Teach Primary Issue 18.6

70 | www.teachwire.net It’s certainly an intriguing set up for a fictional adventure, though first I had to work out how Glory and Dennis, two everyday British children, might cross paths with such a famous person in a way that felt authentic. Thankfully, the answer came in the form of an old theatre poster, which indicated that a routine part of Houdini’s shows involved inviting audience members on stage to test his escapology skills by using their own handcuffs. From this, I devised the first scene where Glory and Harry Houdini meet. Things don’t go well. The handcuffs jam. Houdini is left humiliated on stage. Glory wants to die on the spot. Her only remedy is to take him back to her house, where the keys to the cuffs are kept. There, Glory faces not only Houdini’s fury but that of her elder sister, Effie, who’s barely forgiven her for bringing a puppy home the previous day. Everything is meant to feel uncomfortable at this point: Glory is super-nervous, no-one knows quite how to behave, there aren’t enough chairs to go round. As most writers will tell you, there’s no drama without conflict, so we need the characters to feel awkward with each other for them to then work through their differences. In terms of plot, this scene develops into the inciting incident, the moment when Glory’s ordinary life changes for ever. By the time Houdini finishes his cup of tea and leaves her kitchen, she’s already stepped into his world. TP I n The Houdini Inheritance , best friends Glory and Dennis are thrown headlong into a world of danger and mystery when they find themselves in possession of world-famous performer Harry Houdini’s travelling trunk. Nowadays, in real life, 'Trunk No8’ resides in a museum in New York, put there by Houdini’s brother, to whom it was bequeathed when the magician died suddenly in 1926. The final months of Houdini’s life were plagued by his paranoia that a rival, or one of his many enemies, would steal the props and top-secret notes the trunk contained. The Houdini Inheritance by Emma Carroll WAGOLL The Houdini Inheritance (£7.99, Faber & Faber) is out now. 2 What’s Included • Extract from The Houdini Inheritance by Emma Carroll • ‘How writers can create an awkward meeting’ poster • ‘Exploring writers’ techniques’ worksheet • ‘Exploring writers’ techniques’ working wall display • Potential awkward meeting images • Planning sheet How could these resources be used in the classroom? Extract from The Houdini Inheritance Prior knowledge is particularly crucial to the understanding of this extract, so first explain that Harry Houdini really was a very famous and successful escapologist, and Bess Houdini, his wife, accompanied him on his travels (Eric is her dog). Before this scene, Glory (the narrator) and her friend Dennis have been to see Houdini perform, responding to his request for audience members’ locks with an old pair of handcuffs, which get stuck, to Houdini’s embarrassed anger. Glory had left the key at home, so Houdini and his team accompany her back there, to the shock of everyone. Read the extract with the class, and then check their understanding through discussion of these questions: • List three things that Effie does. What do they tell you about her character? • At the beginning of the scene, what is Glory glad about? Why might this be? • ‘Mr Houdini asked to sit down.’ What does this suggest to us about the celebrity? • Why is Glory unable to meet his eye? • What suggests that Bess doesn’t feel awkward? • What suggests that Dennis does ? • What’s bizarre about the leather trunk? • How do you know that Dennis feels awkward about Glory’s explanation? • Why is Glory’s explanation a bit embarrassing? Teachers’ notes are included here with suggestions of how you might use these resources with your class. 3 ‘How writers can create an awkward meeting’ poster • Explain to your class that authors may create scenes that are bizarre, awkward and even a little funny, despite the fact that their novel is not a comedy. The placing of a famous, powerful or otherwise ‘big’ character in an everyday or humble setting is a great shortcut to this sort of mood, while also allowing ‘normal’ characters to become involved in a dramatic story that takes them out of their usual lives. With a first-person narrator like Glory in The Houdini Inheritance , writers can make observations about the situation that emphasise the contrasts between the exotic visitor and the familiar surroundings. The nature of this description can be used to give a strong sense of the narrator’s character, which helps with the telling of the story. Most important, though, is the fact that most of us can empathise with the idea of a larger-than-life hero in a familiar, day-to-day setting! • Reread the extract and discuss the ways in which Emma Carroll – via her narrator, Glory – hints at the oddness of the situation. Draw their attention to the description of very normal things, mixed with reminders that there is this world-famous person present, and the explicit reflections, like, ‘… which wasn’t as much fun as it sounded,’ and, ‘Everything felt very bizarre.’ Point out that much of the reaction is implied non-verbally with looks and actions. Note that Dennis is dumb-struck, but Glory ‘feels the need’ to explain – both very natural responses to meeting a hero! • Make sure they also notice that, despite all the above, Emma Carroll also integrates the scene within a broader story: there is the flashback to what had happened at the theatre, and Houdini’s mysterious leather trunk, hinting at something that will happen later. • If possible, share the annotated extract in Teach Primary, in which Emma Carroll herself explains some of the choices she made when she wrote this brilliantly awkward scene. • Refer to the ‘How writers can create an awkward meeting’ poster and guide the children in identifying the techniques that the author has used to convey the atmosphere as a world-famous celebrity drinks tea in the narrator’s kitchen, hinting at character and elements that will be important later in the story. Be clear that these are examples that any writer can use; they might not choose to use all of them, and other writers might use different ones, too. DOWNLOAD RESOURCES AT Creating an awkward meeting, KS2 resource pack Setting ‘normal’ characters off on an adventure that involves a larger- than-life, world-f mous hero requires that these people meet each other, and those early interactions could feel bizarre and amusing – at least to us, the readers! In an adventure story, it’s important to avoid too much comedy; stead, a great author leads readers to feel the tension betwee the everyday and the exotic, the awkwardness of a celebrity in a humble kitchen. This resource pack, linked with the Teach Primary article by the author herself, will help you guide KS2 children through the process of analysing a brilliant example of such a scene in Emma Carroll’s gripping mystery novel The Houdini Inheritance , selecting the techniques they might adopt to create an awkward meeting of their own, involving the presence of a famous person in a familiar, normal setting. This process will enhance any broader study of the novel, or simply increase enjoyment of it as a class story; the extract could also be used in isolation, as a means for teaching certain authorial techniques – especially those that generate scenes that are awkward and tense but still amusing, all while hinting at a broader story. It’s likely that many children will find this extract so intriguing that they’ll want to read the whole novel for themselves! Teacher notes 1 FIVE TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE AN AWKWARD MEETING UNLIKELY CHARACTERS Make sure your characters don’t connect straight away. This might be because they’ve previously had an argument or don’t like each other, or maybe they’re simply people who don’t have anything in common. SETTING THE SCENE Have the meeting take place somewhere physically uncomfortable, so it’s obvious your characters aren’t relaxed. It might be in a stuffy train carriage, for example, or on the street in the pouring rain. An awkward setting will add to the tension. CHOOSE YOUR WORDS The right verbs and adjectives can really enhance the mood of a scene. When you’re trying to create tension, go for a few well-chosen words rather than lengthy descriptions. Pace is important – you want your reader to be on edge. VERBAL COMMUNICATION Speech is a great way to show tension. In real life people often don’t say exactly what they mean, especially when they’re uncomfortable, so try to include interruptions, long pauses, and people saying too much or not enough. NON-VERBAL CUES Over 93 per cent of human communication is non-verbal, so it’s a vital way to indicate how your characters are feeling. Tell us about their body language, facial expressions and tone of voice. Describe the way they fidget when they’re on edge. Peer inside the mind of the author, and help pupils understand how to write an awkward meeting Download your FREE , exclusive teaching pack to help you explore both this extract and the rest of the book with your class. tinyurl.com/tp- HoudiniInheritance