Year 8 Summer Holiday Homework Pack. Name: Class: Teacher:

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Year 8 Summer Holiday Homework Pack

Name: _______________________

Class: ________

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This booklet has been designed to help you read and understand the deeper meaning of texts. In this lesson, you will be reading the first part of a short story called ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin. Read through the instructions carefully.

ACTIVITY ONE: Inferences from art

Consider the image below. What BIG IDEAS do you think the story will contain based on what you see? Record your inferences (predictions) in the space around the image as annotations. Remember to explain HOW you have made your inferences too.

Now turn your notes into a paragraph that explains your predictions. Ensure you are writing in full sentences. Make sure you use phrases this ‘this implies’ or ‘this suggests’ in your response. That way, it is easy to tell whether you are beginning to make an inference. If you are stuck with how to start, use the sentence starter below:

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3 ACTIVITY TWO: Clarifying vocabulary

Consider the vocabulary below. These words all appear in the first part of The Story of an Hour that you are about to read. Look at the word and read the definition. Below each definition is the example of the word in a sentence. Transform each word into a small image to help you remember it. One has been done for you.

Word Definition Image of word

afflicted To cause pain or trouble to

He was afflicted with asthma but he didn’t let it stand in his way.

veiled Disguised or hidden

The fog veiled the gravestones that littered the hillside.

concealing To hide; withdraw or remove from sight

He had gotten extremely good at concealing his annoyance.

hastened To move or act quickly

“It’s really not a problem,” the waitress hastened to add when the customer spilled coffee all over the floor.

peddler Someone who offers merchandise (like fresh produce) for sale on the street or door to door

The cries of the peddler could be hear from the street below.

eaves The lower border of a roof that overhangs the wall The eaves were dripping as the icicles began to melt.

repression Holding back or holding down; the use of force to control

Her parents’ repression meant she began to rebel at an early age.

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4 ACTIVITY THREE: Explicit vocabulary instruction

Look back at the list of words. Choose one that you are not confident with using and write it down in the middle of the mind map. Complete the activities around the mind map. If you are confident with using all of the words, choose one you use the least when speaking or writing.

ACTIVITY FOUR: Making further inferences

Based on the vocabulary you have been given, write down what you think the first part of the story is about. What do you think will happen and why? Do these words prove past inferences correct or have you now changed your mind as to the big ideas explored in the extract. Refer back to the vocabulary in your explanation. If you are stuck with how to begin, use the sentence starter below. Write no more than five sentences.

Eg. The words ‘afflicted’ and ‘concealing’ makes me think … because… Secondly, the word ‘…’ makes me think…

_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________

Word: ________________

1. Write a new definition in your

own words: 2. Use the term correctly in a sentence:

3.Write a question where the word is the answer:

4. Think of other words that mean the same thing (synonyms) and make a list

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5 ACTIVITY FIVE: Reading the extract

Now read the extract. The words you have been working with are underlined and highlighted in red. When you come across a highlighted word, go back and remind yourself of the definition. If there are any words you do not understand when you read, highlighted or not, write them down here:

1. _______________________ 3. __________________________

2. _______________________ 4. __________________________

The Story of an Hour – Part One

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was

afflicted

with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her

as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.

It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences;

veiled

hints that revealed in half

concealing

. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the

newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's

name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second

telegram, and had

hastened

to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad

message.

She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept

its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the

storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed

down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the

new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a

peddler

was crying

his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless

sparrows were twittering in the

eaves

.

There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled

one above the other in the west facing her window.

She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a

sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob

in its dreams.

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6 ACTIVITY SIX: Extract questions

Answer the extract specific questions below in full sentences.

1) Why is great care taken to deliver the news of Brently Mallard’s death to Mrs. Mallard?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

2) How did Brently Mallard die?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

3) When could the story be set? What clues are there in the extract that tell you this?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 4) How does Mrs. Mallard react to news of her husband’s death?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 5) How is Mrs. Mallard described in the final paragraph? What can we infer about her from this?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

CHALLENGE: Need an extra challenge? Choose one of the questions below and answer in the extra space at the back of the booklet. Show clearly which question you have answered.

1. ‘Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.’ – How does Mrs. Mallard’s heart condition reinforce societal expectations of women in the 19th_century?

2. Consider Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to the news of her husband’s death. How does she defy society’s expectations of her?

