Charles did it again !

Charles did it again!

My first day in/at/on... • (new) school • job • England • conference • car • restaurant • plane • airport…

Your first day in kindergarten…? Yes, it’s me… Do you remember any detail(s) about your kindergarten? Did you learn ‘four magic words’? Write them down on papers! I hope it wasn’t like this…

Match! rubbers seesaw bib crayons corduroy overalls chalk

Short story… Shirley Jackson (1916 – 1965) was an influential American author. She has even influenced Stephen King. She is best known for the short story "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests a secret, dark side of small-town America. 'Charles' is a short story about a boy Laurie who starts kindergarten and meets a new friend, Charles. Let’s read the first four parts of the story…

Vocabulary Odd the one out! Two words are synonyms, one is not! renounce resign, give up, accept swaggering intimidating, easygoing, bullying slam pamper, bang, smash vainconceited, reliable, egotistic casualnonchalant, earnest,usual regardgaze, search, pay attention to address talk to, guess, target spankcuddle, hit, beat mindful aware, forgotten, cognizant

While reading • “…He began to laugh insanely.” Write your opinion of Laurie at this point (20-40 words). Give evidence from the text to support this opinion (mark it) • Write a vocabulary list word to describe Charles (3). • Write a word of your own to describe him. (2) • Give evidence from the text that supports your choice of words (mark it) • Underline any (extra) new vocabulary

Who is narrating (telling) the short story Charles? According to the narrator, how did Laurie change when he started kindergarten? When was Charles first mentioned in Laurie’s home? Explain what he had done. Explain how Charles became a household joke at Laurie’s home. Why were Laurie’s parents looking forward to meeting his kindergarten teacher? In groups...

“Monday night was the first Parent-Teachers meeting, and only the fact that the baby had a cold kept me from going; I wanted passionately to meet Charles’s mother.” What do you think will happen at thePTA meeting? Why is Charles rude? What will his Mum say at the PTA meeting? What could be the problems in Charles’ family? (discussion & writing in small groups) PTA

“If only she’s there.” I said prayerfully. “She’ll be there,” my husband said. “I don’t see how they could hold a PTA meeting without Charles’s mother.” At the meeting I sat restlessly,scanning each face, trying to guess which one hid the secret of Charles. None of them looked to me scary enough. No one stood up in the meeting and apologized for the way her son had been acting. No one mentioned Charles. Charles, Part 5. (End)

After the meeting I identified and looked for Laurie’s kindergarten teacher. She had a plate with a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate cake; I had a plate with a cup of tea and a piece of marshmallow cake. We came upto one another carefully, and smiled. Charles, Part 5. (End)

“I’ve been so anxious to meet you,” I said. “I’m Laurie’s mother.” “We’re all so interested in Laurie,” she said. “Well, he certainly likes kindergarten,” I said. “He talks about it all the time.” “We had a little trouble adjusting, the first week or so,” she said slowly, “but now he’s a fine helper. With occasional lapses32, of course.” “Laurie usually adjusts very quickly,” I said. “I guess this time it’s Charles’s influence.” “Charles?” “Yes,” I said, laughing, “you must have your hands full in that kindergarten, with Charles.” Charles, Part 5 (End)

“Charles?” she said. “We don’t have any Charles in the kindergarten.” Discuss. The End…

Reading: roleplay Mum Teacher Dad Laurie + narrator Acting?

What changes does Laurie's mother observe in her son the day he starts kindergarten? What does Laurie report about Charles in the following two weeks? How do Laurie's parents respond to these reports? How does Charles influence life in Laurie's family? In what way does Charles' behaviour change during the third and fourth week? How do Laurie's parents interpret this change? How does Charles behave shortly before the second PTA meeting? What course does the second PTA meeting take for Laurie's mother? Comprehension questions (plot)

Vocabulary • Match! • toughness destined • awed frightened • reformation gesticulate (shoulders) • unsettling distribute • bound to administer • shrug shift • deal with connive • to plot huskiness • hand out rattling

Trust me! It’s a word! • Rearrange the letters to get a synonym: • mud merig • mop opsegn • dumb llud • abandon vieg pu • demand kas • cord irngts • pound thi

Vocabulary Using the word in the bracket, create a synonym: joyfully (glee) cynically (mock) solemnly (sincere) anxiously (queasy) reassuringly (tranquil) warily (watchful) simultaneously (synchronously) insanely (mad)

Humour and Irony • Charles’ identity • Who is Charles? — How do you know? • 2. The narrator's perspective • When did Laurie's mother realize? • 3. The reader's perspective • When did you realize Laurie was not telling the whole truth? • 4. Dramatic irony • How did your knowledge affect your enjoyment of the story? • 5. Surface humour • What else is funny about the story?

