SYNOPSIS

‘Flipping Fantastic’ by Jane Langford is a story about twin brothers and their mother. Tristan is an outstanding, brilliant and a capable boy but James is shy, nervous and lacks confidence. Both of them are about to finish their primary education at Peter Hill Primary soon and plan to begin their new school term in two different schools.

Their mother decides to enrol James in Highfields and Tristan who is physically challenged and wheelchair bound, in a special school (Chesterlea Grange). Both brothers are confused over the thought of being separated as they have never been apart from each other. Since they rely on each other, the twins are concerned about how they are going to cope in their new school environment.

The mother wants the twins to be independent. She is confident that Tristan would be able to cope well at Chesterlea Grange. However, she worries about James and wonders how he is going to manage all alone at Highfields. Tristan changes his mind about Chesterlea Grange, in order to be with James. Besides that, the school is far away from home and he would only be able to see James once a week. On the other hand, James manages to persuade him by reminding him of all the facilities and activities in his new school that Tristan dreamt of.

Knowing James cannot cope himself alone, Tristan calls on their friend Kiara Jones to help James in Highfields. The twins at last realise that they have made the right decision and their new school environment is flipping fantastic.

ELEMENTS

SETTING

Peter Hill Primary: Tristan and James are finishing their final year in this primary school. They perform in a play entitled “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” which is the last activity in the school.

Chesterlea Grange: This is a residential school for students of special needs situated far away from Tristan’s home. Tristan looks forward to be enrolled in this special school which has all the facilities that he has dreamt of such as a drama studio, games room, swimming pool and a paddock. The school also has sports activities such as basketball tournament, archery contest, wheelchair games and so on.

Highfields: This is the school that James is going to be enrolled in when the new school term begins. At the end of the story, James feels excited about his new school as most of his schoolmates are there including Kiara Jones.

THEMES

Fear of the unknown: James dreads being alone in Highfields without the help of Tristan. Although Tristan feels excited about his new school, at times he feels confused at being alone and far away from home and his brother in the new school.

Motherly pride: Mum takes pride in her boys’ ability. She admires James’s courage to perform on stage despite being an introvert and appreciates Tristan’s great performance. as ‘Tom Sawyer’ in the school play.

Other themes/ sub-themes: a caring society, being independent, brotherly love.

VALUES

Independence, concern, gratefulness, appreciation, consideration, helpfulness

FLIPPING FANTASTIC

CHARACTERS LITERARY DEVICES

Point of ViewThis story is written from the first person point of view. The pronoun “I” is used. We see the events from three perspectives; namely that of Tristan, James and Mum. We can experience their thoughts and feelings.

ToneThe tone is generally sincere, serious and reflective. At times it is emotional.

Diction (the choice of words used in the story) serious - …James, on the other hand, has always been so

nervous. I’ve been really worried about him… reflective – Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we have to

be good at the same things. I accept that. emotional - Talk about pride! Tonight I thought I was going to

burst with it! simple vocabulary; short sentences; lots of exclamation marks

(!) to express emotions use of contractions (e.g. he’s; it’s, etc) to show a conversational

style

SimileThe story has several similes e.g. I feel like a tyre that has burst; as freely as a freshly oiled cog, etc.

Journal entries/reflections 3 different styles to express the thoughts and feelings of the 3

characters.

Contrast Contrast of writing styles. E.g. Tristan’s thoughts are in a box;

James’s thoughts appear to be on lined paper while mum’s thoughts are in italics.

Contrast of opinions and characters Tristan loves drama while James loathes it.

Slang /colloquial expressions e.g. .. the new school is really cool; collywobbles; mate; flipping; I’ve really blown it! (to give it a fresh modern feel)Rhetorical questions Questions that require no answer. e.g. How can I tell Mum?

Tristan and James :

-They are the main characters in the story.

-They are twin brothers who are dependent on each other.

-Tristan is more confident and outstanding than James.

-James is shy, nervous and has a low self-esteem.

Mum:

-She is the mother of Tristan and James.

-She is determined to send her sons to different schools so that they would be independent and confident about their own abilities.

WORKSHEET 1

Who Said What?

WORKSHEET 2

No. Sentences Word

1 The play put me on a real high

2 Tristan has always been such a live wire

3 Tonight was the worst night of my life. I hate drama

4 One tiny, little line, consisting of just seven words and I got it wrong

5We are pretty much stuck together. Wherever he goes, I go and wherever I go, he goes. How will I cope at my new school without him?

