Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Ms. Watson and I'm delighted that you have decided to join me today.

We are going to be looking again at that fabulous, frightening novel, "The Twisted Tree," and specifically we are going to explore how tension is created.

You will need your own copy of the book and it should be the 2019 edition.

The publishers are Hot Key Books.

Having that edition will make it so much easier when I give you page references.

So when you have your book and when you are ready, we'll get started.

So by the end of today's lesson, you will be able to explain how tension is built in "The Twisted Tree." So we are going to begin with the key words.

You see there are four key words and they are really useful for unlocking your learning today.

The first word is inference, and that is a conclusion that you reach by applying logic to the evidence that you are given.

And tension is that feeling of nervousness or worry when reading a text.

And there is so much tension in "The Twisted Tree." And the Gothic refers to a style of writing that involves dark, mysterious, and supernatural themes.

And "The Twisted Tree" is very much a Gothic text, and time pressure.

Now this is when a writer introduces a deadline or a time limit for characters to achieve their goals.

And it's a brilliant way of escalating the tension.

Now, if you would like a little bit more time to familiarise yourself with the key words, do that now.

You can pause the video and then rejoin the lesson when you are ready.

So there are two learning cycles today.

We're going to start by looking at tension across the whole of "The Twisted Tree." And then we are going to look at how Burge creates a frightening atmosphere, the methods that Burge uses.

Now I would like to start with a discussion where you talk among yourselves about your personal response to the end of the novel.

I'd like you to discuss this question.

How did you feel at the end of "The Twisted Tree," just before Martha killed the draugr? Pause the video while you have that discussion or if you are working by yourself, just pause the video and make a few notes.

Welcome back.

What a fantastic discussion.

Thank you for sharing your personal responses.

Now, you might have said something like this.

That you felt nervous, anxious, apprehensive, excited, fearful, transfixed, and hopeful.

Transfixed is when you feel like you are rooted in one spot.

You can't move, you can't look away.

You are fixed there.

I think I felt all of those things at that point in the novel.

And this is because Burge deliberately built the tension to this point so that you are really invested as a reader.

You really care what is going to happen.

So now we're going to look in more detail about what we think is meant by the term tension.

That feeling of nervousness or worry when you're reading a text.

And writers can create tension in a variety of ways, but common methods include uncertainty, that feeling of, I don't know what's going to happen, time pressure when there's a deadline on what needs to happen, and conflict.

And I would like you to discuss this.

Can you identify any examples of these three things in "The Twisted Tree?" Pause the video and have that discussion.

Or if you're working by yourself, just pause the video and make a few notes.

Welcome back.

What a great discussion.

There are so many examples, aren't there, of those methods being used.

Now what I'd like to do is have a check for understanding.

In "The Twisted Tree," Martha has to battle to hold open a closing portal to the Underworld so Mormor can return.

This builds tension as it is an example of, is it A, time pressure, B, uncertainty, or C, conflict? Have a think, make your choice.

Did you say time pressure? That's right.

She has to, there's a limited time in which she can do this and that really, really builds up the tension.

Very well done.

Let's move on.

I've got two diagrams for you to look at here, and I would like you to discuss which diagram you think best represent what happens to the tension as "The Twisted Tree" progresses, and why do you think that? Is it A or B? Have a look and make your choice.

Did you say A? Absolutely, the tension rises as the novel progresses.

Now, why do you think the tension increases as the story progresses? What about tension increasing makes us more interested in the story as a reader? So pause the video while you have that discussion or pause the video and make a few notes.

Well done, what a really thoughtful discussion that was.

Let me share with you what Lucas said.

He said that the tension increases as the draugr becomes more and more threatening.

It moves from being a menacing figure in a book to a really lethal figure that threatens the lives of Stig and Martha.

Did you say similar things? Now we're going to continue our work at looking at tension across "The Twisted Tree." So using the template, which you will see on the following slide, I would like you to plot the events in the novel that help raise the tension.

You'll need to think about which events make us feel nervous, anxious, or worried about what happens next.

And then for each of those events, you need to identify which of the events can be described as the following: uncertainty, time pressure, or conflict.

So here is the template that you are going to use.

You're going to need to pause the video while you do that.

So do that now and off you go.

So excellent focus, well done.

Let's look at how our graph might look.

So at the beginning we have Martha running away from home to visit Mormor.

Exciting but not particularly high tension.

And then Martha discovers that Mormor is dead and Stig is in the cabin.

And then the draugr visits the cabin, but is scared off by the Norns.

You can see how much the tension rises when the draugr appears.

And then Martha discovers Olav and Yrsa have been killed by the draugr.

And then the draugr kills Stig and Gandalf.

The draugr is a huge influence on how much tension there is in the novel.

And then with the help of the ravens, Martha kills the draugr, that very dramatic scene.

Now, have a think about which of these could be seen as conflict.

