SECOND LEVEL

THIRD LEVELLEARNING RESOURCES

Resource created by Carol Magee

My Name is Mina by David Almond

Contents2 Introducing My Name Is Mina3 Biography4 Starting a Journal5 ‘There Is No Frigate Like a Book’6 Dreams, Visions and William Blake7 Writing Poetry 1: ‘13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird’8 Writing Poetry 2: ‘I should like to...’10 Writing Poetry 3: Concrete Poems and Building a Bird Mobile11 Personal Writing: Changing Point of View?? Nonsensical Writing11 Extraordinary Activity: Birdbrain Among the Branches12 Persephone – Springtime and Sorrow14 Debate - On Education14 Media – ‘Fly Away Home’ (U)15 Additional Resources 1-5

Introducing My Name is Mina

My Name is Mina is an extraordinary novel which fleshes out the characterof Mina, the neighbour of ‘Skellig’s’ boy hero, Michael. Mina is a misfit andschool life is pretty difficult most of time but this novel is a presentation ofMina’s journey to hope from her own unique viewpoint. As it takes the formof a journal, it does not always present events in their logical order andcontains some lovely tangents, especially her views on school andteachers! Her affinity with birds (she spends much of the novel in thebranches of her tree) is however one of the many threads that hold thenovel together and her emergence in the final pages as a ‘fledgling’ takingflight from her perch in search of friendship is deeply moving andsatisfying.

Although this pack is aimed at P6-S2, it is up to the individual teacher todecide which outcome from each activity best suits their class (dependingon ability, maturity, progression etc). The novel touches on many conflictingthemes including: courage and fear; creativity and those who stifle it;school teaching and home education; vision and blindness; death and newlife. There are many discussion topics which will naturally arise from aclass reading of the novel. Mina’s forays into creative writing are, however,an irresistible gift for teachers and so, many of the activities in this packstem from her ideas or imaginary worlds. There is also, especially forsecondary school classes, the opportunity to explore the writer’s craftthrough the symbolism in the novel and an analysis of Mina’s changingcharacter.

The implicit warning within My Name is Mina is that teachers of English

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should not be too prescriptive! Our response is to include manyopportunities to explore and enjoy our relationship with words: there aresimple ideas to build curiosity and confidence; lessons to create structuredpoems and prose and resources to learn or reinforce literary techniquesand terminology. Throughout, we have tried to stay true to the spirit of thenovel with these activities so that they can enrich your classroomexperience with true flights of the imagination!

NB There are chapter by chapter reading notes (with questions and discussion starters) at the weblink below, which teachers may also find useful: www.davidalmond.com/pdf/mina_reading_notes_c.pdf

Biography

I was born in Newcastle and I grew up in a big Catholic family in Felling-on-Tyne. I had four sisters and a brother and lots of relatives in the streetsnearby. My dad had been in Burma during the war. He and my mummarried in the late 40s. Dad became an office manager in an engineeringfactory. Mum was a shorthand typist until she had the children. We movedseveral times when I was a child, but always within Felling.

Felling had been a coal mining town, but by the time I remember anythingthe pits were all closed. The river at the foot of the town was lined withwarehouses and shipyards. At the summit was a wild area we called theHeather Hills. I loved playing football in the fields above the town, campingout with my friends, messing about with my grandfather in his allotment. Iwas an altar boy, and I still know snatches of the Latin mass by heart. Iloved our local library, and dreamed of seeing my books on its shelves oneday. Favourite books as a child/teenager included the tales of King Arthurand his knights, the books of T. Lobsang Rampa, and Hemingway'sstories. I also used to read my sisters' Enid Blytons. I always knew that Iwanted to be a writer. One of my uncles had a small printing works. Mymum said that she used to take me there as a baby and I used to laughand point at the printed pages coming off the rollers - so maybe I began tofall in love with print when I was just a few months old.

