Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearn - Pearson Educationassets.pearsonschool.com/asset_mgr/current/201214/... · 2016. 6. 14. · Lian Hearn Introduction New Windmill titles are

Across the Nightingale FloorLian Hearn

Introduction

New Windmill titles are supported with Student and Teaching resource sheets to engagestudents with the novel and to help you with your planning. Each set of resourcesincludes a series of self-contained lessons with photocopiable worksheets, teaching notesand suggestions for Guided Reading. Each activity is mapped against the Framework tohelp you with your planning. There are also suggestions for further study areas includingspeaking and listening, writing and reading activities. If your students have enjoyedstudying this novel there are suggestions of other New Windmills they may like to readfor pleasure.

Resources for Across the Nightingale Floor:

Synopsis

Activate prior learning

Activities

– Character notes

– Writing a screenplay

– Looking at Kaede

Guided reading

– Close reading

– Close reading: dialogue

– Journal writing

Further study areas

Reading for pleasure

Activities by Alan Pearce

The following pages can be downloaded and printed out as required. This material may be freely copied for institutional use. However, this material is

copyright and under no circumstances can copies be offered for sale. The publishers gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce copyright material.

Across the Nightingale Floor

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Teacher’sNotes © Harcourt Education Limited, 2005

Synopsis

Across the Nightingale Floor is set in three imaginary countries in a feudal period. Themain character, Takeo, is a young teenager who loses his family when their village isattacked, but he is rescued by Otori Shigeru, the rightful heir to the Otori Clan. In thesame year, a teenage girl, Kaede, is presented to the Otori Clan as a hostage to assurepeace between the Otori Clan and the Seishuu Clan.

Otori Shigeru wishes to adopt Takeo, but his uncles will only agree if he marries Kaede.This complicates matters because Otori Shigeru is having a clandestine relationship withLady Maruyama, who he would like to marry.

Takeo gradually realises that he is being trained to help Shigeru assassinate Iida, theleader of the Tohan Clan, who has killed Shigeru’s brother, and Takeo’s mother. Takeowas originally from the Tribe and he has special powers, such as extraordinary hearing.These powers, and other fighting skills, are developed by Takeo’s teacher, Kenji.Unfortunately, Takeo falls in love with Kaede, the young girl who Shigeru is tounwillingly marry.

As the wedding day approaches it becomes clear that in fact the marriage arrangementsare a complicated plot set up by Iida in order to assassinate Shigeru. The night before theproposed marriage Kenji reveals himself as a member of the Tribe, and kidnaps Takeo toreturn him to the Tribe. Shigeru is arrested and hung by his arms from Iida’s castle wall.

Takeo persuades the Tribe to allow him to return to Iida’s castle in order to help Shigeru.Kenji’s daughter accompanies him. Together they remove Shigeru from the castle wall,but he is near to death and asks his adopted son to behead him. After completing hisfather’s last wish, Takeo returns to rescue Kaede. Iida tries to rape Kaede, but she killshim. Takeo beheads Iida as well.

When news gets out that Iida has been killed the Tohan people rebel against hisadministration. However, Takeo honours his promise to return to the Tribe, and turns hisback on the girl he loves.

Activate prior learning

It would be helpful if the students had some picture of the three countries in which thenovel is set. It would also be helpful if they could place the key characters within theappropriate countries. A few minutes study of these details in the front of the novelwould be time valuably spent. Although the novel is based on a fictional country, thiscountry has many parallels with feudal Japan. Ask the students to share what they knowabout ancient Japanese culture, including the reputation Japanese Samurai warriors andNinjas have. Students may have seen representations of these warriors in films and beable to talk about them.


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Teacher’sNotes © Harcourt Education Limited, 2005

Teaching notes

Activity 1 Character notes

Framework Objectives

Year 7: S17 Use Standard English; R2 Use appropriate reading strategies; R4 Makebrief notes; R8 Infer and deduce meaning; R9 Distinguish between the views ofauthor and character; Wr10 Organise texts appropriately; Wr11 Select and organiseinformation; Wr14 Describe an object, person or setting.

