Flowers for James

Flowers for James

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about a character – thinking about her and how the author made her.
Read "Flowers for James", pages 28 to 32 in School Journal Part 3, Number 1, 2009.

 

a)  What things do the adults say that Charlotte misunderstands? 

 

     Page _____

 
 
 
 

     Page _____

 
 
 
 

     Page _____

 
 
 
 
b)  Do you think Charlotte's family are right not to tell her the baby has died? (Circle one)    
 
     Yes   /   No   /   Yes and No      
     Explain why you chose this:
 
 
 
 
 
c)  Has the author made Charlotte a believable character? Is she realistic? (Circle one)    
 
Yes   /   No   /   Yes and No      
     Explain why you chose this:

 
 
 
 
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper.
 
Equipment: "Flowers for James" by Marie Keir. School Journal Part 3, Number 1, Learning Media Limited, 2009. 
  • Give each student a copy of the text. Read the text to them or ask them to read it independently. If you read it to them, they should follow the text as you read.
  • The students may do the task independently or in groups.
  • The purpose of question a) is to focus the students' thinking on what Charlotte misunderstands. It will provide evidence of student ability to find evidence in the text.
  • The purpose of question b) is to provide evidence of student ability to use evidence from the text, as well as their background knowledge, to evaluate the family's action of not telling Charlotte the baby has died.
  • The purpose of question c) is to provide evidence of student ability to use evidence from the text, as well as their background knowledge, to make an overall evaluation of the author's construction of Charlotte. For this question, explain that a believable character is one who seems real, a credible character - someone you could believe is living, or once lived, somewhere in the world.
  • For questions b) and c), tell the students that to explain their responses of Yes/ No/ Yes and No, they must support their thinking by using evidence from the text and from their prior knowledge, i.e., things that have happened to them, things they have seen, heard, or read about.

 

Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Thinking, Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
evaluating, comprehension, character, narrative, School Journal, think critically, SJ-3-1-2009
Description of task: 
Students read a narrative about a girl's experience of the birth and death of her baby brother. They then use evidence from the text and their background knowledge to complete the task. Assessment focus: evaluating. SJ-3-1-2009. Text not provided.
Curriculum Links: 

Literacy Learning Progressions (Reading)

Because this assessment task was trialled with year 7 students in the second half of the year, the most relevant progressions are: By the End of Year 6 and By the End of Year 8. The most relevant bullet points are:

By the End of Year 6
When students at this level read, respond to, and think critically about texts they:
  • understand how they select from and use their repertoire of comprehension strategies which include:

 - evaluating and integrating ideas and information across a small range of texts. [Note that in this case, students evaluate and integrate ideas within one text.]

By the End of Year 8
When students at this level read, respond to, and think critically about texts they:
  • increasingly control a repertoire of comprehension strategies that they can use flexibly and draw on when they know they are not comprehending fully, including such strategies as:

 - identifying and evaluating writers' purposes and the ways in which writers use language and ideas to suit their purposes.

Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Making sense of text: reading critically, set 4
Reading for literary experience, set 5
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
Details that show us about Charlotte 
The following details from the text will help you analyse student responses to questions a), b), and c). Students will draw from these details as they answer those questions. The details are not identified as relating to particular questions because many relate to more than one. We have listed details that show us about Charlotte. The evidence we have listed relates to what Charlotte looks like (appearance 1), what she says (dialogue), what she does (action), and what she thinks (thought).
 
Appearance (what Charlotte looks like) Note that in Flowers for James, evidence comes from the visual, not written, text.
Page 29: The way Charlotte is drawn: Her clothes are neat and tidy, suggesting she is careful. Her dress is pretty and she wears a bow in her hair, suggesting she likes pretty things. She moves in a measured/careful kind of way. Her face is calm, suggesting she is thinking peacefully.
Page 30: The way Charlotte is drawn: As she brushes her hair she seems preoccupied by her thoughts. Her mouth is slightly turned down and her eyebrows are slightly turned up towards the centre of her forehead, suggesting she might be uneasy/worried.
Page 31: The way Charlotte is drawn: Her eyebrows are slightly turned up towards the centre of her forehead, and her mouth is noticeably turned down, suggesting she is worried.
Page 32: The way Charlotte is drawn: She returns her father's tight hug. His face suggests this gives him comfort.
 
Dialogue (what Charlotte says)
Page 29: "What's his name?" She risks asking this question even though she has already sensed her grandmother doesn't want her to ask any more. This suggests she is not timid or overly cautious and that she is curious.
Page 32: "Dad, when can I see the baby? ... Dad?" She repeats the word "Dad" because she thinks he hasn't heard her. This suggests she is unaware that the tension she has been sensing stems from the adults' belief that the baby might die.'I want to come," she said.' This suggests she is sure of what she wants.
 
