Developing reading skills by responding to Murakami's 'After Dark'

English

In 'Fiction: Read Around the World', pupils identify and comment on a range of language devices in extracts from texts. In 'Fiction: Science Fiction Writing', pupils identify and comment on recurring images and symbolism in texts.

In 'A World at War: Short Stories', pupils read short stories, analysing how authors structure full texts. In 'Fiction: Read Around the World', pupils analyse structural choices in smaller extracts of texts.

In this unit, pupils read extracts from four novels from around the world, and use them to develop their narrative writing. In particular, pupils explore writers' use of structure. At the end of the unit, pupils consider their own use of paragraphs for effect and write an engaging narrative.

Fiction: read around the world

It may give clues to a mood or theme within the text.

It will tell you about the author's life.

It explains exactly what the text will be about.

How can the title of a piece of writing help you in your comprehension of it?

It may help you to predict some of the themes.

It may help you to visualise possible settings for the text.

It will help you know how the author was feeling when they wrote the text.

How can the date that a text was published help you make predictions about the text?

Noting down questions that come to your head as you read.

Looking up definitions for all of the words you do not know the meaning of.

When reading an unfamiliar text, what is the most productive method to support your comprehension?

'After Dark' by Haruki Murakami is written from which perspective?

Match each word to the impression it creates of the city in Murakami's 'After Dark'.

the last page of the book which summarises it 

to declare what you think will happen based on available evidence

Match each sentence to the perspective being used.

the who, what, where, when of an event or story

What is important to include in a summary?

suggesting that something wonderful might happen

suggesting that something unpleasant might happen

Introduction

What will you need for this lesson?

Are you ready to learn?

Equipment

Worksheet