8. Decide if the following statements are true or false.

1. Miss Sidley is an inexperienced teacher.

2. Her favorite means of managing children is persuasion.

3. Miss Sidley’s attention is distracted by Robert’s behavior.

4. The teacher suffers from hallucinations.

9. Study Miss Sidley’s professional profile. Point out the professional qualities she possesses providing examples from the story.

Quality	Quotation

10. Study the text for telling descriptions. Find the author’s variant of expressing any of the following ideas.

E.g.: Miss Sidley’s eyes could make anyone shake with fear. = Her eyes “could turn the stoutest knees to water”.

1. She managed to put the principle to practice, and it always worked.

2. Robert would do something for which he could be severely punished.

3. Like all teachers keen on discipline she had an ability to understand deeper.

4. The next day she was quite irritable.

5. She was afraid to ask the student to do the task.

6. It would be an act of compassion to help him out of his trouble.

7. The papers demanded energetically there should be a trial.

8. Finally, the general opinion was that there should be no public scandal.

9. In the end, he was not able to stop watching the kids.

11. Describe the events happening at the school from different points of view. The tentative perspectives are the following:

1. Buddy Jenkins, the psychiatrist.

2. A fellow teacher.

3. A local paper reporter.

4. The school principal.

12. Let us focus on style. Read the imaginary coverage of Miss Sidley’s case in a local paper. The description is dry and toneless. Rewrite it making it sound quite different.

Miss Sidley, teacher at Summer Street Elementary School, shot several children on the school premises yesterday. According to the school authorities, the shooting must have been provoked by her inability to cope with stress. Miss Sidley used to work at the school for years and was described as a dedicated teacher able to effectively maintain discipline. She has been taken to Juniper Hill Hospital in Augusta, Maine, for thorough examination. The school authorities express their heartfelt condolences to the parents of the deceased children.

IMAGINATIVE WRITING

13. Stories are often writers` attempts to use situations, characters and/or language in a particular way. Look at the painting (“The Lovers” by Rene Magritte) and write the paragraph that begins a story suggested by the painting.

Here are some useful tips on how to write a creative paragraph:

1. In the paragraph give your readers some idea about the characters and describe them.

2. Try to answer the following questions: Who are the characters ? Why do they look like this ? What is their relationship to each other ? What is happening between them now ?

14. Prewriting. Study the painting to see what details you think would enrich the paragraph. Jot down these details.

15. Writing, evaluating and revising. Describe the scene at the beginning of the story. Introduce the characters and the situations. Prepare your readers for the conflict to come. When ready exchange your paragraph with a classmate. Ask him/her if the beginning of your story is clear enough ? If not, add or change details. Share your paragraph with your group mates.