Tell - Nora McClintock

 

Book Circle Plan for Tell by Norah McClintock

🟦 Session 1: First Impressions (Chapters 1–5)

🧠 BEFORE READING 

1. The title is Tell.

   • What does the word tell mean?

   • What do you think the book will be about?

2. Look at the chapter numbers (1–5).

• Do you think the story will start slowly or quickly? Why?

3. Read the first page only.

• Who is the main character?

• What feeling do you get from the beginning?

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📖 DURING READING 

Reading Log 

4. What do we learn about David and his stepfather Phil?

5. How does David react when Phil dies?

6. Do we get any clues about the murder? Give one example.

7. What kind of person does David seem to be? Choose two adjectives and explain.

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🧩 WORD WORK 

Match the words with the correct meaning:

Word	Meaning
suspect	a person the police think may be guilty
argument	a fight with words
shock	a strong feeling after something bad
react	how you act or feel

Write one sentence with one of the words.

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Session 2: The Investigation (Chapters 6-10)

📖 Discussion Questions (Group):

1. Who are the suspects in Phil’s murder? What makes them suspicious?
2. How does David’s behavior affect how others see him? Does he make himself look guilty?
3. How does David feel about being accused of the crime? Do you think the police are treating him fairly?
4. What role does Kendra play in the story so far?
5. If you were a detective, what would you do next in the case?

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Session 3: Secrets and Revelations (Chapters 11-15)

📖 Discussion Questions (Group):

1. What new information do we learn in these chapters? Does it change your opinion about who the murderer is?
2. Do you think David makes smart choices in how he tries to clear his name? Why or why not?
3. How does the book create suspense? Give examples.
4. How do other people—his mother, Kendra, the police—view David?
5. Would you trust David if you were one of his friends? Why or why not?

📝 Individual Questions:

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Session 4: The Truth Comes Out (Chapters 16-End)

📖 Discussion Questions (Group):

1. Were you surprised by who the murderer was? Why or why not?
2. How does David finally prove his innocence?
3. What do you think the author wants readers to learn from this book?
4. Did you enjoy the ending? Why or why not?
5. If you could change one thing about the story, what would it be?
6. Imagine you are David. Write a diary entry about how you feel at the end of the book.
7. Do you think justice was served in the end? Explain your opinion.

Ordkunskap - tips och trix

 

Vad är prefix och suffix?

Man kan se engelska ord som små byggsatser. Grunden i ordet kallas för ordets stam. Genom att lägga till delar före eller efter stammen ändrar vi ordets betydelse eller ordklass.
'Prefix: Läggs till i början av ett ord (Pre = före).

Suffix: Läggs till i slutet av ett ord.

1. Prefix (Ändrar betydelsen)

Ett prefix ändrar oftast vad ordet betyder, men behåller oftast samma ordklass (ett verb förblir ett verb).

👉 Tips: Om du ser ett ord som börjar på "un-", "in-" eller "dis-", kan du nästan alltid utgå ifrån att det betyder "inte" eller motsatsen till grundordet.

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2. Suffix (Ändrar ordklassen)
Ett suffix ändrar ofta vilken typ av ord det är, till exempel från ett verb (något man gör) till ett substantiv (en sak/ett tillstånd).
Vanliga suffix för att skapa substantiv:
-ment: Gör ett verb till ett tillstånd.
Enjoy (njuta) → Enjoyment (njutning)

-er / -or: En person som gör något.
Teach (lära ut) → Teacher (lärare)

-ion / -tion: Skapar en handling eller ett koncept.
Educate (utbilda) → Education (utbildning)

Vanliga suffix för att skapa adjektiv (beskrivande ord):
-able / -ible: Att något är möjligt att göra.
Read (läsa) → Readable (läsbar)

-ful: Att vara fylld av något.
Care (försiktighet) → Careful (försiktig)

-less: Att sakna något.
Fear (rädsla) → Fearless (orädd)


-ness :gör ett beskrivande ord (adjektiv) till en sak eller ett tillstånd (substantiv)

happy - happiness

dark - darkness

-ly - gör ett adjektiv (beskriver något) till ett adverb (beskriver hur något görs)

quick (adjektiv) = snabb
quickly (adverb) = snabbt

slow (adjektiv) = långsam
slowly (adverb) = långsamt

Kom ihåg!

💡 -ly = hur?

How does she run? → quickly
How does he speak? → slowly 

Varför är detta bra att kunna?

Om du läser en text och ser ordet "Uncomfortable", men bara vet vad "comfort" betyder, kan du räkna ut resten:
Comfort = Komfort/bekvämlighet.

-able = något är möjligt

Un- = Betyder "inte".

Betydelse: "Inte bekväm".

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Instruktion: 

1. Skriv betydelse på de ord du redan kan. 

2. Ringa in antingen prefix eller suffix samt stryk under stammen på alla orden.

3. Med hjälp av prefix eller suffix samt ordstam - klura ut vad de ord du inte kan betyder. Skriv ordets betydelse.

1. unhappy:_____________________________________

2. rewrite: ______________________________________

3. careless:_____________________________________

4. teacher:_____________________________________

5. replay:______________________________________

6. helpful:_____________________________________

7. fearless: ____________________________________

8. movement:___________________________________

9. unhealthy:____________________________________

10. quickly:________________________________________

Arbetsblad att skriva ut

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Kom ihåg:

Bra läsare använder flera strategier!

