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acey   Lloyd  
 

 
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 ★ THE CONCEPT BEHIND THESE RESOURCES ★
Contained here are four unique short passages which provide brief snapshots into the lives of four individuals on the first day of school (a teacher
and three students). As you will see, these stories can stand alone, but they are also clearly and cleverly interwoven.
In addition, there are four creative worksheets to help students analyze these passages in terms of grammar, language, content and meaning.
Furthermore, there is a one-page handout with writing prompts based on these stories.

How do I use these Obviously, you can use these worksheets in any way you like to aid your teaching.
resources? However, below are three possible lesson plans you might wish to consider.
OPTION ONE
(PRE-LESSON: Print out passages &
1 OPTION TWO
worksheets. Place the 4 different worksheets
in 4 piles on your desk.)
² HAND OUT all four passages to students
and read through with the class.
² AFTER each passage, discuss with the class
what their initial impressions are:
•  What do they think of the characters?
•  How do the stories link together?
•  What do they think happens next?
After reading and discussing all four...
²  INSTRUCT students to choose which story
they identify with most (or enjoy the most),
and then they must come to the front and
collect the corresponding worksheet.
²  INSTRUCT students to now work on their
worksheets individually.
If there is time remaining, students could
complete a second worksheet.
(PRE-LESSON: Print out passages. Arrange
2
classroom into groups of 4/5. Print copies of
the worksheets (one per group) and enlarge
onto size A2 paper or cardstock.)
² ASSIGN students to groups (4 or 5 per
group).
² HAND OUT a different passage to each
group (there may be some groups with the
same passage). And then give each group
the corresponding enlarged worksheet.
² INSTRUCT students to read their passage
within their group and then fill in the poster
worksheet as a group. Encourage them to
use colors and be creative!
When the students are finished in their groups
(about 25 minutes)...
²  NOW read aloud the four passages.
Students might be surprised at how they link
together! Discuss this as a class.
OPTION THREE
3
*This lesson will take 2 classes to complete.*
(PRE-LESSON: Print out passages and
worksheets – enough for one per student.)
LESSON ONE
² ASSIGN students to pairs.
² HAND OUT the first passage and read as a
class. Discuss first impressions.
² HAND OUT the 1st passage worksheet and
instruct students to work through it in pairs.
² HAND OUT the second passage and read
as a class. Discuss first impressions.
² HAND OUT the 2nd passage worksheet and
instruct students to work through it in pairs.
LESSON TWO
² ASSIGN students to pairs.
² REPEAT as with lesson one, but this time
working through passages three and four.

HOMEWORK: Perhaps print and cut this page up, place the prompts in a hat and have students pick one out!
Instruct students to complete one of the writing assignments included.

