Building the SKETCH

This week, as you know, groups will be working on their own to build their sketch, the final task for this unit. Together, you‘ll have a lot of decisions to take. You’ll have to manage time, pool your ideas together, divide work, assign roles (if you haven’t already).
Any work that for any reason has not been completed (and I can’t imagine why that might have happened…) must be finished this week. That is: if you have any doubts make sure they are cleared out by the end of the week. Ask your group, ask the teacher, check the key to the worksheets, use your grammar…

Here is a TIP that may help you learn vocabulary and improve your reading and writing skills: transform the texts you read into cloze exercises. Leave them for a day or two then rebuild the text.

And here are the guidelines to build the sketches:
TOPIC: Direct reference to sub-topics:
Family AND/OR Role of women AND/OR
Our ‘Brand Name’ society AND/OR
War & violence / poverty / power ....

SCRIPT: Yes, there must be one!
Set the scene
Build the dialogues
Make cross reference to: films, poems, songs , novels…
Tone – ironical??
Minimum 500 words

FINAL LINE for all groups
Yes, the world is a beautiful place if you don’t much mind…

All sketches are to be performed LIVE and should last up to 10 minutes

When you are about to finish, consider asking the following questions to assess your sketch:
- objectives/purpose – does it achieve its objectives (is the point you want to make clear? Does it provide ‘food for thought’?
- target audience – is it likely to grab your audience’s attention? Can they understand it?
- language – is language clear? Is language accurate? Appropriate (register)
- tone – do you manage to convey the right mood? Do you want it humorous? Serious? Both…
- general effectiveness – were you able to communicate thought and emotion and to achieve the overall objectives of the sketch?
- Live presentation – does everybody have a role, equal participation?

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Now let me make a summary of what we’ve done this unit.
We started by reading a poem – Ferlinghetti’s The world is a beautiful place – that set the tone and the focus of this first unit. Is the world a BEATIFUL PLACE?
Then you read different (types of) texts that helped you understand different points of view and different ways of addressing our main issue. Besides developing your reading skills and building up new vocabulary you thought about:
- the evolution of the family
- the role of women
- the image the media, marketers and advertisers make up of girls and women
- how time and culture frame our points of view (e.g. arranged marriages)
- the connection between poverty and peace and how poverty can be addressed
You have already written very interesting and insightful texts about (arranged) marriage. So, keep up the good work.


Having said all this, make sure you keep these dates in your agenda:
Next Tuesday/Wednesday (28/29 October) you’ll have a test; it will cover all topics, vocabulary, grammar dealt with in class.
On Friday(31 October) your sketches will be presented.