I went to primary schools in Felling and Sunderland - both of which I liked.I went to grammar school in Hebburn - which I disliked. To the surprise ofsome people (eg a few teachers and especially my headmaster) I went onto the University of East Anglia and did a degree in English and AmericanLiterature. After stints as a hotel porter, postman and labourer, I trained tobe a teacher. It seemed the perfect job for a writer: short hours, longholidays, what more could I want? How wrong I was. I wasn't justexhausted by it, I also found it fascinating, and I learned a huge amount. Iworked five years in a primary school on a large estate in Gateshead.

While I was there, my first short stories began to be published in little

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magazines. I needed more time to write, so I resigned and sold my house. Iwent to live in a commune based in a dilapidated mansion in a beautifulpart of Norfolk. I lived for a year and a half on a few hundred pounds andwrote my first decent stories there. When my money ran out, I found a jobwriting booklets for an adult literacy scheme. This led to my final teachingjob, in a school for children with learning difficulties.

My first book for young people, Skellig, was published in 1998. Before that,many short stories had appeared in magazines and anthologies, and werebroadcast on Radio 4. Two collections of my stories for adults, SleeplessNights (1985) and A Kind of Heaven (1997), were put out by IRON Press, asmall North Eastern publisher. I was editor of the fiction magazine Panurgefrom 1987-93. I wrote a novel called Seances that took five years to writeand was rejected by every publisher in the country. Then Skellig camealong. It seemed to come out of the blue, as if it had been waiting a longtime to be told. At times seemed to write itself. Since Skellig, I've writtenseveral more children's novels: Kit's Wilderness, Heaven Eyes, SecretHeart, The Fire-Eaters, and Clay; and a collection of stories based on mychildhood, Counting Stars. My first picture book, Kate, the Cat and theMoon, illustrated by the wonderful Stephen Lambert, came out in 2004. Ialso write for the theatre. My first children's play, Wild Girl, Wild Boy touredthe UK in 2001. My stage adaptation of Skellig was produced at The YoungVic in 2003, alongside my play for younger children, My Dad's a Birdman.Heaven Eyes was premiered at The Edinburgh Fringe in 2005.

I live with my family in Northumberland. We live just beyond the RomanWall, which for centuries marked the place where civilisation ended andthe waste lands began.

Activity 1 – Starting a Journal

‘Writing will be like a journey, every word a footstep that takes me furtherinto an undiscovered land’

Write the quote from the novel on the board/smart board. Discuss themeaning of the simile and how effective it seems to describe writing in thisway. How does Mina’s journal or any blank page seem to be like ‘anundiscovered land’.

Give a fresh jotter (preferably a slim one with blank or combination oflines/blank pages) to each pupil. This will be their journal/jotter for theduration of the novel study. Pupils may prefer to supply their own jotter orjournals. The emphasis should be on individuality.

Discuss the importance of the title of the book. Mina does not feel that shefits in to her class and we have all had moments like this: when we are newto a group or we feel we have had different experiences or backgrounds tothose around us. Give your own life examples. Explain that this journal is

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going to be important, that it will hold all of their ideas and imaginings forthis period of time and that to make it unique they must cover it in plaincoloured paper (this could be supplied by school) and then they must writeon it in bold letters:

MY NAME IS .................. and I love.

Then they are going to list some of the things they like best. Each pupil cancall out one thing - anything - around the class: Rangers, chocolate, mymobile, my pet dog etc but then ask them to continue with answers to thefollowing:

I love (favourite place)...(favourite word)...(favourite food)...(favouriteanimal). Continue with more abstract favourites (colour), (dream/hope forthe future), (feeling), (time of day). Add further (favourite) words so the finalfront cover should be almost full of words/things which tell us who theyare.

There are no wrong answers! Add additional adjectives for extra wordpower if desired, or keep it simple. Ask pupils to write these lines on thefront of their new jotter, filling up the cover, just as on the cover/jacket ofMy Name is Mina

NB Let this journal be a place for rough drafts of poems, a place to try some of Mina’s extraordinary activities; make personal word or spelling banks etc. Personal photos, illustrative doodles/drawings and other elements could be added as the novel study progresses.

