New
New
Year 6

Exploring Addie's speech in the climax of 'A Kind of Spark'

I can create a summarised version of Addie’s speech and I can empathise with her emotions and observations as she speaks.

New
New
Year 6

Exploring Addie's speech in the climax of 'A Kind of Spark'

I can create a summarised version of Addie’s speech and I can empathise with her emotions and observations as she speaks.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Writing is most successful when it is planned.
  2. Vocabulary can be generated to precisely match the emotions of a character.
  3. Thinking hard about vocabulary makes writing outcomes more powerful.
  4. Vocabulary choices can be made to highlight the emotions of a character to the reader.
  5. Precision in describing a character's emotions means getting inside the character's head.

Keywords

  • Climax - the point in the narrative where the suspense and excitement reaches its highest point

  • Summarise - to pull out the key information and ideas from the text

  • Empathise - to get inside a character’s head

  • Internal monologue - the inner voice of a character - their thoughts to themselves, not spoken aloud

  • Tableau - a group of motionless figures showing a scene from a story

Common misconception

Pupils may struggle to identify the key thrust of Addie's speech and instead focus on minor details.

When reading the text, say aloud your thoughts as a reader, for instance 'Ah, I can see Addie is trying to show the connection between what happened in the past and what's happened to Bonnie ...'.

Ensure that pupils' summary speeches are kept for use in future lessons; they will feed into the writing task.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need a copy of the 2020 Knights Of edition of ‘A Kind of Spark’ written by Elle McNicoll, illustrated by Kay Wilson, for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which statements are correct?
Correct answer: A birthmark could be used as evidence of witchcraft.
Everyone accused of witchcraft was executed.
Correct answer: Hanging was used to execute convicted 'witches'.
People did not believe the devil could influence everyday life.
Q2.
Which of the following might have made a person more vulnerable to witchcraft accusations?
Correct answer: being female
Correct answer: living alone with no family
Correct answer: being known for 'cursing' people
being an active member of the church
Correct answer: creating herbal remedies
Q3.
When did the Scottish witch trials occur?
a few thousand years ago
Correct answer: a few centuries ago
a few decades ago
a few years ago
Q4.
Put the events of Jean's story in order.
1 - Jean lived alone in the village.
2 - Jean 'cursed' a neighbour after an argument.
3 - Soon after, the neighbour's animal died.
4 - Jean was accused of witchcraft.
5 - Jean denied being a witch.
6 - Jean was tortured until she confessed.
Q5.
Why did Addie write Maggie's name on her hand during her speech?
to remind her to mention Maggie in the speech
Correct answer: so that she could look at it and be inspired to continue speaking
to remind her how it was spelt
to remind her that the speech was about the 'witches'
Q6.
Why might Maggie have confessed to witchcraft?
Correct answer: torture or fear of torture
Correct answer: knowing she could not argue with the accusations
Correct answer: exhaustion
feeling guilty

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following events is the climax in 'A Kind of Spark'?
when Addie learns about the witch trials
when Addie visits the university
Correct answer: when Addie makes her final speech
when the plaque is made
Q2.
Which of the following are points made in Addie's speech?
autistic people are better than non-autistic people
Correct answer: autistic people may notice things others do not
Correct answer: Bonnie does not have a choice in her situation
Correct answer: differences are good things
autism is curable
Q3.
Put these key arguments from Addie's speech in order.
1 - Because she's autistic, she experiences the world differently.
2 - In the past, people who were different might have been accused of witchcraft.
3 - We shouldn't forget the people who experienced this in the past.
Q4.
Which of the following are features of speech as opposed to formal writing?
Correct answer: contractions
complex sentences
Correct answer: shorter sentences
Correct answer: informal ways of starting sentences
Correct answer: asking questions to the audience
Q5.
At what point might Addie be thinking the following piece of internal monologue in relation to her speech? 'People are really listening! Maybe they're being convinced ...'.
before she is called to speak
when she gets up to speak
Correct answer: as she is speaking
when she sits back down
Q6.
Put the things Addie notices before, during and after the speech in order.
1 - She notices the bright lights and she sees Maggie's name on her hand.
2 - She sees lots of people looking up at her.
3 - She notices everyone paying attention.
4 - She is overwhelmed by the noise of clapping.