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7 ACTIVITY SEVEN: Considering language choices

As students of English, it is our job to think about why a writer may have used certain words to describe what is happening. There are thousands of words a writer could have used. We have to ask ourselves: why has the writer used this particular word?

How does Kate Chopin use language to describe Mrs. Mallard’s grief?

Look at the words in the grid. Write down three reasons as to why you think Chopin has used these words to describe Mrs. Mallard’s grief. One has been done for you as an example.

Word: ‘wild abandonment’

Reason 1: She cannot control herself when she is sobbing

Reason 2: Completely distraught

Reason 3: Hysterical; she does not care how she reacts or who is there to see her react in that way.

Word: ‘storm of grief’

Reason 1: I think the writer has chosen this word to describe the music because…

Reason 2:

Reason 3: Word: ‘dull stare in her eyes’

Reason 1: Reason 2: Reason 3: Word: motionless Reason 1: Reason 2: Reason 3:

ACTIVITY EIGHT: Forming our ideas

Now it is time to join up our ideas! Choose a word from the grid to help you answer the following question: How does Kate Chopin use language to describe Mrs. Mallard’s grief?

Look at the example answer in the box below and look at how I have joined up my notes from the grid. Notice how I have added a little more detail to the reasons I wrote in the grid. I want you to do the same thing.

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Now see if you can have a go! Link up your notes from one or two of the words in the grid on the previous page. Try and expand on your notes when you write them up in full sentences. If you are not sure how to begin, use the sentence starters below:

- Kate Chopin describes Mrs. Mallard’s grief as a ‘storm’, perhaps suggesting that…

- Once Mrs Mallard’s ‘storm of grief’ has subsided, Chopin describes how she sat ‘motionless’ and had a ‘dull stare in her eyes’. The adjective ‘dull’ tells readers that…

EXTRA CHALLENGE 1: See if you can incorporate some of the ideas you discussed in your ‘extra challenge’ answer for Activity 6.

EXTRA CHALLENGE 2: Try and capture the style of the example answer.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY NINE: Testing vocabulary

Test yourselves on the vocabulary from the beginning of the lesson by writing down the definitions of the words. When you have finished, look back at your vocabulary lists to check your work. Mark your answers in a different colour pen. Give yourself a tick or a cross and make any corrections you need to make.

ACTIVITY TEN: What happens next?

In no more than THREE sentences, write down what you think will happen next and why.

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This booklet has been designed to help you read and understand the deeper meaning of texts. In this lesson, you will be reading the next part of a short story called ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin. Read through the instructions carefully.

ACTIVITY ONE: Retrieval Practice (If this is the answer, what’s the question?)

In the grid below are a series of answers that are missing their questions. Consider the answers and write down the question you would have to ask in order to get that answer. Answers focus on the plot and characters of The Story of an Hour as well as vocabulary that appears in the text.

If this is the answer, what’s the question?

QUESTION: ANSWER: 1. Brently Mallard 2. A railroad crash 3. Heart trouble 4. Repression 5. A peddler

6. Move or act quickly

Now let’s re-read the opening of The Story of an Hour. Once we have finished, you have one minute to come up with two answers. Then swap your booklet with the person sitting next to you and see if they can find the questions to your answers.

Ask your partner to write the questions to your answers in this column.

Write your answers in this column.

1.

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Consider the vocabulary below. These words all appear in the next part of The Story of an Hour. Look at the word and read the definition. Below each definition is the example of the word in a sentence. Transform each word into a small image to help you remember it.

elusive Difficult to find, catch or achieve

The criminal remained elusive in a bid to avoid prison.

tumultuously Excited, confused or disorderly

Tumultuously, they fled, running for their lives.

striving Make great efforts to achieve or obtain something He had been striving for years to be the best he could be.

slender Gracefully thin

His slender hands shook as he opened the envelope containing his results.

vacant Having or showing no intelligence or interest

The university students looked at their professor with vacant stares after she had finished her presentation.

exalted In a state of extreme happiness I felt exalted and newly alive.

trivial Of little value or importance

They always argued about trivial matters.

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Consider what has happened in the story so far. Which words seem out of place with the tone that Chopin has established? List three:

1. _______________________ 2. _________________________ 3. _________________________

Now explain why you have chosen these words. How do they go against what Chopin has already established in her story? Answer in full sentences.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________

Word: ________________

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With this in mind, what do you think will happen in the next part of the story and why? Refer back to the vocabulary in your explanation. If you are stuck with how to begin, use the sentence starters below. Write no more than five sentences.