6He’s far smarter than me. He always gets ‘A’s in his homework He understands how computer works

7 My two sons were the stars of the school play. They were wonderful.

8 I’ve been really worried about how he’ll find his way around without Tristan to help him

9 Today, I feel like a tyre that has burst, totally deflated

10 She’s moving out to a different school and I don’t have to worry about seeing her any more

11 I know that I rely on Tristan but he relies on me too

12 I don’t know what to think

13 Me and my big mouth! Why did I ever go and talk to Tristan about his new school?

14 I can’t wait to see Tristan at the weekend to tell him all about

WORKGROUP 1

“Me and my big mouth! Why did I ever go and talk to him about his

new school”

“Today I feel like a tyre that has burst, totally deflated”

“We are pretty much stuck together. Wherever he goes, I go and

wherever I go, he goes”

“Words fail me! Tristan doesn’t want to go to Chesterlea Grange

after all. What on earth am I going to do?”

“Tristan has always been a live wire”

“She’s moving out to a different school and I don’t have to worry

about seeing her anymore”

“I’ve been really worried about how he’ll find his way around without

Tristan to help him.”

“The play put me on the real high”

“I can see that old scared look back in his eyes. What can I do to

make him feel better?”

Search and MatchSearch and Match

WORKGROUP 1

WORKSHEET 3

Feed the alien’s tummy with relevant information.

WORKSHEET 3

Search and Match

Alien Attack

Alien Attack

Feed the alien’s tummy with relevant information.

‘For the past six years I’ve lived in fear of Jessica Parker and her stupid laugh, but now she’s moving to a different school and I don’t have to worry about seeing her anymore.’

Read the statements below. Write (T) for true statements and (F) for false statements in the box provided.

1. James is nervous about the thought of being alone in Highfields without Kiara Jones around.

2. James is quite happy about leaving Peter Hill Primary because he doesn’t have to take part in school plays anymore.

3. Chesterlea Grange has all the facilities that James like.

4. Tristan agrees to go to Chesterlea Grange to please his mother.

5. Tristan plays the role of Tom Sawyer in the school play.

6. Mr. Sewell is Tristan’s favourite Maths teacher.

7. James persuades Tristan to go to Chesterlea Grange.

8. James dislikes drama.

9. Mum thinks that it is a mistake choosing different secondary schools for her sons.

10. Jessica Parker is the twin’s classmate.

1. Which word describes James’s feeling of being alone in Highfields?

A. hilarious B. confused C. nightmare

2. Based on the extract above, Jessica Parker is most probably a………..A. teacher B. student C. relative

3. Which statement below is not true about Tristan A. He is physically challengeB. He dislikes Jessica Parker. C. His mother is proud of him.D. He is outstanding in his school

4. What is mum’s perception about James?A. He is confident.B. He is an active boy.C. He is shy and nervous.D. He loves Jessica Parker.

True or False?Choose One!

Mum just asked me if I really want to go to Chesterlea Grange! Is she joking? Of course I don’t want to! I want to go back to Peter Hill. It’s safe there, and friendly and everybody knows me. The thing is, when I went to see Chesterlea Grange on the Open day, it seemed so much fun. I liked the horse-riding, swimming and wheelchair games best. Every summer they hold an event like the Paralympics. They have archery contests, wheelie marathons and basketball tournaments. I’ve never had the chance to take part in sports like that.

Read the extract and answer the questions below.

1. Name three events in the Paralympics.

a. _________________________________

b. _________________________________

c. _________________________________

2. Why does Tristan feel comfortable in Peter Hill?

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

3. What attracts Tristan about Chesterlea Grange?

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

4. Do you think Tristan can remain in Peter Hill even if he wants to? Why?

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Read the extract and answer the questions below.

1. What common interest do James and Kiara Jones share?

________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

2. What kind of a person is Kiara Jones?_______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

3. What does James mean when he says that ‘Tristan will be really jealous because he likes Kiara too’?________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

4. Based on your knowledge of the story, do you think Tristan will be jealous of James’s acquaintance with Kiara Jones? Give a reason.

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Have I understood? Have I understood?

Kiara Jones is going to Highfields. She plays football for the County Girls’ Under 11s team. With a bit of luck she’ll go to the same football practices at Highfields as me. Tristan will be really jealous because he likes Kiara too. She pushed his wheelchair to the refreshment bar at an Under 11s tournament last summer. I couldn’t do it because I was playing.