.g. He would stay for dinner if he could …

4. middle ellipsis, e.g. Mary will call her sister and John … his brother.

5. ellipsis of clause, e.g. They can stay here if they want …

Role of punctuation in ellipsis

Sometimes, a comma is needed so that readers know that a word has been left out.

e.g. She chose to go to London; I Paris. X

e.g. She chose to go to London; I, Paris. √

Exercise 2/B (p. 172)

Can you spot more elliptical constructions from the story?

Practicing ellipsis

Further practice: Use the context to infer what’s been omitted (handout)1. John can play the guitar; Mary can, too.

2. John can play five instruments, and Mary can play six.

3. John can play the guitar, and Mary the violin.

4. John can play the guitar better than Mary the violin.

5. Jessica had five euros; Monica, three. 

6. What if I miss the deadline for the application? 

7. His sister told him to buy a car, his girlfriend to rent one.

8. He received all the praise for the hard work, I none.

9. My callers were gentlemen – all!

More food for thought on ellipsis… Which of the following 2 sentences is

grammatical and why?a. Suzan speaks Italian better than I. b. Suzan speaks Italian better than me.

And lastly, a tricky one:a. Helen loves you more than I. b. Helen loves you more than me.

Imagery

Powerful imagery is used to create a sensory experience for the reader.

Through imagery, the reader can actively participate in the story.

Visual (sight) Auditory (hearing) Tactile (touch)

Imagery (cont.)

Exercise 2/C (pp. 172-3)

Further Practice: Imagery (handout) He fumed and charged like an angry bull. The taste of that first defeat was bitter. He felt like the flowers were waving him a hello. The eery silence was shattered by her scream. The sky looked like the untouched canvas of

Picasso. His world crashed down when he heard the news. She was like a melody in flesh and blood. The F-16 swooped down like an eagle after its

prey.

Vocabulary skills

Exercise 3/A (p. 174)

Open discussion

Read Qs in 2/A (pp. 171-2). Think about them for a couple of minutes.

Now form a cycle. It’s debate time…

Open discussion (cont.)

Discriminations (is the narrator discriminated against in the story? If yes, what for?)

Marital rape (does it take place in the story? Should it be punished? If yes, in what way?)

Eating disorders (obesity / starvation; what could lead people to such disorders in the first place? Do such disorders mirror one’s character?)

Homework

Dictation Words from 3/A (p. 174) (form & meaning)

Fragments (little pieces) Dangle (hang loosely) Smirk (a silly smile) Writhe (twist in pain) Goggles (protective glasses for swimming) Ripple (flow in small waves) Tuck one’s head (bend one’s neck, draw one’s neck

to their chest) Uppity (snobbish) Disposition (one’s temper / personality) Granite (hard rock)

Essay writing / pair work

Taking a critical approach, do one of the following in pairs: Discuss the character of the narrator by

providing evidence from the story. Discuss the relationship between the narrator

and her husband. Discuss the role of obesity in shaping one’s

personality. How’s the water catalytic in the narrator’s

transformation throughout the story? (Word limit 150-200 words).

Short story writing – practicing ellipsis Choose one of the following topics. You are

free to choose the course your story takes. You are expected to make extensive use of ellipsis to demonstrate your understanding of its role as a writing tool. Please ask for extra material on your topic before start writing.

Discrimination in the workplace.Discrimination against women. Discrimination on basis of appearance.Discrimination against the handicapped.Racial discrimination.

(Word limit 250-300 words).

On-line follow-up

For further questions / comments, please log in to your wiki account for this class. You may submit a question / comment relating to today’s class between Monday 4 Oct., 1500hrs to Thursday 7 Oct., 1800 hrs. Alternatively, you can follow this class on twitter.

http://shortstoryfall2010.wikispaces.com/ http://twitter.com/ShortNovelClass