Educational

Resources by

Michael Lockwood

Introduction

• The ITCH books are the first novels by Simon Mayo, well known as a BBC radio presenter. Students can find out more about Simon and his books, read extracts, download a poster of the Periodic Table, and view interviews and trailers for the novels at: http://www.itchingham.co.uk

• The novels should appeal especially to Years 7 and 8 at KS3 and to Year 6 readers at KS2. Both novels begin explosively (literally!) and soon become page-turners, with plenty of teasing chapter endings to keep readers interested. Once they get into the books, students will definitely feel the itch to read on independently, as the blurb promises!

• ITCH and ITCH ROCKS will suggest a whole range of response activities to teachers of English / Literacy. The activities below are a small selection of these that try to draw on the strengths of the books and direct students’ attention to some of their main features. Many of the activities suggested for ITCH could easily be used for ITCH ROCKS and vice versa. Words in italics in the teaching notes are addressed directly at students.

• These resources have been produced using the paperback edition of ITCH and the hardback edition of ITCH ROCKS Page numbers will correspond accordingly.

• These educational resources have been written by Michael Lockwood. Michael Lockwood taught 9-13 year olds in middle schools before spending 24 years as a teacher educator. He has written many books, articles and practical classroom resources for teachers of English, as well as poems of his own for children.

© BBC Photo library

ITCH• The first ITCH novel is subtitled ‘The Explosive Adventures of an Element Hunter’, which highlights the unique combination of science and thrilling adventure story that characterises these books. There are plenty of loud explosions and many twists and turns in the main character Itchingham Lofte’s adventures, but readers also learn plenty about the science behind the bangs and about the elements that Itch is hunting for, in a quest that becomes more about getting rid of rocks than finding them.

• In the first novel, Itch’s obsession with collecting and experimenting with the elements in the Periodic Table leads him into increasingly deep waters. This starts with trouble with his Mum at home, escalates into more serious incidents at school, and finally plunges Itch into major problems on an international scale when he buys an unidentified rock from a mysterious dealer on a beach. Itch then has to wrestle with some very difficult moral and ethical issues about who, if anybody, he can trust, as he finds himself pursued by competing interests wanting to get their hands on the dangerous, radioactive rock, now identified as the new element 126.

Before Reading the Novel:

• From the images, design and text on the covers of ITCH, what expectations do students have of the novels? In pairs, ask them to focus on the colours, background and central figure used on the covers. Do you think the book will appeal to boys, girls or both? What kind of book do you think it will be? What other books or films do you think it will be like?

• As described in the blurb, the main character in both books is called Itchingham Lofte, usually shortened to ‘Itch’. What do the first name and surname suggest about him? What does the nickname suggest? (Someone ‘lofty’? Someone with an ‘itch’ to do things and find things out? Someone impulsive, obsessive and curious?)

• Make a class list of these first impressions and save it. Students will need to revisit them later, to decide whether their expectations were accurate.

Getting into the Book:

• Read aloud the ‘prologue’ (pp.1-2), reporting the effects of a small earthquake. Talk about how the quake is described: starting with the people on the surface and then going deeper and deeper underground. Why is the specific place and time, ‘Cornwall, England, December’, given at the start? How effective is this piece of description as an opening? Would it work well as an opening for a film of the book? What effect does the last word, ‘Waiting’, have?

• Intelligence Files: Read aloud Chapter 1 without too much interruption. The novel starts, literally, with a bang, to get the reader’s attention! However, Simon Mayo also tells us a lot about Itch and his family by what they do and say. Later on in the story, many different people are going to take a big interest in this apparently ordinary boy and his family, including the ‘spooks’ of MI5. With this in mind, ask the students to begin two secret ‘intelligence files’ they can continue updating throughout their reading:

➢ File on Itchingham Lofte: what do we learn about his interests, personality and friendships, both at home and at school?➢ File on the Lofte family: what do we learn about family relationships? What do we learn about Itch’s mother, Jude?

Share impressions so far: e.g. Itch is ‘science-mad’; obsessed by collecting all the elements; an ‘outsider’ at his new school. There are family tensions: few ‘displays of affection’ when their father isn’t there; a mother with a temper which can be ‘volcanic’, etc.

