Skellig Lesson 19: A Tense Situation - PowerPoint

In Lesson Nineteen of the 'Skellig' unit, students delve into the literary techniques used by David Almond to craft scenes of heightened suspense. The objective of the lesson is to enhance the students' understanding of how tension is created within a narrative. To achieve this, students are tasked with reading up to the end of Chapter 36 and then reflecting on the concept of tension by considering situations that evoke a tense response in their own lives. This personal reflection sets the stage for a deeper analysis of the text.

During the lesson, students are encouraged to identify specific words, phrases, and sentences that contribute to the building of tension in the chapters they have read. To visualize the escalation of suspense, they plot these textual elements on a graph, demonstrating the progression from calm to a peak of tension. This visual representation aids in understanding the narrative's structure and the pacing of dramatic moments. Following the creation of the tension graph, students write a paragraph dissecting the methods Almond employs to ratchet up the tension, using suggested sentences to support their analysis. The lesson concludes with a plenary session where volunteers share their work, and peers offer constructive feedback, focusing on the strengths of the analysis and areas for improvement.