Action (what Charlotte does)
Page 29: In the springtime she picks daffodils from the banks beside the graves. She gives them to Grandma who puts them in a vase. This suggests she likes pretty things and is generous.
Page 30: She tries out the brush and puts it back exactly where she found it; she quickly replaces the bottle of smelling salts when she hears her uncle's voice and his boots clumping on the floor. This suggests she will take risks by touching things she knows she is not really supposed to touch but that she is very careful with them. She is also careful not to leave any evidence of having touched them, suggesting she would prefer to avoid getting caught out.
Page 32: She slides along the back seat of the car and puts her arms around her father's neck; she returns her father's tight hug. This suggests she is affectionate.She picks flowers for the baby's coffin. This suggests she respects and loves the baby even though she has never met him and never will.
 
Thought (What Charlotte thinks)
Page 28: When Charlotte's mother says, '"It's too early"', Charlotte thinks her mother is referring to the time of day but she is actually referring to going into early labour. This suggests Charlotte is not yet old enough to understand the adult world."She thought she heard her father on the phone but decided she was mistaken ... Charlotte knew something was different when she smelt porridge instead of toast." This suggests she is observant and sensitive but is not quite conscious of what her observations mean.
Page 29: "She had wanted one [a brother] for a long time, someone who would stick up for her at school. She might have to wait for that. She'd have to look after him to start with." This suggests she already sees the baby as part of the family and, in particular, her brother.
Pages 30-31: "But she was being good." Overhearing her grandmother saying, "Not good", and thinking the comment referred to her, suggests Charlotte thinks she is the cause of the tension within the family.Charlotte hears her grandmother say, '"Her father wants her home but he can't manage yet."' Charlotte thinks her grandmother is talking about her father's job as a shop manager, but she is actually talking about Charlotte's father's ability to look after her during the crisis. While it is possible that Charlotte does not understand the variety of ways the word "manage" is used, it could be suggested she thinks, as children do, that her father is infallible, that he will always "manage".
Diagnostic and formative information: 

This resource was trialled in August, 2010, by 23 Year 7 students from 1 decile 4 school. The story was read to the students.

Question a) What things do the adults say that Charlotte misunderstands?

Note that responses to question a) do not require students to evaluate - its purpose is to focus the students' thinking on what Charlotte misunderstands. Responses should include the following:

Page 28: '"It's too early, Jim," her mother kept saying. "It's too early."' (Charlotte thinks her mother is referring to the time of day but she is actually referring to going into early labour.)

Page 30: '"Not good," her grandmother said."' (Charlotte thinks her grandmother is talking about her behaviour, then the weather, but she is actually talking about James' health.)

Page 31: '"Her father wants her home but he can't manage yet."' (Charlotte is confused because she thinks her grandmother is talking about her father's job as a shop manager, but she is actually talking about her father's ability to look after Charlotte during the crisis.)

 

Question b) Do you think Charlotte's family are right not to tell her the baby has died?

Nearly half the trial students believed Charlotte's family was right, nearly half believed they were wrong, and a small group thought they were both right and wrong.

Developing justification of response without elaboration

Following is an example of a response that reflects an awareness of the need to justify responses, but does not reflect an awareness of the need to include elaboration when justifying a response. We found a useful example from a student who thought Charlotte's family were right. 

I think yes because she is young and she might cry.

 

Awareness of the need to include elaboration

Following are examples of responses that reflect an awareness that responses need to include elaboration; responses are sometimes stated a little emphatically. We found useful examples from students who thought Charlotte's family were wrong.

I say no because I have a little brother and I would want to know he died because although it may be sudden and more of a shock it would be better for her parents and her just to get it over and done with rather than holding the suspense;

Charlotte's family should have told her from the start because she should know when somebody died in your family, not just keep it to themselves.

We found a useful example from a student who thought Charlotte's family were right and wrong.

Yes they should tell her because she has a right to know - she's a part of the family. And no because she might not understand, she will get really sad, and probably have nightmares.

 

Reflects an awareness of the complexity of events 

Following is an example of a response that reflects an awareness of the complexity of events in the story, including the perspective of the adults.We found a useful example from a student who thought Charlotte's family were right.

Yes I think they were right not to tell Charlotte. I think they just needed some time ... they had to figure things out before they told her.

 

Question c) Has the author made Charlotte a believable character? Is she realistic?

Almost all the trial students thought Charlotte was a believable character. A very small group thought she wasn't, and a very small group thought she was and she wasn't.

 

Stating belief, closely connected to personal experience

Following are examples of responses that reflect an awareness of how to state a belief, but those responses may be very reliant on personal experience and/or they may reflect a reluctance to "suspend disbelief" and temporarily accept the story on the page as "reality". We found a useful example from a student who thought Charlotte was a believable character.

Yes because in my life my mum was pregnant and lost her baby too and like Charlotte every Friday I went to my nana's house, so in my life she is a believable character.

We found a useful example from a student who thought Charlotte wasn't a believable character: 

No because when her dad told her about James she never cried.

We found a useful example from a student who thought Charlotte was and wasn't a believable character:

Yes and no because Charlotte is a believable name but it sounds a bit fake as most stories do.