Eg. The words ‘exalted’ and ‘tumultuously’ makes me think … because… Secondly, the word ‘…’ makes me think…

_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY FIVE: Reading the extract

1. _______________________ 3. __________________________

2. _______________________ 4. __________________________

The Story of an Hour – Part Two

There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not

know; it was too subtle and

elusive

to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward

her through the sounds, the scents, the colour that filled the air.

Now her bosom rose and fell

tumultuously

. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was

approaching to possess her, and she was

striving

to beat it back with her will--as powerless as her

two white

slender

hands would have been. When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word

escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The

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Answer the extract specific questions below in full sentences. 1) What does Mrs. Mallard begin to feel?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

2) What does Mrs. Mallard begin to repeat over and over. Why do you think this is?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

3) Mrs. Mallard thinks about how she can now live ‘for herself’. Who has she been living for all these years?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and

exalted

perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as

trivial

. She knew that she would weep again

when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love

upon her, fixed and grey and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of

years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to

them in welcome.

There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would

be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they

have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention

made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

And yet she had loved him--sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the

unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly

recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

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4) From this moment, what are we learning about Mrs. Mallard’s relationship with her husband? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

1. At the beginning of the story, Mrs. Mallard’s heart is an antagonistic force. It causes her pain and trouble. What is her heart symbolic of now? Refer to the extract in your answer.

2. There is nothing in the extract that indicates Brently Mallard was unkind to Mrs. Mallard. With this in mind, why does she react in the way she does?

3. How is marriage portrayed as oppressive in The Story of an Hour?

ACTIVITY SEVEN: Social and historical context/Guided reading

Complete the activities below:

3. Summarise each paragraph in 2-3

bullet points

In the late 19th century, much of American society held to the deep-seated belief that women were inferior to and should remain dependent upon husbands and other male figures. On the whole, women were expected to accommodate their husbands by cooking, cleaning, and generally maintaining the household. Any employment available to them offered wages significantly less than what men earned, and women were expected to conduct their lives according to their husbands’ wishes. Most women had little or no financial or other independence, as they (and their finances) were essentially passed from their fathers to their husbands upon marriage.

EXTRA CHALLENGE:

Like much of Kate Chopin’s work, “The Story of an Hour” revolves around the idea of female independence and its obstacles. The story is especially concerned with examining how a nineteenth-century woman was expected to behave in highly emotional circumstances. Louise Mallard’s heart condition renders her physically weak, further enforcing the time period’s prevailing sentiment that women should remain passive and unexcited. At the same time, one might argue that it is the diagnosis of the heart condition itself that enforces a kind of weakness on Louise based on the assumptions about women inherent in the diagnosis.

More particularly, though, through the sudden death of Louise’s husband in an accident, the story portrays a woman on the cusp of true independence in the only way that was truly available to women at the time: through the death of a wealthy husband, leaving the woman with her own fortune and no need to remarry to maintain her station in life. And so, despite her real grief at her husband’s unexpected death, Louise feels intense joy at the exceedingly rare prospect being granted to her as a woman: the chance to be “free, free.”

1. Highlight TWO pieces of information in each paragraph that tell you about women’s rights in the late 19th_century.

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15 ACTIVITY EIGHT: Responding to characters

Consider Mrs Mallard’s character and her reaction to her husband’s death. Use the prompt questions to help you.

Physically

: How might Mrs Mallard act, move, speak? What is she DOING to show you

how she is feeling? Why is she acting in this way?

Emotionally:

How is Mrs. Mallard feeling and why? Think about what life was like for women at the time the story is set. How is this reflected in Mrs. Mallard’s feelings?

Psychologically:

What is the writer saying overall about Mrs. Mallard’s mental state? How have they been impacted by the events and ideas in the text? How is the reader supposed to react to Mrs. Mallard’s experience?

Is Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death justified? What is YOUR opinion of her? Answer in full sentences and make sure you refer to the social/historical context paragraphs in your response. Use the sentence starter below if you need to:

I think Mrs. Mallard’s reaction to her husband’s death is/is not justified because… At the time the story is set, women…

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16 ACTIVITY NINE: Testing vocabulary

ACTIVITY TEN: What happens next?

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This booklet has been designed to help you read and understand the deeper meaning of texts. In this lesson, you will be reading the final part of a short story called ‘The Story of an Hour’ by Kate Chopin. Read through the instructions carefully.

