The Pack TF copyedited - Pearson Education · The Pack Teacher’s booklet Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2JE ... These children are saved by the compassion

The Pack Teacher Support

Pearson Education Limited 2006

The Pack

Teacher’s booklet

Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2JE

England and Associated Companies throughout the World

© Pearson Education 2006

The right of Bernadette Carroll to be identified as the author of

this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

The original edition of The Pack is published in the UK by

Random House

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of

the Publishers or a licence permitting restricted copying in the

United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90

Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 4LP

ISBN-10: 1-4058-2846-3

ISBN-13: 978-1-4058-2846-8

First published 2006



Introduction

Synopsis The Pack is the story of a struggle for survival in a dangerous, dysfunctional society

where street children, and their loyal dogs, pit their wits against an array of corrupt

adults. It is the story of their adventures but also of their relationships and their journey

- a physical one through the different sectors of the city and a metaphorical rite of

passage into understanding about humanity, values, trust and ultimately, belief in

themselves. These children are saved by the compassion of the few and by the power of

stories which ‘cannot crumble … cannot burn or be broken’, and through their

adventures, they too have stories to tell.

Teaching The Pack at Key Stage 3

This book is an ideal choice for study with Year 8 as it draws on the familiar theme of the

lives and survival of street children. Texts such as Dickens’s Oliver Twist, Berlie Doherty’s

tale of Dr Barnardo’s children in Street Child and Beverley Naidoo’s No Turning Back

plough similar furrows. The Pack anticipates stories for older readers, such as Coram

Boy, The Other Side of Truth and Daz 4 Zoe, in its dark portrayal of how society treats

children with dispassion or even malice. It echoes other classic texts, from Hamlet to

The Ancient Mariner and White Fang.

This novel provides rich opportunities to explore a narrative structure which will engage

readers. With its stories within stories and division into sections that mirror the sectors of

the world it creates, it draws the reader into piecing together the significance of its

various events and linked references. Work to demonstrate this networking of ideas,

storylines and issues, such as a large display, would be a useful and stimulating support

to learning. The language also offers a great deal: metaphors and analogies (journeys,

stories, animals), recurring motifs (light/dark; blind/eyes; colours; cold/warm) and

vividly drawn characters all enable Year 8 readers to respond in a variety of ways.

Structure of this resource This resource provides suggestions for activities which can be easily slotted into a

scheme of work around the novel. It consists of two parts: the overview of teaching

and learning and the resources.

The overview of teaching and learning aims to secure progression in learning, rather

than just progression through the pages. It has been divided into eight natural sections.

The overview for each section indicates:

• the chapters to be read

• the features of the text to be explored

• the learning aims for the section (including Assessment focuses)

• brief descriptions of the approaches to teaching.

The resources comprise:

• Pupil worksheets (which can be photocopied)

• Teacher support sheets/OHTs etc

• Assessment criteria, grids etc.



Overview of teaching and learning Section Features to explore

during reading

Learning targets Activities

Foreword and

Prologue

Resources

Resource Sheet

1

Resource Sheet

2

• What titles tell us as

readers: what we can infer

from these about the

story/setting/characters,

and what questions we

have.

• The importance of

background: street children

and children brought up by

wild animals; economic

collapse in Russia.

• The part the Prologue

plays: how this adds to

reader’s understanding of

the setting and context of

the novel. What we learn

about the world/society of

the novel.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• use a range of

reading strategies to

understand the world

of the novel e.g.

visualise, speculate,

establish a

relationship with the

writer, ask questions

• use inference to

identify implied

meanings

• find relevant

information and

incorporate it into

their own work

• use talk to explore

complex issues.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF2: 8R1, 8R2,

9R1, 9R2

Reading AF3: 8R7

Speaking and Listening:

Talking together 8SL10,

9SL9

Activity 1: Expectations

• Groups produce a ‘mind map’ of expectations on a large sheet of

paper of the novel based on part and chapter titles.

Activity 2: Making decisions

• Foreword: In role as council members, groups read information about

street children (see Resource Sheets 1 and 2), and decide action to

recommend to the next meeting of the council. Class debate follows.

Activity 3: Inferences

• In pairs, pupils explore what the Prologue suggests about the driver,

the world in which he lives and the attitudes of the writer, using

Resource Sheet 2.

Extension

• Research news sources and literature to produce an editorial on what

society should do to alleviate the problems of the world’s street

children.



Section Features to explore

during reading


Part 1: The

Zone

Chapters 1–4

and first section

of Chapter 5 (to

‘he and Floris

would make

together.’)