 

Understanding of character motivations

Following are examples of responses that reflect an understanding of how someone in Charlotte's situation would feel and behave. We found useful examples from students who thought Charlotte was a believable character:

I think yes because she has real emotion and does what a normal girl would do

A lot of mums have lost a baby and like Charlotte a lot of kids never know what happened until later

They have made Charlotte realistic because her feelings are like a real person's feelings

Yes because that can happen to a lot of people and maybe it happened to the author's family

She acts like a normal little kid would. She doesn't really understand what's happening in the story.

 

Awareness of authors characterisation

Following is an example that reflects an awareness of how authors construct believable characters through the use of carefully chosen specific details. In this case we are told Charlotte "acts" like normal girl; we are then given examples of her actions - using a brush, smelling the smelling salts, and asking for her dad.

We found a useful example from a student who believed Charlotte was a believable character.She's realistic because she acts like a normal girl. For example on page 30 she was using the brush, smelling the boxes, and asking for her dad.

2Our trial data has enabled us to begin to describe performance at this curriculum level and the student responses give us exemplars of performance. The New Zealand Curriculum (2007) and The Literacy Learning Progressions (2010) were closely consulted throughout consideration of learning ideas from the curriculum.

Next steps: 

The following section: Students who need to focus on using text details, is presented as an example of how you might foreground the Key Competencies within reading. In particular, it exemplifies how you might foreground "Using language, symbols, and texts" and, to a lesser extent, "Thinking" within reading through a focus on the way authors construct characters with carefully chosen details. This approach requires students to not just understand the text but to understand how the text is constructed and why it is constructed that way. This idea is expanded below. In the table below, Using language, symbols, and texts has the largest bolded font because it is the most important to this particular example.

Students who need to focus on using text details 

Writers build characters with details. Good writers are meticulous in their choice of details, including only those that add value and meaning to the description of a character. It is these details, as well as background knowledge, that a reader uses in order to respond to questions such as "What things do the adults say that Charlotte misunderstands?, "Do you think Charlotte's family are right not to tell her the baby has died?", and "Has the author made Charlotte a believable character Is she realistic?"

Details: telling and showing

Writers may choose to use details that tell readers about characters if they want to convey information quickly. For example:

Charlotte was pleased about the baby being a boy. (p.29)

However by telling the reader that Charlotte is pleased, the writer has not given the reader the opportunity to come to their own conclusion about how she might be feeling; and, increasingly, modern readers expect to have that opportunity. More commonly, writers of fiction will choose to use details that show characters to readers. For example:

Charlotte heard her uncle's voice and his boots clumping on the floor. She quickly replaced the bottle. (p.30)

Here the reader must infer why Charlotte quickly replaces the bottle: Perhaps she is excited that her uncle has arrived? Perhaps she doesn't want to get caught doing something she knows she shouldn't do? Ask your students to compare how they respond to having the opportunity to come to their own conclusion about why Charlotte quickly replaces the bottle with how they would respond if the author had simply told them "Charlotte quickly replaced the bottle because she knew she wasn't supposed to touch Grandma's things."

 

Details: general and specific

When writers tell readers about characters they use details that are general or broad. For example, the narrator says:

Charlotte was pleased about the baby being a boy. (p.29)

The word "pleased" is general (or abstract); it has a broad rather than specific meaning because it can be generally applied to all sorts of situations. You might like to ask your students to tell you about the situations "pleased" can be applied to in an attempt to show them that it is not specific to any particular situation. (Note that at this point your students will probably be unclear about why "pleased" is general; in fact they may even argue that it has a specific meaning. It will probably not be until the end of the following exercise that they have a clearer understanding.)

However, when writers show characters to readers they use specific (or concrete) details. For example:

Reaching to the back, just under the mirror, she picked up the bottle of green smelling salts. She pulled out the stopper and gently sniffed. The ammonia made her eyes run. (p.30)

Here readers create an image that is specific. They create a vivid picture in their heads; they can "see" this image. Most importantly, it is vivid pictures like this one that have impact upon readers. Finally, ask your students to attempt to create a picture in their heads of someone who is "pleased" (you may need to explain at some point that it is much easier when they imagine a specific situation).

Note: According to Burroway and Stuckey-French (2007: 81-82), "our eyes are our most highly developed means of perception...it is appearance that prompts our first reaction to people". A character's appearance, their clothing, features, shape, style, the way they hold themselves and objects associated with them such as the car they drive or the house they live in, make statements about who the character is, what kind of person they are, their character, the "inner" person.

For more information on the terms "abstract" and "concrete":http://www.nzcermarking.org.nz/help/AbstractInformation.html

References

Burroway, J. and Stuckey-French, E. (2007). Writing Fiction: A guide to narrative craft. Seventh Edition. New York, NY: Longman.

Ministry of Education, (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media. 

Ministry of Education (2010). The literacy learning progressions: Meeting the reading and writing demands of the curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.