• Keeping Track: Students can then read Chapters 2 and 3 independently and update their files on Itch and his family with any new information they’ve found: e.g. Itch has a cousin Jacqueline (Jack) in the same class at his Science Academy; he’s bullied at school; his mum is a solicitor, works long hours and is ‘busy’ and ‘a bit stressed’; his father, Nicholas, apparently works away from home on an oil rig, etc.

• What would you do? In Chapter 2, the mass vomiting which Itch inadvertently causes in his class at school is treated in a light-hearted, jokey way. However, in Chapter 3 this becomes more serious, as a teacher and some students end up in hospital. Itch now faces the first of the moral dilemmas he has to wrestle with throughout the two novels. Should he own up to accidently poisoning the students and staff, as his sister, Chloe, and cousin Jack say he should? Hotseat one or two volunteers as Itch whilst other students ask questions which probe his motivation for keeping quiet and whether it was the right thing to do.

Reading On:

• Reading the novel from here onwards will obviously be a mix of whole class reading aloud, including by the students themselves, and independent reading, as teachers see fit.

• The Plot Thickens: In Chapters 4 and 5, with the main characters and setting established, the plot begins to develop as Itch and Jack do some work experience at South-West Mines during half-term. Later, Itch meets the mysterious mineral dealer Cake and buys an unidentified ‘uranium’ rock from him. Imagine you are Itch and Jack. In pairs, look back carefully over what you heard and saw in chapter 4. Make a list of any clues which suggest all is not what it seems at the mine and the staff may have something to hide. Remember to read between the lines and use inference and deduction. Role play a conversation between Itch and Jack where you talk about what to do next. With the whole class, discuss what clues were found and how the plot might develop from here.

• The Right Chemistry? The novel has a science theme running through it. From time to time scientific terms and definitions are introduced, e.g. radioactivity in Chapter 6 (p.108). Think, Pair, Share: give students time to Think individually, then confer in a Pair, and finally Share with the whole class their thoughts about how this theme is handled. Do you have to be interested in science to enjoy the book? Do you have to understand it? Do the scientific bits don’t get in the way of the action? Read the Author’s Note about this at the end of the novel. Do you agree with what Simon Mayo says? Are the background facts given here useful?

• Back Story: Chapters 7 and 8 give some background to the character of Dr Nathaniel Flowerdew, Itch’s science teacher. Students can now begin another confidential ‘intelligence file’ on Flowerdew based on the information about him in these chapters and his personality as revealed in Chapter 6. This file can then be updated along with those on Itch and his family as the book goes on.

• Telling the Tale: students can explore how the narrative is told by looking closely at Chapter 8. For each of the six scenes in Chapter 8, mark on a grid which characters appear, where the scene is set, and whose point of view we see the action from. How many of the scenes does the main character Itch appear in? What is the advantage for the writer in using multiple viewpoints to tell the story?

• Conscience Alley: the toughest decisions in the novel begin for Itch when in Chapter 10 he ‘steals’ back from Flowerdew the radioactive rocks he got from Cake. In this chapter and the ones that follow, he agonises over whether this was the right thing to do (p.161), whether he is an honest person or has done anything illegal (p.185), whether everything that has happened is his fault (p.198), and whether he should just leave Cake’s stones where he found them or ‘take responsibility’ (p.221). Different people would like to get hold of the rocks for different reasons. List these as a class, e.g.:➢ Greencorps oil company: to discredit nuclear power➢ Dr Flowerdew: to sell them to the highest bidder➢ Dr Alexander: to provide a new energy source to combat global warming ➢ Government: to give them political power and stop others getting it➢ Terrorists: to obtain nuclear power

Organise a ‘conscience alley’. One student should be Itch and the remainder of the class should be divided into groups to represent the different people listed above. The groups should form two lines between which ‘Itch’ has to walk and then walk back again, whilst the groups try to persuade him what he should do with the rocks. At the end of his walk, ‘Itch’ has to reveal to everyone what he’s finally decided to do and why.

• Writing in Role: Write an informal letter in the character of Dr Alexander to Itch setting out how the new element 126 could save the planet if used for peaceful, scientific purposes. Try to persuade Itch that the he can trust you and that best thing to do would be to hand the rocks over to you personally. You could look at Chapters 19 and 21 for ideas, where Dr Alexander explains his views about the rocks.