These you might have said these, the draugr visiting the conflict but is scared off, 'cause we have conflict there between the Norns and the draugr.

And then the violent conflict when draugr kills Stig and Gandalf, and then the conflict when Martha faces up to the draugr and kills it.

Brilliant work, let's move on.

We've made really good progress today.

We've looked at tension across the whole of the novel, and now we are going to look at how Burge creates a frightening atmosphere.

Now as well as raising tension across a whole novel, writers can also raise tension in individual scenes.

I'd like you to have a discussion and see if you can think of any specific scenes in "The Twisted Tree" where the tension is raised by Rachel Burge.

Pause the video while you have that discussion or if you're working by yourself, just pause the video and make a few notes.

Welcome back, what a great discussion.

There are so many scenes, aren't they, that are filled with tension.

I would like us to focus on this one, the scene in chapter 12 where Martha enters the twisted tree for the first time.

So now I would like you to read from the first paragraph of page 111.

It begins with the word taking and I would like you to finish on the word away.

And then when you have read that paragraph, I would like you to discuss what does Burge do here to raise the tension? Pause the video while you do that, happy reading.

So welcome back.

That is a really exciting paragraph, don't you agree? And you might have said in response to the question that the increasing buzzing creates tension as we want to find out what it is.

It's an interesting sound that makes us feel nervous and jittery and wondering what's going on, what's making that strange noise? And there's really interesting sensory details.

The smell is hideous and that increases the fear and uncertainty, makes us uncomfortable.

And Martha's isolation really heightens her vulnerability.

And then we have the tree itself because it is personified in a frightening way.

For example, it is described as jeering at Martha.

It seems to be mocking her.

Really good evidence selected from that paragraph.

Well done.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Burge describes the hole at the foot of the twisted tree as blank at her.

Is it A, laughing, B, jeering, C, sneering, or D, chuckling? Make your choice.

It's jeering, well done.

Let's move on.

Now we can use these moments from the text to write a developed paragraph to answer the question, how does Burge create an increasingly tense atmosphere? And to structure our answer, we can do the following: Pick out an interesting word, phrase, or method.

Make a clear inference, a logical explanation based on that word.

Make an additional inference or develop our idea further.

And link to the context of the Gothic or of Norse mythology.

Let's see what that would look like in practise.

We could write the following: As Martha approaches the tree, the buzzing gets louder.

The increasing volume of the buzzing sound could signify approaching danger, creating a sense of urgency and anxiety.

This escalating noise suggests that something unseen but ominous is drawing closer, heightening the reader's sense of fear and anticipation.

In Gothic literature, sounds often play a crucial role in building suspense and horror, reminiscent of the eerie silence before a storm.

So you can see that we've picked out an interesting word, which is buzzing and made a clear inference about what it could signify, approaching danger, creating that sense of urgency and anxiety.

And then we have developed that inference saying that the reader's sense of fear is heightened something unseen, but ominous is drawing closer.

And then we have made a link to the Gothic literature.

So, it's time for you to put that into practise.

Read again from that first paragraph of page 111, that begins taking to away.

And then I would like you to write a developed paragraph answering this question.

How does Burge create an increasingly tense atmosphere? Ensure that your answer does the following: Pick out an interesting word, phrase, or technique, that it makes a clear inference, that it makes an additional inference or develops the idea further, and that it links to the context of the Gothic or of Norse mythology.

You've done lots of close reading today and lots of thinking and discussion about tension.

So I think you are ready to write that paragraph now.

You will need to pause the video while you do that.

So gather all your thoughts and any notes you've made.

And off you go.

Welcome back, what excellent focus you showed there.

Now before we end the lesson, I want you to make sure that you self-assess your work and identify where you have done each of the following: So use this checklist and give yourself a tick if you picked out an interesting word, phrase or technique, and a tick if you made a clear inference.

And then if you went on to make an additional inference or to develop your idea further, give yourself another tick.

And if there is a link to either the Gothic or to Norse mythology, give yourself a tick for that too.

So pause the video while you self-assess your work and then return to me for the end of the lesson.

So before we say goodbye, I would like to summarise what you have been learning today.

You have been learning that the novel gets more frightening and tense as it progresses because of the increasing threat to Martha's life.

It's the use of the draugr and all the things that it does and that it represents and it's scary appearance that really helps to increase that tension.

You've also been learning that writers often raise tension by introducing uncertainty, conflict, or time pressure into stories.

And you've been learning that inferences should be developed to include additional interpretations.

Always aim to say more than one thing about what you are commenting on, about say the word you have chosen to comment on.

And you've also learned that Burge uses elements of the Gothic to raise the tension when Martha enters the twisted tree for the first time.

So excellent focus in this lesson.

Excellent learning.

I've had a real pleasure teaching you today.

I hope you have a fantastic rest of the day, and I look forward to seeing you again in another lesson about "The Twisted Tree." So, bye for now.