Video: Approaches to reading unseen fiction texts

﻿Welcome to today's English lesson. I'm Mrs. Crumpton. Our focus today is to look at approaches to reading unseen fiction texts. And we're going to be working with "The Tiredness of Rosabel", a short story by Katherine Mansfield. Before we begin, make sure you've got everything that you need. And you will need a pen and paper. Take a moment to actually played any distractions away, and have everything you need at hand. First thing that I would like you to do then, is to draw the following image onto your piece of paper, and also to give it the title, narrative pyramid. Pause the video whilst you do this, resume once you are ready. And welcome back. So looking through the different points on the narrative pyramid, we can start think about how this helps us approach an unseen fiction extract. For example, when we read a text, we have got certain expectations as readers. With the exposition, we expect at the beginning to find out about character, setting, place and action. Usually, this is a point of equilibrium. So that means that everything is stable, and we get to just see things in quite a static way. However, some writers will subvert this expectation, and we may start with disequilibrium. Okay, so So far we've had the definition of exposition. Once I have gone through all of these definitions, I will prompt you to pause the video, so that you can take down further details. For some of you, this will just be a revision exercise. Okay, so when we move to the rising action, this is where a complication is introduced to our narrative. Without this complication, nothing is going to change. So we need to see an alteration in the situation. We then move through to the top of the triangle, and that's where we see the climax. The action reaches a peak, an event will happen, that will change the course of the action for ever. This is an irrevocable change. Something is going to happen to the key character, something's going to happen within the main action, and we're not going to have the same storyline anymore. Okay, moving on, falling action. We now start to see the consequences. So this is where the impact of the change situation, or circumstance is felt. And then finally, we come to the denouement. Now this literally as a word comes from a French word dénouer, which means to unknot. So you unravelling all of the knots that have occurred within the plotline, and we will then discover a new equilibrium as the plot is resolved. Okay, opportunity now for you to pause the video, to take down additional notes. Remembering that we are going to use these ideas, as we approach on scene fiction extract, pause now. And welcome back. So once we've understood what we are expecting to find, at a certain point in an unseen extract, we can then start to work with the extract itself. On the screen right now you can see, down the left hand side that I want you to read with precision. What does that mean? Just means I want you to read quite carefully. And what happens is that sometimes we read quite quickly, and we get the gist Have a storyline. But we're not necessarily tracking things very precisely. And that's exactly what you need to do with unseen material. So what we're going to do is use the following techniques. I like to break the text down so that we are considering what happens first. And the question we asked ourselves is, what does the writer want you to know? What have they chosen to tell us at the start of this extract. And it will all be dependent on whether it's from the exposition, the denouement, the climax, and we can then start to refine our answer in terms of what we were expecting, and what we've actually been given, okay? So we've got first, what does the writer tell us? What do they want us to know? Next, what's happening now? How is the action developing? Then, what's happening again, at this next stage. Is it similar, or different from the previous line of action? Am I noticing any changes. And then finally, as I get to the extract, thinking about how the text has moved, where have I got to now, and how does this link back to the events at the beginning. So this is the reading strategy we will be practising today. And we will be working through with these prompts. And I will show you how that looks in action. But you need to remember first, next, then, and finally, so that we can be systematic. On the right hand side, there's a phrase now, big picture thinking. And this is a phrase that I use to describe what else we get from a text. So we can get the literal meaning, but then when we read a text, we often learn something, either about mankind or society. So what else do we learn from the extract? And a useful thing to consider, is that texts can often be split into four categories. There are more, they're always more of everything. But I think this is a really nice starting point, the idea that texts can be categorised as demonstrating one of the four following conflicts. Man versus man, so you've got one person against another. Man versus nature, maybe they're trying to climb a mountain, or maybe they are overcome by a storm. Man versus himself, so that's the text where somebody is really troubled, maybe some sort of struggle with their identity, or members of society where an individual doesn't fit in with what everyone else is doing. And that's a really nice way of just getting a