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Year 8

Use of flashback in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea'

I can include a flashback in a piece of creative writing inspired by Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea'.

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Year 8

Use of flashback in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea'

I can include a flashback in a piece of creative writing inspired by Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea'.

Download all resources
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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A flashback is a transition in a story to an earlier time in the life of one or more characters.
  2. Flashbacks are often vivid and give us further information about a character.
  3. Natasha Bowen makes use of flashback in the opening chapter to hint at Simidele's life before she became a Mami Wata.
  4. Bowen relies on the present participle verb and imagery to make the flashback vivid.

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

  • Present participle verb - the -ing form of the verb e.g. giggling

  • Vivid - clear, deep, strong

Common misconception

Flashback is the only way to include information about a character's past.

Flashback is a powerful method and one which lots of writers rely on. However, there are many other ways to include details about a character's past. For example, explanation from a character or dialogue between characters.

Consider if there is another text you have read with pupils which relies on flashback. What connections and comparisons could you make to develop their understanding of the concept further?
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the extract from '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 serious crime

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).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea', what is a Mami Wata? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
a fish
Correct answer: a mermaid
a human
a ship
Q2.
What is true of Simidele, the main character in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct answer: She was once mortal.
She is scared of the sea.
Correct answer: She gathers the souls of enslaved people who die at sea.
She remembers her past clearly.
She is an enemy of Yemoja.
Q3.
Match these methods, all used by Natasha Bowen in 'Skin of the Sea', to their definitions ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct Answer:simile,a method of comparison using 'like' or 'as'

a method of comparison using 'like' or 'as'

Correct Answer:adjective,a describing word

a describing word

Correct Answer:present participle ,the -'ing' form of the verb

the -'ing' form of the verb

Correct Answer:alliteration,when two or more words close by start with the same letter

when two or more words close by start with the same letter

Q4.
Match these methods, all used by Natasha Bowen in 'Skin of the Sea', to their examples ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct Answer:simile,The sharks cut through the water like knives.

The sharks cut through the water like knives.

Correct Answer:adjective,The sea is a vivid blue.

The sea is a vivid blue.

Correct Answer:present participle ,I am spinning through the water.

I am spinning through the water.

Correct Answer:alliteration,The sails of the ship were taught and tight, trembling in the wind.

The sails of the ship were taught and tight, trembling in the wind.

Q5.
Match each word to its meaning ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct Answer:straining,doing something with great effort

doing something with great effort

Correct Answer:caressing,stroking gently and lovingly

stroking gently and lovingly

Correct Answer:jolting,moving or shaking in a rough, lurching way

moving or shaking in a rough, lurching way

Correct Answer:dissolving,something that disappears

something that disappears

Q6.
Starting with the first plot point, put these events from Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') in chronological order.
1 - Simidele is swimming with sharks near a ship owned by slavers.
2 - Simidele has a flashback to a time when she was human.
3 - Simidele is sad she can't remember more about her life as a human.
4 - Simidele sees the body of an enslaved person fall into the water.
5 - Simidele swims towards the body of the enslaved person to gather her soul.
6 - Simidele notices that the woman has been badly beaten.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these are examples of present participles verbs? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')
happily
Correct answer: swimming
Correct answer: hoping
circled
spin
Q2.
In 'Skin of the Sea' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire'), who transforms Simidele into a mermaid?
a Mami Wata
a slaver
Correct answer: Yemoja
the sea
Simidele herself
Q3.
A is when there is a transition to an earlier time in a character's life ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct Answer: flashback, flash back
Q4.
What is true of a flashback? ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire')
when a writer suggests something bad is going to happen in the future
they are used at the beginning of most novels to intrigue the reader
when a writer uses vivid imagery to describe a particular scene
Correct answer: when there is a transition to an earlier time so the story isn't chronological
Q5.
In Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea', a is a water spirit or deity (god) sacred to West, Central and Southern Africa ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct Answer: Mami Wata
Q6.
The is the '-ing' form of the verb ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire').
Correct Answer: present participle