contexts Students: appreciate and explain how composers (authors, poets, playwrights, directors, designers and so on) may transform and adapt texts for different purposes, contexts and audiences, for example appropriations in popular culture investigate text structures and language features related to specific genres for different purposes and audiences EN11-6 investigates and explains the relationships between texts Students: examine how genres and their conventions have changed and adapted over time understand how texts conform to or challenge generic conventions through their language forms, features and structures investigate the ways in which texts are influenced by other texts and by contexts EN11-9 reflects on, assesses and monitors own learning and develops individual and collaborative processes to become an independent learner Students: use and understand the value of writing as a reflective tool Students investigate the social and cultural context of Victorian crime fiction, and make a note of their initial observations about the differences in context between then and now. The class discuss the essential questions: What is the enduring attraction of crime/detective fiction stories? Why would a director in 2009 choose Sherlock Holmes as a text for adaptation? The teacher leads students in a discussion of genre (crime fiction/murder mystery/procedural drama/detective stories) and generic conventions: complicated plot-lines/twists misdirection red herrings eccentric/memorable detective figure perpetrator/adversary who is often the intellectual equal of detective use of logic/reason in solving crimes suspense themes of occult/supernatural Students engage with some key written texts of the crime genre, such as: Agatha Christie, Poirot stories Edgar Allan Poe, Dupin stories After reading these texts, students identify and describe the generic features evident in the texts. Extension homework task: students compose their own detective fiction text using the classroom as the setting for the crime. They annotate their work to demonstrate the generic conventions used. The teacher introduces students to the iconic character of Sherlock Holmes, using a variety of visual sources. Students watch TED-Ed lesson, ‘Who is Sherlock Holmes?’, and discuss or journal their initial responses to the character of Sherlock Holmes. After watching, students add these terms to the glossary and discuss: cultural icon deduction forensic criminology British Library, ‘The Creation of the police and the rise of detective fiction’, A range of texts are available to download for free from Project Gutenberg, ‘Who is Sherlock Holmes?’ original, ‘A in scarlet’, Arthur Conan Doyle, available through the Project Gutenberg,
Watson was not there? OR Students could rewrite a segment of one of the stories with Watson removed and reflect on how they tried to engage the reader without using him. Consolidation of learning Students read over their reflections from the end of the Unit Introduction. They then reflect and respond to the question: How do multimodal and cross-platform texts bring old texts to new life? EN11-1 responds to and composes increasingly complex texts for understanding, interpretation, analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure Students: explain how various language devices for example figurative, grammatical and multimodal elements create particular effects in texts and use these for specific purposes EN11-3 analyses and uses language forms, features and structures of texts, considers appropriateness for purpose, audience and context and explains effects on meaning Students: analyse how language choices are made for different purposes and in different contexts using appropriate metalanguage; for example personification, voice-over, flashback and salience PART 2: New world, old values? (including close study of Episode 2, ‘The blind banker’) The teacher begins with a discussion of context and values, and how these change over time. Student review their initial research into Victorian crime fiction in order to respond to the following question: Is it possible to adapt an old text, without carrying its old values with it? Students construct a comparison on the context of Conan Doyle’s Holmes (late Victorian England), and the BBC Holmes (early 21st -century London). They should consider: technology approaches to and order values around gender values around class values around race watch the opening 7 minutes of Episode 2. The teacher students in a discussion and close analysis of the opening of Episode 2, with a focus on the ‘traditional’ setting of a museum, and the stereotypical attitudes towards ‘oriental’ culture. The teacher encourages students’ personal responses through journaling or blogging.