Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

Talk about the tour

Chat show interview: Bryson’s tour of Britain

In groups of three, you are going to prepare a television chat show interview with Bill
Bryson, charting his route around Britain. The three characters in the interview should be:
 Chat show presenter
 Interviewer
 Bill Bryson

The interview should consist of three parts:

Part 1: Introduction
The presenter should tell the audience what Bill Bryson is aiming to achieve with his book.
They should tell them that he is taking one final tour around Britain before he emigrates
to America.
They could show the audience a map of Britain highlighting the places Bryson has visited,
and may also show the audience some pictures of the places.

Part 2: Interview with Bryson

The interviewer should conduct the interview with Bryson. They should use the following
headings to help prepare their questions, and should also come up with a few of their
own:

1. Favourite part of Britain

2. Worst part
3. Exploring Britain
4. Memorable experiences
5. Moving to America

Part 3: Conclusion
For this part of the interview, the TV presenter should consider Bryson’s overall thoughts
on Britain and British people, and tell us a bit more about his future plans.

Remember:

 respect other people and their opinions

 share out the workload
 plan what you are going to say
 make sure that your entire interview is between 5 and 10 minutes long.

© www.teachit.co.uk 2010 14263 Page 1 of 2

 Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Talk about the tour

Small group debates: In defence of Milton Keynes!

1. Working in groups of five or six people, do some research on Milton Keynes. Find out
as much as you can about the architecture, leisure facilities and history. Use
encyclopaedias, travel guides and websites to help you. Prepare a mind map, poster
or leaflet about the town.

2. Make a list of ten negative things that Bryson says about Milton Keynes in Chapter 14
of the text.

3. For each of the negative points, think of a counter argument (something positive to
say).

4. Split in two groups. Group A will be promoting Milton Keynes. Group B will take the
opposing view.

5. You might like to work in role for this task. Imagine that you are someone who lives in
Milton Keynes, or that you run a business there. How would you feel if you were
involved in the planning of this modern town in 1967?

6. Elect a chairperson to lead the debate. The chairperson will decide who can speak,
and will introduce the debate.

7. Once you have finished the debate, the group can vote to decide whether they agree
with Bryson’s views or disagree.

Remember:

 respect other people and their opinions

 share out the workload
 plan what you are going to say.

© www.teachit.co.uk 2010 14263 Page 2 of 2