Activity 2: Reading Poetry: There is no Frigate Like a Book

This poem’s ideas relate closely to Mina’s comment on the ‘undiscoveredland’.

There is no frigate like a bookTo take us lands away,Nor any coursers like a pageOf prancing poetry.This traverse may the poorest takeWithout oppress of toll;How frugal is the chariotThat bears the human soul!

– Emily Dickinson (c.1860)

This poem makes a good basis for exploring simile and metaphor. It alsohelps pupils to see a further extension of the idea that books and theimagination can take us on all sorts of journeys.

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l Copy poem into journals. Use the poem for a textual analysis activityeither in group discussion or as an individual reading task, dependingon your group’s age and ability. Blooms Taxonomy Question Starterscould be useful.

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l As you reflect on the ‘lands’ away, discuss the imaginary worlds thepupils enjoy in books they have read (Fairy Tales, Harry Potter, ArtemisFowl, Roald Dahl , Philip Pullman novels etc) or in television/filmworlds (Dr Who, Star Wars etc).

Homework Primary School: Bring in your favourite book which features a fantasy/imaginary world – from childhood (e.g. Mina’s Where the Wild Things Are) or from current reading. Be prepared to discuss three things which attract you to the fantastical world of the story.

Homework Secondary School: Fantasy worlds seem very different to our world but often the characters face similar problems and trials. Choose a book from a fantasy genre for your personal reading programme. Write a short book review* and share your recommendations as a class *Additional Resource 1

Activity 3: Dreams, Visions and William Blake

Mina’s belief in Blake’s poetry draws our attention to this visionary poet.Ask pupils to look at some of the poetry of ‘Songs of Innocence andExperience’. You might analyse ‘The Tyger’ to explore use of imagery or‘The Lamb’ as revealing the opposite side of human nature. Mina’s motto isfrom Blake’s The Schoolboy, which could be read in isolation, or as aprompt for the debate on education styles.

NB BBC TV Learning Zone have done an interesting series on Blake – some of which might be age/ability appropriate to your group:

www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/william-blake-the-tyger-and-the-lamb/1389.html

Dreams play an interesting part in the novel and truths seem to attendthem. The dream of the old lady, Grace, sees Mina as a bird ‘with littlefeathers on’. The dream of the horses ends with the animals telling Mina its‘time to wake up’ and a prompt to ‘peck her way out of her egg’ or the

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cocoon she has made herself. The astral flight around the world expressesMina’s curiosity about all she sees, yet the silver thread which ties her tohome shows she is not yet independent. And the vision of her father helpsher to find a sense of peace about where she belongs (for the time being).

l Ask pupils to write about their own dreams about the future in theirjournal. They could write in the third person describing a day in theirlife as a grown up.Anna climbed into her car and headed off to work. The traffic inLondon was ......When the task has been completed, ask the children to pick out keyideas from the text – what family situation they have written, what theyown, where they live, what possessions seem to be important? Thenask them to think if there is anything else they feel will be important totheir future happiness and write these ideas down too.

l Or write about a future society – what will it be like? In 2030, 2080,2111? What about transport? Clothing? Education? Government –independent Scotland? Values? Will it be better or worse than ourcurrent world?

Activity 4: Writing Poetry 1*: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird

*The poetry activities below are taken from ‘Does It have to Rhyme?’ bySandy Brownjohn – a wonderful resource of poetry teaching ideas forupper primary children. The book is now out of print but available onlinesecond hand from many booksellers.

‘This might be heaven...and we might be the angels!’ p.30

Mina’s delight in the everyday world and her time spent quietly reflecting is quite different from the normal noisy helter-skelter of school life. Remind the children of how as youngsters they took great pleasure in small things. Perhaps a stone became a special ‘pet’ or they spent hours stirring mud/ poking holes in the garden or just splashing in puddles. The special bond Mina forms with the blackbirds in her tree reminded me of this Sandy Brownjohn activity:

Originally from Wallace Stevens’ Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,this exercise asks pupils to consider how many different ways there are oflooking at something? The answer is as many as you can find.

