1. Coordinating conjunctions
Year 7 Cycle 2 – War and Conflict: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Key concepts: Argument– a statement or set of statements that you use in order to convince people of your opinion Rhetoric - the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing OR language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect (see below) Counter argument – a set of reasons put forward to oppose an argument and develop another Topic sentences – state the main idea or point you want to make at the start of your paragraph The Essay – your attempt to argue your point of view in response to the essay question. This should be supported by evidence and analysis of the text. It should include an introduction and paragraphs which each make separate points in response to the question. Evaluation – Making a point to show your point of view in response to a statement, and explaining how the writer uses language and structure to support your point.
Key themes
Friendship: Bruno and Shmuel form a friendship despite the conflict and death that surrounds them.
Power and corruption: This is reflected in the actions of Father, The Fury and Lieutenant Kotler. They abuse their power and harm many.
Innocence: Bruno is young and cannot understand what is going on in the world around him. He mishears information and is often selfish.
Violence and Death: There are many acts of violence that shadow the story, the acts that are committed daily outside Bruno’s new home and some that are committed inside such as the incident with Pavel and Kotler.
Kindness: Pavel is kind to Bruno after his fall and Bruno is kind to Shmuel by giving him food.
Plot Summary
Bruno is a young German boy who lives in Berlin. When his father, a very important soldier, is promoted, then must leave Berlin to live in a dark and isolated house. Bruno’s father has a very important job and is visited by the Fury. Bruno and Gretel, his sister, have to be on their best behavior. Bruno doesn’t like the new house, he looks out the window to see farmland and people in pajamas living there. When Bruno ventures into the garden he meets a boy called Shmuel on the other side of the fence. He doesn’t tell anyone about this. He continues to visit Shmuel in secret, Gretel becomes more interest in the Nazi party and Mother has started to drink. Bruno witnesses another soldier, Kotler, lose his temper with their servant Pavel.
He visits Shmuel again and goes under the fence to help him find Shmuel’s father.
Social and Historical Context
WW2: The story is set during World War Two when Germany was fighting the allied powers. The war lasted from
Holocaust: The mass extermination of Jews and others that the Nazi’s deemed unworthy of existence. These included, Gypsies, Roman Catholics, Black and Hispanic people and homosexuals.
People were murdered through death marches, starvation, medical experimentation and gas chambers in concentration camps around Europe.
Nazi Party: The National Socialist German Workers Party was founded after WW1. Germany was in a state of decline and poverty as they had to pay the other countries in Europe money after loosing to them in the war. The Nazi Party was voted into government and then became a dictatorship under Adolf Hitler.
Adolf Hitler: Leader of the Nazi Party, he committed suicide when Germany was defeated at the end of WW2.
Propaganda – Information with a biased or leading nature
Rhetorical Devices:
Alliteration: When words close together start with the same letter, consider the effect/ mood created by the sound, e.g. cold clockwork
Anecdote: A personal story or experience to support your argument
Anaphora: repetition of a word at beginning of successive phrases for emphasis, e.g. We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans
Metaphor: An implicit comparison between two things not using ‘like’ or ‘as,’ e.g. ‘in the flames of withering injustice.’
Simile: An explicit comparison between two things using ‘like’ or ‘as’
Hyperbole: The exaggeration of details to prove a point e.g. We’ve got to make smoke up there or die.
Punctuation: Use a range of punctuation for rhetorical effect and to guide the reader of your work
Triplets: Lists of three, you could even use alliteration here as well! E.g. he is cruel, callous and cowardly.
Characters
Bruno- A Young German boy born during WW2, he doesn’t fully understand the Nazi regime or their beliefs.
Shmuel – A Young Jewish boy who is in a concentration camp and makes Friends with Bruno.
Gretel- Bruno’s older sister, she begins to idolise Hitler and the Nazi regime.
Mother- Bruno and Gretel’s mother who is not happy about moving away from Berlin
Father- Bruno and Gretel’s father, a high ranking Nazi soldier who is given a new job looking after the concentration camp
Lieutent Kotler A Young Nazi soldier who is violent and aggressive, he works in the camp.
Pavel: A prisoner of the camp who helps around Bruno’s house.
Maria: A maid who Works for Bruno’s parents
Fury: Adolf Hitler ‘the fuhrer’ , leader of the Nazis
War and Conflict
Adverbs
Adjectives
Plural nouns
Irregular Verbs
Powerfully
Carefully
Guiltily
Accidentally
Deliberately
Bravely
Anxiously
Innocently
Irritably
Honestly
Seriously
Occasionally
Politely
Necessarily
Possibly
Powerful
Careful
Guilty
Accidental
Deliberate
Brave
Anxious
Innocent
Irritable
Honest
Serious
Occasional
Polite
Necessary
Possible
Atrocities Armies
Toys
Boys
Boxes
Lives
Knives
Women
Children
Wishes
Pyjamas
Prejudices
Tragedies
Turned
Found
Slept
Spent
Rode
Saw
Built
Taught
Forgot
Bombarded
Attacked
Battled
Fought
Using Sentences
Conjunctions: Words which join different parts of a sentence together
Subordinating conjunctions: Create a subordinate clause and show that one part of the sentence is more important than the other Coordinating Conjunctions: Link or contrast two clauses of equal importance
Simple Sentence: Consists of one main clause (must contain a subject and a finite verb) and makes sense on its own
Compound sentence: Contains two main clauses each of equal importance connected by a coordinating conjunction
Complex sentence: Contains at least one main clause and at least one subordinate clause
Subordinate clause: does not make sense on its own but depends on the main clause which it is placed with for meaning
Punctuation: Punctuation not only means our sentences are grammatically correct, it also guides our reading of a text.
Coordinating conjunctions
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (FANBOYS)
Subordinating conjunctions:
Because
Unless
Whereas
Whilst
Despite
Although
Therefore
Before
After