Year 8: S9 Adapt stylistic conventions; S12 Explore and use different degrees offormality; R4 Review active reading strategies; R7 Identify implied and explicitmeaning; Wr10 Organise and present information; Wr11 Explain complex ideas andinformation clearly; Wr12 Use formal language; Wr16 Weigh different viewpoints.

Year 9: S3 Write with differing degrees of formality; S9 Write in Standard English;R1 Review and extend reading strategies; R5 Evaluate their writing about texts; Wr9 Integrate diverse information into a coherent account; Wr16 Present a balancedanalysis of a situation.

Activity aims:

To read for specific information.

To write a personal view of three fictional characters.

There are so many characters in this novel that the reader can become confused. Thisactivity asks the students to provide outline sketches of the three main characters.

Provide the students with Resource Sheet 1. The students’ task is to answer somequestions about an extract from the novel. The questions that are asked encourage thestudents to engage in some close reading, and some inferential reading. The extractprovided is quite complicated because there are so many unfamiliar names. Weakerstudents might need support to (a) locate the relevant sentences in the extract in order toanswer some of the questions, and (b) infer from the details that are provided. Nowwould be a good opportunity to do the guided reading activity outlined below withstudents who need more support.

Answers:

1 TRUE ‘How long has it been going on for?’…‘Since I was twenty.’‘That must benearly ten years!’

2 FALSE Kenji seemed as impressed by the fact that he had known nothing about theaffair as by the news itself.

3 TRUE ‘I cannot stand by and watch Iida impose his will on my people, see mycountry devastated, my villages burned.’

4 FALSE ‘My uncles – Iida himself – know that I would never submit to that. So theymean to remove me from the scene.’

5 TRUE ‘Iida has invited me into his lair, where he almost certainly intends to have mekilled. I intend to use this to my advantage. What better way, after all, to get intoInuyama?’

Provide the students with Resource Sheet 2. The students are asked to select informationabout the three main characters in the novel:

Shigeru

Takeo

Kaede.

The students are asked to write exactly fifty words about each character; many studentswill have difficulty restricting everything they want to say. You could suggest studentsdelete superfluous descriptive words to help them keep the word count down, or tocheck whether they have talked about very similar characteristics and could thereforeamalgamate sentences, or concentrate only on the strongest characteristic. The studentsare also asked to identify adjectives that could be used to describe each of the characters.Weaker students might find this activity difficult because they do not have a repertoire ofadjectives to call on. The following adjectives are provided on the worksheet as a wordbank from which the students could select appropriate adjectives: honest, trusting,suspicious, brave, cowardly, reliable, evil, secretive, loyal, calm, cheerful, miserable,proud, wise. The meanings of each of these adjectives might need to be explored withweaker students.

Guided reading – Close reading

Select a group of students who will benefit from some support with close reading.Together, re-read from ‘The horse reared…’ on page 5 to ‘…coming up behind him.’ onpage 7.

Ask the students to answer the following True/False questions:

1 Iida was riding the horse. (True.)

2 Iida fell off his horse. (False. Takeo knocked him off his horse.)

3 The Hidden are trained to kill their enemies. ( False. The Hidden are forbidden tokill.)

4 Three people chased after Takeo. (True. Takeo outran two of them and then ran atthe third.)

Ask the students to explain where they obtained the information to answer the questions.


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Teacher’sNotes © Harcourt Eduction Limited, 2005


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StudentSheet

1

© Harcourt Education Limited, 2005

True or false?

There are far more characters in Across the Nightingale Floor than in many modernnovels. However, the characters are all very interesting and we learn a great deal abouttheir backgrounds, their likes and dislikes, and about their plans for the future.

Re-read the extract below from the novel. Shigeru has just told Kenji that he has beenhaving an affair with Lady Maruyama since he was twenty years old. Afterwards, answerthe True or False questions below the text. You will need to quote evidence from thetext to support your answer.