PLEASE NOTE: All four passages used in this resources were written by Lara Ferrari: Storyteller, Copywriter, Wordsmith. © Lara Ferrari 2015
PASSAGE ONE
  Dennis Hatter
PASSAGE TWO
  Alice Beaumont
They can sense your fear.
That was one of the first things he had been taught.
Show no weakness.
He stopped shuffling the papers on his new desk and stood a little
straighter.
You don’t need their respect, or their trust … the only thing you need from
the little animals is their obedience.
The scornful voice of his educational psychology professor echoed round
his head. He had disagreed with his professor on a lot of things – which
was why he had spent his summer interning at a psychiatric counseling
center for troubled teens, getting enough extra credit to graduate. But he
had graduated – barely. And now he was going to prove his professor
wrong. These kids needed a helping hand, not an iron fist.
Right now, though, his hand was shaking: the hallway sounded like it had
been invaded by a thunderous, excitable horde of wild beasts. Hurriedly
erasing his illegible scrawl, he carefully rewrote his name on the large
board at the front of the class. Joined up and loopy, it looked like an
example exercise from an elementary school handwriting book. Mr.
Hatter. His professor hadn’t considered the challenge of filling high-
schoolers with fear when your name sounded like something from Alice in
Wonderland. But, despite his nerves, he was looking forward to the
moment they came through the rabbit hole.
They were his first ever class; what happened in this classroom could
determine their lifelong attitude to literature and set the tone for his whole
career. A small voice at the back of his head told him he was aiming too
high, putting too much pressure on himself, as usual. But Dennis Hatter
had wanted to be a teacher for as long as he could remember and he
wasn’t going to mess it up. As his father, a used car salesman, used to love
saying: you only get one chance to make a first impression.
The bell rang and Dennis’s trembling fingers dropped the board pen. As it
rolled under the desk, he found himself on his hands and knees staring at a
stampede of size 10 designer sneakers, bright high-tops, thick-soled
boots, and sparkly ballet flats. He could just imagine his professor rolling
his eyes.
She forced a bright smile onto her face. She had been up at 5am,
curling her hair, carefully choosing her outfit, going over her cover
story – again and again. She had to be perfect. Hairspray, makeup,
fashion… these tools were her armor. These and the little bottle of
pink pills she hid so well even the servants wouldn’t find them.
Show no weakness.
“Alice! Ali!” A shrill streak of platinum blonde hurled itself at her,
nearly knocking Ali into a locker. Ali hugged Dana with relief: her
best friend was thrilled to see her – which meant she didn’t know.
And if the biggest gossip in school didn’t know… Ali might be safe.
“Thank god you’re back,” Dana sighed, dramatic as ever, “I can’t
believe you had to spend the whole summer with your grandparents
– even if they did take you to Europe. Please tell me you at least
managed to sneak away long enough to get into some trouble?”
Dana wiggled perfectly plucked eyebrows. Ali didn’t even blink.
“Obviously…” the lie sliding off her tongue, “Italian boys are so worth
getting into trouble for. And Greek and Spanish and French…”
Dana’s eyes were wide. “I knew it! I want to know everything.”
Linking her arm with Ali’s, they followed the swarm of chattering
students into the classroom, the river of bodies parting to let their
queen bees through. Ali felt her shoulders relax; this was her
school, these were her subjects, summer was behind her and –
most importantly – nobody knew where she’d really been.
A mop of curly hair popped up from behind the teacher’s desk.
“Who is that?” Dana whispered as Ali froze. The man stood
awkwardly, correcting the wire-rimmed glasses that sat skewed on
his familiar face. No makeup could mask Ali’s panic. She knew
exactly who she was looking at: the one person who could still end
her reign.

