GONE
Introductory Activities
To continue our theme of “Teens” we are going to read the novel Gone by Michael Grant. As teenagers you have probably thought that adults judge you or they at least get on your nerves at times. So what would a world without adults be like?
This concept has been explored before.
Task 1.
Hop on the Internet and research one of the following books or movies:
Coral Island
Lord of the Flies
…or any other book or film that you know about where there are no adults present.
After reading a summary of one of the above texts, write a few lines in your exercise books about how you think the teenagers and children coped without adults. Did the text sound like it was a great time or a hard one?
Task 2.
Read the back cover of Gone, then answer the following questions in your exercise books.
1. What is the tone of this novel? Does it sound like a good thing or a bad thing that all the adults are gone?
2. What do you think the “299 hours 54 minutes” at the top stands for?
3. How would your life change without adults? What would be the good points? What would be the bad points?
4. Does this book sound interesting from what is on the cover? Is it the type of book you would choose to read? Why/Why not?
Task 3.
Read the first page of the novel then answer the following questions.
1. What part constitutes a “Sizzling Starter” for the novel? Was it effective? (Did it make you want to read more?) What do you notice about the first six sentences?
2. At what stage does the author start the ‘backfill of details’ – meaning when does he start to fill us in on some information regarding who this story is about and where it takes place?
3. Where do you think Mr Trentlake went? Write down your own theory on what is going on. What is the ‘big premise’ (or main idea) behind this book? Why are the adults disappearing? Etc.
A Reading of the Book
Ch5: 58.16
Ch9: 1.42.20
Ch10: 1.59.47
Ch11: 2.12.13
Ch12: 2.30.09
Ch18: 4.16.47
Ch20: 4.52.25
Create a Globe/Bloom Ball
To create a Bloom Ball follow instructions in this link: Bloom Ball
- For this activity, we need 12 tasks to be completed. You may work in pairs to complete a task, but we need all 12 completed for the class.
- Please do not choose all similar tasks. If one requires drawing, your next one needs to be written. You must also choose tasks with different key words in brackets at the end too. (Keywords listed inc: Knowledge, Evaluation, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Comprehension).
- I will print out the templates for you to work on, but before writing in them, you need to PLAN what you are going to put in each circle in your English books.
- Make sure you let the class know which activity you are working on in this forum thread.
Essay Topics
1. Topic: What messages are we being given regarding leadership in "Gone"?
For this topic you might want to look at:
- the effects of no adults being present.
- how fear and intimidation was used to gain control.
- why good leaders did not initially take charge, or failed.
2. For this topic you need to think of another narrative where there is a lack of guiding adult characters, such as "Lord of the Flies", "Coral Island", "The Outsiders" or any teen narrative where the parents are mostly absent.
Topic: Compare and contrast what "Gone" and your other chosen story have to say about the nature of teenagers when left to their own devices.
- This means, look at how both are similar in their treatment of teens, and how they differ. Things you might consider:
- How do the teenagers cope without adults?
- How is leadership established?
- How is law and order maintained?
- Who looks after the younger children and how is this determined?
- Do the teens try to establish a society they are familiar with or create their own?