Lesson video

Hi there, I'm Mr. Buckingham and it's so good to see you here for today's lesson.

Today we're going to take another step towards our next piece of narrative writing based on "A Kind of Spark" by exploring Addie's final speech in more detail, including by using some drama techniques.

I think you're gonna really enjoy this.

So let's get going.

Today's lesson is called exploring Addie's speech in the climax of "A Kind of Spark" from my unit called "A Kind of Spark," narrative writing.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll have created a summarised version of Addie's speech and empathised with her emotions and observations as she speaks.

Now, for this lesson, you will need to have access to the 2020 Knights Of edition of "A Kind of Spark," written by Elle McNicoll and illustrated by Kay Wilson.

If you're ready, let's get going.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

The climax is the point in the narrative where the suspense and excitement reaches its highest point.

If we summarise something, we pull out the key information and ideas from the text.

To empathise means to get inside a character's head.

Internal monologue is the inner voice for character, their thoughts to themselves, not spoken aloud.

And a tableau is a group of motionless figures showing a scene from a story.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start off by summarising Addie's speech and then we're going to be empathising with Addie using some drama techniques.

So we know that stories often follow a structure like this with an opening, a buildup, a climax, and a resolution.

The opening is where the writer describes the setting and the characters and the buildup is where the problems are introduced and the tension rises.

And the climax is the high point of the action and the tension.

And we can see that by the height of the bar.

And the resolution is where these problems are resolved.

The tension is falling so the bar drops in height.

We've already written a part of the buildup where we see Addie and Miss Murphy having their confrontation and we see Nina and Keedie come along as well to try to resolve the situation.

But next, we're going to write part of the climax of the story, the climax of "A Kind of Spark." So which event do you think is the main one in the climax of "A Kind of Spark," and why? Pause the video and have a think.

Good thinking, well done.

So we could argue that Addie's final speech is the climax in "A Kind of Spark" because this is where all her campaigning across the book for that memorial comes to its peak.

And during the whole book, of course, she's been pushing the memorial to happen and now she's making her final and her most serious attempt at making that come true.

So we can argue that this is the event the whole book has been building towards and it's what leads to that resolution because we know her speech is persuasive enough that it resolves the problem because it persuades the village council to take action.

So we can argue this speech is the climax of "A Kind of Spark." So do you agree with Sofia, and why or why not? She says, "Addie's made speeches before about the memorial.

I don't see how this one is special!" Pause the video and decide if you agree.

Well done, good thinking.

So Jun says, "That's true, she has made other speeches, but remember, the book's not just about the memorial; it's about Addie as a person too.

So I think what makes this speech so important to the story is that it also shows how Addie has learned to be open and unapologetic about her autism, which is another key plot line in the book." So it's not just about the memorial, "A Kind of Spark," is it? It's also about Addie and about other characters in the book as well and how they relate to one another, and how Addie relates to her autism, how she sees herself.

And we see all of this kind of come together in this speech and that's what makes this a really important climax.

And it's slightly different, therefore, to the other speeches that she's made previously.

So let's remind ourselves of what Addie said and experienced as she made that speech.

Pause the video here and have a go at reading pages 177 to 181 of "A Kind of Spark." Have a go.

Well done.

Good reading.

So which part of Addie's speech that you just read was most persuasive to you and why? Pause the video and have a chat to the person next to you or a think on your own.

Good ideas.

So maybe you said, "I liked when Addie said that being different is a positive thing because everyone feels different sometimes.

So saying that makes everyone feel included." So she was trying there to relate to lots of different people by telling them about difference being a positive thing.

Maybe you said, "I think the story about Bonnie was crucial because it really brings home the link between how the women were treated in the past and how people who are different can suffer now." So Addie mentioned Bonnie's story and she kind of drew attention to the parallel, the commonality, the similarity between how Bonnie was treated and how the women were treated in the past as well.

And that was a really powerful point, wasn't it? Really well done for your thoughts there.

So which of the following were points that Addie made in her speech? Pause the video and see if you can find all of the points here that Addie made during that speech.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So no, Addie didn't say she was ashamed of being autistic, but she did say she might have been accused of being a witch in the past.

She did say that autism can't be cured and she did say the women were executed for being different.

She did say we should be kind to people who seem different and that differences are good things.

She didn't say autism was always a good thing.

She said sometimes it caused problems. But she did say she's happy with the way she is.