Great start.
© Stacey Lloyd 2015
  © Stacey Lloyd 2015
 
PASSAGE THREE
  Rose Murphy
  PASSAGE FOUR
Rose checked the mirror in her locker for the millionth time before closing the
door. She’d been so excited: a new Rose for the new school year. But doubts
crowded into her head, so loud she could barely think. She felt everyone
staring at her. She swallowed and pushed her shoulders back. This was what
she wanted, she reminded herself: to finally be noticed.
Instead, she felt… exposed.
Two girls brushed past her, arm in arm – one blonde, one dark, their ponytails
swinging in tandem. Attention immediately shifted from Rose: boys and girls
alike were too busy staring after Dana Fields and Alice Beaumont – who hadn’t
spared Rose a glance. Rose had hoped Ali might remember the little girl next
door that she’d played dress up with all those years ago. Rose hadn’t seen Ali
even once over the summer, which made sense: she’d heard Ali had been
touring Europe. But Ali hadn’t spoken to Rose in years. Why would she? Alice
Beaumont was perfection personified and Rose… Rose had to work a little
harder.
Following the rowdy mob of football players, Rose told herself it didn’t matter.
She was more interested in finally being noticed by Evan Thorne. He hadn’t
joined the others yet – but he would.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she spotted him; it took Rose a
moment to sort them all out. He was as beautiful as ever but something had
changed over the summer. His eyes still crinkled the way she loved but his
smile was strained and there was an intensity about him she’d never seen
before. He stood with his friends but seemed somehow separate.
The girl talking to him was another reason for Rose’s mixed emotions. Lily,
Rose’s best friend, was as chubby and nerdy and unfashionable as Rose had
been before spending the last three months transforming herself. She had
encouraged her friend to join ‘project bloom’ – as Lily insisted on calling it –
but Lily had been too busy working at her father’s law firm all summer. Rose
felt pity and frustration: you can’t choose paperwork over working on yourself
and still expect someone like Evan to look at you as if you’re Alice Beaumont.
But Rose recognized the pain of rejection on Lily’s face and pity won.
The bell rang. Rose hesitated for a second but changed direction and followed
Lily into the classroom. Her best friend needed her; some things don’t change.
© Stacey Lloyd 2015
  © Stacey Lloyd 2015
Fist bumps. Chest bumps. High fives. Evan went through all the traditional
Evan Thorne
post-summer rituals with his tribe, dreading the moment they started
sharing stories about their holidays. He hadn’t seen any of the guys all
summer and he was hoping they’d just assume he’d been away at an
athletics camp – football, basketball, baseball, hockey ... he could plausibly
have enrolled in any of them. Instead he’d chosen to intern at a local law
firm. His father still hadn’t forgiven him.
Evan had been planning to come clean. He wanted to. Just because he
wanted to go to law school after graduation, it didn’t mean he couldn’t still
captain the team one last year. Maybe he’d have to cut down a bit, miss a
few practices, sit out the less crucial games - but he could still have it all.
But he knew that wasn’t the real problem. It was who he was: the jacket he
wore, the lunch table he sat on, the trophies in the cabinets, the photos on
the walls – they were as much a part of his identity as his own name. The
moment he walked through the school doors, he lost himself in them
again. They bought him membership to this exclusive group, but he had to
hold up his end of the bargain.
Dating Lily wasn’t part of the bargain.
Working together, they had seen each other every single day. She was the
only person who understood what he was trying to make of himself, and
she was also the first girl who hadn’t liked him for his position in the team
(if anything, that had worked against him). She was also smarter than him,
which he found strangely attractive. And he made her smile; she had a
beautiful smile. Which is why his heart fell through his chest when he saw
the hurt, disappointed look on her face and knew that he had put it there.
Evan had been planning to tell his friends the truth. Yet when she’d found
him in the hall and given him her shy smile, his friends had humiliated her
with crass jokes. And he just stood there.
The last three months had been hard, but Evan had felt like he was finally
in the driving seat, taking control of his life. It helped that he had found
someone to share that with; but school hadn’t even started and he
realized, ashamedly, that it had only taken him a few minutes to regress to
the same scared little boy he’d always been.
 Passage ONE Dennis Hatter

GIVING YOUR OPINION

LET’S GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT 1. Do you agree that teachers only need their students’ obedience? Explain why or why not.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.
_______________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Where did Mr. Hatter spend his summer, and why?
2. Do you agree with the idea that first impressions are so important? Explain.
_______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Is he an experienced teacher? Explain how you know.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
3. Do you feel sympathy for Mr. Hatter? Explain why or why not.
4. Where is Mr. Hatter when his students enter the classroom? __________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...
_______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________
How has Dennis’s professor influenced his first day?
Describe
Hatter looks
what you
think Mr.

like:

MAKING Inferences
GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR OPINION
words In your opinion, 1. Why do you think he ‘stood a little taller’?
which describe Dennis Hatter will be ... ________________________________________________________
his emotions q  a very good teacher.
(tick as many as apply)

© Stacey Lloyd 2015

________________________________________________________
_____________________________     q  a terrible teacher.
q  an irrational teacher. 2. How can you tell that Dennis is nervous?
_____________________________     q  a very caring teacher. (give two reasons)
_____________________________   q  a lazy teacher. ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Figurative Language

QUOTE TECHNIQUE EXPLAIN THE EFFECT

________________________________________________________
“...not an iron
fist.”
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE Questions
1. Explain the occasional use of italics.
Verbal Irony _______________________________________________________________________________

?
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________  

Allusion 2. What is the name & function of the three dots on the
6th line? ________________________________________________________________
ANALYZING

“...sounded like it had _______________________________________________________________________________  

been invaded by a 3. A synonym for ‘scornful’: 4. An antonym for ‘illegible’:
thunderous, excitable
horde of wild animals.” ______________________________________   _______________________________________  
 Passage TWO Alice Beaumont

Write her status at the beginning of the school day.