• The Great Debate: Flowerdew tells Itch: ‘Even with the best intentions, it’s the destructive power and terror these rocks have that’ll win the day’ (p.287). So Itch finally decides to take Cake’s final advice and ‘trust nobody’ with the rocks. Is Itch right to make this decision? Are the rocks a gift to humanity or a curse? Organise a formal class debate on what Itch should do with the rocks and give small groups of students time to prepare arguments for and against different courses of action. Take a vote at the end.

• Branding: using specific brand names (e.g. for cars, motorbikes, etc.) is a feature of the language of thrillers, e.g. the James Bond books and films. Can you find examples of brand names in ITCH? (e.g. BMW, p.47; Ducati, Cessna, p.163; Range Rover Sport, p.280; Lexus RX 450H, p.308) Why do thriller writers like to use these brand names?

• School Setting: a lot of the action of the story takes place in school settings (e.g. Cornwall Academy, Fitzherbert School) and some important characters in the plot are teachers. Greencorps oil company also sponsors Itch’s Science Academy and appoints Flowerdew. Ask pairs to focus on the scene in Chapter 12, where Flowerdew attacks Itch in the school science lab. and the students start a chorus of ‘Fight! Fight!’ and ‘Detention for Flowerdew!’. Does this school setting make the story more or less believable? Does the pupils’ reaction add humour to the description of the fight?

• Images of Scientists: in small groups, the students can firstly list any characters in the novel who are scientists or interested in science (e.g. Alexander, Flowerdew, Nicholas Lofte, Itch, Watkins, Cake, etc.). Students can then discuss their personalities and place them on a grid with a scale of ‘Good / Neutral / Bad / Mad’. Next, ask the groups to think of scientists portrayed in other books and films (especially thrillers and science fiction) who would fit into some of those categories, e.g. Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll, Dr Strangelove, Dr Who, etc. Which of these images of scientists do you think are accurate and which are stereotyped?

• Itch the Hero: In pairs, ask the students to mindmap the qualities they would expect to find in the hero of a traditional children’s adventure story. Look at your file on Itch. How is he similar and how different to the traditional boy hero? As a class, discuss how Itch compares to other teenage heroes from more recent children’s novels: e.g. Harry Potter, young James Bond, Alex Rider, Artemis Fowl, etc.

• Building up the Tension: ask students to draw up a Tension Graph and chart how the suspense is gradually built up through Chapters 27-30. Where are the peaks and troughs? What techniques does Simon Mayo use to heighten or lessen the suspense for the reader? How are chapter endings and beginnings used to increase tension (e.g. Chapters 29-30)? Focus on the way the narrative is slowed down at key points, almost like a slow motion sequence in film or TV, for example when Itch uncovers the well, prepares to descend and then climbs down the ladder ‘rung by rung’ (Chapter 28). Look at how humour is used to lighten the mood in places (e.g. Itch’s comment to the statue on p.353).

• Official Secrets: Throughout the book there is a news blackout about the discovery of the new element 126 and what it can do. At the end Mr Watkins reveals he has had to sign the Official Secrets Act and cannot talk to anyone but Itch and Dr Alexander about the rocks (p.399). Think, Pair, Share: give students time to Think individually, then confer in a Pair, and finally Share with the whole class their thoughts on the ethics of this situation: is it right that the general public should never find out about 126? Should the media report on it anyway? Should Itch or one of the others who know become a ‘whistleblower’?

After Reading:

• How Did It Measure Up?: At the end of the book, revisit the class list of first impressions made before reading it. Ask the students to talk in small groups and then as a whole class about how much the story met their initial expectations. Draft an email to Simon Mayo telling him your final thoughts about the book.

• To Be Continued...: Which loose ends are tied up in the final chapter and ‘Postscript’ (pp.406-7)? Which are not tied up, suggesting the need for a second ITCH book? (e.g. whereabouts of Flowerdew; identity of Itch’s rescuer). Students can work in groups to draft possible plot lines for the second ITCH novel. Draw on these drafts to write some pre-publication marketing copy for the sequel.

• Prequel: Near the end of the novel, Itch’s geography teacher Mr Watkins says about the element 126 rocks: ‘Maybe they’ve been thrown away before.’ (p.400) Write your own short story imagining how at a previous time the eight element 126 rocks were found and were then disposed of by someone else. Why did they throw them away? Choose any period of time from prehistory onwards.