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The objective is that the children choose a subject and try to look at it fromdifferent angles. Six or more is ideal to start with. Try to make the childrenwork for their poems, forcing them to look in greater depth at their chosensubjects – good practice for all their writing!

EXAMPLE:Six ways of Looking at the WindThe wind in the openTosses and hurls the leaves about the trees

The wind in the mountains howls like hyenasAnd wisps around the mountain tops

The wind in the treesWhirls around the birds’ ears and blows in.It winds itself in and out of their legs

When the sun and wind meetThey make shadows like people dancing, moving swiftlyThe rain comes and kills them.

The flag droops on the flagpole.Suddenly the wind draws up its breathThe flag flies around gaily and shows the Union Jack.

The salient wind drives up the steep wallsAnd goes in through open windowsThe windows bang shut and crack into a hundred pieces.– S Gregory

Activity 5: Writing Poetry 2: ‘I should like to’

Mina’s motto by Blake is well worth reflecting on both for its beauty, itssymbolism for Mina, and for its comment on educating children:

How can a bird that is born for joySit in a cage and sing

TIP Have plenty of thesauruses in the classroom – ideally one between two. Underline any words which are overused or unexciting after the first draft. Model a few lines on the board and get pupils to choose words from the thesaurus to improve it. Children take enormous satisfaction in finding good words and this is a really helpful way to start them thinking about improving self expression in all of their writing

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I have used the following Sandy Brownjohn activity many times with great success both with P6/7 groups and with S1/2. It fits really well with Mina’s desire to let her imagination fly .

Read the Poem ‘To Paint the Portrait of a Bird’ – Additional Resource 3 -by Jacques Prevert (trans. Lawrence Ferlinghetti). This is in TouchstonesAnthology 3. Briefly, this poem says you can paint a cage with an opendoor and place the canvas against the tree. Then you must hide and waitfor the bird to come and enter the cage. Then you must paint the cageclosed and then paint out all the bars. Then you must paint certain thingsto make the bird sing..

The green foliage and the wind’s freshnessThe dust of the sunThe noise of the insects in the summer heat.

The intangibility of these lines is what sets the children free to imaginewhat they would like to do. Things which could not normally be done – e.g.they hear things you could normally see, touch or taste, and have to try tosee sounds, to taste smells, or touch tastes. Ask the children to write foreach ‘wish’ and to expand the description of it to make each picture morevivid. Although at first they might read the poem and feel it can’t be done,once they are off, it is amazing what flights of fancy they are capable of.With all the barriers down and constraints of the real world forgotten, thechildren are free to experiment with words and ideas.

Examples:I should like to touch the sound of the skylark wavering on the horizonOr feel the stars in the night sky.I would love to keep the moon shimmering in a jar.I would like to hear the sound of the pastOr paint the liberty of life – R Luff

I should like to paint the noise of a vulture on the eastern mountains on a summer’s evening,

The buzz of dragonflies on the marshThe sound of a hummingbird’s wings as they go up and down in a plant.

I should like to take home the rays of the moon on a frosty night,Or touch the magic of a witch in HellI should like to hear the glow in a tiger’s eye on a very dark night,The calling of a painting to an artist.I should like to understand the ways of the gods of ancient Mexico,The mystery of the dark,And the paint in the tin, waiting to be mixed.– R Mattinson

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Activity 6: Writing Poetry 3: Concrete Poetry

Mina’s fondness for concrete poetry or shape poems offers a really goodopportunity to study and try writing some concrete poems of your own asa class. Look closely at Mina’s Egg Poem p.178

Explore with your class how the words and shape are formed. What wordsand phrases especially suit the ‘egg’ shape of the poem. Most anthologieshave some concrete poetry for you to use as models. Ask the pupils to tryshapes of their own. Rain drops, snow flakes and other shapes from thenatural world are quite good starting points, and then allow theirimaginations to take off.

Example:

A mixture of poets’ and children’s work which could be displayed on yoursmartboard or copied as models.

