Taking a Shortcut

Learning intention

I am learning to investigate the purpose and effect of characterisation in a narrative. 

Success criteria

I can:

• discuss and share ideas about a character in a narrative
• consider the purpose of different character types in stories
• express an opinion about characterisation

Essential knowledge

For more information regarding Character, view the NSW Department of Education’s resource Understanding Characterungroup.

Introduction

Before reading the story, ask students if they can think of a time when they tried to take a shortcut when doing a task – to get it done quickly. Ask students if their short cut worked or if it would have been better to do things properly. Suggested answer:

• Draping wet clothes on the line without using pegs. If it is a windy day, the clothes might fall on the ground.

Discuss the following question:

• Are there always consequences for taking a short cut?

Read the ’Taking a Shortcut’ from the beginning up until ‘Now mush up the feather and the tears and the hair in a bowl and rub it into my shell.’ on page 21. After reading to this point, students must close their magazines and not read any further. Ask students to consider the pre-reading discussion about the consequences of taking a shortcut. Students write a prediction outlining what they think might happen when Shortcut mixes the ingredients he has gathered. Student volunteers can share their predictions with the class before reading to the end of the story. After reading the ending, lead a class discussion using the following prompts:

• Did you correctly predict what would happen to Shortcut?
• How many people predicted that Shortcut would end up in trouble for cheating when he collected the ingredients for the voice in the shell? Why?
• Is Shortcut rewarded for taking a shortcut? Why? Why not? (Suggested answer: Shortcut is not punished. He is not rewarded. There is no consequence, but he does not know that he missed out on treasure by ignoring the second shell. Some students may suggest that is his punishment – pose the question: is a punishment if he does not know about it?)
• In stories like this, do you expect that the character will be rewarded for cheating? Why or why not? (Suggested answer: Usually characters who behave in a negative way, who are lazy or who do not follow instructions suffer a negative consequence. Readers expect this story to follow the usual pattern and that Shortcut might experience a punishment for his behaviour – but he does not. He continues on with his habit of taking short cuts.)

Teacher modelling – 15 minutes

Explain to students that readers have certain expectations when reading a narrative. This is because they draw on the knowledge from stories they have previously read. Explain that when it comes to characters in stories there are usually two types – a protagonist (main character) and an antagonist (the ‘bad’ character). This is known as character archetypes – typical, well known character types easily recognized by readers. Engage the class in a quick brainstorm in which they offer synonyms, examples from well-known stories and other ideas associated with these types pf characters. Suggested answers:

• Protagonist – hero, main character, leader, good, brave, resilient, star
• Antagonist – villain, nasty, mean, bad, enemy, opponent, rival, adversary

Ask the class to identify the protagonist and the antagonist in the story ‘Taking a Shortcut.’  Use the think-aloud strategy to explain that not all stories follow the exact character archetype structure. (Think-aloud: The characters in ‘Taking a Shortcut’ aren’t like other classic hero and villain stories. Shortcut is the main character, the story follows him. But he does not seem completely good, brave or heroic. The voice inside the shell is the antagonist, he challenges Shortcut, and he seems sinister at times.). Discuss the student’s expectations of a story where there is a clear hero (protagonist) and villain (antagonist) by using the following questions:

• What do they expect to happen in the end for the protagonist?
• What do they expect to happen in the end for the antagonist?

Make a class brainstorm for this activity. Suggested answers are provided below:

• Protagonist: winner, survives conflict, victor, rewarded for being brave, experiences positive character development, has a better life as a result of their experience
• Antagonist : loser, is punished for bad behaviour, learns a difficult lesson, provides an example of what not to do, has to make up for their behaviour

Use the think aloud strategy to unpack the question: Does the story ‘Taking a Shortcut’ follow these expectations. (Think-aloud:  When we stopped reading part way through the story, we predicted that Shortcut might be punished for not completing the tasks properly, even though he is the protagonist. He was not punished, nothing really changed for him. The voice inside the shell seems sinister, but when he comes out of the shell he does not return to his full size. This could be his punishment for trying to trick Shortcut. He disappears. The twist is more about the second shell, Shortcut discards this shell and therefore misses out on pirate treasure. But if Shortcut doesn’t know this fact, then is that a punishment?). Explain to the class that the author will have deliberately made choices about the character Shortcut that meant he challenges our expectations of a ‘good guy.’ Shortcut is not a hero, he is an ordinary person who is flawed – is not perfect.