Prefix / Suffix + Sammanhang + Ordklass → Bättre förståelse

Lycka till! 

Sara 

For Fun! 

The Mystery of the Missing Christmas Sparkle

           

Task 1: Mystery Brainstorm

1. Look at the word MYSTERY.

2. One-minute game: Write down as many English words as you can that are connected to mysteries, detectives, or being lost (in pairs)

3. Key Vocabulary: Write down the key words below in your notebook and make sure you understand their meaning: sparkle, sleigh, thief, essential, and discover. 

Task 2: Reading the Story

1. Read: Read the story The Mystery of the Missing Sparkle, from your printout or the class screen.

2. Highlight: As you read, highlight or underline any words you do not know. Do not stop reading; try to guess the meaning first!

                                    Click on the link to read the book:

                          The Mystery of the Missing Sparkle  

Why was Santa so concerned when he understood that the magic dust was missing? 

               Whose footprint do you think it is? 

My Dream Pet

Three Cool Pets: 

Which pet do you think is the cutest? 

Which pet would you like to have? 

1. Read the text about the pets: 

The Mini Pig, the Gecko and the Husky

2. After reading: 

📚 Questions:

1. Which pet is the smartest?

2. Which pet is the quietest?

3. Which pet needs the most exercise?

4. Which pet is the cheapest to take care of?

5. Which pet would you choose? Why?

3. 🎨 My Dream Pet – Planning Sheet

*  Use this planning sheet and answer the questions.  

* Open Google presentations and make one slide per question. Add pictures and films if you want to. 

It can be a fantasy pet or a real pet - you choose! 

 Write down supportive words so you know what to say without reading the slides. 

* Present your dream pet to the class. Speak English all the time! 

Here is an example of a presentation you may use as inspiration: 

My BunnyCorn 

You may use AI for inspiration and to generate images. I generated the images by using ChatGPT. 

During class, I will show you how to prompt to generate images. 

IMPORTANT to remember is that I will assess (bedöma) your presentation and the way you speak English. Use AI and Google if you want to, but speak English all the time during your presentation and do not read from your slides. 

Dictogloss

We are going to work with something called Dictogloss.  This will help you improve your writing.

1■■ Do you know the words: *strange, belong, cheered, excited, and slowly.*? 

 2■■ First listening: Sara reads the text once at a normal speed. You listen to Sara and you will not see the text. 

3■■ Second listening: Sara reads again slowly.  Each and every one of you takes notes on keywords or phrases so that you can remember the text.

 4■■ Pair work: Now you are going to help each other! You will write (reconstruct) the text together in pairs using your notes. You need to write full sentences and use correct punctuation, grammar and spelling.

5■■ Compare with original: Sara will now read the text again and you can compare your version with the original.

6■■ Reflection: We will discuss what was difficult and what strategies helped. 

First text: 

When Jake moved to a new town, everything felt strange. The streets were quiet, and the houses looked old. On his first day at school, he didn’t know where to sit or who to talk to. During lunch, he sat alone and watched other students laughing together. Suddenly, a tall boy named Ben asked if Jake wanted to play football after school. Jake smiled and said yes. Later that day, they met at the football field. The game was fast and exciting. Jake scored a goal, and everyone cheered. From that moment, he started to feel like he belonged. Every afternoon, he played with his new friends, and slowly, the new town didn’t feel so strange anymore. ■

Second text: 

Textbook Awesome 8 p. 28. 

We Should All Be Feminists

 Do you know who the people are? What do these famous persons have in common? 

Talk to your neighbour and try to come up with one thing that they have in common! 

• Michelle Obama  

• Kamala Harris

• Clara Henry

• Zara Larsson

• Harry Styles

• Barack Obama

• David Schwimmer (Ross in Friends)

Fur, Feathers, and Fantastic Friends!

 

😹 Why did the cat sit on the computer? 

🐕 What do you get if you cross a dog and a calculator?

😺 Why don’t cats play poker in the jungle?

🐶 Why did the dog sit in the shade?

Answer: 

1. Because it wanted to keep an eye on the mouse!

2. A friend you can count on!

3. Because there are too many cheetahs!

4. Because he didn't want to become a hot dog! 

💬 “Who has a pet at home?”
💬 “If you could have ANY animal as a pet — what would it be? Why did you choose it? 

Speaking

A boy desperately wants a dog, but his parents say no. 

What arguments might the boy use to convince his parents to buy a dog? 

What arguments might the parents use to explain their point of view? 

* I will divide the class into two groups. 

Group 1 will help each other to come up with arguments for the boy. Help each other and try to find as many arguments as possible. The person who lives closest to the school will start and share a Google document with the rest of the group. Write down your arguments. 

Group 2 will help each other to come up with arguments for the parents. Help each other and try to find as many arguments as possible. The person who lives closest to the school will start and share a Google document with the rest of the group. Write down your arguments. 

* You will now get together in pairs. One of you will act as the boy and one of you will act as a parent. 

Remember to discuss in a friendly way! 

Decide which two best arguments you have! 

Reading 

Grab a textbook and go to pages 32-33. Cat on the Prowl is the name of the text. 

What do you think "Prowl" means? 

Take turns and read a paragraph each. 

Listen actively and help each other pronounce the words.

Summarise the text in Swedish. Make sure you understand what the cat did and what has happened to the rabbit! 

What would you have done if you were the owner of the cat?