Topical lesson: 29 May 2010 Novel of the week The Last Weekend. Lead-in

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Clifford Glenn
5 years ago
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1 Lead-in Today we are going to look at a book review. 1. There are many different types or genres of books. See if you can complete the spider diagram below with some different genres. romance book genres 2. Discuss the following questions: a) How often do you read books? b) Which genre of book (or film) do you prefer? c) Have you ever read a book in English? If so, which? Was it difficult? If not, why not? Page 1 of 6

2 Vocabulary We often use the vocabulary below when we are talking about or reviewing a book. See if you can match the words to the meanings. Vocabulary Meaning 1. plot a) the real person who wrote the book 2. narrator b) the time and place of the story 3. setting c) the story 4. characters d) the main idea or topic 5. author e) the person who tells the story 6. protagonist f) the main person in the story 7. theme g) the people in the story Reading: scanning Look at the book review called. How many of the words above can you find in the review? Reading for detail 1. Read the review of The Last Weekend more carefully now. See if you can find the answers to these questions: a) What s the author s name? b) What s the narrator s name? c) Who are the main characters and what are the relationships between them? d) Where is the novel set? e) What genre is the novel? f) What are the main themes of the novel? 2. Now work with a partner. a) Can you explain something about the plot of the book? b) Would you like to read this book? Why or why not? Page 2 of 6

3 Vocabulary and grammar: adjectives and adverbs When we review a book, we need to describe it in detail. To do this we often use combinations of nouns, adjectives and adverbs. 1. Look at the following sentence and identify the nouns, adjectives and adverbs: It was a sunny day and extremely hot so we decided to go to a really pretty beach to have a picnic. 2. Now circle the correct words to complete the rules. Look at the examples in brackets before you decide. Adjectives: are used to add information about a/an noun/verb/adjective/adverb (It was a big house / The house was big). Adverbs: are used to add information about a/an noun/verb/adjective/adverb (He speaks English fluently), a/an noun/verb/adjective/adverb (He was really nice) or a/an noun/verb/adjective/adverb (He speaks really quickly). NB You can often make adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective. e.g. clever = cleverly quick = quickly cheerful = cheerfully 3. Look at the book review of The Last Weekend from line 12 ( The scene is set ) until the end. Complete the chart below with the combinations of adverbs, adjectives and nouns from the review. The first one has been done as an example. Adverb Adjective Noun 1 suspenseful thriller Page 3 of 6

4 4. Add an adverb and an adjective to the sentences below. Try to be creative and make them interesting! a) I went to the cinema last night with a girl. b) I live in a house. c) My neighbours have a cat. d) I learn English from a teacher. e) My friend cooked me a meal. Writing a book review 1. Discuss the following questions with a partner: a) What was the last book you read? b) What is your favourite book? c) Did you have a favourite book when you were a child? 2. Choose one of the books you spoke about above. Make notes about it under the following headings: Title: Author: Genre: Setting: Main characters: Plot (remember don t reveal the ending!): Your opinion of the book (using adjectives and adverbs): 3. Now write a review of the book in approximately words. Include the information from your notes above Page 4 of 6

5 Teacher s notes and key Level: pre-intermediate to intermediate. Aims: to learn vocabulary associated with books to practise using adverbs and adjectives to write a book review. Timing: approximately 1½ hours, not including parts 2 and 3 of the writing task. Lead-in Get students to brainstorm in pairs before putting ideas on the board. Possible genres include: crime, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, murder mystery, etc. You may also want to elicit or feed in the differences between fact and fiction and novel and short story. If the students don t read books, they could talk about genres of film instead. Vocabulary You may want to point out that all these words (with the exception of author) can be used when we talk about films or plays too. 1.c, 2.e, 3.b, 4.g, 5.a, 6.f, 7.d Reading: scanning In the review there are the words narrator and plot. Students may also find set. Reading for detail 1. a) Blake Morrison b) Ian c) Ian and his wife, his friend Ollie and his wife Daisy d) an eerie house in Suffolk (in the country) e) a thriller f) obsession, revenge and deceit (lies) 2. Before students discuss the questions with their partner, point out that they won t learn everything about the plot because book reviews don t reveal the ending otherwise people wouldn t want to read the book Page 5 of 6

6 The plot: Ian and his wife go and stay with Ian s old friend Ollie and Ollie s wife Daisy (who Ian used to date) at their country house in Suffolk. Ian is jealous of Ollie (because he has a better job, car, and wife!). Ian is possibly quite mad and lies a lot. Bad things are going to happen! Vocabulary and grammar: adjectives and adverbs. 1. It was a sunny (adj.) day (noun) and extremely (adv.) hot (adj.) so we decided to go to a really (adv.) pretty (adj.) beach (noun) and have a picnic (noun). 2. Adjectives are used to add information about a noun. Adverbs are used to add information about a verb, an adjective or an adverb. 3. Some of the vocabulary here is quite difficult so encourage students to use an English-English dictionary. The grammar is not as straightforward as it might appear either: especially in line 13 modifies (adds information about) the verb, involving, not the noun deceit; almost in line 22 modifies certainly, which in turn modifies the whole clause, he is a psycho too. They are therefore not included in the table. Adverb Adjective Noun 1 suspenseful thriller 2 exceedingly clever investigation 3 painfully obvious 4 very first words 5 unreliable narrator 6 especially sophisticated 7 terrific job 8 consistently intrigued 4. Be careful to monitor while students do the practice section to make sure they are using an adverb + adjective combination and not two adjectives. Writing a book review Encourage students to think of a book to write about if they can, but if they really can t then let them write about a film. Encourage them to take notes (i.e. not to write full sentences) before they start writing a paragraph. Students often only write about the plot when they do reviews so try and encourage them to use the new vocabulary and to also give their opinion Page 6 of 6

Target Vocabulary (Underlining indicates a word or word form from the Academic Word

Chapter 7 Target Vocabulary (Underlining indicates a word or word form from the Academic Word List) arrange v.: to put things in a particular position or order assure v.: to tell someone that something