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Year 8 - English

Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls': understanding the extract

Myths, legends and stories that inspire

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 Pat Barker's 'The Silence of the Girls' through comprehension and annotation.

Key Notes

  • Briseis is a character from Greek mythology; she is given to Achilles (a renowned warrior) as a prize of war.
  • Pat Barker wrote 'The Silence of the Girls' from the first person perspective of Briseis.
  • The novel begins with Briseis in her home city of Lyrnessus which is under attack from the Greeks.
  • Barker creates tension and suspense through descriptions of Achilles, the battle and hints about Briseis's future.
  • 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

  • first person: the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like 'I' and 'me'.
  • perspective: point of view.
  • tension: what readers feel when they start to anticipate something bad is going to happen.
  • suspense: the state the reader is held in as they wait for an anticipated conflict, event or outcome to occur.
  • annotate: to make short notes on, and about, a text.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • When annotating, you should highlight, underline and circle interesting things. You don't need to write anything down as you will remember what you thought.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

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

Briseis is a character from Greek mythology; she is given to Achilles (a renowned warrior) as a prize of war. Pat Barker wrote 'The Silence of the Girls' from the first person perspective of Briseis.

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

the narrator of the story is a character in the story, using pronouns like 'I' and 'me'.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: When annotating, you should highlight, underline and circle interesting things. You don't need to write anything down as you will remember what you thought. Correction: Symbols, highlights and underlinings are all useful, but only if accompanied by short written notes which remind you what it was you found interesting. Otherwise your symbols become meaningless.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 8 English guide library.