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Year 9

'Small Island': reading Act 2, Scenes 9 to 11

I can explain the events of Act 2 Scenes 9 to 11 and evaluate the ending.

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New
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Year 9

'Small Island': reading Act 2, Scenes 9 to 11

I can explain the events of Act 2 Scenes 9 to 11 and evaluate the ending.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Queenie asks Hortense and Gilbert to adopt her baby, revealing the impact of societal attitudes.
  2. Hortense’s feelings for Gilbert transform into love and pride.
  3. Hope is a central theme to the play.
  4. Edmundson reveals the uncertainty of the future in the lack of resolution and cyclical structure.
  5. Offering a balanced argument and exploration of different themes, adds nuance to your evaluative responses.

Common misconception

That 'Small Island' finishes with a perfect resolution.

What issues are addressed in these scenes? Is Edmundson suggesting that these have all been solved? Why is the theme of hope so important?

Keywords

  • Futility - something that feels pointless or lacking any worth

  • Nuanced - having subtle differences or distinctions that add depth or complexity to something

  • Cyclical - a cyclical structure is where the events at the end of a text mirror the start

  • Resolution - in terms of stories or texts this refers to the conclusion or the end. More specifically, an ending that feels definite and finished

Task B could also be set up as a spoken language task.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of the play 'Small Island' written by Andrea Levy and adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive 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

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6 Questions

Q1.
What major event happens in Act 2 Scene 7 of 'Small Island'?
Correct answer: Queenie has her baby
Gilbert and Hortense move out
Michael returns
Q2.
Who helps Queenie deliver her baby in Act 2 Scene 7 of 'Small Island'?
Miss Todd
Correct answer: Hortense
Bernard
Gilbert
Q3.
Act 2, Scene 8 of 'Small Island' Edmunson uses the symbol of __________ to suggest hope and the potential for beauty amidst devastation.
London
nature
Correct answer: a hummingbird
Q4.
What do we mean by the term 'resolution' when talking about a text?
Correct answer: the conclusion or the end of a text
the end of a text mirroring the beginning
the action of the text
Q5.
Complete the quotation from Bernard in Act 2 Scene 8 of 'Small Island': " little fellow."
Correct Answer: sweet
Q6.
Act 2, Scene 8 of 'Small Island' ends on a tone of...
Correct answer: hope
devastation
Correct answer: reparation
regret

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the key terms to their definitions.
Correct Answer:futility,Something that is feels pointless or lacking any worth.

Something that is feels pointless or lacking any worth.

Correct Answer:nuanced,Having subtle differences that add depth or complexity to something.

Having subtle differences that add depth or complexity to something.

Correct Answer:cyclical,Where the events at the end of a text mirror the start.

Where the events at the end of a text mirror the start.

Correct Answer:resolution,An ending that feels definite and finished.

An ending that feels definite and finished.

Q2.
In Act 2 Scene 10 of 'Small Island' Hortense declares: “this is not what I was in England.”
Correct Answer: expecting
Q3.
Complete the quote from Act 2 Scene 9 of 'Small Island': "We can work , Mr Bligh."
Correct Answer: together
Q4.
How do Hortense's feelings for Gilbert change by the end of 'Small Island'?
Correct answer: they transform into love and pride
they transform into indifference
they don't transform
Q5.
Why does Queenie ask Hortense and Gilbert to adopt baby Michael in 'Small Island'?
Correct answer: she knows it will be a difficult life for him when he's older
She doesn't love him enough to keep him
Correct answer: she's not sure her and Bernard are up to the job of protecting him
Correct answer: she's worried he will be sent to America and will be treated badly
Q6.
Complete the stage directions from Act 2, Scene 11 of 'Small Island': “there is only a spotlight on ..."
Correct answer: this baby
Queenie
on the basket