LEARN A WORD A DAY

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Prisoner of Zenda: Discussion activities- for teachers

Chapter 1
Before reading

1 Discuss: Talk about the chapter headings. Divide the class into small groups. Students write down as many
types of books as they can think of, e.g. historical, crime, adventure, etc. then, without letting them know the title, write all the chapter headings from the reader on the board. Groups decide what type of book this is and report their thoughts and reasons to the class.

2 Discuss: Put students into pairs. Have them read the Introduction and ask and answer the following questions:
a What is the name of the book that has some of the same characters as The Prisoner of Zenda?
b What did Anthony Hope do before he was an author?
c How long after Hope left Oxford was The Prisoner of Zenda published?
d How old was Hope when he died?
e What is The Heart of Princess Osra about?
f Why did he become Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins?
 
After reading
3 Describe: Have students work in pairs to describe Rudolf Rassendyll. They could list the information they’ve got from Chapter 1. When they are ready, ask pairs to report to the class. Ask them what they think of him. Have them write down what they talked about and keep it for later (Activity 20).
 
4 Discuss: Have students imagine that they are like Rudolf Rassendyll, i.e. a young, well-educated, rich person from a good family. Start a whole-class discussion by asking the following question: What would you like to do if you had six months to do anything you like? Encourage them to give reasons why they want to do this.
 
5 Discuss: Put students into pairs or small groups. Have them discuss the following questions: Rassendyll
says to his brother’s wife, ‘opportunities are duties.’ What do you think he means by this? Do you think this idea will be important to the story?
 
Chapter 2
Before reading

6 Discuss: Talk about castles. Remind them that Rassendyll is planning to walk around in Zenda and see the famous castle there. Put students into small groups. Ask them to think what the castle looks like. Encourage them to use the new vocabulary. Groups can write a short description of the castle or draw a picture. If some groups finished earlier than other groups, ask them to talk about the castles in their country.
 
After reading
7 Discuss: Have students work in pairs to discuss the following: Sapt says to Rassendyll, ‘As a man grows old
he believes more and more in chance. Chances sent you here.’ Do you believe in chance? Do you think chance has had an effect on your life? Later, ask pairs to share their stories with the rest of the class.
 
8 Discuss: Put students into small groups. Give each group the name of one of the characters in the book.
Students write down as many adjectives as they can think of to describe this person. Groups read their words to the rest of the class who must guess the character. Groups then write down what they think of their character so far.

Chapter 3
Before reading

9 Guess: Give students a list of words from Chapter 3, e.g. cellar, train, people in Strelsau, Marshal,
Chancellor, church, ceremony, crown, palace, etc. Then, put students into small groups, and have them
guess what happens in this chapter. Ask each group to share their guesses with the rest of the class. 
After reading

10 Discuss: Remind students that when the procession went into the Old Town, Marshal Strakencz ordered
the guards to be close to the King (Rassendyll). But Rassendyll refused to do so in order to let the people see that the King trusts them. Elicit the answers to the following questions: Do you think it’s wise? What are the good/bad points of this? Students can discuss in small groups.
 
11 Discuss: Put students into pairs. Have them ask and answer the following questions: Have you ever pretended to be someone else? What do you think would be the most difficult part if you were in Rassendyll’s
place?
 
Chapter 4
Before reading

12 Guess: Draw students’ attention to the title of Chapter 4, The secret of a Cellar. Ask them to guess what the secret of a cellar is. Have them think what happened in the cellar while Rassendyll was at the coronation ceremony.
 
After reading
13 Guess: Remind students that Rassendyll and Sapt see Duke Michael and Max Holf on the way to the cellar. Rassendyll says he has reason to know Max Holf well afterwards. Have students guess what this reason could be.
 
14 Role play: Have students work in pairs to role play the following conversation. One student is Duke Michael, the other a messenger telling Michael that the real king has been discovered at the lodge. Have them think about the emotions of Michael and this messenger in advance, so that they can think about what tone of voice to use for the role play.
 
Chapter 5
Before reading

15 Discuss: Put students into pairs or small groups. Elicit the answers to the following questions: Now Rassendyll has to continue acting as king. What kind of difficulty will he have? If you had to act as king, what
would be the most enjoyable/difficult part?
 
After reading
16 Discuss: Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss the following: How do you think Rudolf and Flavia feel about each other? Why do you think so? Find the sentences that support your opinion.
 
Chapter 6
Before reading

17 Write: Have students go over the description Michael’s famous Six. Write a grid (6 rows × 3 columns) on the board so that the students can use the same format. Number 1–6 in the left-hand column. Ask students to put the names in the second column and the information in the third. Note that they still don’t know the names of the three Ruritanians, so they can leave them blank.
 
After reading
18 Write (continue): Now that students know about the three Ruritanians of Michael’s famous Six, have them
complete the table they started in Activity 17. 

19 Discuss: Put students into small groups. Have them discuss the following questions. When they are ready,
ask each group to report to the class.
• Why do you think Antoinette de Mauban tells Rassendyll about Michael’s plans?
• Which person, do you think, shows himself /herself to be the most honourable in this chapter?
 
20 Discuss: Have students go back to the note they kept in Activity 3. Put students into the same pairs and
elicit the answers to the following question: What do you think of Rassendyll now, compared with what you
thought of him in Chapter 1?
 