• Film of the Book: In groups, devise publicity material (e.g. poster, flyer, advert etc.) for a film of the first ITCH book. Students will need to write effective advertising copy and chose an appropriate film director and cast to feature in the publicity material. They can also create a storyboard for a trailer of the film adaptation, including key moments from the narrative but avoiding ‘spoilers’ that give away too much about the plot.

Itch Rocks

• The second novel, ITCH ROCKS, begins with Itch and his family under 24/7 protection from MI5. Despite this, increasingly serious attempts are made by criminals, terrorists and rogue scientists to kidnap Itch and discover where he has hidden the radioactive 126 rocks. When the hiding place is finally revealed and the rocks are in danger of falling into the wrong hands, Itch, along with his sister Chloe and cousin Jack, have to survive some desperate situations and make more tough moral decisions about whether to put the rocks beyond reach for good.

• ITCH ROCKS is a sequel to ITCH and continues the story from the first book. Ask the students what the difference is between a sequel and another book in a series of books. What would be good examples of each?

Before Reading:

• Ask about the possible meanings of the title, ITCH ROCKS (e.g. Itch’s element 126? Itch is shaken / stunned? Itch is great?! etc.)

• Having read the first book, what are students expecting to find in the sequel? (e.g. more bangs, more suspense, more difficult decisions? etc.) Make a class list of their expectations and save it. Students will need to revisit them later, to decide whether their predictions were correct.

Getting into the Book:

• Read aloud the ‘Prologue’ (pp.1-6). Who is the Shivvi featured here? What do we know about her from the first book? In pairs, what are the similarities and differences between this opening and the start of the first book?

• Read aloud Chapter 1, without too much interruption. At the end of the reading, ask the students to work in small groups to discuss how things have moved on for Itch and his family since the end of book one (e.g. Itch and Jack are now 15; a security team have moved in next door; Nicholas Lofte now lives with the family, etc.). Update the ‘intelligence files’ on Itch and his family kept for the first book or start new ones. Keep adding to these files as you read on through ITCH ROCKS, especially Chapters 6 and 7.

• Read aloud Chapter 2. Pause at the end of p.27 and ask students to update or begin a file on Dr Flowerdew. Continue reading to the end of the chapter. Were you surprised by the chapter ending? Can the file now be closed on Flowerdew? If not, why not?

Reading On:

• Reading the novel from here onwards will again be a mixture of whole class reading aloud, including by the students themselves, and independent reading, as appropriate.

• School Patrol: Chapter 3 describes in detail Itch, Jack and Chloe’s security arrangements for the school run and for the school day at Cornwall Academy. What would it be like to have your own bodyguards following you around at school? What would be the pluses and minuses? After reading the chapter, ask students in small groups to improvise additional scenes that might happen around the school in lessons, assemblies, break times etc.

• Weak Links?: Before reading Chapter 4, where Itch and co. are victims of a kidnap attempt, ask students in pairs to imagine they are security consultants and to scrutinise the arrangements described in Chapter 3. Draft a short, confidential memo to the Head of MI5 reviewing the security of Itch and his family, mentioning weaknesses if you have noticed any.

• Technical Terms: as well as brand names, as used in book one, thriller stories often include very precise technical terms as well, sometimes using acronyms (initials) and sometimes other languages. In pairs, look through Chapters 5 and 7 for any examples of brand names and technical terms or foreign languages. Make a note of any others you notice in the rest of the novel. Why do you they think they are used?

• Plot Twists?: Chapter 8 shows two characters, Mary Lee and Lucy Cavendish, acting in unexpected ways to Itch and Jack. Why do you think they behave as they do in this chapter? Before reading on, share with a partner any ideas you have for how this line of the plot might develop.

• Profiling Itch: Itch is not the conventional boy hero of an adventure story, but is a more complex character. Ask the students to work in pairs to build up a detailed ‘psychological profile’ of Itch. Use the intelligence file you’ve been compiling about Itch. Focus on any evidence in the novel about how easy or hard Itch finds it to make friends (e.g. on p.101, 145, 198). What about Itch’s ability to remember exact scientific details (e.g. p.199): what does that suggest about his personality? Pairs can then share their findings with the whole class.

• Cut!: Ask students to look back in pairs through Chapters 23-26 to track how the story is told from the viewpoint of different characters: Shivvi, Flowerdew and co., Itch, the police commander and Jack. Compile a storyboard to show how the narrative cuts from one scene to another, like a film. Record where each scene is set and who is in it. Students can share this with other pairs. How does this structure help build up the tension and suspense?