So we've got lots of points Addie made there in her speech.

Well done for identifying those.

So do you agree with Aisha and why or why not? She says, "I don't think Addie should have talked so much about her autism.

The speech was supposed to be about the women!" Pause the video and decide if you agree or not.

Well done.

Good thinking.

Here's what Lucas said.

He said, "I think what made this speech work was to help people understand that differences shouldn't be a cause of suffering; they should be something we enjoy and share together.

Talking about autism was clever; it helped people see how unfairly the women were untreated based on a simple difference." And we can see in Addie's speech that she's showing us that she is treated differently sometimes because of the difference she has of being autistic, and that women were treated differently in the past and suffered a great deal for it as a result of some differences they may have had with other people in their community.

Really well done for your ideas.

So if you had to summarise Addie's argument in just three points that she makes in her speech, what would you choose as your three points? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, great ideas.

Here's what Lucas said.

He said, "Number one, because she's autistic, she experiences the world a bit differently and she is seen as different.

Number two, in the past, people who are different like this could have been accused of witchcraft and persecuted.

And number three, we should not forget these people," she means the people who are persecuted for witchcraft, "because some people who are seen as different are still treated badly in the present day." So these are Lucas's three key points from Addie's speech.

Yours might be slightly different and that's fine, but hopefully you spotted Addie's argument that people have been treated differently in the past because they're different and people are still treated badly in the present because they're different, and showing the relationship between those two ideas.

Now, when we write our own version of this climax, we're going to want to include a shorter version of Addie's speech, which means we're going to have to summarise Addie's speech in our own words, and we're going to have to make sure it's written in a style that sounds like speech.

So what can we do to write in a way that sounds like speech? What language features and techniques can be used to make our writing sound like speaking? Pause the video and have a chat to the person next to you or have a think on your own.

Well done, great thinking.

Maybe you thought of some of these.

We could use contractions, we can use short sentences and fewer complex sentences.

So kind of simpler sentences.

We can start sentences in informal ways, like if we use but or and at the start of a sentence instead of in the middle.

And we can ask questions to the reader as well.

So all of those will help to make sure our writing sounds more like speech to make it match the style we would see in Addie's speech.

So which of the passages below uses language most appropriate for Addie's speech? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good thinking.

A is very formal, isn't it? And not really the kind of language you would use if we were speaking out loud.

The same is true of B.

It's very formal language, so probably not the language Addie would use in her speech.

But C is much less formal and much more appropriate to what I might see in a speech.

Let's read it.

It says, "Things have improved since then in some ways.

But people who are different can still have a tough time, can't they?" So we've got a question there to the reader.

We start a sentence with but, which is quite informal and we've used who're, which is a contraction there as well.

So although Addie's still making a powerful argument, in this passage, it's much more informal, much more appropriate to the language we use when we speak and we're gonna have to try and write in a way that looks like speech.

Really well done if you spotted that one.

So Addie's speech is quite long in the text, isn't it? So when we write our version of the climax, we're going to want to include a short version of it and we're gonna try and have a go at writing that now.

So I want you to think about what the most important points in Addie speech are, just like Lucas did before.

And I want you to write a short version of Addie's speech, lasting no more than five sentences.

And your speech should summarise the key point of Addie's speech.

So you're gonna try and use the style of Addie's speech and her tone of voice and remember that she's speaking aloud and not writing.

So it'll be more informal like we just discussed.

And I want you to remember to use the first person, I, me, my or mine, because you're writing and speaking as Addie.

And finally, make sure you don't copy words and phrases from the book.

I want this to be your own version of Addie's speech in no more than five sentences, using that informal tone in the first person.

Make sure, of course, that you try and capture the main points of this speech and Addie's main arguments that we discussed previously.

Pause the video and have a go at writing your version of Addie's speech.

Well done.

Fantastic work.

So here's an example of a summarised version of Addie's speech.

"Hi, everyone, I'm Addie and I'm autistic.

Because of that, I see the world a bit differently to some people.

A long time ago, people like me might have been accused of witchcraft because of those differences.

We might have been locked up or put on trial or worse.

That's exactly what happened to women from our very own village.

We can't forget these women and we owe them an apology, and a memorial!" So you can see here lots of informal language, but I'm still using a range of sentence types and sentence structures that we know from across our learning this year.

