The Secret Garden by Francess Hodgson Burnett

Competence aims LK20

• read and listen to English-language factual texts and literature for children and young people and write and talk about the content
• investigate ways of living and traditions in different societies in the English-speaking world and in Norway and reflect on identity and cultural belonging
• express oneself in an understandable way with a varied vocabulary and polite expressions adapted to the receiver and situation
• identify sentence elements in various types of sentences and use knowledge of verb conjugation and declension of nouns and adjectives in working on own oral and written texts

Resources

1. Using Read Alouds with Critical Literacy Literature in K-3 Classrooms
2. Build Critical Thinking Skills With Classic Literature Guides
3. Introduction: The Text and the British Empire, the Author and the novel
4. British Empire facts
5. Colonial Empires in 1914
6. Appendix 1 - Vocabulary for Chapter 1
7. Appendix 2 - Tasks for Chapter 2
8. Appendix 3 - the first dialogue between Mary Lennox and Martha
9. Appendix 4 - Tasks for Chapter 3
10. Appendix 5 - Tasks for Chapter 4
11. Appendix 6 - Tasks for Chapter 5
12. Appendix 7 - Tasks for Chapter 6
13. Appendix 8 - Tasks for Chapter 7
14. Appendix 9 - Tasks for Chapter 8
15. Appendix 10 - Tasks for Chapter 9
16. Appendix 11 - List of vocabulary
17. Appendix 12 - Questions for discussion
18. Appendix 13 - Telling and writing
19. Appendix 14 - The Adverb game
20. Appendix 15 - Bingo
21. Appendix 16 - Say it
22. Appendix 17 - Ideas for the using the film of the book
23. The song “Nobody likes me”
24. The song game “Skip to my Lou”
25. The songs “Red, red is the rose” 
26. The song “I like the daffodils”
27. The song “Sing a rainbow”.

Preparations

1. Comprises background material for the teacher about the text, the author, and the British Empire in addition to suggestions for carrying out the activities.
2. A large old fashioned hat with a scarf and an umbrella.
3. Prepare appendixes for the lessons.

Lesson plan

1. Introduction

Use the resources 1-5 for the Introduction. You will find information about the historical background of the time the novel was written at, the author and the novel itself you can use in the appendix "The Text and the British Empire, the Author and the novel".

2. Planning reading The Secret Garden in class – step by step

Step 1. Planning the reading project

It is advisable to alternate the reading of the novel between reading at school and reading at home. The Ladybird edition has 9 chapters and can be read in 3 to 5 weeks. The teacher should make sure to plan a good start of the reading. It is recommended to set aside a double lesson for the start. The pupils should read one chapter as homework between each session of reading at school. Depending on your pupils’ reading skills in English, it is possible to read the novel faster (2-3 weeks). In order to keep the pupils interested, this may be an advantage.

The pupils should be provided with a list of vocabulary to assist them in their reading (see Appendix 11).

When reading extensively with pupils, the teacher should point out beforehand that the pupils do not need to understand every single word in the text. The aim is to understand the content. As long as the pupils understand the meaning of the story they do not have to look up unfamiliar words. The main challenge with extensive reading is the start. Therefore the first chapters do have quite a lot of the vocabulary translated. As the pupils become familiar with the story, there are fewer words translated.

Step 2. How to motivate the pupils for reading the text? A role play

Whenever starting a longer text, motivation is a crucial in order to accomplish successfully. The following idea of how to motivate the children for The Secret Garden was invented by Kristin Holt, teacher in primary school:

“I wanted to make a motivating start, so I decided to play the role as Mrs Medlock. I entered the classroom wearing a big, old-fashioned hat with a scarf tied around it, and an umbrella in my hand. I introduced myself to the pupils saying: “Good morning, my name is Mrs Medlock. I work for Mr Archibald Craven in a very big house called Misselthwaite Manor up in Yorkshire. This is where the ship from India comes in, isn’t it? The pupils - who knew nothing about this, said “Yes”(!)..”I am here to meet a little girl called Mary Lennox – you didn’t see her, did you? Oh, that poor little thing – she’s lost both her parents, and now she is coming to live with Mr Craven, who is her uncle. I have heard that she is the most sour-faced and stubborn child that you have ever heard of – oh, I can’t say I look forward to this”! (Then I took off my hat and started to introduce the children to chapter one, which they got as a copy.)

Step 3. Starting reading the text 

3.1. Listening first (and illustrations)

You may want to give the pupils the vocabulary for chapter 1 in Appendix 1. If you have the audio text you should make the pupils listen to the first chapter before you give them the actual text. The Ladybird edition comes with beautiful illustrations, and if you show these illustrations on the black board while listening to the story, it facilitates the understanding. You may want to show them the illustrations before starting the story to ask them what they think happens in the story. If you can handle both reading and showing illustrations, you may also want to show the illustrations as you go along. Be careful not to interrupt the reading too much.

If you don’t have the audio story, you may choose to read it yourself to them first either with them reading the text or just listening to you reading it. 

3.2. Reading second

Tell the pupils to read the first chapter of the book. If time, they should start at school. If not, this should be given them as homework.

Step 4. Continue reading the text. Tasks chapter by chapter

4.1. Read Chapter 1 and do tasks for Chapter 1 - Appendix 1

4.2. Read the Chapter 2 and do tasks for Chapter 2 - Appendix 2

4.3. Read the first dialogue between Mary Lennox and Martha, use Appendix 3.

In the Appendix 3  you find the first dialogue between Mary Lennox and Martha in the original version of The Secret Garden such as it was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett (edition Puffin classics, 1951, ISBN 0 14 036666 0, pp 26-29). Some changes to Martha’s language have been made as she speaks Yorkshire dialect which pupils in Norwegian primary schools presumably would find difficult to understand.

