Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo - Teachit English · Next, ask some questions which could be...

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo

© 2006 www.teachit.co.uk 5794.doc of 17

FOR THE TEACHER This resource uses information about how the brain works and how to accelerate learning

from Alistair Smith’s excellent and easy to follow book Accelerated Learning in the

Classroom, as well as ideas about techniques for engaging pupil interest from Lessons are for

Learning by Mike Hughes.

Page references are for the Collins paperback edition.

Before printing copies of the pack for your students, please look through the contents! The

answers to the wordsearch etc are included here and in some places, alternative tasks are

given.

However you decide to approach this novel, it is well worth the effort. If you do WW1 War

Poetry at GCSE, this is an excellent long-term preparation for understanding the poems.


Before you read this Michael Morpurgo novel, take a good look at the cover, read the blurb and think about the things you already know about WW1. Now have a ‘brainshower’ (below), where you jot down your impressions. Next, ask some questions which could be answered by reading the book. (Add in more arrows if you can.)

© 2006 www.teachit.co.uk

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WHERE?

WHEN?

iscuss your thoughts with a partner and at will happen in the story.

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RHYTHM AND MEMORY: ‘Oranges and Lemons’ is mentioned a lot in the first three chapters and becomes a symbol of the brothers’ unity, spirit and inner freedom. Did you ever sing it, or even play it? The text of the song is on p 119. As in music, rhythm is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. First, from memory, tap out the tune of ‘Oranges and Lemons’ using your left hand to tap unstressed syllables and your right hand to tap stressed syllables. Do this as a class activity, starting on your teacher’s signal. Try to stay in time – that’s the real challenge! Now mark the stresses with a / and the unstressed syllables with -. The first part is done for you:

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‘It was Molly’s job to iron the Colonel’s newspaper every morning so that the ink did not come off on his fingers’ (p 69) How odd that seems to us today! So many things have changed since

WW1. We are going to explore some of the changes. Then you are

going to teach the class about what was different. Have a think about

things you’ve noticed about life for Tommo that is different today.

Decide what you’d like to research (find out about). Next think about

how you’ll find the information – you could look on the internet, in

the library, interview your History teacher etc. Finally decide how

you’ll present your findings to the class in an interesting way.

Some questions you could research: Why did the boys have to touch their ‘forelocks’ as if they ‘meant it’ (p 16)? What does that reveal about the social order of the time? Why did everyone work at ‘the big house’? Why could the Colonel evict the family from the cottage unless Mother would work for him? Do you know why World War 1 would have changed all this? Until recently the ink from newspapers could make your hands very dirty (p 69). What was the ink made from? What is used now? Why has that changed? How does the new ink help the environment? You may have met people who are a bit like Big Joe. How do we treat people who seem ‘backward’ or ‘special’ (p 26) today? What do we learn from the different ways people treat Joe? What would happen to Joe today if he lived near you? What would your attitude to him be?




RECRUITMENT At the beginning of World War 1, there was a large recruiting campaign to

persuade healthy men to take part in the war and fight for their country.

One of the ways of making men join up was by calling them cowards, just like the

old woman who called Tommo ‘Chicken’ (p 96–97). Women were urged to give

men they loved who refused to join up a white feather in public to shame them

into enlisting. If you like poetry you may like to find Recruiting by

E.A. Mackintosh, which is about all the pressure put on men to go and fight by the

very people who are not going off to fight themselves!

Another way was with eye-catching posters, which is what we are going to

explore:

1. Have a look in the Library or on the Internet for the posters that were used

for recruitment in WW1. There are lots of other posters warning people

not to talk about the war, to black out their windows etc, but just choose

those that try to recruit men.

2. In groups of four compare your findings. Pick out the persuasive

techniques used. These could be connected to language or strong imagery.

Jot down at least two things you all decide are effective.

3. In pairs, decide on something you’d like to recruit people for. It could be

your football team, the school play, or participation in a local event. Make

sure that what you choose a real event rather than a made-up one.

4. Now design your own recruiting poster using the techniques you’ve

discussed.



