NEW! Unit: Book (reading)

Welcome to Reading’s show!

Summary Slide
Warming up Discussion
Keyword
The author O. Henry
The story The Last Leaf
Vocabulary
Questions and Answers
Comment
Theme
Integrated Tasks-Writing
Assignment

Warming up Discussion
1. Name some favorite kinds of books
Picture books
Detective books
Science books
Novels

2. Give definitions to those kinds of books
Novel
a book-length fictional story usually involving relationships between characters, their emotional crises and events concerning them.
an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events
Detective story
a story whose main theme is the solving of a crime
a narrative about someone who investigates crimes and obtains evidence leading to their resolution



Picture book
a book in which the illustrations are as important as the text, both contributing to the telling of the story.
a copiously illustrated book, often with very simple, limited text, intended for preschoolers and very young children.
Science book
A Science book is a work of nonfiction, usually written by a scientist, researcher, or professor or sometimes by a non-scientist. Usually these books are written for a wide audience not presumed to have any scientific education, as opposed to the very narrow audience that a scientific paper would have, and are therefore referred to as popular science.
Text book A book with wide spaces between the lines, to give room for notes.

Keyword
MASTERPIECE?
A masterpiece is an artist’s greatest work
EXAMPLE?
Doan Truong Tan Thanh, or Truyen Thuy Kieu is Nguyen Du’s masterpiece.
The Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci`s masterpiece. It is simple and beautiful and the painting shows great technique and use of color.
Peace and War. Gone with the wind.
The author O.Henry
O. Henry (1862-1910) was originally born William Sydney Porter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
As a young man, he moved to Austin, Texas where he worked as a bank teller. He moved again to Houston, Texas in 1895 and became a newspaper columnist.
In 1896, however, he was called back to Austin, where he was charged with embezzling money from the bank where he had worked. Not wanting to go to prison for his crime, O. Henry fled to Honduras, and stayed there for six months before returning to the United States.
Upon his return, the court tried him and put him in an Ohio prison for three years. While in prison, he began writing short stories and it is there that he took the pen-name O. Henry for his writings.
After his release from prison in 1901, he moved to New York, which is the setting for many of his stories. He is the author of over 250 stories and is most famous for his use of surprise or `twist` endings. Notice the twists and surprises in the endings to "The Last Leaf", "The Green Door", and perhaps his most famous story, "The Gift of the Magi".
The Last Leaf
Summary
Johnsy and Sue are artists who move into Greenwich Village in New York City. As Winter approaches and the weather gets colder, Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia. She gets so sick that she believes that when the last leaf falls from the vine outside her window, she will die.
An old artist, named Behrman, who lives in the same building as the girls, braves a storm one night to paint a leaf on the wall — a leaf that will never fall. Cold and wet from painting in the icy rain, he catches pneumonia and dies. This gives Johnsy the hope to survive her illness, and it also creates the masterpiece Behrman had always dreamed of painting.
Vocabulary
approaches verb
To approach is to move towards. It is often used with seasons and special occasions (New Year, Christmas, birthdays) as in the example here, as well as with people and moving objects (vehicles, etc).
becomes verb
In this example, becomes has the same meaning as "gets". With illnesses, we often use "to fall", or "to be taken":
Johnsy fell ill/Johnsy was taken ill
pneumonia noun
Pneumonia is a serious illness of the lungs.
vine noun
A vine is like a branch (of a tree), but is actually a stem of a climbing plant (it may also be used to describe the climbing plant itself, e.g. grape vine).
braves verb
To brave as a verb, means to face an adverse or difficult situation, even though the person may not be brave (as in the meaning of the adjective: courageous).
survive verb
To survive something is to overcome a problem, illness or adverse situation. It may also be, simply, to stay alive. The noun is survivor.
masterpiece noun
A masterpiece is a great work of art, like a painting, sculpture or piece of music or writing (poetry, fiction, etc.)
Questions and Answers
1.What’s is Sue nickname?
Her nickname is Sudie.
2.What is unusual about the last leaf?
The last leaf never moves when the wind blows.
3.What major change occurs in the character of Johnsy?
She has realized that it is a sin to want to die. She feels more optimistic of her situation.
4.What do you think of Mr. Behrman’s death? What does he die for?
His death is such a meaningful one. He dies for a life of a young woman. That’s what we call humanity.

5.Why does Sue call the painted leaf Mr. Behrman’s masterpiece?
It save Johnsy by giving her the optimistic thought that even the last leaf can succeed in struggling for life.
6. What is the climax of a story? Where does the climax of the story The Last Leaf take place?


Comment
1. What would you think of each character in the story?
2. What would you do if you were Mr. Behrman?
3. What would you do if you were Johnsy?
Theme
Never give up hoping
When you think there is no hope left at all, still it is inside the deepest part of your soul
"When the lone failing leaf of the last man refuses to fall, the angel of death takes matters in his own hands ...”
Integrated Tasks-Writing
A Rainy Season Setting
Write a one page composition describing the following place and time: your home during the rainy season. Think of some of the sounds, smells and sights inside and outside your house, both during the day and during the night.
Think of some of the real situations you have had to face. Alternatively, you could use some experiences that friends or family have had and still use them with you as the main character.
A Sacrifice
A sacrifice is the act of giving up something, or not having something or doing something yourself, to help somebody else. We saw how Mr Behrman gave his life to help Johnsy in The Last Leaf. He made the greatest sacrifice anybody could make.
But sacrifices are not always as great as Mr Behrman`s. We make small sacrifices almost every day. How about you? What is the greatest sacrifice you have ever made for your family or friends? An example of this may be when you have stayed at home to help your family instead of going out with friends.
Write a short story about something you decided not to do, so that you could help somebody else.
Assignment

Work in group on other stories by O. Henry at home
Hand in report based on a chosen story
The end!

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