Resources

Resource Sheet

3

Resource Sheet

4

• Portrayal of character:

– The writer’s use of illusion

and reality in creating the

character of the Old

Woman.

– The animal qualities of the

human characters:

empathy and the writer’s

viewpoint.

• The importance of stories.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• use different reading

strategies to get a

sense of character

e.g. visualise, infer,

establish a

relationship with the

writer, empathise,

hear a reading voice

• tell a story using

mood, pace and tone

for effect

• use drama techniques

to create a role.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF3: 8R4


Spoken text and

presentation 8SL2,

Drama skills 8SL14

Activity 1: Shared reading

• Re-read an extract from Chapter 1 (pages 9–10): ‘So when the Old

Woman … begin again’. Display the extract and use shared reading to

annotate how the Old Woman transforms herself. Pupils use these

details to create a group tableau (still image) to show how the Old

Woman appears to the children. They then re-read Chapter 3 and

identify how the Old Woman transforms herself. Taking a short

section each, groups create a new tableau and drama performance

that portrays the Old Woman’s transformation.

Activity 2: Character and empathy

• Pupils work in pairs using Resource Sheet 3 to find quotations from

Chapter 2 and group them in a Venn diagram, with the sets ‘Dog-like

qualities’ and ‘Human qualities’ with an overlapping ‘Both’ section.

• Discuss what this activity tells them about Victor.

• Select three quotations and be ready to give an explanation about

what it shows about Victor and how they think he feels.

• Finish with whole class feedback on the discussion: do pupils

empathise with Victor? If so, explain how they think he feels and what

they think the writer is saying.

Activity 3: Creating a ‘back story’

• Explain the idea of characters’ lives outside the world of the novel

(the ‘back story’). In groups, pupils re-read one of the children’s

‘stories’ and discuss its message and purpose. Using Resource Sheet

4. they work individually to plan a back story for Victor, which they

perform for the class.

Extension

• Pupils can write Victor’s story as an extended account; however, be

aware that some might need help in scaffolding the narrative first.




during reading


Part 1: The

Attack

Chapter 5 (from

‘Hunger’s eyes

flamed in the

night’)

Resources

Resource Sheet

5

Full extract

(copied onto A3)

• The way the writer creates

tension and excitement

through sentence

structure, the sound of

words and punctuation.

• The significance of the

journey Bradley is about

to undertake: facing the

dangers he has been

warned about but also the

start of the personal

journey.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• explain the effect on

the reader of the

writer’s use of

sentence structures,

punctuation and the

sound of words

• use a drama

technique to explore

character.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF6: 8R12


Drama skills 8SL15

Activity 1: Exploring sentence power

• Distribute separate sentence ‘chunks’ from Resource Sheet 5 as well

as the slip at the top of the sheet explaining what pupils have to do:

to read their allotted extract aloud as a class and discuss some of the

sentences.

• Model how to annotate these before pupils regroup to annotate the

whole extract.

Activity 2: Bradley’s thoughts

• Use the ‘conscience alley’ technique to explore Bradley’s thoughts

before he leaves to search for Floris. The class forms two parallel

lines. As a pupil representing Bradley walks down the ‘alley’, each

pupil says what thoughts might be in Bradley’s mind. The pupil in role

as Bradley summarises how he/she thinks Bradley feels about his

situation.




during reading


Part 2: The

Forbidden

Territories

Chapters 6–7

Resources

Resource Sheet

6 (OHT)

Resource Sheet

7 (OHT)

Resource Sheet

8

Resource Sheet

9 (copied onto

A3)

Resource Sheet

10

• What the reader expects

the Forbidden Territories to

be like.

• The shift into the dream

section: how it is woven

into reality and the use of

the present tense.

• Links between the Old

Woman’s stories (e.g.

Thomas in Chapter 1) and

other events.

• The writer’s presentation of

characters: Red Dog (how

the writer presents his

character through

description, dialogue and

narrated actions) and

Victor (refine pupils’

understanding from earlier

chapters, particularly how

he is becoming more dog-

like).

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• infer meanings from

different texts; use

drama techniques to

explore characters

and writer’s viewpoint

• link points to

evidence.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF3: 8R7

Reading AF6: 8R15


Drama skills 8SL15

Activity 1: Guided tour

• Before reading Chapter 6, use the ‘guided tour’ drama technique to

explore the Forbidden Territories. Project a large image that could

represent this setting. Put pupils in pairs as A and B. To appropriate

background music, A guides B (eyes closed) on a tour of the scene in

the image, describing what can be seen, heard, smelled and felt

(emotionally and physically), making the scene tangible. B asks

questions. Swap roles. Pause to share vocabulary.