• Getting it Right: There are more difficult moral choices for Itch to make in the second half of the novel:➢ Should he tell Dr Fairnie where the rocks are? (p.207)➢ Should he leave the safe house to go and check on Mr Watkins? (p.224)➢ Should he and Jack push Shivvi down the well? (p.256)➢ Should he call the police when Flowerdew arrives at the well? (p.284)➢ Should he kill Flowerdew? (p.400)➢ Should he destroy the rocks? (pp.412-13)

What would you do? In a small group, look back at these incidents and record what Itch decides to do for each one. Then discuss what you would do and why. Take a group vote. Did you agree with Itch?

• Elementary: Itch uses elements from his collection to get himself out of a tight squeeze several times in the story (e.g. in Chapters 22, 26, 29, 30). Find out what these elements are from the text, research their properties and locate them on the Periodic Table at the front and back of the book. Do you have any of them in your school science rooms? Do you have any at home? Where else might you find them?

• Grand Finale: The novel ends with a struggle between Itch and Flowerdew in the particle accelerator in Chapters 31 and 32. The climax comes when Flowerdew gives a countdown to shooting Chloe (pp.406-10). In a small group re-read these pages and create a storyboard or screenplay, as appropriate, to show how this dramatic moment could be adapted for TV.

• Happily Ever After?: Ask students to look back through the last chapter of the book and note down evidence for how the story ends for Itch under these Headings: ‘Home, School, Friendships, Enemies’. On balance, how would you describe the ending for Itch: happy, sad, mixed, or realistic?

After Reading:

• How Did It Compare?: Think, pair, share: how did ITCH ROCKS compare to the first book? What was similar and what was different? What did you like more or like less about the second book?

• Another Exciting Instalment?: Simon Mayo is currently writing the third ITCH book. As a class, discuss what hints there are about the next story (e.g. on p432 and p.434). Draft an email to Simon Mayo in which you share your ideas for the third ITCH book.

• Further Adventures of an Element Hunter: have a go at writing another ITCH story yourself, featuring the main characters from the two Itch books. Remember to weave into your short story some of the elements from the Periodic Table and have plenty of loud explosions! Try to use some of the techniques of thriller writing Simon Mayo uses to build up suspense when Itch and co. get into a tight corner. Good luck!

National Curriculum Objectives

These teaching resources cover a broad range of the Key Stage 2 and 3 National Curriculum statutory requirements from 2014, but particularly the ones listed below:

Years 5 and 6 programme of study for English:

Reading

Pupils should be taught to:• maintain positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read • understand what they read by: • checking that the book makes sense to them, discussing their understanding and exploring the meaning of words in context • drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence • predicting what might happen from details stated and implied • identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning• discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader• participate in discussions about books that are read to them and those they can read for themselves, building on their own and others’ ideas and challenging views courteously• explain and discuss their understanding of what they have read, including through formal presentations and debates, maintaining a focus on the topic and using notes where necessary• provide reasoned justifications for their views.

Writing

Pupils should be taught to:• plan their writing by: • identifying the audience for and purpose of the writing, selecting the appropriate form and using other similar writing as models for their own • in writing narratives, considering how authors have developed characters and settings in what pupils have read, listened to or seen performed• draft and write by: • in narratives, describing settings, characters and atmosphere and integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action

Spoken English

• In years 5 and 6, pupils’ confidence, enjoyment and mastery of language should be extended through public speaking, performance and debate.

If your students enjoyed reading ITCH and ITCH ROCKS, they may also like

George and the Big Bang by Lucy and Stephen Hawking Meet George. He’s an ordinary boy with an incredible secret - the power to go on intergalactic adventures!

Phoenix by SF Said The Supernova is coming...one boy alone can save the galaxy

Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood & Co. step in . . .

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http://randomhousechildrens.co.uk/ • https://www.facebook.com/RandomHouseChildrensPublishersUK @RHKidsUK_Edu • @RHKidsUK • http://www.youtube.com/kidsatrandomhouse

ITCHCRAFT BY SIMON MAYO

Join Itch, Jack and Chloe on their latest adventure!

COMING SEPTEMBER 2014