Page 99

Statement True or Evidence False?

1 Shigeru has known Lady Maruyama for at least nine years.

2 Shigeru is not very good at keeping secrets.

3 Shigeru is concerned about his people.

4 Shigeru trusts his uncles.

5 Shigeru plans to attack Iida.

‘That must be nearly ten years!’ Kenji seemed as impressed by the fact that he hadknown nothing about the affair as by the news itself. ‘Yet another reason for youto hate Iida!’ He shook his head in amazement.

‘It is more than love,’ Shigeru said quietly. ‘We are allies as well. Between them,she and Arai control the Seishuu and the south-west. If the Otori join them, we candefeat Iida.’ He paused and then went on, ‘If the Tohan take over the Otoridomain, we will see the same cruelty and persecution that I rescued Takeo from inMino. I cannot stand by and watch Iida impose his will on my people, see mycountry devastated, my villages burned. My uncles – Iida himself – know that Iwould never submit to that. So they mean to remove me from the scene. Iida hasinvited me into his lair where he almost certainly intends to have me killed. Iintend to use this to my advantage. What better way, after all, to get into Inuyama?


StudentSheet © Harcourt Education Limited, 2005

2 Thumbnail portraits

Imagine that the publisher wishes to produce another edition of Across the NightingaleFloor. In the new edition they want to include background details about some of the keycharacters. They have asked you to write exactly fifty words about each of the followingcharacters: Shigeru, Takeo and Kaede. To help you the publisher has provided you withsome page references from the novel.

1 Re-read these pages carefully and make notes on each character in the boxes. Thepublisher has also provided you with a list of adjectives. They would like you toconsider whether or not the adjectives apply to the characters. You can also adddifferent adjectives that you would like to use to describe the characters.

2 Once you have made your notes, write exactly fifty words about each character.

Example

The text below is a good example of what you might have written if you were studying Iida:

Iida is the Lord of the Tohan Clan wholive in the East. He is a formidable, evilman who rules his lands with fear. He hasa huge castle and many soldiers. Iida is so cruel that he hangs victims from hiscastle walls so that they die slowly.

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2Adjectives: honest, trusting, suspicious, brave, cowardly, reliable, evil, secretive,loyal, calm, cheerful, miserable, proud, wise.


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StudentSheet © Harcourt Eduction Limited, 2005

Character: Shigeru Page references: 7–9, 22, 99, 214–215

Tribe:

Country:

Adjectives:

Character: Takeo Page references: 1–6, 79, 130–31, 212–15

Tribe:

Country:

Adjectives:

Character: Kaede Page references: 30–34, 68–76, 111

Tribe:

Country:

Adjectives:


© Harcourt Education Limited, 2005

Teaching notes

Activity 2 Writing a screenplay


Year 7: S&L13 Work together to solve problems; S&L16 Devise and present scriptedand unscripted drama.

Year 8: S&L10 Use talk to solve problems; S&L16 Collaborate in and evaluate thepresentation of scripted and unscripted drama.

Year 9: S&L10 Work with others to solve problems; S&L14 Convey characterthrough scripted drama.

Activity aims:

To consider the conventions of screenplay writing.

To convey character through a screenplay script.

This activity asks the students to transform a piece of dialogue into a screenplay.

Provide the students with Resource Sheet 3. The students are provided with an extractfrom a screenplay and asked to identify the screenplay writing conventions. Theseconventions are very similar to the conventions for drama script writing. However, thedifferences might need to be highlighted as very few students will have seen a screenplayscript. The conventions of screenplays are noted on the Resource Sheet. For comparison,play script conventions are as follows:

A new line is started each time a character begins speaking.

The way that the characters speak their lines is placed in brackets immediately aftertheir names.

Notes about the way that characters speak are always written in the past tense.

Notes about the way the characters speak are always written in italics.

Stage directions, that give the actors information, are written in the present tense.

Stage directions are always written in italics.