• Pupils summarise their understanding of the setting and how it would

feel to be Bradley entering this place.

Activity 2: Considering Fagin

• As a whole class read and annotate the description on Resource

Sheet 6 (OHT). What do we find out about Fagin? Teachers will need

to be sensitive to the racial implications of this description.

Activity 3: Making meaning physical

• Give pupils the extract from Oliver Twist on Resource Sheet 7

(OHT). As a class or in groups, pupils mime the scene. Discuss the

motives of the characters and the viewpoint of the narrator. Pupils

use action narration to verbalise these.

• As the scene is re-enacted, they pause to explain motives before

doing actions e.g. in the context, why do they think Fagin ‘grinned’?

• Higher attaining groups should consider the motives/actions of all of

the characters in the extract.

Activity 4: Annotation, development and comparison

• Distribute Resource Sheet 8. Pupils annotate the underlined phrases

to discern how this new information changes how we view Fagin.

• Re-read Chapter 7 and list quotations about Red Dog and what can be

inferred about him. Using an A3 copy of Resource Sheet 9, pupils

make notes to compare Red Dog and Fagin.

• They use these notes to write a comparison of the characters. Show

pupils how to link ideas together using appropriate connectives and

paragraph structure (Resource Sheet 10).

Extension

Pupils find out what happens to Fagin at the end of Oliver Twist and add

a paragraph to their account comparing the fates of Red Dog and Fagin.




during reading


Part 2: The

Forbidden

Territories

Chapters 8–10

Resources

Resource sheet

11 (OHT)

Resource sheet

12

Resource sheet

13

• The techniques the writer

uses to build tension

during the dog fights and

the inferences that readers

might make.

• The way this whole section

is structured, identifying

references that link events

and descriptions in this

section with previous

chapters.

• How the characters’

feelings are conveyed.

• The intertextual links that

enhance understanding.

• The sequence of events

across the main narrative

and the dream.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• re-tell an event,

paying attention to

pace and mood

• explain how details

are organised to

create tension and

how vocabulary is

carefully chosen to

imply particular

meaning.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF3: 8R7

Reading AF4: 8R10


Spoken text and

presentation

8SL2

Activity 1: Fight commentary

• In pairs, pupils produce a ‘live commentary’ of one of the fights,

conveying the tension that the encounter creates.

Activity 2: Tension graph

• Distribute Resource Sheet 11 (OHT) and use it to model how the

writer creates tension in the first dog fight by filling some of the

columns and adding points to the graph.

• Pairs or groups then have time-out to complete the graph by deciding

how the tension changes during the other stages of the fight.

• The same groups then work independently to create a tension graph

for the second fight.

• Use the graphs to write an analysis comparing the two fights. Pupils

could use Resource Sheet 12 to note down similarities and

differences and plan the structure of their analysis.

Activity 3: Thought-tracking

• Use thought-tracking to explore the real thoughts of the characters in

Chapter 9.

• Focusing on the flashback scene, pupils participate in a dramatised

reading of the text, with other pupils volunteering to voice the

characters’ thoughts at key moments.

Extension

• The title of Chapter 9 is a reference to Hamlet. Pupils could explore

the various intertextual links in this chapter by completing Resource

Sheet 13 and then explore the links to other literature.




during reading


Part 3: The

Invisible City

Chapters 11–12

Resources

Samples of

leaflets and/or

advertisements

for government-

led campaigns or

information

Resource Sheet

14

Resource Sheet

15

Resource Sheet

16

• The reader’s changing

impressions of

Skreech/Martha and how

the writer provides

information. Comment on

implied meanings of

specific quotations.

• Martha doesn’t tell her

story herself: the use of

story/flashback in these

chapters and how they

compare with others.

• The writer’s viewpoint and

how this is communicated

to the reader.

• Attitudes towards the

treatment of children.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• make inferences

about Martha in

Chapters 7–10 and

11–12

• use reading strategies

(e.g. empathy)

• understand how the

writer makes his

viewpoint clear

• recognise the writer’s

use of irony in the

Prologue and

Chapters 11–12.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF3: 8R4, 8R7

Reading AF6: 8R13

Activity 1: Tracking Skreech/Martha

• Produce a class ‘role on the wall’ to record pupils’ developing

understanding of Skreech/Martha.

