Red Space Rocket

This starts off seeming quite annoying, but stick with it to the end. The ideas might be thin but the writing in this is very clever indeed. There is not a word out of place.

Today we are writing another story in the style of Winton in Scission. Our story is called Strike and it has a character called Roy and a magpie.

First of all, we looked for possible meanings and references in the title. Here are the words we thought related to strike.

to hit
baseball
bowling
industrial action/halt
lightning
magpie
ball
sudden

Then we talked about the things a writer can do to show distance. These included; characters avoiding each other, little or no direct speech, frustrated speech, characters being physically alone, and small acts of violence.

Finally, we talked about who Roy might be distant from. It could be a parent, a brother or sister, a wife or girlfriend, a friend, or a pet.

And then, of course, students took twenty minutes to write this story.

Connection

• Put characters in the same physical space. For example, around a table or in a car together. This was done with Albie and his father in A Blow A Kiss.
• Use direct speech to show characters talking to each other. This was used effectively with Albie and his dad, also.
• This effect works even better when characters use each other’s name or pet names.
• Have characters eating together. People generally eat with those they are connected to.
• Have characters involved in companionate activities like fishing, driving or shopping. In A Blow A Kiss, Albie and his dad have been fishing and it gives us a sense of their connection.

Distance

• Physically isolate characters. In Secrets, Kylie is all alone in that backyard.
• Use direct speech to show that characters are failing to connect. Write disjoined or failed conversation. For example, the man and his father’s failed conversations while jogging in Wake.
• Minimise or omit direct speech. For example, there is no direct speech in Secrets and this highlights how disconnected Kylie was. She didn’t even talk to the chooks.
• Use small acts of violence to show alienation. For example, Philip hitting Kylie in Secrets and the violence the other father and son in A Blow A Kiss.

Notes on Writing Speech

Quotation marks go around the exact words that are used, including the final punctuation marks.
The final full stop becomes a comma when it is followed by a speech verb phrase.
When you start with the speech verb phrase, put a comma before the first inverted comma.

Sally said, “It’s time to go, Spot.”
“Great,” said Spot
“We don’t want to be late. You’d better hurry up.”
Spot said, “Great.”

Today we will continue to read Burning Eddy. Here are the questions that we will answer from this book today.

Chapter 13: Lizard
a) Comprehension questions.
i) Who is John Fisher and why does this matter to Daniel?
ii) Why is Daniel nervous and anxious around water?
iii) Was Daniel upset for the goat?
iv) “Hope. I felt hope.” Why do you think Daniel felt hope?

Chapter 14: Owl

i) How does Daniel know that Eddy is dead?

In this last week of term, we will read the end of the novel Burning Eddy.

Along the way, you will be answering a few questions about what happens in this story.

On Monday, I will relent and let you choose your own topic for your fifteen-minute writing.

On Wednesday, the topic will be “When I Grow Up.”
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On Monday, we will be looking at how Tim Winton shows us distance between people and connection between people in his stories Secrets and A Blow A Kiss.

On the grammar side of things, we will be looking at the conventions and rules for writing direct speech.

After this, we will move onto the next two stories in this collection.

Despite our detour into general life-planning, we return to learning the basics of Esperanto this week.

Next term, we’ll finish this introduction and you’ll write a short book for children using this language.

You can’t see this at school, because we block YouTube, but at home you can enjoy me making silly and strange faces as I am clipped, creamed and shaved.

Thanks again to Tayla, Jamie-Lee, Sam and Jess.

And, of course, thanks to everyone who donated.

After our fifteen-minute writing, we will continue with our introduction to the constructed language of Esperanto.

Today, we will keep reading and discussing stories in Tim Winton’s collection, Scission.

We will continue our introduction to Esperanto today.

Today our fifteen-minute writing topic is “Jack’s knife”.

Then we will continue to read Burning Eddy.

Chapter 12: Echidna

iv) What two supernatural experiences does Eddy tell Daniel about?
v) How did Eddy deal with her hatred of the American?
vi) How does Daniel’s Mum react to Daniel being attacked?

Chapter 13: Lizard

i) Who is John Fisher and why does this matter to Daniel?
ii) Why is Daniel nervous and anxious around water?
iii) Was Daniel upset for the goat?
iv) “Hope. I felt hope.” Why do you think Daniel felt hope?

Chapter 14: Owl

i) How does Daniel know that Eddy is dead?

Today our fifteen-minute writing topic is “An Australian Backyard”.

Then we start reading Tim Winton’s collection of short stories, Scission. We will read and discuss the stories Secrets and A Blow A Kiss.

A quick version of how we do any analysis of the constructed meaning of a film poster. In this case, we are looking at the poster for a movie called The Men Who Stare at Goats.

First, we will do another analysis of an image. Today it is another film poster: Men Who Stare At Goats.

After that, we will start a larger unit about the manufactured language Esperanto. I expect this will take us through to the end of term.