Natasha Bowen's ‘Skin of the Sea’: understanding the extract
I can show understanding of Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' through comprehension and annotation.
Natasha Bowen's ‘Skin of the Sea’: understanding the extract
I can show understanding of Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' through comprehension and annotation.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- 'Skin of the Sea' centres around a protagonist called Simidele who is a Mami Wata, in this instance a mermaid.
- As a Mami Wata, Simidele must collect souls of enslaved people who die as they are transported across the Atlantic.
- Natasha Bowen makes use of flashback in the opening chapter to hint at Simidele's life before she became a Mami Wata.
- When annotating a text, you can use a range of symbols and notes to help develop an understanding of the text’s ideas.
Common misconception
A Mami Wata is always presented as a mermaid who saves the souls of enslaved people.
Mami Wata is a water spirit and has a rich tradition in West, Central and Southern Africa. Bowen has used the deity in her novel and presented her as a mermaid with a specific task, but the goddess is presented in different ways in other art.
Keywords
Mami Wata - a water spirit or deity (god) sacred to West, Central and Southern Africa
Flashback - a transition in a story to an earlier time in the life of one or more characters
Mortal - human
Annotate - to make short notes on, and about, a text
Equipment
You and your pupils will need a copy of 'Skin of the Sea' by Natasha Bowen, published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
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).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
the narrator is a character in the story using pronouns like 'I'
the narrator speaks directly to the reader using pronouns like 'you'
the narrator isn’t a character in the story using 'he', 'she', 'they'
a short section of a text
the person who wrote the story
the person telling the story
a short description on the back of a book giving an overview
a way of dividing stories into sections
a transition to a time earlier in the life of one or more characters
when an object is given human characteristics
a method of comparison using the word 'like' or 'as'
a narrative perspective in which the narrator is a character
a body of water moving in a specific direction
waves created by the sea rather than the wind
the overlapping plates that protect the skin of fish
hard, colourful substance created by some marine life
Exit quiz
6 Questions
Yemoja transformed her into one.
she was once mortal.
she gathers the souls of enslaved people.