• Model re-reading the parts of Chapter 7 that involve Screech.

• Identify what Martha pretended to be like when she was with Red

Dog. What is her ‘Screech-mask’ really like?

• Record this information on the outside of a large ‘gingerbread man’

outline. Use the example on Resource Sheet 14 as a model.

Activity 2: Finding clues

• Explain that Bradley had not guessed that Skreech was a girl.

However, both Bradley and the narrator gave clues that Skreech was

different. How many did they notice when they first read it?

• Use Resource Sheet 15 to explore the clues the writer gives about

what Martha is really like. Pupils have time-out to annotate some

quotations independently before adding the information to the inside

of the ‘role on the wall’ figure.

Activity 3: Viewpoint

• Distribute Resource Sheet 16. Discuss the annotated text as a class.

• Pupils work in pairs to complete the grid, which should lead them to

analyse how the writer conveys his viewpoint

Activity 4: Government poster

• Explain that the authorities of the Invisible City have created lots of

new policies: child care for street children, work, shorter holidays,

compulsory professional advancement, working week facility/family

weekend.

• Ask pupils to choose one of these and, based on their reading of the

whole of Chapter 11, to create a government poster advertising the

benefits to the inhabitants of the Invisible City. This may need to be

modelled using examples of state/bureaucratic information sheets

(i.e. NHS, government initiatives etc).

Extension

• Tell pupils to imagine that the inhabitants discover the truth about

their city. Create an alternative poster/announcement that breaks the

news to the nation that they have been deceived.




during reading


Part 4: North

Chapters 13–15

Resources

Resource Sheet

17

• Repeated references that

create a web of links

across the different layers

of the novel.

• The structure of this

section, compared with

what would be the

chronological sequence of

events told in dreams and

flashbacks.

• The connections between

events in the past and the

present.

• The way characters have

changed and the reactions

of different characters and

of the reader to them.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• use active reading

strategies (e.g.

reading backwards

and forwards,

speculate, visualise)

and infer meaning

• understand how the

writer creates links

across the text

• identify the sequence

of events and the

effect of how the text

is organised

• understand how

characters are

developed.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives



Activity 1: Reading connections

• Explain that there are many recurring references and events in the

book. For example, what two examples of storms are there in the

book? Also, the pack were attacked in a basement earlier in the

novel; which event in ‘The Storm’ mirrors this?

• Pupils work in pairs and larger groups, using Resource Sheet 17 to

look for other links between things.

Activity 2: Bradley’s dreams

• As a class, review all three of Bradley’s dreams and piece the events

together. Agree a re-telling of his story to Martha. Compare Bradley

and his family in the dreams and in the real time.

Activity 3: Red Dog changed? • Pupils work in groups to find evidence (in the form of quotations)

from the opening of ‘The Storm’ and the whole of ‘The Lake’ chapter,

for and against Red Dog, from the point of view of one of the

characters.

• A representative from each group presents evidence at a class debate

on whether he has ‘truly changed’.




during reading


Part 4: North

Chapters 16–17

Resources

Resource Sheet

18

Resource Sheet

19 (copied onto

A3)

• How the story is more than

an adventure story: the

messages it conveys.

• How the story reflects the

personal difficulties the

characters have to

overcome.

• The effectiveness of the

ending and any

unanswered questions.

Learning focuses

To be able to:

• understand how a

writer develops literal

and metaphorical

ideas, for example

through ‘rites of

passage’

• identify how

characters change as

a result of their

experiences

• understand the

writer’s purposes.

Assessment focuses

and Framework

objectives

Reading AF2: 8Wr17

Reading AF4: 8R5, 8R10,

8R13

Activity 1: Journeys – real and metaphorical

• Explain that the characters travel from the Zones, through the

Forbidden Territories, the Invisible City, past the compounds and out

to the North. From the very beginning, reaching the forests and lake

of the North was their quest, the place where ‘for so long no one had

dared to go’.

• On one level, this book is about their adventures during that journey.

It is Chloe who says to Bradley, “We’re going on an adventure”. While

we hear no more of her journey, for Bradley, that adventure (the

‘outside-him world’) is also a journey of discovery into his past (the

‘inside-him world’). Each of the characters makes a personal journey

of discovery and at the end of the adventure, when they reach the

forest, we can judge whether they have also reached their personal

destination.

• Distribute Resource Sheet 18 and ask pupils to read it and decide

what Bradley’s destination is.

