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Year 10 - English

Exploring the character of Del across the eight scenes of 'Leave Taking'

Leave Taking: a sense of belonging

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils start their exploration of Winsome Pinnock's play, 'Leave Taking'. They first learn about the play's context of 1980s Britain and the Windrush generation before then reading and exploring the full play. They finally explore themes and characters before working on essay writing.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to explain how and why the character of Del develops.

Key Notes

  • At the start of the play, Del appears uninterested in obeah and her cultural roots.
  • At the start of the play, Del's relationship with Enid is full of conflict.
  • Del develops over the course of the play.
  • Pinnock links Del's development to Mai, obeah and Del's new found understanding of her mother.
  • The closing stage directions establish the depth of Del's development.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • obeah: A series of spell-casting and healing traditions found in the Caribbean.
  • development: The process by which something may change over time, including people understanding and accepting who they are.
  • identity: Who you are; the qualities that make you. Understanding, finding and accepting your identity can be a life's work.
  • topic sentence: The first sentence of a paragraph. It states the paragraph's main idea.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • You can't analyse stage directions in depth.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

At the start of the play, Del appears uninterested in obeah and her cultural roots. At the start of the play, Del's relationship with Enid is full of conflict.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'obeah'

A series of spell-casting and healing traditions found in the Caribbean.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: You can't analyse stage directions in depth. Correction: The closing stage directions of 'Leave Taking' are integral in understanding Pinnock's final messages about the characters and themes.

More Lessons In This Unit

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