Characterisation and noun groups
Learning intention: We will read Roald Dahl’s description of Mr Twit with a focus on noun groups and how these contribute to building a picture of Mr Twit to help us understand what kind of character he is.
Success criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses noun groups to build understanding of a character.
About noun groups
Noun groups are the main grammatical resource for establishing the ‘who?’ or ‘what?’ in the clause. The head noun is the core part of the noun group.
Noun groups can consist of a single word or can be expanded by adding words before the head noun (pre-modifier) and/ or after the head noun (post- modifier or Qualifier).
Roald Dahl’s narratives have characters which appeal and those that do not. In the first chapter of The Twits, Roald Dahl introduces us to hairy-faced men. Recall this chapter, asking the students about some of the main ideas Roald Dahl introduces – for example, he suggests that hairy faced men might not want you to know what they actually look like, he wonders how they keep themselves clean.
This chapter sets the reader up for the next chapter where Mr Twit is introduced. Prior to reading this extract, a discussion of the meaning of ‘twit’ will have taken place.
It is possible to go into further detail about the language resources which make up the noun group. Derewianka and Jones (2016) suggest that questions can be asked to define what each part does, then identifying its function, and later the grammatical form. That is, using terms like ‘pointer’ or ‘describer’ can help students understand the purpose of the item.
Noun groups
Lesson sequence
Lesson sequence
- Read the chapter ‘Mr Twit’ with the students. Highlight that this our introduction to Mr Twit. Ask students, ‘How is Mr Twit depicted? What are your first impressions?’ List responses, asking students to tell you the words that help them to get these impressions. Here, students might provide examples of the adjectives in the extract, or groups of words which provide descriptive details. At this point, accept all contributions, asking them what their selections tell you about Mr Twit.
- We know that Mr Twit is not a very pleasant character, but how does Roald Dahl create this idea with us as readers? Roald Dahl’s description of Mr Twit tells us about:
- Mr Twit himself - what he is, what he thinks of himself, his actions
- Mr Twit’s appearance
- one way in which Dahl does this is through groups of words we call noun groups.
- On a copy of the text that all can see, highlight some of the noun groups for the students which help build a picture of Mr Twit:
- Mr Twit was one of these very hairy-faced men. The whole of his face except for his forehead, his eyes and his nose, was covered with thick hair. The stuff even sprouted in revolting tufts out of his nostrils and ear-holes. Mr Twit felt that this hairiness made him look terrifically wise and grand. But in truth he was neither of these things. Mr Twit was a twit. He was born a twit. And now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever. The hair on Mr Twit’s face didn’t grow smooth and matted as it does on most hairy-faced men. It grew in spikes that stuck out straight like the bristles of a nailbrush. And how often did Mr Twit wash this bristly nailbrushy face of his? The answer is never, not even on Sundays. He hadn’t washed it for years. (Roald Dahl, The Twits, Jonathan Cape Ltd & Penguin Books Ltd.)
- Discuss the effect of the noun groups in building up details about Mr Twit and his hairy appearance. What do they tell you about the character?
- Use some of the bolded examples to highlight the words which form the noun groups by identifying the head noun – and the ways it is this is usually a person or a thing. Look at the examples and ask the students
- ‘What is the main noun? What words come before the noun? What words come after the noun?’
- Model how the noun groups can be analysed to show pre- and post- modification. For example: Example 1: one of these very hairy-faced men
- The head noun is men – this noun group has a group of words before the noun. Example 2: The whole of his face
- The head noun is ‘face’. This noun group has a group of words before the noun. Example 3: The hair on Mr Twit’s face The head noun is ‘hair’.
- This noun group has groups of words before and after the noun.
- As you work through the examples, show the ways in which the noun groups are formed. You could use a table like the one below, or use different colours to highlight the parts.
Words that come before the noun (pre-modifier)Head nounWords that come after the noun (post-modifier – Qualifier)
one of these very hairy-facedmen
the whole of hisface
the hairon Mr Twit’s face
- Have students identify the main parts of the remaining noun groups in the Mr Twit extract and share with the group. Again, emphasise the ways in which detail can be added both before and after the noun. Have the students complete a similar analysis of the remaining noun groups and compare responses.
- In a discussion with the students, highlight: how these noun groups help to build a vivid image of Mr Twit and his disposition how information can be added after the noun rather than only adding adjectives before the noun.
- Ask the students to rewrite parts of the extract, modifying the noun groups by adding their own words before and/or after the noun, for example:
Mr Twit was a hairy-faced man with a long beard.
Only a small part of his face was covered with hair.
Evaluative language and variation of force using The Twits
Learning intention: We will read Roald Dahl’s description of Mr Twit with a focus on evaluative language which contributes to building a picture of Mr Twit to help us understand what kind of character he is.