Activity 2: Creating a journey chart

• Discuss the journey of discovery another character takes – Red Dog,

and ask pupils to create a comparable chart for him.

Activity 3: Sympathy for the devil?

• Pupils examine the changes in Red Dog during the novel by

completing Resource Sheet 19. They come to some conclusions

about what sympathy, if any, the reader might feel for Red Dog. After

writing their comparison of Red Dog at the beginning and end of the

novel, pupils use Resource Sheet 10 to assess their work.

1

The Pack Pupil Resource Sheet 1

Pearson Education 2006

Pupil Resource Sheet 1

Task

You are a member of the city council. In your city, there is a problem with children who live on the street. However, there are lots of people who are living

in poverty and it is not easy to know what you should do to make the situation better.

• Read the following extracts from articles about street children.

• In your group, talk about the problems these children face, why they are in this situation and what the authorities should do to help them.

• Your own city has similar problems, and you are going to present your

ideas for helping these children to the next meeting of the council. Make

sure you and the other members come up with ideas!

Many street children are:

• Orphans – because of disease and conflict

• Separated from families – because of domestic violence and every kind

of abuse

• Ill – through HIV/Aids … Malnutrition severely affects their growth and resistance to tropical diseases such as malaria…

• Stigmatised – they live on the edge of society

• Uneducated – they have no access to schooling

• Abused – they are at best seen as a 'nuisance', at worst beaten by police and those in authority

• Anonymous – they have no birth registration documents, no health cards, no identity within their community

But did you know that many street children are:

• Ambitious – they have dreams and aspirations to do well

• Tough – surviving in the roughest of environments

• Resilient – you have to survive on your own and rely on no one

(Street Child Africa website)

2



We didn’t sleep at all last night. That’s why we’re sleeping now, during the

day. Night is the most dangerous for us. The police come while we’re sleeping and catch you off guard, and grab and hit you. (Human Rights Watch website)

“They have tried to simply clear the city of street kids, rather than take

responsibility for helping them.” (Christian Science Monitor, 19 December 2001 – www.csmonitor.com)

Some of the family relationships are marked by crime, drugs or physical

violence and the child runs away to the street into freedom from these realities. (Dreams Can Be website)

‘Little Runaways’ shelter: “We are creating a database of abandoned and

runaway kids in Moscow,” says Mr Babushkin. “We bring them here, feed them, listen to their stories, and refer them on to other specialised

agencies, foster homes, or back to their own families.” (Christian Science Monitor, 19 December 2001 – www.csmonitor.com)

The Trust's objectives are to:

• Ensure the basic needs, safety and well-being of children and

adolescents on the streets and at risk.

• Offer positive opportunities.

• Educate for proper citizenship.

• Train in vocational skills and trades.

• Transform and improve lives.

(ABC (Action for Brazil’s Children) Trust – ABCTrust.org.uk website)




Task You can find out a great deal about the writer’s attitude and viewpoints by exploring the way characters are described. In pairs, start by matching each

quotation on the left with what you think it might suggest on the right. An example has been done for you (showing the key clues).

Then, with your partner, choose three quotations and explain:

• what it makes the reader think about the driver and the world he inhabits

• what it suggests the writer thinks.

‘Thick black smoke from his cigarette washed over one eye and he cursed.’

He doesn’t want to be controlled. He wants to be

treated as an individual.

‘…hollow-cheeked, shambling migrants...’

The driver is not upset by death and the evidence will be quickly removed.

‘…he had put his foot down on the pedal and his

fist on the horn. They had scattered like pigeons. Sure, there were casualties at the start. How else would they learn?’

The poor were starving and

always searching for work. They didn’t look capable of doing much.

‘What amazed the driver was how accepting the

Zones-folk became. Like the best trained dogs…’

He likes to be dominant, even

if it means being violent.

‘…envy could have a corrosive effect and it needed to be guarded against.’

The poor were passive and obedient.

‘…in the Dead Time, there was someone else

writing everyone’s script. Someone or something – a vague but ruinous power, indifferent to anyone’s dreams.’

He is reckless and gets a thrill

out of driving.

‘The driver smiled to himself – ahead the lights

of the Invisible City burned brightly, and he knew the depot had a powerful hose.’

Some people had more than

others. The State didn’t want any trouble between people with plenty and those without.

‘It had been so different in the Dead Time. For

what, in your tiny world, did you have power over then? Perhaps only those you could terrorize into giving up some of their food for

your own brats…’

The people’s lives were not

important.

