TTO3-ENA-Private Peaceful

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 3

TTO3-ENA-Private Peaceful

Private Peaceful

• A novel by British author Michael Morpurgo first published in 2003.
• It is about a fictional young soldier called Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful, who is looking back on his life so far and his going to war.
• Morpurgo has written multiple books about war.

Assignment

Write an essay that shows: 

1. That you have knowledge of and understood themes presented in the novel Private Peaceful.

 2. That you can follow directions on how to write an essay.

Essay (two lessons)

Choose one of the topics to write an essay of about 300-350 words. (note the number of words and do not exceed 375 words!).

Make sure there is a clear INTRODUCTION, MAIN BODY and CONCLUSION. 

Your statements should be supported by relevant QUOTES and REFERENCES from the book (these are not included in the word count).

Your work will be evaluated on STRUCTURE, CONTENT and ENGLISH.

Essay outline

INTRODUCTION

• It gives the general topic of the essay and clearly explains how you are going to tackle the essay!
• It uses interesting facts/quotes/opening comments to catch the reader’s interest. 

Essay outline

MAIN BODY

• It explores the topics and sub-topics in greater detail.
• It contains at least THREE QUOTES to explain your statements.
• It discusses ideas using modal auxiliaries (ie could, ought, must, might etc. this must mean that.. this could mean that…) 
• It explains why the quotes are relevant. 

Essay outline 

CONCLUSION

• It summarises the main points using different words. 
• It makes closing comments about your topic. 

Topics

CHARLIE PEACEFUL

Consider the character of Charlie as seen through Tommo’s eyes. What are his key characteristics? What episodes in his life reflect those characteristics? Does he change as he grows older or not? Write a character study (explain the character / personality) of Charlie Peaceful in which you consider all these points. 

Topics

RELATIONSHIP CHARLIE - TOMMO

The book starts with Charlie promising his brother, ‘I’ll look after you’ and Tommo thinking to himself, ‘That I do believe, because he always has’. Write an essay in which you describe the relationship between Charlie and Tommo. Explain how the relationship between the two brothers develops and changes, giving examples from the book to support your ideas.

Topics

ATTITUDES TO WAR

What different attitudes to war (courage, cowardice) do different characters demonstrate? For example, the recruiting sergeant major, the Colonel, Charlie and Tommo. What do you think Michael Morpurgo’s own attitude is to war? How do you know?

Lesson 1

The book starts in the period before the war. It paints the picture of life in the countryside before the war. This is necessary to give the reader the contrast between life at home and life in the trenches. It is the story of two brothers who go to war together. 

Lesson 2 

Read up to p87 ‘Twenty-eight minutes past one’

Make a summary of each chapter.

Note any difficult words and look them up in a dictionary if you do not know what they mean.

Check the pronunciation of the words.

Write down any quotes which you think you may find useful when you write your essay.

Lesson 3

Read on to p135 ‘Twenty-five past three’

Make a summary of each chapter.

Note any difficult words and look them up in a dictionary if you do not know what they mean.

Check the pronunciation of the words.

Write down any quotes which you think you may find useful when you write your essay.

Lesson 4

Read on to p168 ‘Five to five’

Make a summary of each chapter.

Note any difficult words and look them up in a dictionary if you do not know what they mean.

Check the pronunciation of the words.

Write down any quotes which you think you may find useful when you write your essay.

Lesson 5

Read on and finish the book.  

Make a summary of each chapter.

Note any difficult words and look them up in a dictionary if you do not know what they mean.

Check the pronunciation of the words.

Write down any quotes which you think you may find useful when you write your essay.

TIMELINE

• WEEK 48 intro Private Peaceful and get the book from library
• WEEK 49 read up to p. 46 
• TEST WEEK AND CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
• WEEK 2 read up to p. 104 
• WEEK 3 read up to p. 149 
• WEEK 4 read on and finish the book
• WEEK 5 Essay writing lesson 1
• WEEK 6 Essay writing lesson 2

Oranges and lemons

What is the significance of this song?

Who sings it?

Why does this person sing it?

Oranges and lemons

Oranges and lemons

Essay writing

Essays and paragraphs have a very different structure. (False)

Similar structure; both are organized to present a main idea and supporting details. 

A paragraph is like a mini-essay, with a topic sentence (like an essay's thesis statement), supporting sentences (body paragraphs in an essay), and sometimes a concluding sentence. 

Essays are longer, consisting of multiple paragraphs, whereas a paragraph is a single, compact unit of thought.

Essays must have a logical and cohesive structure. (True)

An essay's effectiveness depends on its ability to present ideas clearly and logically. 

A logical structure ensures that the thesis is supported by evidence and analysis in a coherent order, making it easier for the reader to follow. 

Cohesion, achieved through transitions and clear connections between ideas, ensures that all parts of the essay work together to support the central argument.

Topic sentences introduce the main idea of an essay. (False)

Topic sentences introduce the main idea of individual paragraphs, not the entire essay. 

The thesis statement, typically found in the introduction, presents the main idea of the entire essay. 

Each paragraph's topic sentence supports the thesis by focusing on a specific aspect or argument.

Concluding sentences are not always required. (True)

This is true, especially in longer essays or academic writing where the conclusion of a paragraph may naturally transition into the next idea without requiring a formal concluding sentence. However, in shorter, self-contained paragraphs (e.g., in essays or reports), concluding sentences can help summarize the paragraph’s main point or link it to the essay's broader argument. Whether they are required depends on the context and the writer's intent.