A resource for Primary School Children which is available as an interactivepoetry builder is available on: www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/shape-poems-30044.html

Homework and/or Extension (all levels)Create shape poems on a bird theme:

and then: make a mobile for the classroom on which you suspend your bird shape poems (Additional Resource 4).

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Activity 7: Personal Writing

Use one or more of Mina’s extraordinary activites –

Write a story about yourself as if writing about someone else.

Mina uses this technique to distance herself from what has happened toher – usually the difficult or painful situations. It can be a lot easier to dothis than to write as yourself.

Remember a time when you were alone or afraid. Explain the situation you were in and how you coped. Try to express your thoughts and feelings.

Mina’s SATS episode is really funny and worth dipping into again. It is alsoa turning point in Mina’s journey as it leads to her being taken out ofmainstream education. Ask pupils to look at one or two paragraphs of herSATS essay to see if they could replace the nonsense words with plainEnglish. Then, more fun, try writing their own nonsensical story on a topicof their choice. This freedom from restraint can be liberating and createsome funny words too. You could keep a class glossary of the bestinvented words. [See also The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll].

Activity 8 - Extraordinary Activity: Birdbrain Among the Branches

Visual displays are often a great way to reinforce discussion points and thisactivity asks pupils to discuss, read, create and draw.

The purpose of the exercise is to get the children to recognise thesignificance of the bird motif in the story and to see how Mina fits into this.Start by discussing the many types of bird. (see table Additional Resource2). Which ones can they remember? Ask the pupils to think of anyassociations they have with any of those birds – e.g. owls associated withwisdom, the night, bird of prey, hunter etc. Give each group the table andask them to discuss then research the symbolism/associations of that bird.This may be a good homework task. Each group presents their findingsand adds them to the table...

Then as a whole class think about MINA. How is she like a bird. Whataspects of the birds in the story also apply to her? E.g.wants to fly like alark, (literally? In what sense?), sits in a tree? Seems to rise above herpeers (e.g. squawks from the tree to Sophie and others)? Morecomfortable in the night? Relationship with Whisper? Like a chick herself,fledgling child – growing up.

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Create through collage or painting a large tree (wall size) – draw plenty ofbranches. Pupils in small groups can take a bird template (AdditionalResource 5) or draw an outline of a specific bird. Once cut out, write on thekey words associated with the bird and stick the shape onto a branch.Another group could prepare a collage of the nest with 3 green/blue eggs.Another group should prepare a collage of Mina sitting. Try to rememberdetails (e.g. pale skin, black hair) to be accurate. Create a book to place inher hands. In the book write all the words which also apply to Mina.Perhaps draw a skeleton of a bird or the archaeopteryx. Discuss therelevance of these in the story – links to the past/survival of a cataclysmicevent? How do these ideas relate to Mina?

The final display will cement the symbolic meaning of the birds andMina’s attachment to them. Read the last few pages again. Notice thereferences to ‘chick’, ‘fledgling’, ‘making a first flight’ – discuss with thepupils the part that the bird imagery adds to the meaning of Mina’s first‘flight’ from her tree to make a new friend.

Extension/Homework

Primary or Secondary School (levels 1 2 3)Write a character study of Mina. Try to describe her struggle to fit in to an ordinary school and how like a bird she seems to be. Explain the ending in detail and the way in which the author portrays her like a chick taking her first flight.

Secondary School Write an essay on the use of symbolism in My Name is Mina. Explore the many symbols (Persephone, Whisper, eggs, nests) in the story, especially the symbolic references to birds. Try to explain how the writer links Mina’s ‘journey’ to the emergence of a chick from an egg.

Activity 9: Persephone : Springtime and Sorrow

READING AND WRITING AND DISCUSSION

The figure of Persephone is an interesting one and she appears severaltimes in the novel. Her story is told p.41-61 indirectly on Mina’s journeyinto the ‘Underworld’ of Heston Park, but she also appears in p.103-110 asMina, fed up with the cold spring day, thumps the ground to awaken her.She is linked to Mina’s grieving and there is an unspoken hope that insome way she will heal Mina’s pain over her father’s death and help herfind her place in the world. The search for the Underworld is really ajourney for answers; the longing for spring and the physical awakening ofPersephone is an expression of hope – both deep human needs.