‘Careering down the route, feeling that surge of power, still gave him pleasure.’

He is easily frustrated and becomes bad-tempered/angry.




Task

1 Create a Venn diagram of two overlapping circles in the space below and label them ‘Dog-like qualities’ and ‘Human qualities’.

2 Sort these quotations about Victor into the two circles by writing the corresponding letter. If you think they are relevant to both, put them in the overlapping section.

3 Find further quotations from Chapter 2 to add to the circles.

Victor

a) Victor cocked his head, then looked

down. b) Victor stared back at Bradley

through his tears.

c) Victor scrambled up and retreated behind Floris.

d) The sealed lips of the scars he carried on his arms and legs had been speaking to him again.

e) …he heard Victor’s breath rasping in fear and anger.

f) …Floris had been able to see past the animal in Victor to the small, frightened boy he was.

g) Victor stuttered out his own broken laugh…

h) … his stomach thought for him

i) He lunged at Bradley’s arm with his teeth…

j) Victor wanted to take his piece in his

mouth straight from Bradley’s fingers…

k) …instinct told him Floris was weak and needed food.

l) …Victor pounced. Using his knuckles

as front paws, in an enclosed space Victor was as fast as a cat.

m) From his nest, Victor watched him.




Task

Sometimes it can help to understand a character by imagining or researching his or her ‘back story’ (how they got to where they are when we first meet them).

Based on what you know about Victor and the stories in the first four chapters, create a back story for Victor. Use this sheet to help you plan your ideas.

1 Use Chapter 2 to research information about Victor’s past.

Why had Victor had to leave the Zones?

Where did Bradley find Victor?

What did Victor look like when Bradley

found him?

How did he behave

when he was found?

How does he still behave now?

What might life have been like for Victor before he

was found?

2 Try to imagine how Victor came to be wild and alone. Note your ideas.

1. It started when Victor…

2.

3.

4. 5.

6.

3 Think about the Old Woman’s stories in this novel. When you are telling a story, how do you keep the audience interested? Write down TWO ways.

1.

2.

1

The Pack Teacher Resource Sheet 5


Teacher Resource Sheet 5

Give out copies of the top half of this worksheet to all pupils, then distribute a

separate sentence ‘chunk’ below to individuals.

(1) That night, a snowfall muffled footsteps.

(2) Warning smells carried in the air were swept off track, swirled above the rooftops.

(3) Hunger padded the basement, confused.

(4) Fearless and Shelter too took a long time to settle.

(5) It seemed Victor had gone back to his old ways, squatting on his blanket, his head swivelling like an owl’s, his eyes burning through layers of darkness.

(6) He had almost convinced himself of safety, when he heard too late, as

Hunger did, the crush of snow as a foot steadied itself.

(7) A moment later, a club splintered the window slats and the camouflage door was wrenched open.

(8) The torches soon followed. Flaming rags wrapped around sticks. The flames

drove the dogs wild, but they angered as much as scared them.

(9)They stood at the doorway, their hackles up, as four shadowy figures advanced and retreated, banging dustbin lids.

(10) Victor meanwhile yowled and stamped and half rolled on the flames.

The Attack

TASK: This activity is about how writers create effects through punctuation, sentence structure and so on.

Your teacher will give you a sentence or section from the text.

Read your sentence aloud to your group, then discuss how your sentence should be read. Should it be slow or quick pace? Should there be pauses?

Think what it is about the sentence that makes you come to this decision. Consider: the sound of the words, the way they are organised in sentences,

the punctuation etc.

Your task will be to take part in a whole class reading of the extract which includes your sentence or section. You will need to listen carefully so you

follow on smoothly from the previous sentence.

2



(11) Hunger and Fearless snarled and snapped, baring their perfect rows of teeth. The attackers showed no inclination to try their luck – none of them appeared to be much bigger than Bradley was himself – but still they stood their

ground, each banged lid goading a growl from the dogs.

(12) ‘Come any further and my dogs’ll tear you to pieces,’ Bradley called. ‘I

mean it.’ ‘Come any further. I don’t think so.’ ‘Into your stink hole.’

‘Smell it from here. Piss-the-beds.’ ‘No thank you very much…’

‘Cheesy-feets.’ ‘Good one!’

(13) ‘So what do you want?’ Bradley shouted above the banging. ‘What do we want? What do we want? What do we want?’ echoed the sing-

song voices.

(14) But in the commotion – the flare of flames and the darkness – they could not see what was happening in the back of the basement.

