Year 8 - English
Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea': understanding the extract
Myths, legends and stories that inspire
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils read and explore a range of text types in connection to classical myths and legends. They first look at poetry before doing some descriptive writing inspired by poetry and paintings. They then explore Chaucer and modern retellings of myths to inspire their narrative writing.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to show understanding of Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' through comprehension and annotation.
Key Notes
- 'Skin of the Sea' centres around a protagonist called Simidele who is a Mami Wata, in this instance a mermaid.
- As a Mami Wata, Simidele must collect souls of enslaved people who die as they are transported across the Atlantic.
- Natasha Bowen makes use of flashback in the opening chapter to hint at Simidele's life before she became a Mami Wata.
- When annotating a text, you can use a range of symbols and notes to help develop an understanding of the text's ideas.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Mami Wata: a water spirit or deity (god) sacred to West, Central and Southern Africa
- flashback: a transition in a story to an earlier time in the life of one or more characters
- mortal: human
- annotate: to make short notes on, and about, a text
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- A Mami Wata is always presented as a mermaid who saves the souls of enslaved people.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
'Skin of the Sea' centres around a protagonist called Simidele who is a Mami Wata, in this instance a mermaid. As a Mami Wata, Simidele must collect souls of enslaved people who die as they are transported across the Atlantic.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Mami Wata'
a water spirit or deity (god) sacred to West, Central and Southern Africa.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: A Mami Wata is always presented as a mermaid who saves the souls of enslaved people. Correction: Mami Wata is a water spirit and has a rich tradition in West, Central and Southern Africa. Bowen has used the deity in her novel and presented her as a mermaid with a specific task, but the goddess is presented in different ways in other art.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott': understanding the ballad Study Guide
- Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus: how the myth inspired the painting Study Guide
- Comparative paragraphs: 'The Silence of the Girls' and 'The Song of Achilles' Study Guide
- Comparing poems: 'Brueghel's Winter' and 'The Hunters in the Snow' Study Guide
- Creating convincing characters using 'The Canterbury Tales' as stimulus Study Guide
- Descriptive writing using Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' as stimulus Study Guide
- Effective sensory language using 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus Study Guide
- Exploring enjambment in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' Study Guide
- Exploring the theme of power in Hanan Al-Shaykh's 'One Thousand and One Nights' Study Guide
- Exploring W.H. Auden's poem 'Musée des Beaux Arts' Study Guide
- Exploring Walter de la Mare's poem 'Brueghel's Winter' Study Guide
- Exploring William Carlos Williams's poem 'Landscape with the fall of Icarus' Study Guide
- Exploring William Carlos Williams's poem 'The Hunters in the Snow' Study Guide
- Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales': compelling characterisation Study Guide
- Hanan Al-Shaykh's 'The Fisherman and the Jinni': understanding the story Study Guide
- Improving and proofreading a piece of narrative writing Study Guide
- Madeline Miller's 'The Song of Achilles': understanding the extract Study Guide
- Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract Study Guide
- Planning a narrative using the five part narrative structure Study Guide
- Reviewing and refining descriptive writing: alliteration, plosives and sibilance Study Guide
- Symbolism in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'The Lady of Shalott' Study Guide
- The five part narrative structure Study Guide
- Third person omniscient writing: 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus Study Guide
- Use of flashback in Natasha Bowen's 'Skin of the Sea' Study Guide
- Writing a full descriptive piece: 'The Execution of Lady Jane Grey' as stimulus Study Guide
- Writing a full narrative piece using the five part narrative structure Study Guide
- Writing inspired by 'Skin of the Sea': varying sentence types to create rhythm Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 8 English guide library.