ACTIVITY ONE: Retrieval Practice (Cops and Robbers)

In the ‘Cops’ column, write as much information as you can from memory about The Story of an Hour. You will have five minutes to add your knowledge. Use the prompts to help you. When your time is up, you will have another five minutes to visit as many people in the room as possible to share information. If they have information you have missed, add it into your ‘Robbers’ column in a different colour.

TOPIC: The Story of an Hour

Prompts

Mrs Mallard

Marriage

Women’s

rights and

liberation

Heart

Now let’s re-read what we have read of The Story of an Hour so far.

Your own

knowledge and

recall…

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Consider the vocabulary below. These words all appear in the final part of The Story of an Hour. Look at the word and read the definition. Below each definition is the example of the word in a sentence. Transform each word into a small image to help you remember it.

imploring Pleading; making a desperate appeal

He gave her an imploring look in the hope she might have mercy.

elixir A magical or medicinal potion

She drank the elixir given to her by the magician.

fancy The faculty of imagination

It was a strange fancy, but one she had been thinking about for a long time.

importunities Persistence, especially to the point of annoyance

Sick of their importunities, the King decided to imprison them.

unwittingly Without being aware; unintentionally

He offended the man unwittingly; it was only later he realised what he had done and felt awful.

clasped Hold tightly with one’s hand

He clasped the book tightly in his hands, desperate to read on.

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Based on the vocabulary you have been given, write down what you think the last part of the story is about. What do you think will happen and why? Refer back to the vocabulary in your explanation. If you are stuck with how to begin, use the sentence starter below. Write no more than five sentences.

Eg. The words ‘elixir’ and ‘fancy’ makes me think … because… Secondly, the word ‘…’ makes me think…

_______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________

Word: ________________

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20 ACTIVITY FIVE: Reading the extract

1. _______________________ 3. __________________________

2. _______________________ 4. __________________________

Discuss: What has just happened?

What are your initial reactions to the story’s ending?

The Story of an Hour – Part Three

Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole,

imploring

for admission.

"Louise, open the door! I beg; open the door--you will make yourself ill. What are you doing, Louise?

For heaven's sake open the door."

"Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very

elixir

of life through that open

window.

Her

fancy

was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all

sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only

yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's

importunities

. There was a feverish triumph

in her eyes, and she carried herself

unwittingly

like a goddess of Victory. She

clasped

her sister's

waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little

travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of

the accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing

cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

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Answer the extract specific questions below in full sentences. 1) What is Josephine, Mrs. Mallard’s sister, doing and why?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

2) What is Mrs. Mallard allowing herself to imagine?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

3) Why, of all things, does Mrs. Mallard carry herself life a ‘goddess of Victory’?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

4) What happens to Mrs. Mallard at the end of the story and why?

_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________

1. How has Mrs. Mallard gained independence at the end of the story?

2. The doctor says Mrs. Mallard dies of ‘joy that kills.’ How have they misinterpreted the situation? 3. Is The Story of an Hour a story about female empowerment or female powerlessness?

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Irony: A state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately

contrary to what one expects and is often wryly amusing as a

result.

How does the ending of The Story of an Hour contain irony?

ACTIVITY SEVEN: Considering language choices

As students of English, it is our job to think about why a writer may have used certain words to describe what is happening. There are thousands of words a writer could have used. We have to ask ourselves: why has the writer used this particular word?

How does Kate Chopin use language to describe Mrs. Mallard at the end of the story?

Look at the words in the grid. Write down three reasons as to why you think Chopin has used these words to describe Mrs. Mallard. One has been done for you as an example.

Word: ‘Her fancy’ Reason 1:

Reason 2:

Reason 3:

Word: ‘goddess of victory’ Reason 1:

Reason 2:

Reason 3: Word: ‘feverish triumph in her eyes’

Reason 1:

Reason 2:

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23 ACTIVITY EIGHT: Forming our ideas

Now it is time to join up our ideas! Choose a word from the grid to help you answer the following question: How does Kate Chopin use language to describe Mrs. Mallard at the end of the story?

Watch as I model one together on the board first. Then you have a go.

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24 ACTIVITY NINE: Testing vocabulary

ACTIVITY TEN: Your opinion

What did you think of the story? Did you like it? Why? Why not?

Why is the story surprising? Is the ending cruel?

Now that we have read the entire text, what clues are there that Mrs. Mallard will die at the end?

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