So we still write in an interesting way when we're writing a speech and in spoken language, but we're trying to use slightly more informal language, like what you see here.

Really well done for your effort there.

Good job.

So now that we've summarised Addie's speech, we're going to try and empathise with Addie as she makes that speech before, during and after.

And we're gonna use some drama to do that.

So let's look again at Addie's speech in the book and see if we can track how she's feeling at different points.

So I'd like you to look back now at pages 177 to 181 and try to spot how Addie's feeling as she speaks at the village meeting and see if you can spot her feelings before, during, and after the speech.

Pause the video and take a look.

Well done.

Really good job.

So maybe you noticed these.

As she waits to be called, Addie's feeling quite anxious.

When she talks about her autism at the start of her speech, she feels a little bit self-conscious and like she's being watched by everyone.

Then when she mentions Bonnie, she feels a bit upset.

When she's about to finish, she feels inspired to carry on.

And then finally, when the crowd applauds, she actually finds the noise a little bit overwhelming, doesn't she? And she covers her ears to block out some of that loud noise.

So her feelings are quite varied as she goes through this speech.

So what clues are there on pages 177 to 181 towards Addie's feelings? What evidence is there to support what we just said about how Addie's feeling at different points? Pause the video, have a look at the text and see what you can find.

Well done, great evidence gathering.

Here's some you might have found.

She's rocking, perhaps to calm herself on page 177.

On the same page, she takes a big breath before she begins.

On the next page, she notice her breathing as she speaks and comments that she's taking breaths.

The page after that, she sniffs when she mentions Bonnie, suggesting she's upset and she loses track of where she is in her speech.

So she's quite distressed at that point.

And then on page 181, she puts her hand over her ears when people are clapping, which tells us she feels overwhelmed by that noise.

So we can see here the evidence to support what we said on the previous slide about Addie's changing feelings before, during, and after this speech.

Well done for what you identified.

Good job.

Now we can use what we know about Addie's feelings and our own empathy skills to come up with ideas for what her internal monologue might be at these different points in the speech.

And remember, an internal monologue is your inner thoughts that are not said out loud.

So here's an example of what Addie's internal monologue might be before she's called to speak, and I'm speaking in role as Addie.

"Can I really do this? Can I really share my story with everyone here? There's so many of them.

I'm not sure I can do this.

But I have to, I need to." So notice the language is quite informal again, and we can see contractions like I'm, we've got informal sentence openers like but, and we've got rhetorical questions at the start there.

And I've used the first person and the present tense to show Addie's thoughts right now in the moment.

So what might Addie's internal monologue be when she stands up and gets ready to speak? So she's facing the microphone now and she's ready to go.

What might she be thinking at that point? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, great ideas.

Maybe she's thinking something like this.

"What a lot of people! I've never seen the village hall so full and they're all looking at me.

I don't know if I can do this, but there's my whole family.

They're all smiling and they want me to succeed.

Maybe I can do it.

Maybe.

Let me take a quick look at Maggie's name to give me some courage." So we know she's looking down at Maggie's name to inspire her to say her speech.

So it's okay for us to use our imagination here as I've done there.

We're using empathy to imagine what Addie might be thinking that might not be mentioned in the book.

So we're going a bit beyond what we can just read, using our empathy skills to put ourself in Addie's place and imagine what she might be thinking in this moment.

Really well done for your ideas there.

Good job.

So let's do our second task for this lesson.

And we're going to try and practise empathising with Addie by imagining her thoughts at the different points we've discussed.

So for each of the points in her speech before, during and after, I want you in role as Addie to freeze your body in position to show her feelings using your body language.

So that would be before you're called to speak, when you get up to speak, as you're speaking and when you sit back down.

And for each of those, I want you to be prepared to say what you think Addie's thinking at each moment as a short internal monologue, like we've just practised.

So pause the video and for each scenario, when your teacher says that scenario, pause your body, freeze your body in the motion you think Addie would be adopting.

And then be ready when you're asked to share your internal monologue for that point.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, fantastic job.

Here are just some ideas for Addie's internal monologue for those final two points we haven't discussed yet.

So first of all, as you're speaking, "I feel like I have their attention.

They want to find out about my autism.

Well, whatever works! Everyone's looking now.

I need to make them understand why this matters.

I need to make them see.

I think they're on my side, I feel like they're willing me on." And maybe for when you sit back down, "I did it, I can't believe I did it.