(15) The weasel man had slipped in through two ripped-out slats and grabbed

Floris, who had been cowering, limp with terror. He had shoved her back through the slats and was almost free himself.

(16) He was pulling his legs through, when Fearless spotted him.

(17) She bounded over and leaped up, fastening her teeth round part of the weasel’s bare calf.

(18) The weasel howled in pain and kicked at Fearless’s head with his other foot.

(19) Fearless fell to the ground, but even in the darkness you could see the spill

of blood on the concrete floor and the weasel could be heard outside: ‘Bastard dog! Bastard dog! I’m going to poison the lot of them!’

(20) Victor was the first to realize what had happened. ‘Floris! Floris! Floris!’ He

ran at the row of four attackers, but one of them thrust his shield forward, meeting Victor head on. Victor rolled backwards, his nose pouring blood.

(21) ‘Come on, we’ve got one of them,’ the weasel shouted.

(22) Victor let out a high-pitched cry, but before Bradley and Hunger could act, the attackers brought the patched door crashing back into place and held it with

a wooden plank.



Teacher Resource Sheet 6 OHT

[Fagin] … was a very old shrivelled Jew,

whose villainous-looking and repulsive face

was obscured by a quantity of matted red

hair. He was dressed in a greasy flannel

gown, with his throat bare; and seemed to

be dividing his attention between the frying-

pan and a clothes-horse, over which a great

number of silk handkerchiefs were hanging.

Several rough beds, made of old sacks,

were huddled side by side on the floor.

Seated round the table were four or five

boys, none older than the Dodger, smoking

long clay pipes, and drinking spirits with the

air of middle-aged men. These all crowded

about their associate as he whispered a few

words to the Jew; and then turned round

and grinned at Oliver. So did the Jew

himself, toasting-fork in hand.

From Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist




Task This extract from Oliver Twist shows Fagin and the boys seeming to be very kind to Oliver.

1 Prepare a short mime of this scene as a group, with a separate narrator who speaks these lines as you and your group enact

them.

2 Once your group has performed, look again at the extract above.

Which words in this extract show that the narrator really means the opposite of what he says, but is being ironic?

The Jew grinned; and, making a low obeisance to

Oliver, took him by the hand, and hoped he should

have the honour of his intimate acquaintance. Upon

this, the young gentlemen with the pipes came

round him, and shook both his hands very hard –

especially the one in which he held his little bundle.

One young gentleman was very anxious to hang up

his cap for him; and another was so obliging as to

put his hands in his pockets, in order that, as he was

very tired, he might not have the trouble of

emptying them, himself, when he went to bed.

These civilities would probably have been extended

much farther, but for a liberal exercise of the Jew’s

toasting-fork on the heads and shoulders of the

affectionate youths who offered them.




Task Read these later extracts from Oliver Twist.

Annotate the underlined phrases to show how this information adds to or changes the reader’s understanding of Fagin.

There was a rascally smile on his white face as he turned

round, and, looking sharply out from under his thick red

eyebrows, bent his ear towards the door, and listened.

‘Where’s Oliver?’ said the Jew, rising with a menacing look. ‘Where’s the boy?’

The young thieves eyed their preceptor as if they were

alarmed at his violence; and looked uneasily at each other.

But they made no reply.

‘What’s become of the boy?’ said the Jew, seizing the

Dodger tightly by the collar, and threatening him with horrid

imprecations. ‘Speak out, or I’ll throttle you!’

It was a chill, damp, windy night, when the Jew: buttoning

his great-coat tight round his shrivelled body, and pulling

the collar up over his ears so as completely to obscure the

lower part of his face: emerged from his den. … It seemed

just the night when it befitted such a being as the Jew to be abroad. As he glided stealthily along, creeping beneath the

shelter of the walls and doorways, the hideous old man

seemed like some loathsome reptile, engendered in the

slime and darkness through which he moved: crawling

forth, by night, in search of some rich offal for a meal.

1




Task

1 Re-read Chapter 7.

2 Select quotations about Red Dog and add them to the grid.

3 Do the same for Fagin.

4 For each of the examples of evidence you have gathered, make a separate note about how the two are similar or different.

Feature RED DOG FAGIN Similar or different?

Explain your views.

Body

‘Huge’ ‘old, shrivelled’

They are different in size. Fagin seems

small and hunched over. Red Dog is a big man.

Face

Hair

2



Clothes

Way he

speaks

Behaviour

Writer’s

attitude towards him




Task Write a comparison of Red Dog and Fagin, explaining the similarities and differences between them.