Think of a time when what you have felt has been too hard to put into words accurately. Think of a time when you felt so emotional you had to look at other things because your eyes needed something else to concentrate on. Writers, poets and artists often try to find ways of sharing profound (significant or deep) experiences with us, which is what happens when Tommo and Charlie have said goodbye to the family. Read from ‘Thanks … to a lifetime’ on p 104. Often a moving piece of art, music, writing or dance will inspire other artists to create more art using the same ideas, alluding (referring) to the source text or changing it in some way. Your task is to do something creative with this piece of text. Below are some ideas. You may work alone, in pairs or in fours, but each of you needs to be involved in the production. You may be as creative as you like, but whatever you do must be rooted in the original text (i.e. grow from it, express its ideas). You could:

Find pictures of all the things mentioned in the section of text. Write out some of the words and phrases (by hand or print, in different colours and fonts). Arrange and glue them onto paper. Which words and descriptions make the most vivid (colourful) picture in your mind? How do you think the boys were feeling? Focus more closely on a moment, a sight, a feeling. Jot down words from the text and words that come to your mind as you put yourself in the train with the boys … arrange as a poem by making descriptive links between the words. Two people play each boy and two each boy’s mind. Create a mini-drama in which the boys are on the train. They say little, but look out of the window, wriggle etc. However, their minds (sitting to either side), comment on every thought and emotion. Practise and present to the class.


FOURTEEN MINUTES PAST TWO

Re-read the opening of the chapter on p 105. The whole section is about time and

the watch Charlie gave Tommo. With a partner, try to find evidence that time is

important within the novel. Is the watch important?

The chapter ends on p 118 with a description of Charlie being beaten. Notice this

phrase:

‘He seemed to me like Jesus hanging on the cross …’

The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified (killed by hanging on the cross), so that

we wouldn’t have to pay the price for our sins: although he was completely

innocent himself, he took the punishment for our sake, enabling us to be

forgiven.

In what way is Charlie also like Jesus?

Before Jesus was betrayed by one of his friends (the disciple, Judas), he spent the

late night and early hours of the morning praying because he was actually quite

scared of what lay ahead. He asked three of his friends to stay awake and ‘watch’

with him while he prayed a little distance away, but they kept falling asleep.

The very first sentence of the next chapter says:

‘I dropped off to sleep’. (p 119)

THINK ABOUT THIS:

These allusions (references) are clues to prepare us for what is going to happen … What sort of thing do they predict?



Tommo describes a gas attack on pp 153–155. Re-read his description carefully. In your groups of four, choose one of the following tasks. You need to do the research then ‘teach’ the information to the rest of the group. You may be able to work with all the others doing your research task.

1. Find out about the gas used in WW1 and what it did to

those who breathed it in.

2. Find out about gas masks and how they worked. If you

have time, either draw one or make a model of one.

3. Find the poem Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen.

What does it tell us about the experience of a Gas Attack?

4. Find the poem Strange Meeting by Wilfred Owen. How

does it help us understand how soldiers really felt about

their enemies?

Now in your group, decide how you can combine your research to make one poster for display. It could be a model, a collage, a poster – anything that summarises and represents what you’ve all found out.




Many soldiers found, like Charlie, that they just didn’t want to share the horrors of the trenches with the people they loved and of course, they weren’t allowed to write letters home about what they were doing. But some were so disgusted by the lies being told and the injustices perpetrated on the Front that they had to speak out. The poets, particularly, had a lot to say about the reality of the war versus the propaganda – you’ve come across Wilfred Owen now, who says it is a lie to claim it is good and fitting to die for your country.

Re-read Tommo’s letter from his mother (pp 157–8). How would he reply? Do you think he’d tell her Charlie is fibbing? Would he tell her the truth? Or would he try to write about things that wouldn’t upset her, that would make her feel hopeful?

Discuss this with a partner

When you’ve decided what he would do, write his letter home.

‘Give me half a chance and I’ll tell them,’ says Pete on p 158. Write Pete’s letter, telling his family what it is really like in the trenches. Remember, he would have different things to say or a different view of the same things, so his letter will be very different from Tommo’s.



pp 161–7 CLUES: Find the word in the novel which means the same as: 1. Not allowed (p 161) ........................................................ .