1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.

Imagine Alice has FACEBOOK.

1. Why might she have a ‘bottle of pink pills’?
_______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

MAKING Inferences
2. Why was Alice up at 5am? ______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Does she come from a wealthy or poor family.
Explain how you know.
3. Where does Alice say she was all summer?
______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Why is Alice relieved when Dana hugs her?
3. Where might she have actually been over the
______________________________________________________________________________________ summer?
5. How does Alice react to seeing the teacher? ______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________
4. Why does she react the way she does when
GIVING YOUR OPINION

1. Is Alice the sort of girl you would be friends with? she sees the teacher?
Explain why or why not. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
1 QUESTION
you’d ask Alice Beaumont

© Stacey Lloyd 2015

2. Do you sympathize with Alice? Why or why not? If you met her.

“
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ Show no _______________________________________
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...

____________________________________________________________________

weakness. _______________________________________

”
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Do you agree that one should never show weakness?
Explain why or why not. UNPACKING THE Metaphors
COMPARED TO...

EFFECT EFFECT EFFECT

Her makeup,
______________________________________________________________________________
hairspray and
______________________________________________________________________________ clothes
______________________________________________________________________________ Alice and COMPARED TO...
Dana’s status
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE Questions in class
1. Explain the use of dashes either side of ‘most importantly’. The parting of COMPARED TO...
_____________________________________________________________________________________ the students in
the hall
2. In ‘wire-rimmed’, is this a hyphen or dash? What is its function?
_____________________________________________________________________________________ A quote to show that Alice and Dana hold
Words which describe Alice’s changing emotions

“
positions of high social status:
in this passage:
3.
  Any three compound nouns:  
___________________________  /___________________________  /___________________________  
4. Why is ‘Europe’ capitalized?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 Passage THREE Rose Murphy
Questions   1. Why does she check the mirror in her locker?

Describe Rose’s relationship with these characters:

Alice  
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE

MAKING Inferences
1. ‘She’d been so excited’ _____________________________________________________________________
1.1. What tense is this? _______________________________________________   _____________________________________________________________________
1.2. How would it be different if it said: ‘She was so excited’?
2. Why do you think she embarked on ‘project bloom’?
____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
2. Find one of each of the following from within the passage: _____________________________________________________________________
2.1. A synonym for unruly: ___________________________________________  
Lily  
3. How can you tell she still feels insecure?
2.2. An antonym for relaxed: ________________________________________   _____________________________________________________________________
2.3. A homophone for wood: ________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
3. Explain the function of the colon in the second line. 4. Why do you think that she ends up following Lily?
         _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Evan  
In your opinion, _____________________________________________________________________
LET’S GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT

Rose Murphy is...

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

A quote which describes Rose’s

Words in the passage which

q  a confident teenager.
(tick as many as apply)

describe Rose’s emotions.

q  a good friend. appearance before the summer:
q  insecure.
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.

q  a normal teenager.

© Stacey Lloyd 2015

______________________________________________________________________________
q  delusional & ridiculous.
3. Why didn’t Lily join her with ‘project bloom’?

If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...

GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR OPINION

Find one of each of the following...

Alliteration Metaphor Hyperbole
4. Why does Rose pity Lily?
2. What is ‘project bloom’?

GIVING YOUR OPINION

1. Who do you think made the best use of their summer: Lily or Rose?
Explain your choice fully.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why might Evan be standing with his friends, but ‘somehow separate’?
Identify the narrative
EFFECT

perspective of this passage: _________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________
 Passage FOUR Evan Thorne

?
GRAMMAR/LANGUAGE Questions A quote to show that Evan is an
athletic student: LET’S GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT
1. The author has used many contractions; give an example
1. Briefly describe the main character of this passage.
and explain how it effects the tone of the piece.
_______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________  
2. What did Evan do with his summer, and why?
______________________________________________________________________________  
_______________________________________________________________________________
2. A synonym for ‘crass’: 3. An antonym for ‘regress’: In your opinion,
3. How does Even know Lily? What’s his opinion of her?
______________________________________   ______________________________________   Evan Thorne is...
q  a kind, thoughtful guy. _______________________________________________________________________________