Remember:

Making comparisons means you have got to think about how you organise your points. You need to make it clear which of Red Dog’s features are like Fagin’s and which are different. Here are some

phrases you should try to use.

End your comparison by writing down which character you think the reader would least like to meet.

Similar Different

Connectives

that start new sentences.

Both Red Dog and Fagin

are/have …

Similarly, Fagin Likewise, Fagin

Fagin also …

On the other hand, Fagin

…

However, Fagin …

Connectives that join

sentences together.

Just as Fagin …, so Red Dog also …

Whereas Fagin is …, Red Dog is …

Although Fagin is …, Red Dog is …

While Fagin is …, Red

Dog is …

Ask a partner to review your response and give you feedback by completing this grid with Red, Amber or Green.

Can make a point about a character O

Can select quotations from the text to use as evidence O

Can make inferences by explaining the quotation and developing the

point further

O

Can make similarities and differences clear by using connectives

accurately

O

Can comment on the writer’s purposes O

Can comment on the effect on the reader by expressing a personal opinion and revising it in the light of new evidence

O

Select one of the skills in the grid that is amber or red. Discuss with

your partner how you are going to improve that skill next time you are asked to compare characters.



Pupil Resource Sheet 11 Task

Will Hunger survive? Record on the grid how much tension you think the reader is feeling at each stage of the fight. Explain your reasons, using quotations from Chapter 8.

Tension

Incident

The way the

opponents are

described

The atmosphere

before the fight

The tactics Hunger

uses

The way the

opponent responds

How the crowd

react during the

fight

How Hunger wins

the fight

Reason

1




Task

In The Pack, there are many links between events. In this section of the novel, there are two dog fights. What reasons can you think of to explain why the writer included the second fight? Whilst the two fights are not the same, they also have similarities. Explain the similarities and differences between the two fights. Use this grid to help you plan your answer.

Fight with Tender Stage Fight with Hound of Hell The way the

opponents are

described

The atmosphere before the fight

The tactics

Hunger uses

The way the

opponent responds

2



How the crowd

react during the fight

How Hunger wins the fight

The atmosphere after the fight

1




The Pack makes references to other literature. This is called intertextuality. Writers refer to other texts to help the reader gain a wider understanding, to pay homage to other texts and sometimes to

be clever and have fun!

For example, you will probably have recognised Fagin from Oliver Twist in the character of Red Dog. Readers who are familiar with Fagin will use their reactions to him to help them decide what they think of Red

Dog.

Task In Chapter 9, the novel also makes references to Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.

Can you work out the link between The Pack and the following Hamlet

references?

Hamlet The Pack

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, says: ‘Something is rotten in the State of Denmark,’ and suspects

there is corruption and sin all around him.

Hamlet’s father, the King, dies. Hamlet starts behaving very

strangely. He even sees his father’s ghost.

Hamlet’s mother remarries very quickly (too quickly, according to

Hamlet) after the death of her husband. As Hamlet says: ‘Within a month … she married – O

most wicked speed.’

2



Hamlet’s father returns as a ghost to tell Hamlet that he was murdered – by his brother, telling

his son: ‘Thus was I, sleeping, by a

brother’s hand of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched.’

Hamlet believes that his mother

was not really upset at the death of her husband. She did not mourn

properly.

Hamlet’s father and uncle, though

brothers, are very different. As Hamlet says… ‘My father’s brother, but no more

like my father than I to Hercules.’

In the final chapter, the narrator mentions three books: White Fang, Oliver Twist and Peter Pan.

Choose one of these to research.

Explain what you think the links are between that book and this one.




The children in The Pack survive by hiding their fears and feelings from each other, except at night when many are troubled. The writer says that their real feelings are ‘masked’ during the day. They also take on

roles that cover up their real characters: ‘Most of them learn to wear disguises.’ The writer mentions several times that Skreech put on a

‘mask’, like a ‘shell’, that hid her real self. Task

As a class, you are going to create a ‘role on the wall’ to represent Skreech/Martha.

1 Start by re-reading the parts of Chapters 7–10 that involve

Skreech.

What did Martha pretend to be like when she was with Red Dog? What is her ‘Skreech-mask’ really like?

2 Add comments about Martha’s masked self to the display, with

comments about Martha inside the figure and those about Skreech around the outside, like this.

Martha

Skreech



Documents

The Pack TF copyedited - Pearson Education · The Pack Teacher’s booklet Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2JE ... These children are saved by the compassion