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Discuss with the children Mina’s sorrow and need for hope andreassurance in circle time (Primary) or PSE/RME (Secondary) –

l Discuss different ways in which we express grief or sorrow in ourculture/in other cultures.

l Reincarnation as well as a Christian heaven and astral flying are allmentioned in the novel.

l Different views of an afterlife could be explored and explained.l Since ancient times, because of the Birds connection to the sky, they

have been thought of as a supernatural link between the heavens andthe earth. What Indian spiritual idea does Mina want to believe aboutbirds?

HOMEWORK/EXTENSION READING ACTIVITY - RESEARCHING THE MYTH

Research the story of Persephone and Pluto from the Greek myths.

HOMEWORK/ EXTENSION WRITING ACTIVITY - REWRITING TEXTS

l Rewrite the tale in a different genre - as a cartoon strip or as aplayscript to be acted in a small group OR:

l Rewrite the tale from Persephone’s point of view – in the first person.Try to express the contrast in moods and atmosphere during hertransition from Hades to the surface of Earth.

If you have used the activity Bird Brain among the Branches, you could now add cut outs of white or pink blossom to your tree – signifying the healing of the springtime. You could write words on the flower shapes to show a change for Mina – new life, threshold, hope, courage, flight, friend, Persephone, possibility...etc

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Activity 10: Debate – on Education

There is a great discussion of education in the novel and teachers get amixed press! Spend some time discussing the different attitudes toeducation in the novel – from Mina – ‘school is a prison cage’ - to theimmoveable Mrs Sculley, to the unflappable Malcolm at Corinthian RoadYPU. Consider the names Mina gives the teachers she does not rate –Scullery, Palaver etc. What do these names mean? Are they helpful inrevealing Mina’s attitude to school? Read The Schoolboy by William Blake

Debate the Motion: Home Schooling is better than Mainstream Education

Homework : You could follow up the debate with a written report on the different kinds of education which feature in the novel.

Activity 11: Media – Fly Away Home (U)

Watch the film ‘Fly Away Home’ (U) starring Jeff Daniels/Anna Paquin. Thisfilm features another girl, Amy, who loses her mother in a car accident andmust uproot herself to live with an estranged father in Canada. Like Minashe must come to terms with a new situation and also like Mina she has aspecial relationship with birds – specifically geese. The opportunities tocompare and contrast the central character are obvious but discussioncould also cover:

Primary School (level 1 and 2)The Character of Amy – consider Amy’s journey. What does she learn about family throughout the film? In what ways do the geese help Amy?

Secondary School (level 3)l Representation of Amy – grieving child/Mother Goosel Symbol of Birds l Ideas of Home/family portrayed in the filml Use of Soundtrack

CONNECTIONS WITH MY NAME IS MINA:

Compare and contrast the different treatments of the themes ofgrief/parent-child relationship/significance of birds to the development ofcentral character.

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Watching: UAE

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Additional Resource 1 – Book Review

WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW?

A book review is a written or oral report on a book that you have recentlyread and enjoyed.

WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?

Its purpose is to inform and to entertain. It should give a brief synopsis(summary) of the plot, give character sketches of the main characters andcover the important issues in the story and how the author conveys them.

HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?

1: Decide which of your recent reading books you would like to review.

2: Write an introduction in which you state the book’s title and author.You could at this point give a little information on the author if you feelit is relevant:

3: Describe what happens in the story giving details of the charactersand how they evolve (change) as the story develops. Are there any keymoments or important turning points in the story that you feel test thecharacters or help them to learn something

4: Try to write a paragraph on the theme(s) (key issue(s) of the book. Askyourself what message the writer is trying to convey or what importantlife issue the author is encouraging us to think about.