2. Wearing away, erosion (p 161) ............................................

3. Running away in war (p 161)...............................................

4. Disappeared (p 161).........................................................

5. Make fun of, mimic (p 162) ................................................

6. Tied up (p 162) ..............................................................

7. Untidy (p 162)................................................................

8. Quick (p 163) .................................................................

9. Person who looks after you (p 164) ...............................................

10. Skiving (p 164) ...............................................................

11. Confused, perplexed (p 164) ..............................................

12. Huge, enormous, giant (p 165) ............................................

13. Hitting like a hammer (p 165) .............................................

14. Self-control, calm (p 166)..................................................

15. Summoned with a gesture (p 167) ........................................



ANSWERS: 1. Not allowed (p 161) ............................................FORBIDDEN

2. Wearing away, erosion (p 161) ............................... ATTRITION

3. Running away in war (p 161).................................. DESERTING

4. Disappeared (p 161)..........................................EVAPORATED

5. Make fun of, mimic (p 162) ..................................... MOCKING

6. Tied up (p 162) ..................................................TETHERED

7. Untidy (p 162).................................................DISHEVELLED

8. Quick (p 163) ......................................................FLEETING

9. Person who looks after you (p 164) ................................GUARDIAN

10. Skiving (p 164) ...............................................MALINGERING

11. Confused, perplexed (p 164) ...............................NONPLUSSED

12. Huge, enormous, giant (p 165) ..................................... TITAN

13. Hitting like a hammer (p 165) .................................POUNDING

14. Self-control, calm (p 166)....................................COMPOSURE

15. Summoned with a gesture (p 167) ............................BECKONED

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo WORDSEARCH Ω Find and underline each of the words you’ve found from the clues.

L E K D I S H E V E L L E D B R K T I T A N G P Y O C P J O M H O Y M O C K I N G A W T U G D O V W N T I E R A T X A S D J K B E C K O N E D J E G R A G U A R D I A N K O N D R I A V E O C LA X S U M M A R A L M A L I N G E R I N G S H I F C O M P O S U R E F T E S S A I O P R A H U L O V O K O T B I D F O R B I D D E N N U B B R A P I K Q A K S K P O I Y U T E R F T G S C V H I O P U D U V A P O D E V B S F O E Z A E V A P O R A T E D E O R A N G E S A N D L E M O N S A R E F R U I T R P O U N D I N G R O N D I N G B O U N D I N G S L E E T I N G G R E E T F L E E T I N G B E E T I X L O V Y L A L Q U O N C E R F O H V T O P E R T A X A N O N P L U S S E D S A T T R I T I O N A X L D E S E R T I N G S E I S Y D E I D S U M M X C L C M A N J O F S T E T H E R E D L I N K H U L O

SEE WHETHER YOU CAN FIND THE THREE-WORD SAYING HIDDEN IN THIS WORD SEARCH.


Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo WORDSEARCH Ω ANSWERS Find and underline each of the words you’ve found from the clues.

L E K D I S H E V E L L E D B R K T I T A N G P Y O C P J O M H O Y M O C K I N G A W T U G D O V W N T I E R A T X A S D J K B E C K O N E D J E G R A G U A R D I A N K O N D R I A V E O C L A X S U M M A R A L M A L I N G E R I N G S H I F C O M P O S U R E F T E S S A I O P R A H U L O V O K O T B I D F O R B I D D E N N U B B R A P I K Q A K S K P O I Y U T E R F T G S C V H I O P U D U V A P O D E V B S F O E Z A E V A P O R A T E D E O R A N G E S A N D L E M O N S A R E F R U I T R P O U N D I N G R O N D I N G B O U N D I N G S L E E T I N G G R E E T F L E E T I N G B E E T I X L O V Y L A L Q U O N C E R F O H V T O P E R T A X A N O N P L U S S E D S A T T R I T I O N A X L D E S E R T I N G S E I S Y D E I D S U M M X C L C M A N J O F S T E T H E R E D L I N K H U L O

LOVE CONQUERS ALL


Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo WORDSEARCH ∑ Find and CIRCLE each of the words you’ve found from the clues.