21 Describe: Have students work in small groups. Ask each group to decide on a scene in these chapters
that they thought was special in some way – exciting, romantic, silly, etc. The groups then form a tableau –
creating a still picture of that scene. The other groups guess what is happening.
 
Chapter 7
Before reading

22 Retell: Put students into pairs, and have them recount what has happened in Chapter 6.
 
After reading
23 Project: Divide the class into small groups. Ask them to write one of the following newspaper articles:
• a report about the King’s marriage
• a story about the King going to hunt a wild pig
Encourage them to include some additional information, such as a short biography or background information on the King and Princess Flavia, family history, the venue of the wedding, the Castle of Tarlenheim, wild pigs, etc.

24 Discuss: Remind students that Rassendyll says, ‘Every movement we made was, and had to be, quite
public,’ and that he finds it very annoying. Elicit the answers to the following questions: Would you like to be famous? What are the good/bad points? Students can discuss in pairs or small groups.

Chapter 8
Before reading

25 Discuss: In the last chapter, Rassendyll nearly told Flavia he was not the King. Have a whole-class discussion about the following questions:
- If Rassendyll had told her the truth then, what would have happened?
- What do you think Flavia’s reaction would be? What do you think Sapt’s reaction would be?
 
After reading
26 Discuss: Put students into small groups. Have them discuss why Johann fell into the trap. Ask each group
to share their opinions with the rest of the class.

27 Role play: Have students work in pairs to act out the following conversation. Student A is Johann,
Student B is Rassendyll. Discuss the King’s life in the Castle of Zenda, and Michael’s plans for the King.
 
Chapter 9
Before reading

28 Discuss: Now that we know where the King is and what Michael’s plans are. Ask students to come up
with ideas of how to save the King. They can discuss in pairs or small groups.

After reading
29 Write: Put students into small groups. Have them write the official reports on the wound the King
received while hunting ‘wild pigs’. Make sure that it sounds very serious. When they are ready, ask
students to read out the reports, or make a classroom display so that everyone can see other students’ work.

30 Discuss: Have students write down or discuss in pairs: What qualities make Rassendyll seem like a king?

Chapter 10
Before reading

31 Discuss: Talk about Antoinette de Mauban and Rudolf Rassendyll. Tell students that they have something in common. Ask them to think what it is. Students could discuss in pairs or small groups.
 
After reading
32 Role play: Put students into groups of three. Have them act out the conversation among Rassendyll, Sapt and Fritz, discussing Rassendyll’s plan. Each time Rassendyll talks about a part of the plan, Sapt or Fritz should respond with comments, questions, and/or confirmation. Students could write their script in advance if they want to. Give them sufficient time to work on it. Walk around the classroom to monitor each group, and help them if needed.

Chapter 11
Before reading

33 Predict: Have students work in pairs to discuss what will happen in this chapter. Then ask each pair to
share their ideas with the rest of the class.

After reading
34 Retell: Put students into small groups. Have them retell the story in the order of what happened.

35 Role play: Have students work in groups of three.
Student A plays the part of Rupert Hentzau,
Student B Duke Michael, and Student C Antoinette de Mauban. Have them act out the scene where
Michael finds Rupert with Antoinette.

Chapter 12
Before reading

36 Discuss: Have a whole-class discussion by asking the following questions: Do you think the King is dead?
What will happen next?
 
After reading
37 Role play: Put students into pairs and have them role play the following: Two servants who were in
the castle on the night Duke Michael died talk about what they saw.

Chapter 13
Before reading

38 Discuss: Ask students to retell what happened at the end of the last chapter. Discuss what Flavia might say
or do when she becomes conscious again.
 
After reading
39 Discuss: Now we know that Flavia has decided to stay in Ruritania and becomes the wife of the real
King. Ask students if they think she did the right thing or not. They could discuss in pairs or small groups first, and then ask them to share their opinions with the rest of the class.

40 Role play: Have students work in pairs. One student takes the part of Rassendyll, the other of his brother.
Have a conversation where Rassendyll describes Ruritania and his brother asks questions.

41 Project: As a whole class activity, brainstorm ideas for what should be included in a wanted/missing person
poster. Write ideas on the board. Collect together some missing/wanted person posters and show the class. Have students check to see if they have missed anything out. Students work in pairs and design a ‘wanted’ or ‘missing’ poster for Rassendyll or the King. Display the work afterwards.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Collection of SPM English Language Question Papers

2005
Terengganu Trial [Paper 1]

2007
Johor Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Terengganu Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Pahang Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2] [Answers], Melaka Trial 2007 [Paper 1] [Paper 2], TIMES [Paper 1] [Paper 2] SPB [Paper 1] [Paper 2]

2008

Terengganu Mid Year [Paper 1] [Paper 2],
Trial
MRSM Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], SBP Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Kelantan Trial [Paper 1 & 2], Terengganu Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Kedah Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Pahang Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Johor Trial [Paper 1 & 2], Perlis Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Sabah Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2], Sarawak Trial [Paper 1 & 2], Melaka Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2]

2009

Terengganu TOV [Paper 1] [Paper 2] Terengganu Mid Year [Paper 1] [Paper 2]
Melaka Trial , Johor Trial , Sabah Trial , Kedah Trial , Perlis Trial , Times , SBP , Pahang Trial [Paper 1] [Paper 2]