little bit of an angle into the text, and starting to think about where does this text fit within those four categories? And what is it teaching me, or making me think about in relation to mankind society, the way we live our lives? Again, pause at this point, take down down the notes that you need, resume when you are ready. And welcome back. So we are ready to begin with our extract. Let's have a look at the instruction slide together. So we can see that we're going to be reading an unseen extract, and it's going to be Katherine Mansfield's, "The Tiredness of Rosabel", an extract from that short story. We are going to look at the text, split up into the four sections that we have discussed, first, next, then and finally. Along the bottom of the screen, you will see a little prompt question. Let me just move, can you see? We've got a little green banner along the bottom. And that's going to tell you what you should be thinking about as you read. Okay, that's the prompt questions are provided to help you activate the ideas that we've been looking at so far. I would like you to record your responses on lined paper. I would love it if those responses were in complete sentences, building into as detailed a paragraph as possible. But to start with, you might just be making notes until you feel more confident with what you need to produce. And that's why we will then pause after looking at one section, and then look at a review paragraph together. At that stage, you will be able to add any details to your piece of work, and also know what you want to do for the next opportunity of reading an extra selection. Okay, at this point, I'm going to hand over control of the video to you. The way to do this, is to work through and pause on each slide, with the video, read through, take your notes and then move on. You will see that the first extract is one, two, three, and then we pause, okay? So, control is over with you. I'll be waiting for you to go through the review paragraph when you are ready. And welcome back. So, what did we learn from that exposition? Let's have a look at this paragraph, and see what you have written, and you can judge against it. The writer focuses on establishing Rosabel as our protagonist, and the simple lifestyle she has. However, we also learned that Rosabel is not satisfied with the situation. As she sits on the bus, she is presented as being different. She seems to have dreams that others do not have, and we get the impression she feels trapped. So as a response, we have got quite a systematic coverage of everything that happened in that opening extract. We've got the little information about Rosabel being the protagonist, through to a little bit of interpretation, that she seems to feel quite trapped, she seems to be quite dissatisfied. And we get that idea of Rosabel not being satisfied through the details where it describes her as gazing through the window, looking at things, and seeing fairy palaces on the outside, and also being very separate to those on the bus. How could it be improved? Well maybe put some evidence in too. So that could be the next step that we are working on, to include textual detail to support ideas. Okay, not too long though. So that's the idea when you come to writing your reviews, just concentrate on that sort of detail. Pause here if you want to take some more details. As soon as you are ready, we'll look at the next part of the text. Now, over to you again. So you are again having control. And this time it says, "Next, the text gives a flashback of Rosabel's day." So she sat on the bus, but she's thinking about what happened earlier. At this point, the prompt question says, "What does the author want us to know now?" What is the focus moving towards? What are the details that we are being told? So again, pause as you go through each slide, jot down your notes. Have a look all of your notes, try and write up your reflective paragraph on that section. And then I'll be there with a review, over to you. And welcome back. So what did we get? The writer shows us how difficult Rosabel's job is, and further emphasises how she struggles to make a living. So we've really got that sense of Rosabel's social status coming through. We then have the introduction of the red-haired girl as an important character. And she changes Rosabel's day. We know this, as Roasbel's is still thinking about her on the bus that night. So think about the structure of the text. And therefore, the girl is the rising action. She's also the opposite of Rosabel, and we see her as an antagonist. So there are quite a few ideas in there. And we've also managed to apply some of the thinking from earlier on in the lesson, where we looked at this idea of the part of the text that we're reading, helping us understand what's happening within the unseen narratives that we've applied rising action. Okay, over to you. Pause, take down any additional notes that you require. And then we'll have a look at the next part of the extract. Okay, then, now we've got here the detail across the top. The writer zooms in to focus on the interaction between Rosabel and the couple. So we've now got Harry and the red-haired girl, and the question is, what are you finding out about the red-haired girl from this part of the text? And what are you learning about Harry? And what I'd like you to do, is to select any evidence that you can to support your ideas. So