(tick as many as apply)

4. “Evan went through all the traditional1 post-summer rituals with q  a coward.
his2 tribe, dreading the moment3 they started4 sharing stories about 4. How does Even react when his friends humiliate Lily?
q  just a normal teenager. _______________________________________________________________________________
their holidays.” Identify the parts of speech of the underlined words.
q  an intelligent young man.
1: _______________  /  2: _______________  /  3: _______________  /  4: _______________ q  a complete jerk.
5. Explain the function of the brackets found in this passage. MAKING Inferences
1. What does the fact that Evan chose to intern at

”
______________________________________________________________________________   GIVE A REASON FOR YOUR OPINION a law firm tell us about his personality?

bumps. High fives.

Fist bumps. Chest
______________________________________________________________________________   _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
How does Lily feel after her interaction
If you were to give this passage a title, it would be...

____________________________________________________________________

2. Describe the type of social group you think

with Evan and his friends? Evan is a part of:
________________________________________________________   _______________________________________________________________

© Stacey Lloyd 2015

Imagine Evan has FACEBOOK. _______________________________________________________________
Write his status at the beginning of the school day. 3. What do you know about Evan’s father and
their relationship?
______________________________________________________________

“
______________________________________________________________
4. How does Evan feel about his own behavior
after the interaction with Lily? Give evidence.
______________________________________________________________

Find a Metaphor ______________________________________________________________

Things which Evan finds
YOUR OPINION
Metaphors

attractive about Lily:

GIVING

1. Do you agree that Evan can ‘have it all’? Explain. List the things
________________________________________________________________________________ which inform
Evan’s identity
EXPLAIN THE ________________________________________________________________________________
COMPARISON
________________________________________________________________________________
UNPACKING THE

2. What do you think about the way Evan treats Lily in the hall?
Describe
think Evan
looks like:
what you

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
 Writing Prompts
All of the following pieces should be written in the same style as the reading
passages, and they should be about the same length (350-400 words)

You must focus on the character of Alice. Now imagine it is

(Rose Murphy’s story) and continue

You must focus on passage four

You must focus on passage three

three months before and write a similar passage, but as
though it were the final day of the previous school year. You (Evan Thorne’s story) and
must write about her thoughts, plans and feelings about the continue the story, writing what

the story, writing what

upcoming summer.   happens next.

happens next.  
You must focus on the character of Write a short passage with one of Evan’s

first lesson. Write a passage in which you detail all you

see and think about Mr. Hatter’s performance, and the

psychology professor, and you are sitting in during his

Evan. Now imagine it is three football friends as the central character; you

students in his classroom during those first few

months before and write a similar

Imagine that you are Mr. Hatter’s educational

passage, but as though it were the
final day of the previous school
year. You must write about his
thoughts, plans and feelings about
must give him a name and your passage should
detail his thoughts and experiences on the first
day back at school. Remember to somehow
link his story with the passages your have

moments of the lesson.  

the upcoming summer.   already read.

Write a short passage with Dana as the

school year. You must write about
months before and write a similar

about the upcoming summer.  

You must focus on the character

writing what happens next.  

her thoughts, plans and feelings

You must focus on passage

of Rose. Now imagine it is three

one (Dennis Hatter’s story)

passage, but as though it were

central character; your passage should

© Stacey Lloyd 2015

the final day of the previous

and continue the story,

detail her thoughts and experiences on

and rewrite it from a first-person

Choose any one of the passages,
the first day back at school and should
somehow link with the passages your
have already read.

narrative perspective.  
Write a short passage with Lily as the
central character; your passage should
detail her thoughts and experiences on
the first day back at school and should
somehow link with the passages your
have already read.  

You must focus on passage two You must focus on the character of Mr. Hatter. Now
imagine it is three months before and write a similar
(Alice Beaumont’s story) and passage, but as though it were the final day of his teacher
continue the story, writing what education program. You must write about his thoughts,
happens next.   plans and feelings about the upcoming summer.