At the beginning of a scene, notes are always provided that describe the setting andwhat is happening.

Provide the students with Resource Sheet 4. The students are asked to transform aspecific piece of dialogue from Across the Nightingale Floor into a screenplay. Studentscould be asked to complete this task in pairs, particularly those students who might havedifficulty transforming a piece of narrative into a screenplay.

An interesting extension activity would be to:

1 Organise the students into groups.

2 Provide each group with a screenplay written by another group.

3 Ask the groups to act out the script they have been given, taking special care withacting directions.

4 Ask the author of each script that is acted to say how far the script’s aims have beenachieved.

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Teacher’sNotes

Guided reading – Close reading: dialogue

Select a group of students who will benefit from some support with close reading.Together, re-read page 112, from the first full paragraph. Ask the students to imagine thatthey are going to write a play script of this page.

1 Ask the students to identify the dialogue – the words that are spoken.

2 Ask the students to say whether there are any clues about how each of the pieces ofdialogue should be spoken.

3 Finally, ask the students whether the characters move during this scene.

If there is time this could be an opportune moment to revise or model the conventions ofscript writing. This activity could be taken even further, with students encouraged to actout this extract from the novel.


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3 Examining screenplayconventions

Many of the scenes in Across the Nightingale Floor are very dramatic. In fact, the novelwould make a very good film. Below, you will see a brief extract from a screenplay forthe film of Across the Nightingale Floor. This is the moment that Kaede is introduced toShigeru for the first time, on page 112. You will notice that the screenplay looks verymuch like the script for a play, but there are one or two slight differences.

Read the screenplay for Across the Nightingale Floor, and then think about the list ofscript conventions below. Match each script convention to an example from thescreenplay and write them into the appropriate boxes around the script.

Conventions of screenplays:

Each speaker starts on a new line.

Speakers’ names are centred on the page.

Dialogue is centred on the page.

Instructions about how to speak lines appear immediately below the speaker’s name.

Instructions about how to speak lines do not appear in italics.

Instructions about how to speak lines are centred on the page.

Instructions about acting appear after the dialogue.

Instructions about acting are not centred.

Instructions about acting do not appear in italics.

Ext. means that the scene takes place outside (exterior).

Int. means that the scene takes place inside (interior).


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Across the Nightingale Floor.

Scene 24. Int. Room in Inn.

Medieval Japanese Inn. Screens, low tables,carpets, vases. Present: Lady Maruyama, LadyKaede, Lord Otori Shigeru, Shizuka, Kenji,Takeo, servants.

Lady Maruyama(Faintly)

This is Lady Shirakawa Kaede. Lady Kaede, I present you to Lord Otori Shigeru.

Kaede sits up.

Kaede(Muttering)Lord Otori.

Shigeru walks towards Kaede, his arms out inwelcome.

Shigeru(Politely)

Lady Shirakawa. We heard you were unwell.You are recovered?

KaedeThank you. I am quite well.


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4 Writing a screenplay

Many of the scenes in Across the Nightingale Floor are very dramatic. Imagine that youhave decided to persuade a film production company that you could write the script forthe film. In order to persuade them you are going to send them a screenplay of one ofthe most dramatic scenes:

The opening of the screenplay has been started for you. It is your task to write thescreenplay for the rest of the section of the novel from page 213 to ‘…into the nextworld.’ on page 215.

Remember:

Each speaker starts on a new line.

Speakers’ names are centred on the page.

Dialogue is centred on the page.

Instructions about how to speak lines appear immediately below the speaker’sname.

Instructions about how to speak lines do not appear in italics.

Instructions about how to speak lines are centred on the page.

Instructions about acting appear after the dialogue.

Instructions about acting are not centred.

Instructions about acting do not appear in italics.

Ext. means that the scene takes place outside (exterior).

Int. means that the scene takes place inside (interior).

Ext. Castle wall. Shigeru hanging by ropes. Takeo and Yuki on parapet.

