11ENG-Unfamilair Texts, Unfamiliar Non fiction

Unfamilair Texts, Unfamiliar Non fiction

Vocabulary Work

a.scooter-a light two-wheeled open motor vehicle on which the driver sits over an enclosed engine with their legs together and their feet resting on a floorboard.
b.intricate-very complicated or detailed
c.fete-a public function, typically held outdoors and organized to raise funds for a charity, including entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.
d.incomprehensible-not able to be understood; not intelligible.
e.estimated-(of a value or number) roughly calculated; approximate.
f.recruited-enlist (someone) in the armed forces.
g.invaluable-extremely useful; indispensable.
h.denied-refuse to give (something requested or desired) to (someone).
i.campaign-a series of military operations intended to achieve a goal, confined to a particular area, or involving a specified type of fighting.

I think the piece will be about someone who recruits himself into a campaign because he has an opinion that scooters should not be sold to people that are under 10 years old. This is because of the words that are in the given list, such as campaign, scooter, and denied, as well as the title "At Ten Years Old".

The Title
a. Write down two memories you have for the time you were ten.
I remember that when I was ten, I would play tag on the playgrounds with my friends at primary school. I also remember when I would play the ukulele after school, trying to learn new chords and songs.
b. What ideas do you think this piece might include?
I think this piece will include ideas about campaigning against something, ten-year-olds, and the use of scooters.
c.Write your prediction:
I think that this piece would be aimed at 10-year-olds, and in how they should be denied access to use a scooter for multiple and complex reasons, or due to a complex incident or problem.

The Background/Context of the extract
a. What things would you expect to be of concern to a sixteen-year-old student?
I think that a sixteen-year-old would be concerned about relationships and their future's. This is because at 16, a lot of pressure is put onto a student to decide what their future occupation will be, and even if they will be able to be what they want (results, exams etc.). Also, while a student is 16, emotions will feel stronger and fluctuate often, which can affect relationships and mental health. Also, many classmates may be getting into relationships and a student may begin to feel left out.

b. Thinking about the title and your predictions above, what do you think might be the main purpose of the speech?
I think that the speech could possibly be a warning from a 16-year-old student who has an opinion that scooters are not safe for children below 10 years old. This student could have had or known an incident that could have happened that supports their statement. Also, this student might have started up a campaign against the use of scooters for children below 10.

First Impressions
The speaker wants us to donate whatever we can spare to the Child Soldiers International campaign. We can make a difference with just a small amount. We can end people from taking away the lives of innocent children who have no choice.  Caitlin has given a story from a child soldier that we can all have empathy for. She wants us to stop this, and to make a change.

Find the Pattern
Paragraph  Summary
1           Memories of things the narrator did as a child, a list of what Juliet lost when she was 10.
2           Comparing what the narrator and Juliet remember being painted on their faces.
3           Comparing what the narrator and Juliet remember listening to and what beats were popular.
4           Comparing what the narrator and Juliet remember building and 'play-fighting' or 'real fighting'.
5           Juliet was a child that was denied her childhood, numbers of child soldiers are given.
6           Awareness is valuable, the narrator wants us to become more aware, understand not all                           children are lucky
7           The narrator leaves us a challenge, to take the time to donate to Child Soldiers International to                 end this problem where children don't have choices in their lives.

Summarise
In no more than three sentences, write what this piece is about.
This piece was given truly from the heart of the narrator, who feels empathetic to the child soldiers that have their lives taken from them at such a young age. The narrator shows us that what we take for granted (e.g normal life, face painting, playing) is a luxury, if not a dream, to those who are less fortunate. We are left with a challenge, a challenge to put the effort in to kindly donate whatever we can to help end this problem.

The writer/speaker wanted to teach us about child soldiers and the problem around it because we take a lot of things for granted, and we are not fully aware of what these child soldiers experience. She wants us to increase awareness and actually care to donate to end the plight of child soldiers.

Identifying how the idea is communicated
1.
Personal Pronoun-I
Facts/Structures-
Parallel Structure- At ten years old my days were
Jargon-
Imperative/Command-
Contrast-
Repetition-
Listing-
Adjective-
Anecdote-

Putting it all together

1. Select one language feature the author uses to set the tone of this piece.
-Parallel Structure

2. Give an example from the text.
I remember building mud forts... Juliet remembers building mud forts.

3. Explain how this and/or other language feature(s) help you understand the speaker's attitude towards child soldiers.

The speaker's overall purpose in this speech is to make people be aware of the plight of child soldiers. The speaker inputs her own idea, that we should kindly put in the effort to donate whatever we can to help end this problem. Their attitude towards this topic is definitely against this problem and the speaker wants us to be informed as to what child soldiers actually go through. We see this attitude when the speaker uses the technique of parallel structure. The speaker repeatedly uses comparison through parallel structures to show what we take for granted, in comparison to what they experience. This is seen in sentences such as 'I remember building mud forts... Juliet remembers building mud forts'. The effect of this is to emphasize how horrible life is for child soldiers. In fact, they have their lives completely taken away from them, some without even having a memory of a normal childhood. This also emphasizes that we take so many things for granted, such as building mud forts for fun, where child soldiers build mud forts for survival. The reason for this is so that we can see what some people actually experience in their lives, which can seem like (and is) a nightmare for a huge majority of children (approximately 800,000 children) because the speaker wants us to actually put these stories in reality, and not just something that passes by on the news. Another way this attitude is shown is through the technique of personal pronouns. We see this in almost every sentence in this speech. Such as where the speaker says 'I remember... She remembers...'. From this, we learn that these things happen to real people and that we personally take things for granted that specific people could only imagine having. It makes us think about what the less fortunate go through in an empathetic and personal way as if this speech is directed straight towards the reader. These circumstances can be pointed at our own lives, where we think that playing and being able to walk freely is just normal, whereas it is near-impossible for people, such as the unfortunate child soldiers. Finally, the author wants us to act in a kind manner, and donate whatever we can to help end the crisis of child soldiers and the poor children who have their lives stripped away from them. The author wants us to donate because we all have the power to change the world, which is hard to do alone. For example, if 10 million people were to donate 50c, that could become 5 million. Imagine the effect 5 million could make! A possible change is seen just like in the text when the speaker says that we can end this, and stop the recruitment of child soldiers.