Cue for Treason enrichment and extension ideas

Try a SCAMPER exercise on Cue for Treason

  • S Substitute another character you know of for Peter Brownrigg to see if the life story would have been the same. Could a girl have written in the same way for the same effect?
  • C Combine unlikely elements of the story to create an new version of the story, e.g., set it in another country at another time
  • A Adapt an episode you liked to your own country, life and experience. You be the subject of a new treason story!
  • M
  • - modify the story/setting/style/theme/ to create a new product.
  • - magnify events to make them more vivid. Locate them in the wider historical situation of the times.
  • P Put to use the incidents you read about: What advice would you give to an orphan/street kid in today's world?
  • E Eliminate early events for instance to see what kind of story Peter would then have. Eliminate whole characters for a new effect. Assess the story without them.
  • R
  • - Rearrange the chronology and see what the young Peter would say to himself in old age!
  • - Reverse the roles! Discuss your result.

SCAMPER (Osburn & Eberle 1972) Dalton, Joan Adventures In Thinking Melbourne: Nelson 1986

Differentiated assignment on Trease's Cue for Treason for gifted and talented

Key aims: Choice and Challenge

COMPREHENSION & RESEARCH

1. Background the author and write a letter to him Consult this link.

2. Compare Trease's profile of one character with his actual role in history. Account for the changes when writing the fiction.

3. Research famous traitors and treasonable crimes in Australian history.

4. Situate the events of this novel within history more fully.

5. Create a board game based on this novel.

6. Prepare a cartoon digest of this novel.

7. Write a html web page introducing this novel.

SYNTHESIS

8. Plan an original sequel.

9. Produce an original text (text, diary, prose or dialogue) based on the novel.

10. Write prose in the same style but on a modern historical event ( e.g., aborted assassination of JFK).

11. Rewrite a selection giving an alternative point of view on events there.

12. Give a perspective on an event from a minor character's point of view.

13. List this novel among others that explore the same period of time or even the same events.

EVALUATION

14. Critique the point of view that Trease takes up.

15. Critique Peter the central character.

16. Discuss the problems of writing historical novels: how much liberty within a plot fixed by facts does an author have?

17. Debate Peter's and or Trease's interpretation of historical events portrayed.

18. Negotiate another assessment task with your teacher

by G. Smith 1996. Published in TalentEd UNE.

Other historical novels: the Novels of Mary Renault

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