Engage the class in a discussion about their own opinions of the character Shortcut:

• Is Shortcut a likeable character?
• Does it matter that he is not a hero, completing dangerous and difficult tasks?
• Is Shortcut a good person, even though he takes shortcuts all the time?

Guided practice – 10 minutes

Provide students with a definition of the word ‘hero’ from the Cambridge Dictionaryungroup:

‘a person who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something great.’

Ask students to do a quick check of the text (scanning and skimming) to see how many times the word ‘hero’ is used in the story. (Correct answer: hero appears six times, ‘heroic’ appears once). Show the following extract to students:

‘Being a hero isn’t supposed to be easy,’ said the voice. ‘If it were, everyone would be one. (page 5)

Place students into pairs. Ask pairs to discuss the following prompts:

• Shortcut says at the start of the story that he could be a hero if he were ‘given the chance.’ He was given a chance – through the three tasks – do you think he is a hero? Why/Why not?
• In the same situation, would you have stepped up and behaved like a hero if you were given the chance? Why/Why not?
• What is the benefit of having an ordinary person as the main character in a story, rather than an archetypal hero? (Suggested answer: Readers can connect well with ordinary people, people who are similar to themselves and who may think and behave in the same way. Heroes are often stereotypes, and it is unrealistic and perhaps old-fashioned to include traditional heroes in modern stories. Real people are more complex.)
• Readers do not see character development in the story, Shortcut remained unchanged from his experience. Why do you think the author chose to have the main character remain flawed? Why did the author decide that Shortcut would not step up and become the traditional hero? (Suggested answer: The choice to have the main character remain ordinary and flawed suggests to readers that being ordinary is an acceptable thing. Shortcut accepts who he is, he knows he is not a hero and he doesn’t strive to be something that he is not. The author is playing with reader expectations and surprising readers at the end of the story.)
• Do you think that there is a moral message for readers in this story? Do you think there are multiple messages? (Suggested answer: The author asks readers to think about the consequences of taking shortcuts but does not suggest that disaster WILL strike or something terrible will happen as a result of taking a shortcut. In this example, the shortcuts taken did achieve something, the creature was released from the shell – but the creature from the shell did not come out in full size. Another message could be to do with the phrase ‘you reap what you sow.’ The effort you put in will impact the result in the end. So low effort means poorer result, high effort might yield a better result.)

Independent activity – 15 minutes

Explain to students that they will be recording a Vlog, expressing their opinion about heroes versus ordinary people as characters in narratives. Provide the following definition from the Cambridge Dictionaryungroup of Vlog for students:

‘Vlog’: A video blog:  a record of your thoughts, opinions, or experiences…’

 Instruct students to prepare and then record a Vlog in which they discuss their thoughts in response to the following topic:

• Is it better for stories to include an archetypal hero, or an ordinary flawed main character?

Explain that students are to reflect on the discussions about the story ‘Taking a Shortcut’ as well as considering other stories they are familiar with to explain their opinion. Emphasise that students may have different ideas and that there is no correct answer to this question – it is about personal perspective. When the time comes to record Vlogs, put students into pairs and provide them with a device or digital camera to record each other’s Vlogs. You may like to provide the following sentence starters:

• I prefer the protagonist in the stories that I read to be…
• I like to read stories in which the character is..
• In the story, ‘Taking a Shortcut,’ the main character is…
• Heroes are…
• Flawed characters are…

Differentiation – 15 minutes

Students requiring assistance can complete the following questions, responding verbally to each question while a teacher listens to their responses.

• What is a hero?
• How does Shortcut differ from a traditional hero?
• Do you like stories about heroes or ordinary people? Why?

Students requiring extension can locate a story in which the main character fits the description of an archetypal hero. Students may like to access the school library, past issues of The School Magazine or use a book from home. Instruct them to complete the following analysis of the hero character using this template:

Assessment

Students complete an exit ticket using the Exit ticket - ticket stubungroup template.