Kaede climbs down on a rope towards Shigeru. Below voices of guards.

GuardJust a water rat.

Takeo(Whispering)

This will hurt. Don’t make a sound.

Yuki cuts ropes holding Shikeru. Shikeru and Takeo fall, both attached toKaede’s rope. They stop four feet from the ground.


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Teaching notes

Activity 3 Looking at Kaede


Year 7: S5 Use the active or passive voice appropriately; S12 Organise ideascoherently; R2 Use appropriate reading strategies; R6 Adopt active readingstrategies; R8 Infer and deduce meaning; Wr5 Structure a story; Wr6 Portraycharacter through writing.

Year 8: W12 Recognise the influence of formality on word choice; S7 Developdifferent ways of linking paragraphs; S12 Explore and use different degrees offormality; R4 Review active reading strategies; R7 Identify implied and explicitmeanings; Wr7 Create tone in writing.

Yr9: S1 Review and develop the meaning, clarity, organisation and impact ofcomplex sentences in their own writing; S2 Use the full range of punctuation toclarify and emphasise meaning for a reader; R1 Review and extend their ownstrategies for locating, appraising and extracting relevant information; Wr5 Exploredifferent ways of opening, structuring and ending narratives and experiment withnarrative perspective.

Activity aims:

To select appropriate information.

To write in the first person.

This activity asks the students to imagine that they are Kaede and to write journal entriesthat express her feelings about significant moments in her life. This requires the studentsto empathise with the character and also transform events from the third personnarrative to the first person.

Provide the students with Resource Sheet 5. The students are asked to re-read an extractfrom the novel and to consider the different feelings Kaede might have had at the time. It is important that the students are encouraged to see that Kaede has conflicting feelingsduring this passage.

It might be helpful to ask the students whether there have been times in their own liveswhen they have felt conflicting opinions: when they are praised in class they might feelpride, abut also embarrassment; when their brother or sister are told off at home theymight feel sorrow, but also relief that they themselves are not being told off.

Provide the students with Resource Sheet 6. The students are asked to select from a rangeof events in Kaede’s life, and to write Kaede’s journal entries about these events. Pagereferences from the novel are provided to help the students with their research.

This activity requires the students to transform third person narrative to first person. The conventions of third and first person narrative might need to be revised before thestudents begin writing. Once the students have completed their journal entries, theymight swap their writing with other students. This sharing of work could encouragestudents to consider whether feelings attributed to Kaede in journal entries areappropriate in the context of the novel. Students might be asked to justify, with textualreference, feelings they have attributed to Kaede.

Guided reading – Journal writing

Select a group of students who would benefit from some support with journal writing.Together, re-read page 30, where we are told about Kaede being given as a hostage. Askthe students to imagine that they are Kaede. Ask them to imagine how they might havefelt during this period in their life.

1 Remind the students about the difference between third person narrative and firstperson narrative.

2 Ask them to imagine that they are Kaede and to retell the events of this page in thefirst person.

3 Ask the students to consider the advantages and disadvantages of writing in the firstand third person.


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5 Kaede’s feelings

While Takeo tells his story himself, in the first person, we always hear about Kaede inthe third person. Consequently, we always know exactly how Takeo feels, but we areonly told how the author thinks Kaede feels.

Re-read the following extract from Across the Nightingale Floor. It is when Lord Noguchitells Kaede that there are plans to arrange her marriage. Imagine that you are Kaede. Inthe boxes make notes about how you felt during this scene in your life. Remember, youmight have been feeling different emotions at the same time: write them all down.

‘You obviously are old enough to be married. I think thesooner the better. We will arrange a suitable marriage foryou. I am writing to inform your parents who I have inmind. You will live with my wife until the day of yourmarriage.’

She bowed again, but before she did so, she caughtthe glance that flickered between Noguchi and one of theolder men in the room. It will be to him, she thought, ora man like him, old, depraved, brutal. The idea ofmarriage to anyone appalled her. Even the thought thatshe would be better treated living in the Noguchihousehold could not raise her spirits.

