Whats the Worst That Could Happen by Bruce

What’s the Worst That Could Happen? by Bruce Coville

12/11/13 Building a Reading Life TP: We can apply our knowledge of stories to our own reading books

Bell work: Copy the table below into your copy book, matching the correct meaning to each strategy. Strategy Definition Make Connections Visualise Looking for things that help you identify big ideas and why they are important. Drawing conclusions based on background knowledge and clues in the text Ask Questions Combining new information from your reading with existing knowledge in order to form new ideas Infer Noticing pieces of text that relate to or remind you of other texts/your own life or experience Asking questions before, during, and after reading to better understand the meaning of Determine Importance

CHARACTER LOG Character’s Evidence Name Miss Trunchbull “you suppurating little blister” What it reveals Doesn’t like children, insulting, cruel

10/11/14 MAKING PREDICTIONS TP: Good readers make predictions about texts Bell work: We are going to read the short story “What’s the Worst That Could Happen? ” by Bruce Coville. In your copy book, write down some ideas as to what you think this story is about.

PAIRED TASK The picture on the next slide shows the words that appear most often in Coville’s story. The larger the word, the more often it appears. TASK: With your partner, discuss what you now think the story is about, based on the words in the picture. Write down your ideas in your copy books.

FORESHADOWING Foreshadowing is a technique writer’s often use in order to capture the reader’s attention. Write down the definition below in your copy book: FORESHADOWING: a literary device in which an author hints at certain plot developments that perhaps will come to be later in the story

THINK, PAIR AND SHARE “as I lie here in my hospital bed trying to work out exactly how I got here. . . ” TASK: What do you think happened to the narrator? Share your ideas with your partner and write down your suggestions in your copy book.

CLASS DISCUSSION “The one I am not going to blame is Tiffany Grimsley, though if I hadn’t had this stupid crush on her, it never would have happened. ” What do you think the narrator’s crush has to do with whatever happened to him?

THINK, PAIR AND SHARE “Either you suffer in silence, or you tell her you like her. ” TASK: What option do you think the narrator will go for? Why? If he chooses to tell Tiffany, how might he do this? Share your ideas with your partner and write down your suggestions in your copy book.

CLASS DISCUSSION “She hands me a folded-over set of papers, and my heart skips a beat. Can this be a love letter? ” What do you think Tiffany has given to Murphy?

Reflection Why do you think writers use foreshadowing? What does it add to a story?

13/11/13 READING COMPREHENSION Teaching Point: Good readers are able to decode questions Bell work: Write a short summary of what has happened in the story so far.

READING COMPREHENSION In your copy book, answer the following questions in full sentences. 1. What event leads the narrator to say that “right from the beginning of my life, if something could go wrong, it did”? (1 mark) 2. Why do you think the writer starts the story by describing how unlucky Murphy is? (2) 3. When Mikey confronts Murphy about his crush, he denies it. Quote a short phrase from the last paragraph on page 1 that suggests he is lying and explain how this shows he is not being truthful. (2) 4. “I lift my foot to tie my shoe, which is a trick I learned in an exercise magazine and that has become sort of a habit. ” What do you think might be the importance of this piece of information? Explain why you think this, based on what

ANSWERS 1. His parents gave him the same first name and last name: Murphy. 2. We understand things usually go wrong for Murphy (1) so we expect something bad to happen to him in the story OR writer uses foreshadowing (1) to hint that Murphy’s bad luck will be involved (1) 3. “my cheeks begin to burn” (1) shows he’s embarrassed (1) OR “it is mostly an excuse to look down” (1) which shows that he’s lying and cannot look Mikey in the eye (1) 4. You need good balance to do this (1) and we know Murphy is unlucky (1) so he might fall over at some point (1) OR the writer foreshadows (1) that Mikey’s bad luck (1) will lead to a fall (1)

12/11/13 EMPATHISING TP: Good readers can empathise with the characters. Bell work: In your copy book, write down a time when you felt embarrassed. What happened? What made it so embarrassing?

19/11/13 EMPATHISING TP: Good readers can empathise with the characters. Bell work: Copy the sentences below, adding they’re, there or their in the space. 1. They left _____ bags over _____. 2. If _____ late again, the teacher won’t be happy. 3. _____ going to ____ aunt’s house. 4. _____ are lots of reasons to work hard.