Success criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses evaluative language to build understanding of a character.
Expressing attitudes
A major language resource for narrative is engaging the reader through expressing emotion, evaluation of qualities and the judgement of human behaviours (Derewianka & Jones, 2016). The choices can be positive or negative and can be ‘turned up’ or ‘turned down’.
In this description of Mr Twit, Roald Dahl uses overt evaluative choices to invite the reader to form an opinion of Mr Twit. For example, in the noun group ‘one of these very hairy-faced men’, ‘hairy-faced’ carries a negative appreciation of Mr Twit’s appearance, while the adverb ‘very’ increases the intensity. (Read more about expressing attitudes)
Provide students with a copy of the description of Mr Twit. Using a proforma like the one below, ask students to work in pairs or small groups to find ‘evidence’ in the extract about:
Students can write or cut up the description and paste under the heading they think the parts best fit (using whole sentences, or words or groups of words):
Success criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses evaluative language to build understanding of a character.
Expressing attitudes
A major language resource for narrative is engaging the reader through expressing emotion, evaluation of qualities and the judgement of human behaviours (Derewianka & Jones, 2016). The choices can be positive or negative and can be ‘turned up’ or ‘turned down’.
In this description of Mr Twit, Roald Dahl uses overt evaluative choices to invite the reader to form an opinion of Mr Twit. For example, in the noun group ‘one of these very hairy-faced men’, ‘hairy-faced’ carries a negative appreciation of Mr Twit’s appearance, while the adverb ‘very’ increases the intensity. (Read more about expressing attitudes)
Provide students with a copy of the description of Mr Twit. Using a proforma like the one below, ask students to work in pairs or small groups to find ‘evidence’ in the extract about:
Students can write or cut up the description and paste under the heading they think the parts best fit (using whole sentences, or words or groups of words):
- Mr Twit’s appearance
- Mr Twit’s actions/ behaviour
- Mr Twit’s opinion of himself
- The narrator’s opinion of Mr Twit.
2. When students have finished, model how they can highlight words, groups of words or sentences which express positive or negative appreciation of Mr Twit’s appearance or judgements about his behaviour or character by adding a +ve or –ve sign near each, using different colours. For example:
‘He hadn’t washed it for years’ –ve judgement
‘Mr Twit was a twit’ –ve judgement
‘It grew in spikes that stuck out straight like the bristles of a nailbrush’ –ve, appreciation.
3. Share responses, inviting students to explain why their selections, drawing out explicit discussion of noun groups, prepositional phrases and evaluative adjectives as appropriate.
4. Ask the students to highlight examples of these attitudes which are ‘amplified’ or ‘turned down’, using arrows to show the ‘force’ ↑ or ↓. For example:
‘He hadn’t washed it for years’ –ve judgement ↑.
‘he was a bigger twit than ever’ –ve judgement ↑.
5. Return to the questions: ‘What kind of person is Mr Twit? What are his qualities?’
6. Ask students to respond to the questions, this time providing the ‘evidence’ from the text. Students should be supported to use the metalanguage which they are familiar with in their responses.
‘He hadn’t washed it for years’ –ve judgement
‘Mr Twit was a twit’ –ve judgement
‘It grew in spikes that stuck out straight like the bristles of a nailbrush’ –ve, appreciation.
3. Share responses, inviting students to explain why their selections, drawing out explicit discussion of noun groups, prepositional phrases and evaluative adjectives as appropriate.
4. Ask the students to highlight examples of these attitudes which are ‘amplified’ or ‘turned down’, using arrows to show the ‘force’ ↑ or ↓. For example:
‘He hadn’t washed it for years’ –ve judgement ↑.
‘he was a bigger twit than ever’ –ve judgement ↑.
5. Return to the questions: ‘What kind of person is Mr Twit? What are his qualities?’
6. Ask students to respond to the questions, this time providing the ‘evidence’ from the text. Students should be supported to use the metalanguage which they are familiar with in their responses.
Characterisation and prepositional phrases using The Twits
Learning intention: We will read Roald Dahl’s description of Mr Twit with a focus on prepositional phrases and how these contribute to building a picture of Mr Twit to help us understand what kind of character he is.
Success Criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses prepositional phrases to build understanding of a character.
About prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases can provide more information about both the verb group and the noun group. Prepositional phrases about the verb group provide information about the circumstances of what’s going on, for example place (‘where?’), time, (‘when’, ‘how long?’), manner (‘how?’, ‘in what way?’), cause (‘why?’). Prepositional phrases typically begin with a preposition which are often single words but can be a number of words (for example, at, in, on or in front of). The structure of a prepositional phrase is preposition + noun group (for example ‘on Sundays’). (Learn more about prepositional phrases in narratives).
Lesson Sequence
Success Criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses prepositional phrases to build understanding of a character.