Junko escorted her back to the room and then ledher to the bathhouse. It was early evening and Kaede wasnumb with exhaustion. Junko washed her and scrubbedher back and limbs with rice bran.

‘Tomorrow I will wash your hair,’ she promised. ‘It’stoo long and thick to wash tonight. It will never dry intime, and then you will take a chill.’

‘Maybe I will die from it,’ Kaede said. ‘It would bethe best thing.’

‘Never say that,’ Junko scalded her, helping her intothe tub to soak in the hot water. ‘You have a great lifeahead of you. You are so beautiful! You will be married,have children.’

Pages 40–1


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6 Kaede’s journal entries

Imagine that you are Kaede. You have lived a very lonely life, rarely having anopportunity to talk to people about the way you have felt about events in your life.Consequently, you have recorded all of your feelings in a journal. From the table belowchoose two events in your life and write the journal entries.

Event Page references

1 Kaede is sent as a hostage 30–2

2 Kaede learns that Shigeru is to be her husband 68–77

3 Kaede first sees Takeo 109–111

4 Kaede first sees Otori Shigeru 112

5 Kaede decides to commit suicide 217–19

6 Kaede kills Iida 223

Remember, as you are writing journal entries:

You are writing as though you are Kaede, so write in the first person.

The events have happened, so write in the past tense.

You are writing in your journal, so you will not write in a formal style.

Do not just recall the factual details about these events. Explain clearly how youfelt at the time.


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Teacher’sNotes

Further study areas

This novel explores a number of relationships within the context of loyalty and honour. Itfocuses particularly on the fates of three characters: Takeo, Shigeru and Kaede.

The following study areas provide ideal opportunities for creating interesting andstimulating activities:

Author’s craft: Trace the novel’s move from first person narrative, when Takeo tells hisstory, to third person narrative, when we learn about Kaede. (Author’s craft: Yr7 R12; Yr8 R10; Yr9 R9)

Writing to entertain: Write a scene that we are told about, but that does not appear in thenovel:– the death of Takeo’s family– the plotting of Shigeru’s uncles– a conversation between Kenji and the other members of the family, about reclaiming

Takeo.(Writing to entertain: Yr7 Wr5; Yr8 Wr6; Yr9 Wr5)

Independent research: The novel is set in three imaginary countries in a feudal period.However, the imaginary countries are closely based on Japanese history and traditionalbeliefs. Research into medieval Japan and explore how the author has made use of thisperiod in Japan’s history.(Independent research: Yr7 R1; Yr8 R2; Yr9 R2)

Personal view: Takeo has a great deal of responsibility for someone so young. Is he aconvincing character?(Personal view: Yr7 Wr19; Yr8 Wr16; Yr9 Wr13)

Group discussion. Kaede asks, about women, ‘Why don’t we have the freedom menhave?’ Do women in modern Britain have the same freedoms as men?(Group discussion: Yr7 S&L12; Yr8 S&L10; Yr9 S&L10)

Collaborative drama: Dramatise significant scenes from the novel:– the death of Shigeru;– Shigeru’s uncles plotting against him.(Collaborative drama: Yr7 S&L16; Yr8 S&L16; Yr9 S&L14)

Reading for pleasure

Across the Nightingale Floor is an adventure novel is set in a different period of time; thestudents are taken from their own familiar world and placed somewhere unfamiliar. Ifstudents have enjoyed this novel then they may also enjoy The Book of Dead Days byMarcus Sedgwick, which is also an adventure story, but set in eighteenth century Europe.They may also enjoy Montmorency by Eleanor Updale which is set in Victorian Londonand is a fast-paced tale of a ‘gentleman thief’.


© Harcourt Eduction Limited, 2005

Documents

Across the Nightingale Floor Lian Hearn - Pearson Educationassets.pearsonschool.com/asset_mgr/current/201214/... · 2016. 6. 14. · Lian Hearn Introduction New Windmill titles are