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Year 8

'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract

I can show understanding of ‘The Silence of the Girls’ through comprehension and annotation.

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Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 8

'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract

I can show understanding of ‘The Silence of the Girls’ through comprehension and annotation.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Briseis is a character from Greek mythology; she is given to Achilles (a renowned warrior) as a prize of war.
  2. Pat Barker wrote ‘The Silence of the Girls’ from the first person perspective of Briseis.
  3. The novel begins with Briseis in her home city of Lyrnessus which is under attack from the Greeks.
  4. Barker creates tension and suspense through descriptions of Achilles, the battle and hints about Briseis's future.
  5. 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

When annotating, you should highlight, underline and circle interesting things. You don't need to write anything down as you will remember what you thought.

Symbols, highlights and underlinings are all useful, but only if accompanied by short written notes which remind you what it was you found interesting. Otherwise your symbols become meaningless.

Keywords

  • First person - the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like ‘I’ and ‘me’.

  • Perspective - point of view.

  • Tension - what readers feel when they start to anticipate something bad is going to happen.

  • Suspense - the state the reader is held in as they wait for an anticipated conflict, event or outcome to occur.

  • Annotate - to make short notes on, and about, a text.

Consider how you want to read the extract with your class. What additional questions do you want to ask? What words will require further definition? How will you support pupil annotations?
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need a copy of 'The Silence of the Girls' by Pat Barker published by Hamish Hamilton in 2018.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of upsetting content
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence

Supervision

Adult supervision required

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).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each term to its example sentence (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’).
Correct Answer:first person ,As I heard his battle cry, I shivered.

As I heard his battle cry, I shivered.

Correct Answer:second person ,You must have heard of Achilles.

You must have heard of Achilles.

Correct Answer:third person ,Achilles was known as a brutal warrior. She feared him hugely.

Achilles was known as a brutal warrior. She feared him hugely.

Q2.
What is true of Achilles, a character from Greek mythology? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
He is a disappointment to his father.
Correct answer: He is a warrior.
He marries a sea nymph.
Correct answer: His best friend is called Patroclus.
He is strong but slow.
Q3.
Match each word to its definition (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’).
Correct Answer:first person ,narrator is a character in the story, using pronouns like "I" and "me"

narrator is a character in the story, using pronouns like "I" and "me"

Correct Answer:perspective,point of view

point of view

Correct Answer:tension,what we feel when we anticipate something bad is going to happen

what we feel when we anticipate something bad is going to happen

Correct Answer:suspense,the state we are held in as we wait for something bad to occur

the state we are held in as we wait for something bad to occur

Correct Answer:annotate,to make short notes on, and about, a text

to make short notes on, and about, a text

Q4.
What does it mean to be renowned? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
to be loved
to be hated
Correct answer: to be famous
to be unknown
to be a powerful warrior
Q5.
Complete the sentence: A is a method of comparison by which a writer compares two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’. (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
Correct Answer: simile
Q6.
Which of the examples below are similes? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
He was a pig of a man.
Correct answer: He cut men down like a butcher.
He was renowned as a famous warrior.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Whose perspective is Pat Barker's ‘The Silence of the Girls’ told from? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
Achilles
Mynes
Ismene
Correct answer: Briseis
Lyrnessus
Q2.
When annotating Pat Barker’s ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’), what are some of the things you might do?
highlight the whole of the first and last paragraphs
Correct answer: write short notes at the side of the text
Correct answer: underline important words and phrases
write one or two analytical paragraphs at the bottom
underline any dialogue
Q3.
Which words does Pat Barker use to describe Achilles in ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’).
renowned
bull
Correct answer: butcher
Correct answer: wolf
Correct answer: inhuman
Q4.
Which of these are examples of the way Pat Barker creates tension and suspense in ‘The Silence of the Girls’? (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’)
by listing all of the ways people praise Achilles
Correct answer: by describing the sounds of the battlefield
Correct answer: by making it clear that Briseis is vulnerable
by developing the character of Ismene
by adding a new character to the myth: that of Briseis
Q5.
Match each character, all from Pat Barker’s ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’), to what we know about them.
Correct Answer:Briseis,the narrator; royalty in Lyrnessus

the narrator; royalty in Lyrnessus

Correct Answer:Ismene,enslaved by Mynes

enslaved by Mynes

Correct Answer:Achilles,a renowned warrior; claims Briseis after raiding Lyrnessus

a renowned warrior; claims Briseis after raiding Lyrnessus

Correct Answer:Mynes,married to Briseis

married to Briseis

Correct Answer:Agamemnon,a king; Achilles has to give him Briseis

a king; Achilles has to give him Briseis

Q6.
Starting with the first, put these plot points from Pat Barker's ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (‘Myths, legends and stories that inspire’) in chronological order.
1 - Briseis explains what she knows of Achilles.
2 - Briseis describes journeying to the tower in Lyrnessus to be kept safe.
3 - Briseis and others arrive in the tower where they are to be kept safe.
4 - Briseis describes the atmosphere in the tower where women and children are held.
5 - We learn of the brutal punishments awaiting the women and children of Lyrnessus.
6 - Briseis realises Ismene, who is enslaved, isn’t sympathetic about her future.
7 - Briseis realises she is about to be enslaved.