SOMETHING INSIDE (SO STRONG)
Labi Siffre
The higher you build your barriers
The taller I become
The farther you take my rights away
The faster I will run
You can deny me
You can decide to turn your face away
No matter, cos there's....
Something inside so strong
I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong
The more you refuse to hear my voice
The louder I will sing
You hide behind walls of Jericho
Your lies will come tumbling
Deny my place in time
You squander wealth that's mine
My light will shine so brightly
It will blind you
Cos there's...
Something inside so strong
I know that I can make it
Tho' you're doing me wrong, so wrong
You thought that my pride was gone
Oh no, something inside so strong
Oh oh oh oh oh something inside so strong
Brothers and sisters
When they insist we're just not good enough
When we know better
Just look 'em in the eyes and say
I'm gonna do it anyway
This song was originally written as a protest against apartheid in South Africa – a system which meant that black and white people had to live and work completely separately. All of the wealth and power was with the white population.
Chapter five quiz
1. How does Bruno’s mother feel about the move away from Berlin?. (Answer: she is sad about it. She feels her husband’s ambition has made them move).
2. What does Bruno see at the train station that confuses him? (Answer :he sees a very busy train, while his train is comfortable and nearly empty; they are travelling in the same direction)
3. What does Bruno think the name of his new home is? (Answer: Out-With)
4. What name does Bruno give to his father’s boss? (Answer: The Fury)
5. Who do you think Bruno’s father’s boss really is? (Answer: Hitler, die Fuhrer)
6. When Bruno asks his father who the people outside his window are, what does his father call them? (Answer: he says they’re not people)
7. How does Bruno say goodbye to his father? (Answer: he says ‘Heil Hitler’).
8. What does Bruno think these words mean? (Answer: he thinks they mean ‘goodbye’)
PREJUDICE: BARBED WIRE IN THE MIND
1. Lieutenant Kotler is a teenager and a soldier.
a. Why do you think he treats Bruno and Gretel the way he does?
b. Why do you think he treats Pavel the way he does?
c. How might Lieutenant Kotler have become so prejudiced?
Think of as many ways and reasons as you can, drawing on your
own knowledge, research and experience of prejudice, but also
thinking about his age and making some guesses about the way
in which he was brought up.
PREJUDICE: BARBED WIRE IN THE MIND
2. Pavel is a mature man and a trained doctor, but he is working in
the kitchen.
a. How does he treat Bruno and why does he help him? Think
carefully about his profession and his position in Bruno’s
household.
b. Why do you think he responds to Lieutenant Kotler in the way
he does? Do you think his response is the right one?
c. How do you think it makes Pavel feel to be living this kind of life
and to have to behave in this way? Try and give some detailed
explanations for your response.
PREJUDICE: BARBED WIRE IN THE MIND
3. Bruno is a nine year old German boy, son of the Commandant of a
Concentration camp.
a. Why doesn’t he like Lieutenant Kotler? You will need to scan
the earlier chapters to find as many reasons as possible.
b. Why does he like Pavel? Think about the way other grown ups
treat Bruno and the way Pavel treats him.
c. Do you think Bruno is prejudiced in any way? You must give
clear reasons for your answer to this question and you must
think carefully about what prejudice means.
PREJUDICE: BARBED WIRE IN THE MIND
4. Gretel is a 12 year old German girl, daughter of the Commandant
of a Concentration camp.
a. How does Gretel treat grown-ups? You should think about her
behaviour towards her parents, towards Maria, the maid, in an
earlier chapter and towards Lieutenant Kotler.
b. Why does Gretel like Lieutenant Kotler? Do her feelings
change or alter at any point, and if so why?
c. Do you think Gretel is prejudiced in any way? She has had the
same upbringing as Bruno, but doesn’t always behave the
same way as him. What reasons can you give for this?
PREJUDICE: BARBED WIRE IN THE MIND
5. Pavel says ‘just because a man glances up at the sky at night does
not make him an astronomer’ (page 82).
a. What does Pavel mean? Use the following ideas to help you
decide: We cannot always tell what kind of person someone is,
just from looking at them; sometimes people do jobs we would
not expect them to do.
b. How is Pavel different from the other grown-ups in Bruno’s life?
c. What does this brief incident tell us about the nature of
prejudice and the effect it has on peoples’ lives?
