Skellig by David Almond - Critical Question - English - Year 10

What do the images suggest? 

There is a lot of images in Skellig about birds, the motif of the story or the idea is about birds. Micheal's friend, Mina, talk a lot about birds and them having wings, they also touch on the subject about how humans use to have wings when they were angels. Because of these ideas, it suggests that angels or people with wings are real and we see Skellig in the book having wings.

In whose interest is this text?

This book is for young adults, teenagers who are between 13-18 and also adults because the book is more serious. it talks about having to deal with something you had no control over. Micheal, the main character, has a baby sister and is very ill and has to go to the hospital.

What genre does this text belong to?

It belongs in the young adult fiction and fantasy. Why it belongs to this section is because of humans having wings which explain the fantasy bit and it also belongs to young adult fiction because it talks about a person who is close to you very sick and you can't do anything about it except wait.

Class Essay - English - Questions

What have I been learning?
I have been learning how to do essay by using the rule called 'GOLDEN'. It means to Gather and Organise ideas, Linking paragraphs, Descriptive words, Enabling words and phrases and Neat and Tidy which means to use an apostrophe or em-dash to make it look better.

How have I been learning it?
On the class essay, we made, we followed the 'GOLDEN' rule and gathered and organised ideas like this: Gathering Ideas

Lady Macbeth - Admired

• Determined - Smashed Babies - “Have plucked my nipples from his boneless gums and dash the brains out, had I sworn this.”  13
• Manipulative - She calls Macbeth a girl for not being a “man”  2
• Brave - After Macbeth kills Duncan Lady Macbeth tells him to not think about it/Carries normally after the murder. 10
• Remorseful - Feels sorry for what she did. “Out damn spot.”  7
• Loving - She still fancies Macbeth 6

Organising our ideas

• Determined - Smashed Babies - “Have plucked my nipples from his boneless gums and dash the brains out, had I sworn this.”
• Loving - She still fancies Macbeth
• Remorseful - Feels sorry for what she did. “Out damn spot.”  

Why have I been learning?
Because it will help us in writing future essays.

What have I been learning?
I have been learning how to write an introduction to an essay.

How have I been learning it?
We did an introduction to an essay and we used descriptive words to make it better. This is what we came up with: There are many strong formidable female characters in literature but none can compare to Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. She had several qualities that audiences can like, disliked, or admire. Admirable qualities that helped us understand the text include her determination, her love for Macbeth and her remorse.

Why have I been learning?
To better our writing skills and help us get better at writing an introduction.

What have I been learning?
We did a S.E.X.Y paragraph which means to State the topic I am doing, give an Example then give an Explanation and then to Link it back to the statement.

How have I been learning it?
In the class essay, we did, we made three paragraphs using the S.E.X.Y format and this is what we came up with: S - Not only can we admire Lady Macbeth for her determination, but also for her unconditional love for her husband.  E - This is demonstrated by the fact that she not only helped plan a murder for her husband, Macbeth, but she also helped carry out the plan and cover it up. X - This shows us that in life, even treacherous people are, capable of murder, can love their partners dearly. Y - Similarly, Hitler murdered millions of people and had a partner called Eva Braun.
Although we don't have to use the full format it's just a guide to making a paragraph.

Why have I been learning?
To get a better understanding of how to write paragraphs on an essay.