New
New
Year 11
AQA
'Alias Grace': forming opinions on characters
I can form a personal response about a character.
New
New
Year 11
AQA
'Alias Grace': forming opinions on characters
I can form a personal response about a character.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Making an inference means coming to a conclusion, based on evidence and reasoning.
- A variety of synonyms of 'suggests' should be used to express inferences.
- You can make inferences based on single words.
- Inferences should always be justified with evidence from the text.
- Making inferences can help you form opinions on characters.
Keywords
Alias - indicating a false identity, especially one used by a criminal
Relish - to like or enjoy something
Penitent - showing that you are sorry for doing something wrong
Common misconception
Students may not be accustomed to forming an opinion on a narrator, typically seeing them as a neutral figure in a story.
First person narrators are often protagonists of their stories and they can retell the events in any way they want to. This allows us to be critical of a narrator.
Ask pupils to try to link the title of the novel to their inferences in Learning Cycle 2.
Teacher tip
Equipment
You will need access to Chapter 3 of 'Alias Grace' for this lesson.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of serious crime
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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.
What is a narrator?
the protagonist of a story
the anti-hero of a story
a figure that is disconnected from the story
Q2.
What is an inference?
something that is absolutely true
a judgement about the value of something
Q3.
Which word can you use which signals that an inference may follow when discussing a text?
tells
best
clearly
Q4.
What might we infer about a narrator who has "blood on his hands"?
He is peaceful.
He is kind and innocent.
He has been building something.
Q5.
What is social class?
a group of people living in the same city
a group of people of the same age
Q6.
What is a rumour?
a confirmed story
an opinion based on someone without knowing the truth
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
What is an alias?
a word used to indicate someone's name at birth
a word used to refer to someone's nickname
Q2.
The word 'alias' has connotations of ...
justice.
freedom.
Q3.
What other word can replace 'suggests' when making inferences?
symbolises
necessitates
Q4.
The narrator in 'Alias Grace' could be described as relishing the attention she gets. What does this mean?
she hates the attention she gets
she is humble
Q5.
Which evidence suggests that Grace relishes the attention she gets in 'Alias Grace'?
she looks in the governor's wife's scrapbook when she is not allowed
she pretends to be penitent
Q6.
The narrator in 'Alias Grace' states that her title of "murderess" "rustles", what does this suggest about her feelings towards her title?
she finds it suffocating
she finds it boring