Resource Lesson 10
Then Shmuel’s mother was taken away.
Shmuel lives in a hut with his brothers and his father where
they get very little food and where the soldiers hurt them and
are glad if they get sick.
Shmuel was made to wear an armband with a Star of David
on it every time he left the house.
All the people were caught and forced onto a crowded,
smelly and dark train. It was difficult to breathe.
Shmuel and his family were made to leave their house and
forced to live in a shared house in Cracow, behind a big wall.
Shmuel lived happily in Cracow, Poland with his father, the
watch-mender and his mother the teacher. He went to
school every day.
Bruno and Shmuel
Page 167
‘They asked me to polish the glasses,’ said Shmuel. ‘They said they needed someone with tiny fingers.’
As if to prove something that Bruno already knew, he held his hand out and Bruno couldn’t help but notice that it was like the hand of the pretend skeleton that Herr Liszt had brought with him one day when they were studying human anatomy.
‘I’d never noticed before,’ he said in a dis-believing voice, almost to himself. ‘Never noticed what?’ asked Shmuel.
In reply Bruno held his own hand out so that the tips of their middle fingers were almost touching. ‘Our hands,’ he said. ‘They’re so different. Look!’
The two boys looked down at the same time and the difference was easy to see. Although Bruno was small for his age, and certainly not fat, his hand appeared healthy and full of life. The veins weren’t visible through the skin, the fingers weren’t little more than dying twigs. Shmuel’s hand, however, told a very different story.
‘How did it get like that?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ said Shmuel. ‘It used to look more like yours, but I didn’t notice it changing.’
Bruno and Shmuel
Page 167
‘They asked me to polish the glasses,’ said Shmuel. ‘They said they needed someone with tiny fingers.’
As if to prove something that Bruno already knew, he held his hand out and Bruno couldn’t help but notice that it was like the hand of the pretend skeleton that Herr Liszt had brought with him one day when they were studying human anatomy.
‘I’d never noticed before,’ he said in a dis-believing voice, almost to himself. ‘Never noticed what?’ asked Shmuel.
In reply Bruno held his own hand out so that the tips of their middle fingers were almost touching. ‘Our hands,’ he said. ‘They’re so different. Look!’
The two boys looked down at the same time and the difference was easy to see. Although Bruno was small for his age, and certainly not fat, his hand appeared healthy and full of life. The veins weren’t visible through the skin, the fingers weren’t little more than dying twigs. Shmuel’s hand, however, told a very different story.
‘How did it get like that?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know,’ said Shmuel. ‘It used to look more like yours, but I didn’t notice it changing.’
Close Up on Camp Life
In one corner Bruno could see three soldiers who seemed to be in charge of a group of about twenty men. They were shouting at them, and some of the men had fallen to their knees and were remaining there with their heads in their hands.
In another corner he could see more soldiers standing around and laughing and looking down the barrels of their guns, aiming them in random directions, but not firing them.
In fact everywhere he looked, all he could see was two different types of people: either happy, laughing, shouting soldiers in their uniforms or unhappy, crying people in their striped pyjamas, most of whom seemed to be staring into space as if they were actually asleep.
Your Name: ___________________________________________
Your Teacher’s Name: ___________________________________
Date: _______________________
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS: CHAPTER 15 ASSESSED READING TEST
1. In your own words, summarise what happens in this chapter. Write no more than half a page.
2. Locate and copy evidence to support the following statements: a. Lieutenant Kotler has become closer to Bruno’s mother.
b. Shmuel is becoming thinner and sicker.
c. Shmuel was beaten by Kotler for his behaviour in the house.
3. Re-read page 169 from ‘Wait there ...’ to page 170, ‘Thank you Bruno.’ How does the author convey that Shmuel is scared? You should write at least one paragraph and use Point, Evidence, Explain to answer this question.
5. List three similarities that this chapter highlights between Shmuel and Bruno.
6. List three differences that this chapter highlights between Shmuel and Bruno.
7. On page 175 Bruno says ‘I am ashamed of myself.’ What do you think? Should Bruno be ashamed of his behaviour? Give as many reasons as you can for your answer.
YEAR 7 BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS READING TASK ASSESSMENT SHEET
Name: ...
