Short story focus: short skirt

First up, we are setting our blogs up.  You will have an email which gives you access to do this, and we will spend some time on the purpose of blogging and how to use labels to organise posts for different subjects.  We will use our blogs quite often in English this year, starting with our learning activities for this week (20-24 March).

This week we will focus on the short story by New Zealander Norman Bilbrough called "Short Skirt."  We will work from paper copies of this short story, which comes from Bilbrough's short story collection, Dog Breath.  We will start with our thoughts on the title of the story, and then read the story itself.

After you have answered the questions, you can choose how to present your information.  Each of the different options allows you to get reading skills credits AND spoken interactions credits/speech credits/writing credits.  You can:

1. Make a (solo) presentation on screencastify which reviews the story, and responds to the questions set out below.  This review by Katytastic is a model of what your presentation could look like:

2. Collaborate in pairs to make a recording where you both discuss the story, covering the material from the set questions.  You want to make sure that you both talk about ideas and events in the story, so that you can both get credits for your learning.  [An example of a recorded discussion will be available soon].

3. Write a review of the short story.  You will need an introduction, three main body paragraphs and a conclusion.  You will need to turn your answers to the set questions, plus any other ideas you have on the story, into paragraphs for the review.  [An example of what your review could look like will be available soon].

Questions on the short story "Short Skirt" by Norman Bilbrough:

1. Some words in English give clues, or make suggestions, about topics.  e.g. "He was a greasy character" suggests that the man was not very trustworthy.  We can make this inference because something which is greasy is not nice to touch or easy to hold on to.  The suggestion of the word "greasy" is unpleasant.  "Greasy" also relates to a slang word in English called "greaser" which is when someone is especially nice to someone else to get what they want in a situation.  We don't really admire this, and usually use this term in a negative way.  The flash word for these clues or suggestions is connotation.  What is the connotation, or suggestions, of the title in this story?  i.e. what do you think of when you hear the term 'short skirt'?  
2. Sometimes our ideas about a word or phrase relate to our prejudices.  What kind of prejudices might people have about the term "short skirt"?
3. Now read page 23.   Where does Haley work, and what is she doing with her first pay?  What stops her from smiling?
4. Read pages 24-5.  What went wrong with Haley's plans for the evening?  
5. Read pages 26-7. Describe Tony's role in the family.  Give two examples to support your idea(s).  
6. Read pages 28-29.  Who is the bad guy in this story and what clues are there to suggest he is the bad guy?
7. Read pages 30-31.  What had Haley preferred to think about rather than experience?  What word does the author use to show that Ethan is unhappy and unexciting?
8. Read pages 32-33.  What is Haley doing when Jerry rings?  Why do you think they author chose this job for Haley to be doing when the phone rang?
9. Read pages 34-35.  What does Haley take with her to meet Jerry that links to the beginning of the story?  Write down the simile used to show how Haley is feeling about Jerry.
10. Read pages 36-37.  What evidence is there that Haley is more keen than Jerry?
11. Read pages 38-39.  What changes do we see in Haley's thoughts about Jerry as she waits and waits for him?  Give a quote to support your answer.  Why do you think Haley changed her mind?  How do you think she might feel when she gets home?