1. CHEMISTRY – ending and comparisons
Shared reading of last pages
Explore Swift’s intentions behind the ending
Evaluate links between Chemistry and TDOT

2. The story begins and ends with a pond – why?
Suggests the boy is lonely – nowhere else to go
Reminds the reader of the bottle of acid and the boy’s dislike of Ralph
Completes Swift’s motif of water
Reminds the reader of the lost boat and the changes that have happened to the family
Shows that the boy wished to return to somewhere he felt loved
Shows that things don’t change, even after death
On your table groups, consider these six explanations for the way in which the story ends. Do any of them need further development? How well do you think they answer the question? Rank them in order of best – worst response and be ready to explain your ideas.

3. Contextual factors in ‘Chemistry’
Exploring the dismissive treatment of older generations
Exploring the notion that society dismisses the emotional capabilities of children
Exploring society’s inability to address the process of grief – for adults and children
Exploring the manipulation of women/the mother by male characters

4. Group comparison tasks How do writers present characters losing their innocence?
Compare how characters ‘lose their innocence’ in each story. Who? How? Why?
Maia’s group
Compare the writer’s use of the ending to convey ideas about innocence in each story.
Lacey’s group
Compare the writer’s use of a ‘villain’ character in each story. How is this character portrayed? How does this contribute to the theme of loss of innocence?
Yarrow’s group
Compare the writer’s use of narrative viewpoint and style in each story. How is this used to portray innocence?
Hannah’s group
Compare the writer’s use of symbolism in each story and how this is used to convey ideas about innocence.
Amelia’s group
Compare relationships and expectations in the two stories. How do the writers portray these and how do they contribute to the loss of innocence?
Mary's group

5. How do writers present characters losing their innocence?
Introduction – concise but precise intro to each story linked to question
Both ‘Chemistry’ and ‘The Darkness Out There’ portray a young person being forced to grow up suddenly and losing their innocence to some extent. Whilst ‘The Darkness Out There’ presents a female protagonist on the cusp of adulthood, ‘Chemistry’ explores a young boy’s grief and increasing isolation following deaths in his family. Both writers use a range of techniques to...

6. Today and Homework: plan for this assessment
Introduction:
Summary of loss of innocence in Chem
Explain narrative viewpoint
… compared to loss of innocence presented in TDOT + compare narrative viewpoint to that in Chem
Use of villain character: Ralph
Use of villain character: Mrs Rutter
Symbol of water – link to loss of innocence
Symbol of the darkness – how it present loss of innocence
How Swift uses structure/the ending – pace at which innocence is lost, impact of ending
Contrast Lively’s use of foreshadowing/ different kind of ending.
Conclusion 1 2 3

7. How could I structure my ideas?
Technically, you are not required to directly compare the stories in this question
However, it has been suggested than a higher level response would take this approach in order to be ‘convincing’/‘insightful’ and demonstrate a ‘well-structured’ argument.
There are a couple of different ways you could approach this.
When might each of these two approaches be useful?