19/11/13 EMPATHISING TP: Good readers can empathise with the characters (cont) Bell work: Copy the sentences below, adding where, wear, we’re or were in the space. 1. ____ are you going to ______ that outfit? 2. _____ going to the cinema later. 3. We ______ upset that we had to _____ our uniforms. 4. That’s _______ they ______ filming the

PREDICTION TIME! “Maybe your parents will move before next week, ” says Mikey, shaking his head. “Otherwise, you’re a dead man walking. ” What do you think will happen if Murphy goes out on stage?

DISCUSSION TASK Tiffany asks Murphy to perform a comedy skit with her, and he agrees, even though he has terrible stage fright. TASK: In groups, discuss times when you agreed to do something you really didn’t want to do. What did you agree to? Why did you agree? (Peer pressure/to impress someone/forced to/respect/etc) How did you feel about it? What was the outcome? In your groups, choose one person for each of the following jobs: � Chairperson – makes sure everyone contributes and stays on task � Recorder – writes down what you discuss � Reporter – reports back what you discussed to the class

21/11/13 EMPATHISING TP: Good readers can empathise with the characters (cont) Bell work: Copy the sentences below, adding where, wear, we’re or were in the space. 1. ____ are you going to ______ that outfit? 2. _____ going to the cinema later. 3. We ______ upset that we had to _____ our uniforms. 4. That’s _______ they ______ filming the movie. 5. If a teacher is supervising, ______ allowed to go on the trip.

THINK, PAIR AND SHARE “Ha! Little do I know what kind of life jacket he will turn out to be. ” What do you think Murphy is foreshadowing with this statement? What might Mikey do? Write down your ideas in your copybook.

CLASS DISCUSSION “At that instant the curtain opens, which startles me so much that I lose my balance and fall over, landing onstage in full view of the audience. ” will What do you think happen next? you think Murphy

CLASS DISCUSSION “Who is this funny person, making everyone laugh? How long can it go on? Can I keep it going, keep cranking up the jokes, hold on to this glorious lightning bolt I’m riding? ” How do you think Murphy feels at this moment? Do you think his good luck will

CLASS DISCUSSION “Desperate to keep the riff going, I cram another entire cupcake in my mouth. ” happen this? What do you think will after Murphy does

REFLECTION In your copy books, write down your answer to the following question: Why do you think it’s important to be able to empathise with characters?

20/11/13 Personal Writing TP: Write under timed conditions. Bellwork: Complete the sentences below, using its or it’s. 1. ______ raining very heavily today. 2. Before you take the dog out, put _______ collar on. 3. If _______ going to take too long, don’t bother. 4. Put that back in ______ place! 5. You don’t need to explain ______ value to me: ______ very evident.

24/11/13 QUESTIONING TP: Good readers ask questions Bell work: What do you think is the difference between factual (thin) and inferential (thick) questions? Create an example of both types of questions, and the answers to these, based on the story “What’s the Worst That Could Happen? ”

FACTUAL AND INFERENTIAL Copy the definitions below into your copy books. Factual question: the answer is stated directly in the text. For example, ‘Who is Murphy’s best friend? ’ Ans: Mikey Inferential question: the answer is not stated directly but you can work it out (infer) by reading between the lines (examining the writer’s word choice, character’s actions, linking to our own knowledge, etc) For example, ‘How do the rehearsals for the skit go? ’ Ans: the

CLASS DISCUSSION “I’ve never noticed how pretty she is when she smiles. For a brief moment I think life may not be so bad after all. ” What do you think the writer is suggesting here?

HOTSEATING As a class or in groups, one person will take on the role of Murphy. It is their job to get into character and imagine how Murphy would answer any questions they are asked. Everyone else will get the opportunity to ask Murphy the questions that they want. TASK: You have 10 minutes to do the following: �Create a list of questions you would like to ask Murphy. Try to move beyond asking questions where the answers can be found easily in the text. For example, instead of asking ‘Why did you fall over on stage? ’ ask ‘What were you feeling when the curtains opened? ’ �If you are playing the role of Murphy, use this time to make some background notes on your character.

REFLECTION In your copy books, answer the questions below: �Were your questions effective? Why/why not? �If you took on the role of Murphy, how easy was it to stay in character? Now that you’ve had a chance to think, are there any questions that you would like to have answered differently and what were they?