Bitsy Ravenscroft and the Fashion-Forward Petri Dish

Learning intention

I am learning to identify and use words that convey informative and emotive meanings in dialogue as a method to develop characters.

Success criteria

I can:

• identify and discuss the purpose of both informative and emotive word use in a playscript
• make connections between deliberate word choices made by authors and how they develop a character
• experiment with word choices to support character development

Essential knowledge

For information on character development, see the video, Characterungroup, on The School Magazine website. The NSW Department of Education has a detailed resource on Stage 3 reading - Understanding Characterungroup which outlines further strategies to use with students when responding to texts – with a focus on characterisation.

Introduction

Instruct students that as the play is being read, they are to use pencil to lightly underline words that fit any of the following descriptions:

• Unfamiliar words
• Scientific/informative words
• Emotive words

Display these three options on the board to remind students which words to underline as they read. Assign speaking roles to 11 volunteer students. Students who have speaking roles are to stand at the front on a ‘stage’ and use the stage directions (in italics) to guide them in the way they deliver their lines and where they move on the stage. Read the text. After reading, go around the class and ask each student to share one word they underlined as they read the text and why (which of the three reasons displayed on the board). Provide dictionaries to students to find the definition of any unknown words, in preparation for the lesson.

Teacher modelling – 10 minutes

Explain to students that the vocabulary choices made by the author help to develop characters. Inform students that to demonstrate this the class will be looking at two characters closely: Bitsy and June. Use the think-aloud strategy to discuss examples of vocabulary used in Bitsy’s dialogue that develop readers understanding of her character. (think-aloud: “I’ve noticed that Bitsy uses lots of very positive and emotive language. She uses words like ‘exquisite’, ‘spectacular,’ ‘dazzling,’ ‘exhilarating.’ These words show her as an enthusiastic, highly emotional character with a positive outlook on life. She has flair and style.). Engage the class in a discussion about the vocabulary choices for June’s character using the following prompts:

• What is different about the words chosen for June’s dialogue? (Suggested answer: June uses simpler, more scientific language. She uses technical terms and does not add emotive language)
• Identify some examples of these word choices from the text? (Encourage students to look at Scene One in particular, as this is when the characters are being introduced to readers for the first time)
• What does this tell us about June as a character? (Suggested answer: June is a more matter of fact, serious person. She uses accurate information-based language. She is not highly emotional. June is focused on her work as a scientist and uses technical language showing she is an educated and no-nonsense type of person.)

To summarise the contrast between characters, draw two columns on the board to make a T-chartungroup. See the diagram below. Ask students to choose five examples of vocabulary from scene 1 that are information based and place them in the first column. Then they are to choose five examples of vocabulary that are emotive and put them into the second column. Suggested answers are provided.

Guided practice – 10 minutes

Explain to students that they are going to practise using emotive and informative vocabulary. Provide students with the following sentence (Taken from 'Space Savers' in this issue of Orbit).

The International Space Station, otherwise known as the ISS, is a hub for astronauts which orbits the Earth.

Ask students to imagine that the information in this sentence was provided by the character Bitsy. Ask them to think about how Bitsy might describe the International Space Station. After some discussion provide the following sample sentence, showing how Bitsy might use emotive language to describe the ISS.

• The International Space Station is simply unbelievable. It is a fabulous, fashion-forward place for those amazing astronauts who are out there living their best lives!

Ask students to choose one of the following character types, and then re-write the sentence about the international space station in their language style. Tell students to think about whether their vocabulary would be more informative or emotive.

• An astronaut’s proud mother
• An Artificial Intelligence Humanoid Robot
• A NASA employee
• A person who has just heard about the International Space station for the first time after having time travelled from 100 years ago to the present day

After students have written their sentences, instruct them to underline three important vocabulary choices they have made in their sentence and then write an explanation of why they chose those words for their character. After writing their sentences, organise students into pairs and ask them to share their sentences with their partner, explaining their word choices. This is also an opportunity for students to gather peer feedback to improve their work using the TAG feedbackungroup strategy.

Independent activity – 10 minutes

Organise the class into groups of five or six students. Explain to students that they will be completing a hot seating activity. Three students in the group will be taking on a persona – a character with specific traits and associated ways of speaking. The other group members will be asking them questions about their life or work. Instruct them to think about how June and Bitsy used different vocabulary because of their backgrounds and interests. Demonstrate a hot seating activity by taking on the role of Bitsy answering the following question:

• Bitsy, how are you finding the career change from retail assistant to Laboratory manager?  (Answer: It is just so wonderful and such a sparkly vibrant place to be. It was an easy transition – with delightfully spectacular petri dishes scattered everywhere. How could one not enjoy such razzle dazzle in the workplace? I do wish that the scientists would embrace a more fashion forward, bright and inspiring shade for their lab coats. I’ll keep working on it.)

Provide the following character types to groups as suggested personas. While the group members who are interviewing the characters are preparing their questions, the students who will be in the hot seat can prepare a list of some character specific words and phrases that their character would be likely to use. Students could think about how the character would speak and should note some adjectives that their chosen character might use.

The interviewers should think about the kind of questions they could ask and also think about the type of language used by the media when interviewing people. Below is a list of words and phrases that journalists might use:

• Exclusive
• Scoop
• On the record/off the record
• Insider
• Can you explain…
• Can we address…
• What are the consequences of…
• Do you support…

After sufficient preparation time, use an outdoor learning area so that groups can spread out and complete their hot-seating activity. Encourage students to really take on the role and think hard about both the technical and emotive, language they need to use to be an authentic representation of their character or as an interviewer.

Differentiation

Students requiring support with completing the table in the ‘Teacher Modelling’ section can be provided with a blank table and six jumbled up examples of dialogue to paste into the correct column. The table and six examples are provided below.

• Yes, dazzling, even
• It’s bacteria.
• It’s science
• Exquisite detail
• Scientific discoveries
• Vibrancy is what it’s all about

During the guided practice session, support can be provided to students by offering them two dialogue samples (below) to match with the appropriate type of person on the list.

Sample 1: “It’s like something from a crazy science fiction movie, but it’s real! It’s called the International Space Station, and it is up there right now. It is in orbit and there are a whole bunch of people living out there! Unbelievable!”

Sample 2: “The ISS is an essential piece of infrastructure to ensure the success of not only NASA programs, but other space missions led by countries around the world.”

Release responsibility by offering students the opportunity to write their own dialogue for one of the other two people on the list. Extension Task: Students requiring extension can be instructed to create two characters – one who uses a lot of emotive language in their dialogue, and a second who uses more informative, non-emotive language.  Wen students have decided on their characters, they are to compose a short scene in which these two characters engage in a conversation. Explain that the goal is to use the dialogue to develop the character types. Students are to write in the style of a playscript, using ‘Bitsy Ravenscroft and the Fashion Forward Petri Dish’ as an example of this structure.

Assessment

Remind students that the lesson focus was on the impact and effectiveness of word choices made by authors in a text (Vocabulary). Instruct students to complete a What did you learn today? Exit ticketungroup.