SEE IF YOU CAN FIND A THREE-WORD SAYING HIDDEN HERE: WHEN YOU’VE COMPLETED THE WORDSEARCH IT SHOULD BECOME CLEAR.

L O O D E D E S E R T I N G I N D E D M N O V B E C K O N E D B C K E O V X A A V F V C E X M P O S F L E D D S G E V L C O M E O P A T T R D I S I X D D E N I A H G U X M E O V F O R B I D D E N E N D T N O N C P P L E S S E D I N G T X G I Z T F L E O O E F T I N G O O B E V E S B B R G U U Q S A L R D E D S M T Z RH Q U E I B N V U U C E V A P O O H R I E V A P O T D N O E R N E P L U C E S N V A D E I T I B T I R E A T N O K R M GE C E R N J N O M S B S M I I J I E K LL V S T G A G L N M K L X T Z N N D L O L B G U A R D I A N S F E A H M G Z V X E N O N P L U S S E D K F N L J A G B U D A E V A P O R A T E D Y J O L Y A M E


Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo WORDSEARCH ∑ ANSWERS

Find and CIRCLE each of the words found from the clues.

SEE IF YOU CAN FIND A THREE-WORD SAYING HIDDEN YOU’VE COMPLETED THE WORDSEARCH IT SHOULD BECOME CLEAR.

L D E S E I N G M O B E C K O N A V C E O A X M D T C P I T O O S R U Q SH I N U E T D V I E N O L G N L G U A R D I A E N O N P L U S S D E V A P O R A

© 2006 www.teachit.co.uk

you’veHERE: WHEN

R TE D
L I F O R B I D D E N N T G F E E
L M T R U E O H I

E R E C E N R E T K R G S I I I E X T N N D N A G E D N L T E D L

LOVE CONQUERS ALL

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Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo PREDICTION: Read only the opening section of page 168 (chapter FIVE TO FIVE) - the first paragraph.

‘Private Peaceful will die, will be shot for cowardice …’ p 168 • Who do you think is going to die: Tommo or Charlie? Why?

List any evidence that might indicate Tommo is about to be shot.

List any evidence that might indicate Charlie is about to be shot. • Although using ‘Private Peaceful’ rather than a first name echoes what the formal declaration would

have said, it is also deliberately ambiguous (unclear). Why do you think Michael Morpurgo wants to keep it a mystery?

Read the rest of the chapter. When you’ve finished, close your eyes for a minute and keep absolutely quiet, reviewing what you’ve discovered. • How does it make you feel? If you were there, what would you try to do? What would you say? If you

could ask Michael Morpurgo questions, what would you ask about this section? Let your mind freewheel around these questions for a while.

Now, without discussing, pick out the three things you feel/think/wonder most strongly. Jot them down. • In groups of four, discuss your three points each. Have any of you got the same points? Does anyone

have an unusual or unexpected point? • Decide on one point your group wants to put to the rest of the class for discussion and do so when

your group is chosen.


Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo I cry every time I read the last chapter. I cry for Molly and her tiny baby, for Tommo, Mother and Joe, all bereft. I cry because I’m so angry that Horrible-Hanley had so much power and so little sense. I cry because I really admire Charlie and am awed by his courage. I cry because I feel as helpless as Tommo to do anything to change the situation. Take time to explore your feelings about this last chapter. Hopefully, none of us will ever face what Charlie and Tommo faced, but we all face paler versions of similar types of problem: we all have to decide which rules we obey and which we don’t, how to respond when someone with authority over us treats us badly and what to do about guilt. • Think about what this novel has helped you understand about some of life’s problems. How will it

help you deal with them better? Even though this story is fiction, it tells the truth. Many British soldiers were shot for daring to stay true to themselves. Read the POSTSCRIPT. • Why do you think Michael Morpurgo added the Postscript? Why do you think he wrote the story? What’s the bigger picture? WW1 was probably over long before even your grandparents were born, so why should we care about the men shot for cowardice? How does thinking about the things that happened to Tommo and Charlie help us make sense of things we face today and help us grow into better citizens of the future? • In one sentence, state the most important lesson you’ve learned from this story.


Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo - Teachit English · Next, ask some questions which could be...

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