I’m not exactly in the Lake Districts

Task 1: 

Silently read through chapter 1

Task 2: 

Create a character log about Liam. Remember that as you read through the book add information about the character to your log. Your log could include the following information:

  1.  Information about his personal qualities.
  2. His emotions
  3. His opinions and attitudes to people and events
  4. Quotations that support your opinion of Liam

Task 3: 

In groups note down and discuss why you think the author would start the story in the middle of a plot line? Do you think that this is an effective way of starting a story? Share your ideas with the class.

Pre-Reading Tasks for Cosmic

Task 1 

  • Using a mind-mapping software get into groups and brainstorm ideas about why the author may have chosen the word “Cosmic” as the title of the novel.
  • Using the same mind map discuss in groups what the genre of the story is, what you expect the story to be about and why.

Task 2

  • Creating another mind map think about how the publisher has made the novel more appealing to readers? Examine the following things
  • Target audience
  • The blurb
  • The layout of the front cover
  • The information on the back cover

Task 3 

  • Using a new mind-map list down all the things that you know about space and space travel.

What is the Plot ?

The plot of any novel can basically be defined as being an organised pattern or a sequence of events that make up a story. In most cases there are 5 main events which make up any story and these are:

1. The exposition: This usually occurs at the beginning of the story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story and most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict or problem

2. Rising action: This part of the story begins to develop the problem/conflict

3. Climax: This is the turning point of the story. Usually the main character comes face to face with a conflict. The main character will change in some way. 

4. Falling action: All loose ends of the plot are tied up. The conflicts and complex are taken care of.

5. Resolution: The story comes to an end

And when these components work together a story will unfold. The digram below is a graphic that can be used to identify the different components of a plot:

     plotanswers