I think Maggie would be proud of me.

And people are clapping.

Gosh, it's getting a bit louder actually." So in the present tense, in the first person using some informal language features, we've tried to show there Addie's internal monologue at the different points.

Really well done for your effort there too.

Now, if we look at the text again, we can actually see as Addie goes through her speech, Addie noticing, hearing and seeing different things at the various points.

So what does Addie notice before she's called to speak? Pause the video, have a look back at the text and have a chat to the person next to you or a think on your own.

Have a go.

Well done, good job.

So she sees Maggie's name written on her hand, first of all.

She notices the bright lights above her.

She sees Mr. Macintosh looking wary, which means a bit concerned.

And she hears him introducing her campaign.

So she's doing a lot of noticing of the things happening around her.

So what does Addie notice of these other points in the text? Pause the video, look back at the text and see if you can work out what does Sadie notice at these three different points.

Have a go.

Well done, so when she gets up to speak, she sees lots of people looking up at her.

She sees all her family in front of her looking positive and Keedie and Nina smiling up at her.

While she's speaking, she notices everyone paying attention.

She looks down again at Maggie's name on her hand for support.

She sees Mr. Macintosh looking a little bit uncomfortable and at the right point, she hears some laughter as well.

At the end of the speech, she hears a small amount of clapping, which then grows into some steady applause and she gets or receives hugs from Nina and Keedie as well.

So there's a lots going on beyond just what Addie's thinking and beyond what she's saying.

She's also noticing a lot as well.

But it's really important we include that when we come to do our writing.

Really well done for what you spotted there.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

We're going to do a drama task to help us empathise with what Addie might have seen happening or heard at different points in her speech, like we just discussed.

So we're going to go beyond what the book says here and use our imaginations as well.

And I want you to work in a group of four here, taking on these roles, Addie, Mr. Macintosh, Keedie, and Audrey.

And for each point below, so each of the points in the speech, the person who's in role as Addie is going to say what she sees others doing and then they're going to compose their bodies into a tableau, a frozen form to show this.

So for example, Addie might say, "I see Mr. Macintosh rolling his eyes," and if you're Mr. Macintosh, you are going to try and freeze yourself with your eyes rolled to show Mr. Macintosh's emotion that Addie is noticing.

So you're going to do this for before you're called to speak, when you get up to speak, as you're speaking and when you sit back down.

So the person who's Addie is really in control here.

They're going to say what they notice the other characters doing at those different in the story.

So you should be doing four tableaus where Addie is taking charge and saying what she sees each person doing to show their different emotions as her speech progresses.

So pause the video and have a go at creating your four tableau.

Really good job.

Well done.

So I can't show you the tableaus, but I can show you what Addie might have said in role at each of these points about what she notices the others doing.

So for the first one before the speech, she could say, "I see Keedie looking nervous.

I see Mr. Macintosh speaking with a tired expression on his face, and I see Audrey waving excitedly." So that's what my three characters would've shown me in that tableau.

For the second point, when she's getting ready to speak, I've put, "I see Keedie smiling up at me.

I see Mr. Macintosh sitting down and rolling his eyes, and I see Audrey giving me a thumbs up." So again, my tableau could show all of those.

For the third point I've put, "I see Kedie and Audrey watching me with complete attention.

I see Mr. Macintosh crossing his arms and looking uncomfortable." And then for the final point after the end of the speech, I've put, "I see Audrey on her feet clapping and cheering.

I see a little smile on Mr. Macintosh's face and I see Keedie reaching out to hug me." So I've gone a little bit beyond the book there, haven't I? I've got Mr. Macintosh smiling there at the end to kind of hint to my reader that there's going to be a positive outcome from this speech.

Addie is going to succeed in persuading him.

Really well done for your effort there.

It's gonna help you so much when you come to write later on to have imagined both Addie's internal thoughts and what she observes around her as she speaks.

Really good job.

So let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We've said that Addie's speech can be considered the climax of "A Kind of Spark" and we need to summarise the key argument of Addie's speech, keeping the tone of spoken language for our writing later on.

We know that we can use empathy to imagine Addie's internal monologue at different points in the speech and explore how her feelings change.

And we can use drama, such as tableau to explore what Addie might notice at different points in the speech and explore how others' feelings change as she talks.

Really well done in this lesson.

I hope you've really enjoyed it and I'd love to see you again in a future lesson.

Goodbye.