About prepositional phrases
Prepositional phrases can provide more information about both the verb group and the noun group. Prepositional phrases about the verb group provide information about the circumstances of what’s going on, for example place (‘where?’), time, (‘when’, ‘how long?’), manner (‘how?’, ‘in what way?’), cause (‘why?’). Prepositional phrases typically begin with a preposition which are often single words but can be a number of words (for example, at, in, on or in front of). The structure of a prepositional phrase is preposition + noun group (for example ‘on Sundays’). (Learn more about prepositional phrases in narratives).
Lesson Sequence
- Mr Twit was one of these very hairy-faced men. The whole of his face except for his forehead, his eyes and his nose, was covered with thick hair. The stuff even sprouted in revolting tufts out of his nostrils and ear-holes.
- Say to the students: This paragraph tells us quite a bit about Mr Twit. Let’s look at each of the sentences to see what information it tells us.
- Ask: ‘What does the first sentence tell you about Mr Twit?’ The first sentence tells us what kind of man he is or the group he belongs to. (Here you might highlight the use of the determiner ‘these’ which refers back to the first chapter which introduces ‘hairy-faced men’.) Which words tell you that? What do we call this group of words? Underline the noun group.
- Mr Twit was one of these very hairy-faced men.
- What does the second sentence tell you about Mr Twit? The second sentence tells us about his face and how it is covered with thick hair.
- Ask the students if they can remember the noun group which begins the second sentence and underline it (‘The whole of his face’). Which word tells us more about his face? Underline the prepositional phrase except for his forehead, his eyes and his nose.
- Which words tell you in what way his face was covered? Highlight the prepositional phrase ‘with thick hair’.
- The whole of his face except for his forehead, his eyes and his nose, was covered with thick hair.
- What does the third sentence tell you about Mr Twit? The third sentence tells us about Mr Twit’s thick hair and how and where the thick hair sprouted.
- Which words begin the sentence? What do we call this group of words? Underline the noun group. (Here explain that ‘the stuff’ refers to the thick hair on Mr Twit’s face in the previous sentence).
- Which words tell you about how his thick hair sprouted? Which words tell you about where his thick hair sprouted? Highlight the prepositional phrases ‘in revolting tufts’ and ‘out of his nostrils and ear-holes.
- The stuff even sprouted in revolting tufts out of his nostrils and ear-holes.
- Return to the description of Mr Twit to examine the ways in which prepositional phrases also contribute to building the description of him. These phrases give more details about the character by telling us about his face, how and where his hair grows, how old he is and how often he washes his hairy face.
- Recall how Roald Dahl used noun groups to help us understand more about Mr Twit. Recall how noun groups can be made up of words before and/ or after the noun.
- Focus on the first paragraph of the description of Mr Twit:
- Explain that these groups of words that tell us about more about Mr Twit's face and where and how his hair grows are called prepositional phrases.
- Mr Twit was one of these very hairy-faced men. The whole of his face except for his forehead, his eyes and his nose, was covered with thick hair. The stuff even sprouted in revolting tufts out of his nostrils and ear-holes.
- You could also highlight the adjectives within the noun groups and prepositional phrases (hairy-faced, thick, revolting) and discuss what these choices tell you about Mr Twit.
- Discuss how much of the short paragraph is devoted to giving details about Mr Twit’s appearance in simple sentences. (Learn more about simple sentences)
- Other prepositional phrases in the description of Mr Twit tell us about the length of time that Mr Twit had been a twit, and how often he washes his hairy face. Draw their attention to the following parts of the text:
- Mr Twit was a twit. He was born a twit.
- And now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever
- And how often did Mr Twit wash this bristly nailbrushy face of his?
- The answer is never, not even on Sundays. He hadn’t washed it for years.
- Ask students to locate the words which tell them:
- Mr Twit’s age now
- how often he washes his face
- Students might highlight all of the adverbials which provide these details, but draw attention to those that are prepositional phrases:
- Mr Twit was a twit.
- He was born a twit.
- And now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever.
- And how often did Mr Twit wash this bristly nailbrushy face of his?
- The answer is never, not even on Sundays.
- He hadn’t washed it for years.
- Provide students with their own copy of Mr Twit. Ask students to annotate their copy of the text, highlighting choices which have been explicitly taught. It is not necessary for them to highlight all examples, but to be able to identify and describe how the selected choices work individually and in combination to build character description
- Students can compare and discuss their annotations in small groups.
Character development
Learning intention: We will read Roald Dahl’s description of Mr Twit and focus on the language choices which build a picture of Mr Twit and help us understand what kind of character he is.
Success criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses language to help the reader align or not with a character.
Success criteria: I can identify, describe and explain the ways in which the author uses language to help the reader align or not with a character.