The London Eye Mystery
Teacher’s Pack
By
Gaby Frescura
CONTENTS
Introduction 3
Overview for Scheme of Work 4
Navigator 5–6
Lesson Plans 7
Assessment 39
INTRODUCTION
English teachers don’t need to be told the enormous value and pleasure of reading whole texts as class readers. Little compares with that feeling when a class are truly engaged in the reading of a really good book. Fortunately, contemporary writers of fiction for young adults continue to offer fresh opportunities to enjoy literature with students.
Oxford Rollercoastersis a series that offers teachers the opportunity of studying first-class novels as whole-class readers with Year 7, 8 and 9 students. Each set of materials has been written in response to the diverse needs of students in those year groups.
Focus on assessment of reading
Oxford Rollercoastersincludes titles with varied themes, challenging subject matter and engaging plots. For example, Noughts and Crossestakes a contemporary slant on racism, while The Boy in the Striped Pyjamasexplores the Holocaust through the eyes of a young German boy. The London Eye Mysterysets its young characters in a conundrum, which they must work together to solve and considers the world as viewed through the eyes of a child with autism.
In the latest wave of Rollercoasters, each novel is accompanied by innovative and engaging teaching materials, designed to help all students access the texts and also to reflect the National Curriculum Programmes of Study. The key concepts of competence, creativity, cultural and critical understanding are clearly addressed, and the schemes offer a wide range of cross-curricular opportunities.
The latest teaching materials are firmly based on developing reading skills, though teaching plans include approaches to literature through oral work, drama and media. Theories behind both assessment for learning and thinking skills are evident in the lesson plans.
Time-saving resources
In each on-line Teaching Pack there is a compact Overviewwhich summarizes the work scheme, identifies the specific reading skills and strategies being developed, and the resources available for each lesson.
Lesson Planssuggest particular focuses and learning outcomes, but the Word files can be adapted to suit the level of progression for each particular class. All Worksheetsand OHTscan be easily adapted for differentiation.
The Navigatoroffers a clear plot summary, identifying the stages in the structure of the novel. It is designed to help teachers adapt the pace and detail of work according to the needs of their class.
Each Teacher’s Pack contains suggested Guided reading sessionsas well as the opportunity to develop further specific group teaching.
Every set of lesson plans ends with its own student Reading Assessment Progresssheet, which can be used to identify areas for student development.
Reading Guide
Each of the novels has its own student Reading Guide – an accessible, magazine-style booklet, packed with visual, textual and activity materials to help engage students in their study of the novel. Each one features writer’s craftmaterial to enhance and enrich the students’ appreciation of the author’s skills. Original drafts and commentary from the authors of the novels provide valuable insight into the process of writing.
Ideas for wider reading and for the extension of independent reading are provided in the Pathwayssection at the end of the Reading Guide.
Oxford Rollercoastersprovides first-class teaching resources for first-class contemporary fiction. The series is designed to engage the widest possible range of students in reading for pleasure, and we feel confident that it will contribute to those memorable experiences of reading together in the secondary classroom.
OVERVIEW FOR SCHEME OF WORK
Lesson and focus
(Book pages)
Reading skills and strategies
Rollercoasters
resources
1.First impressions
(Book cover and Chapter 1)
Understand and retrieve information
Deduce and interpret information
Make predictions about a text
RG:p4
WS:1a, 1b
2.Narrative viewpoint/Language
(Chapters 2–4)
Explain and comment on writer’s use of language
Skim text in order to retrieve information and ideas
Explore idiomatic language
WS:2a, 2b
3.Building character
(Chapter 5)
Empathize with characters
Skim the text to retrieve relevant information
Make predictions about a text
RG:pp8-9
WS:3a, 3b
4.Narrative structure/
Building suspense
(Chapters 6–8)
Relate texts to their historical context
Infer and interpret ideas from the text
Scan text to identify relevant information
Speculate as to alternative outcomes in the plot
RG:p10
WS:4
5.Summarizing information
(Chapters 9–11)
Scan the text to identify relevant information
Infer information from the text about characters and events
Summarize information
WS:5a, 5b
6.Character development
(Chapters 12–15)
Infer and interpret ideas from the text
Understand how the author develops character
Develop empathy with characters
WS:6a, 6b
7.Setting
(Chapters 16–19)
Identify links between setting and plot development
Explore persuasive language and presentational devices in other media
RG:p11
WS:7a, 7b
8.Perspective
(Chapters 20–23)
Retrieve and consider ideas from the text about key themes in the story
Assess parallels and differences between characters
OHT:8
9.Plot development
(Chapters 24–32)
Plan and discuss how to relay the same story through different media
Summarize information
Make predictions about a text
RG:pp11, 12
WS:9
10.Themes/Plot pivot
(Chapters 33–37)
Retrieve and consider ideas from the text about key themes in the story
Comment on structural features
Make predictions about a text
RG:p 7
WS:10a, 10b
11.Themes/Character development
(Chapters 38–41)
Retrieve and consider ideas from the text about key themes in the story
Infer information from the text about characters and events
Develop empathy with characters
RG:p 13
WS:11
12.Review/Reflect
(Whole novel)
Express and share personal responses to the novel orally and in writing
Review learning
RG:pp4, 6, 15
OHT:12
WS:12