this time not necessarily writing up a paragraph, but selecting relevant evidence that shows the difference between the red-haired girl, Harry and Rosabel, and how that dynamic is working? Okay, control is over to you. And welcome back. So, what do we learn about the red-haired girl? I've jotted down a few things, and you may have some of these bits of evidence yourself. So the red-haired girl is described as beautiful. And we've also got that whole image built up with the links to gold and Paris, and it makes her seem really quite special. She appears to be quite playful with Harry. "What is it exactly what I want, Harry?" "And the girl glanced at Rosabel laughingly." So she seems to be quite a happy individual, quite playful, and clearly quite privileged. So the red-haired girl is the exact opposite of Rosabel. How about Harry? Not as much detail about Harry. But we do get Harry would demand the impossible from the narrator, and also you must have a black hat. And even though it might be joking a little bit, about the hat that he wants the red-haired girl to have, he does seem quite authoritative as a figure. So we're starting to build up an impression of Harry being a very typical masculine character within this exchange. Okay, pause at this point, take down any additional notes that you might have, and then resume when you are ready. Okay, so we're at the end of the extract. Finally, in this section Rosabel is going to feel. And this is a really important piece of evidence I've picked out within the heading. A ridiculous feeling of anger. That word ridiculous is very important. Why is Rosabel's anger ridiculous? So what you need to do, is to work out, why is Rosabel angry? I'm just going to show you the next part. I then, 'cause this is the end of the extract. I then want you to have a look at this particular section, and think about it in relation to the beginning of the extract. So how does this part of the story link to the beginning? And you can see that I have given you the opening section of the passage again. So you can make those points of comparison, okay? Alright, control is over to you. Take your notes, write them up, I'll be waiting with you to review our answers. Finally then, Rosabel is angry that she could never buy the hat for herself, is one possible interpretation of why Rosabel was angry at that moment, because she's just tried the hats on. And she's angry because she can't buy that. Or let's take it a little bit deeper. Rosabel is frustrated by her situation in life. Sounds very likely doesn't it? Particularly when we think about the way she was gazing through the bus window at the beginning of the extract. So, let's put those two things together, and look at the final interpretation. The ending emphasises the very different social circumstances of the two girls. The red-haired girl goes off to her carriage to get dressed up for tea. In contrast, Rosabel was initially seen sitting on a bus, where she was thinking about the fact that after having treated herself to a small bunch of flowers, she would have less to eat that evening. So what we have there, within this response, as we move on, is this idea that actually Rosabel is frustrated by her situation in life. The final image that definitely links back to the beginning, with all those details about how they eat, and how they literally travel, just those basics of life, really emphasises the difference in social class, and therefore opportunity for these two girls. So Rosabel is frustrated by her situation in life. Pause once again, add to your notes, and then join me again for our final reflection activity. Okay, just to finish off then. Remember within our reading process, our reading strategy we talked about thinking about big picture ideas. On the screen now, you can see A, B, C, and D. With each of them, for example, if I go through A. The text shows a conflict between Rosabel and the red-haired girl. The red-haired girl is rude, and treats Roosevelt badly, would be a man versus man conflict. And I have picked out different types of conflict that are presented within the statements. And what I would like you to do, is to select the statement you most agree with, and to write that down, your final response. Pause the video whilst you complete this thinking task. It may be, you want to pinch a little bit from two statements, that's fine too. Okay, complete this final activity, resume the video when you are ready. All that remains for me to say is thank you for your focus today. Don't forget to complete the exit quiz, and enjoy the rest of your learning.

Exit Quiz: Approaches to reading unseen fiction texts

Completed: Approaches to reading unseen fiction texts

In this lesson, we will be looking at strategies for reading unseen fiction texts.  We will be using Freytag’s Narrative Pyramid and the idea of ‘Four conflicts in Literature’ as ways of reading unseen fiction extracts.  You will then have an opportunity to try out these ideas by applying this learning to an unseen fiction extract from Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Tiredness of Rosabel’.  You will be guided through the reading with prompt questions and after each section we will stop to review our ideas together.

English

Approaches to reading unseen fiction texts

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Final Quiz

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