LEVEL 5 LEVEL 6 LEVEL 7
I can identify the main points of a text and support my ideas with evidence from the text.
I can identify, summarise and recount the main ideas of a text, using appropriate quotation to support my points.
My comments about texts are precise and I have my own ideas about it which are influenced by my own reading and knowledge.
I am able to make educated guesses about what is happening in a text.
I show that I understand the layers of meaning in the text and how they are created.
I am able to make connections between ideas in the text and create an overview of the writer’s skill.
I can comment on how the structure of a text adds to or alters its meaning.
I am able to explain how the organisation of the text influences its meaning.
I am able to explain how a range of structural techniques have an impact on the effect of the writing.
I can comment on how a writer’s choice of language affects the meaning of the text.
I am able to use appropriate terminology to explain the effect of the writer’s choice of
language.
I use appropriate terminology to make precise comments about the effect of language of the text on the reader.
I can identify the main purpose of and audience for a range of texts.
I use evidence to support my ideas about audience, purpose and effect.
I am able to appreciate the range of techniques used by an author to influence audiences and achieve his purpose.
I know that when a text was written affects its meaning.
I can demonstrate my own understanding of the context in which the text was written.
I am able to analyse the effect of the context of a text.
Strengths of piece of work:
Target for improvement:
Comment:
5C
5B
5A
6C
6B
6A
7C
7B
7A
Pupil Comment:
YEAR 7, STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT, ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’
AUTUMN HALF TERM 2
Your name:
Assess how well you think you have worked in all your English lessons this half term (including your Drama lessons), based on the following criteria:
1 = excellent 2 = good 3 = satisfactory 4 = requires further work 5 = unsatisfactory I developed and adapted my speech to make my ideas clear
and guide my listener. I used body language to make my speech more interesting.
1 2 3 4 5
I developed my discussion skills by making clear and relevant contributions to group discussion. I helped the discussions succeed by listening to and responding to the contributions of others
1 2 3 4 5
I took on different roles in group discussion, sometimes taking the lead, sometimes letting others lead me.
1 2 3 4 5
I explored ideas, texts and issues through a variety of dramatic approaches and conventions
1 2 3 4 5
I worked with others to develop dramatic stories while working in role.
1 2 3 4 5
I extracted the main points from the text by skimming and scanning and I was able to guess what the writer meant even when he didn’t say it directly.
1 2 3 4 5
I identified and understood the main ideas, viewpoints, themes and purposes in the text and was able to identify appropriate quotes to back up my ideas.
1 2 3 4 5
I understood the different ways in which this text reflected the historical context in which it was set and written.
1 2 3 4 5
I identified and was able to describe the effect of writers' use of specific literary, rhetorical and grammatical features
1 2 3 4 5
I used appropriate grammar and English in my written work. 1 2 3 4 5
TARGETS:
The THREE AREAS I need to improve next are:
1.
2.
3.
I think my assessed piece of reading is a Level ...
To move it to the next Level, I would need to improve .
Signature of Parent / Carer:
Comment from Parent / Carer:
PENAL BARRACKS
LOOT STORAGE EXECUTION WALL COMMANDANT’S HOUSE
COMMANDANT’S OFFICE MAIN GUARD HOUSE
GAS CHAMBER & CREMATORIUM CAMP ADMIN
PRISONER’S BEING REGISTERED
PRISONER REGISTRATION CAMP KITCHEN
3 miles
Pavel and Lieutenant Kotler
Complete the diagram below to show the similarities and differences between Pavel and Lieutenant Kotler.
You should think about:
Age
Gender
Race
Religion Profession
Position in the household The way they treat Bruno
The way they are treated by other people
PAVEL
LIEUTENANT KOTLER
German
Male Works in
kitchen
Soldier
Suicide in the Trenches
Siegfried Sassoon
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
What was the ‘boy’ like before he went to war?
What happened to the ‘boy’ when he was at war?
How do people back home feel about the ‘boys’ who have gone to war?
Why doesn’t the poet give the ‘boy’ a name or tell us his age?
Why does the poet call the war ‘hell’?
Why do you think the ‘boy’ killed himself?
What impression do you get of the First World War from this poem?
What were the effects of the war?
How well did people (soldiers and those ‘back home’) understand the war?
