A red herring is a piece of misleading information.

Something which is archetypal is very typical of a certain type of thing.

A thesis is a statement put forward to be proved.

To subvert means to go against what is expected. A villain that subverts the archetype may be gentle.

Comparing ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Boscombe Valley Mystery’

English

in 'Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories', pupils practise using analytical writing sentence structures, to formulate their arguments. In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', pupils develop these skills further, applying them to a range of pre- 20th Century texts. 

in 'When the Sky Falls' pupils read fiction texts for fluency and comprehension. In 'Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories' pupils start to analyse the language choices of an author.

In this unit, pupils read and explore two famous Sherlock Holmes stories. They start by reading and analysing 'The Speckled Band' before using it as inspiration to write a newspaper article. They then read and analyse 'The Boscombe Valley Murder' before writing a comparison of the two stories.

Sherlock Holmes: short stories

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of violence or fighting, including threats of violence or the aftermath of violence.

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

What is similar about 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band' and 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery'?

What is different when comparing 'The Adventure of The Speckled Band' and 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' stories?

James McCarthy following his father with a gun

Patience Moran secretly wanting to marry Charles McCarthy

What can be considered a red herring in 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery'?

He is excused from the consequences of his actions.

He is presented as brutal and aggressive.

What is true of Dr. Roylott in 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band'?

John Turner is called the 'devil incarnate'.

How does John Turner subvert the archetypal villain role in 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery'?

What does *not* summarise a thesis statement correctly?

Both 'The Adventure of The Speckled Band' and 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' are ...

Both 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band' and 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' have ...

Match the elements from 'The Speckled Band' and 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' to the correct story.

Which character from either 'The Speckled Band' or 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' is constructed by Conan Doyle to evoke the most sympathy from the reader?

When you compare two texts what are you looking for?

Which of these words is a comparative conjunction?

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Adult supervision recommended

Introduction

What will you need for this lesson?

Are you ready to learn?

Equipment

Content guidance

Supervision

Worksheet