Ask the pupils to read the dialogue in pairs. Discuss unfamiliar words.

Make them answer the questions after the dialogue. They may use Norwegian when answering. Translate parts of their answers to help them characterize Mary and Martha in English. This dialogue is quite dramatic and can very well be dramatized. You may want the pupils to work on it seeing only one side of the dialogue (Martha’s side or Mary’s side). See ideas in Appendix 8 (tasks for Chapter 7) about how you can make it into a one-sided dialogue.

4.4. Introduce the children to the song game “Skip to my Lou”.

4.5. Read the Chapter 4 (Dickon) and do the tasks in Appendix 5. 

4.6. Teach the pupils the songs “Red, red is the rose” and “I like the daffodils”

4.7. Read the Chapter 5 (Colin) and the tasks in Appendix 6.

Approach the various groups/couples in tableau and ask them questions in role. For example “How do you feel now Mary having met Colin?” or to Colin ”What do you think about your cousin Mary?”.

4.8. Read the Chapter 6 (Rainy Days) and do the tasks in the Appendix 7.

Teach the pupils the song “Sing a rainbow”.

4.9. Read the Chapter 7 (The Secret is Told) and do the tasks in Appendix 8: Pupils are working in pairs. Reading and dramatising the dialogues.

4.10. Read the Chapter 8 (I shall live forever and ever) and do the tasks in Appendix 9: Write 5 sentences showing how the whole world changed for Colin.

4.11. Read Chapter 9 and do the tasks in Appendix 10: Answer the questions.

A mixed bag of ideas and tasks for the classroom 

Questions for discussion 

• Use Appendix 12. Talk to the class about the way Mary is described. Remind them that the story was written in the 19th century. What does the description reveal about the way children were regarded? Mary Lennox is described as spoilt, rude, bad-tempered, thin, miserable, sour-faced, no one liked her at all.

Games

THE ADVERB GAME. 

This game is played in groups of 3 or 4. Cut out the cards in Appendix 14 and place them face down. Pupils take turns picking up a card and making the others guess what adverb is on it. He or she should give the others clues from the story. For example about loudly he or she may say Colin shouted and cried this way. About angrily the explanation may be: Mary reacted this way when no one came to dress her in India. The one who guesses correctly picks up the next card. The pupils may decide to award points for guessing correctly.

BINGO 

is meant to be a motivating drill of new words. The point is that everybody gets a BINGO at the same time and hopefully stays motivated throughout the game.

Copy the boards in Appendix 15 and give the pupils one board each. Make sure that pupils sitting next to each other do not get the same boards. The teacher calls out the words, and the pupils cross out the words on the board as they are called. Make sure that the word MANOR is called last. When all the words except MANOR have been called out, the pupils have crossed out all but the last one. When at last MANOR is called out, the pupils will get BINGO at the same time.

SAY IT! board game. 

Practice vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension.

Use Appendix 16. This board game works by having each player roll the die twice. With the first roll, the player moves sideways, and with the second, they move downward the number of squares shown on the die. The player then answers the question on the square as best they can. You can choose to award points for the answers — for example, 5 points for a good answer and 0 points if the player can't answer. There isn't always a right or wrong answer, and here the teacher must act as a consultant. Beforehand, you can agree on a set amount of time to play, for example 15 minutes, and then total up the points when time is up. You can of course play without points and avoid winners and losers in the game. Once a player has made their two rolls, the next player takes their turn.

Players can use the same square again multiple times. It is extremely important that English is used the whole time during the game."Penalty" for using Norwegian: Skip a turn.

Using the film of the book

The film of The Secret Garden is beautifully filmed and captures the mystery and adventures at Misselthwaite Manor. It portrays England and Yorkshire in a very romantic way underlining the close relationship to nature as a way of regaining health and bringing life to life. Pupils at “mellomtrinnet” should be able to cope with the spoken language in the film as there is a limited amount of it. Large parts of the film show rather than tell in language what happens. The film starts in India showing how very different Mary Lennox’s life was there with servants to dress her and obey all her commands. The way the film is shot in the beginning is very interesting as it has Mary’s perspective as a child. She watches her mother and father partying from under the bed and that’s how we see them too.

Use Appendix 17 for ideas before and after watching the film.

Assessment ideas

1.  Portfolio approach: since the unit spans 3–5 weeks, the pupil’s work and texts (f. ex. dialogue exercises, chapter responses, the sentences about Colin, the reflection on Mary) could be collected to serve as the basis for a formal assessment.
2. Suggest a simple reading journal (could also be a part of the assessment portfolio) that pupils fill in after each chapter (1–2 sentences: what happened, how do you feel about Mary/Colin now). The teacher can give quick written or oral feedback along the way, rather than just checking that the tasks were done.

3. Use BINGO and the adverb game as more than drill: afterwards, have pupils explain 2–3 words/expressions orally to a classmate ("explain the word without saying it" — similar in spirit to the adverb game's own principle). The teacher can note informally which pupils manage to use the words actively, not just recognize them.

   Idea and development

   Anna Birketveit, senior lecturer Høgskolen i Bergen

   Revised and adapted for web by Elena Kristian, Fremmedspråksenteret