Reader's sympathies 1.Which character do you sympathize with (laugh at) most? Why? Try to explain why Laurie/Charles behaved as he did. 2. Parental attitudes What do you think of the way the parents deal with Laurie?

key words (kindergarten, boy, yelling, fresh...) key ‘events’ by day key quotes gapped summary Summarizing using…

returns/revertsadjusting/accommodating lapses/mistakesharasses/molests eventually/consequently yells/shouts mischief/misbehaviour shock/surprise Little Laurie, who has just started kindergarten, keeps his parents in suspense with more or less shocking stories about his fellow-pupil Charles, who 1________________ his teacher and classmates with his aggressive behaviour. Charles, for instance, hits the teacher, keeps pounding his feet on the floor during storytime, or 2_____________________ in class during story hour. Punishment obviously has little effect on him. Fearing that "all this toughness" may have a "bad influence" on Laurie, his mother "passionately" wishes to contact Charles' mother at the first Parent-Teachers meeting, but her plan comes to nothing because her baby's cold keeps her from going. 3__________________, Laurie's daily reports about Charles begin to dominate both parents' consciousness. By the third week of kindergarten "Charles" has become a synonym for any kind of 4_________________ or damage done within the family. After what seems a time of reformation in Charles when his teacher calls him her "helper", Charles 5____________________ to his usual misbehaviour. Fill in and summarize!

harasses/molests returns/reverts adjusting/accommodatinglapses/mistakes eventually/consequently yells/shouts mischief/misbehaviour shock/surprise Among other things, he makes a little girl say an evil word and later says it himself "three or four times". Anxiously, Laurie's mother attends the second Parent-Teachers meeting where no one, however, mentions Charles. When she approaches the teacher after the meeting and introduces herself as Laurie's mother, she is informed primly that her little son had "a little trouble 6_________________________, the first week or so", but now has become "a fine little helper. With occasional lapses, of course". Innocently, Laurie's mother tries to attribute her son's 7______________________ to "Charles' influence", but the teacher informs her that they "don't have any Charles in the kindergarten". It is only at this point that she realizes that Laurie has been describing his own behaviour at school. One can only imagine her 8___________ on realizing that she herself is "Charles' mother". Fill in and summarize!

Group work Group A: Have a second close reading of the story. - Note down in brief, following thechronological order, all the information you get about Charles' behaviour and about histeacher's corresponding reactions. Enter your findings into a chart, as follows:

Group work • Group B: • Work through the text and note down all relevant information on Laurie's • behaviour in outline form (entering the details into a similar chart). • First Week: • Laurie starts wearing blue jeans. • He goes off to kindergarten without waving goodbye. • On returning, he shouts and slams the door, [etc.] • Group C: • Summarize the corresponding reactions of Laurie's parents (entering the detailsinto a similar chart). • Laurie's mother notices that an era of her life has come to an end. • She tries to react casually. • Laurie's father asks what he learned at school, [etc.]

Homework! Free choice… • A • Write a paragraph that explains how Charles’ behaviour at school is similar to Laurie’s behaviour at home. • Use specific details and examples from the story to support your point. • If you use direct excerpts from the story, put quotations marks around the text and write the page number in parenthesis after it. • B • What lesson do you think the narrator learns about her son? Use specific examples from story to support your point of view. • If you use direct excerpts from the story, put quotations marks around the text and write the page number in parenthesis after it.

A book jacket You will create a book jacket (front and back page) for the short story Charles. You are given the paper which will serve as a jacket. Use information (from the paper with story) about the book and the author but DO NOT USE THE SAME WORDS. Divide your work wisely between all group members (eg. one writes the text for back cover, other one inside back cover flap, third copies everything or illustrateses). Publisher, place of publication, name of your group, ISBN and bar code is to be chosen by you (use your imagination!). Be careful, you have 20 minutes to do this part, so cooperate and do not let one person do all the work.

A book jacket

Playing with technology (.ppt or video) Anything in common? I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework. ~Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann“

References, materials used: • Shirley Jackson, Charles • Franz Ludescher CHARLES by Shirley Jackson\374 • Alanis Morisette, song Ironic • Web resources for songs and lyrics • http://www.google.hr/images?hl=hr&biw=1280&bih • =http://589&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=shorten&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq= • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nquHQ8Q4N1o • www.google.hr/images?hl=hr&biw=1280&bih=589&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=two+women+drinking+coffee+confused&aq=o&aqi=&aql=&oq= • Email me for full list of web links!

Thankyou for yourattention! Anita Jokić, prof. Prva riječka hrvatska gimnazija mob. 091 500 7575 E-mail: anitakuduz@gmail.com

Charles did it again !