5: Conclusion. Summarise your feelings about the novel and state whatmade it memorable for you. Was it the vivid characters? Exciting plot?The way it was written? Try to be specific and give an example. Finallystate why you would recommend this book to your classmates. (NB:No mark out of 10 required!)

You may be asked to present this as a talk instead!

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Additional Resource 2A: Bird Brain Among the Branches (Teachers)

Bird Symbolic Meaning Significance to Mina

OWL The owl is associated withnight. Native Americanssaw them as guardians orprotectors and wore owlfeathers in their clothing.

l intelligencel brilliancel perspectivel intuitionl quick-witl independencel wisdoml protectionl mysteryl power

Mina is associated withdreams and night from thevery first pages of thenovel. She sees herself asat one with the owls inCrow Road. She hasintuition and is obviouslywise herself. The otherchildren recognise hermystery but are notmature enough to accepther differences so they callher ‘weird’.

What other words from thelist apply to Mina?

LARK Merriment – as the larksang hymns at the gates ofheaven; the lark was thebird that announced thecoming of the day.Because of the bird'sboundless energy, it is saidthe lark is also the symbolhope, happiness, and ofgood fortune; creativity.

Mina’s creativity andnatural passions (that herschool suppresses) arelike the skylark she wishesto be. Note her poems onthe skylark...

What other aspects of thelark are like Mina?

BLACKBIRD Enchantment, theGateway, the inner call,Guide, illumination

Mina’s mother says ‘she ispoised on the threshold ofa time of wonder’

The idea of illumination isinteresting – what do theblackbirds show/guideMina to see

The nest is very importantto Mina. What does itsignify in the novel?

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Bird Symbolic Meaning Significance to Mina

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ARCHHAEOPTERYX Does this bird have anysignificance in the novel?

Survival – a link to thepast?

How does this relate toMina?

Just as the archaeopteryxsurvived the death of thedinosaurs so Mina musttry to survive the death ofher father and carry on.

PIGEON Pigeons are of the dovefamily and representspiritual peace.

Peace in the hubbub ofthe city is hard, yet Minafinds a way to make herpeace with the past andmove on.

Additional Resource 2B: Bird Brain Among the Branches (Pupils)

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Bird Symbolic Meaning Significance to Mina

OWL The owl is associated withnight. Native Americanssaw them as guardians orprotectors and wore owlfeathers in their clothing.

l intelligencel brilliancel perspectivel intuitionl quick-witl independencel wisdoml protectionl mysteryl power

Mina is associated withdreams and night from thevery first pages of thenovel. She sees herself asat one with the owls inCrow Road. She hasintuition and is obviouslywise herself. The otherchildren recognise hermystery but are notmature enough to accepther differences so they callher ‘weird’.

What other words from thelist apply to Mina?

LARK What other aspects of thelark are like Mina?

BLACKBIRD The nest is very importantto Mina. What does itsignify in the novel?

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Bird Symbolic Meaning Significance to Mina

ARCHHAEOPTERYX Does this bird have anysignificance in the novel?

PIGEON Can you see any relevanceof this bird?

Additional Resource 3: To Paint The Portrait Of A Bird

First paint a cagewith an open doorthen paintsomething prettysomething simplesomething beautifulsomething usefulfor the birdthen place the canvas against a treein a gardenin a woodor in a foresthide behind the treewithout speakingwithout moving...Sometimes the bird comes quicklybut he can just as well spend long yearsbefore decidingDon't get discouragedwaitwait years if necessarythe swiftness or slowness of the comingof the bird having no rapportwith the success of the pictureWhen the bird comesif he comesobserve the most profound silencewait till the bird enters the cageand when he has enteredgently close the door with a brushthenpaint out all the bars one by onetaking care not to touch any of the feathers of the birdThen paint the portrait of the treechoosing the most beautiful of its branchesfor the birdpaint also the green foliage and the wind's freshnessthe dust of the sunand the noise of insects in the summer heatand then wait for the bird to decide to singIf the bird doesn't singit's a bad signa sign that the painting is badbut if he sings it's a good signa sign that you can signso then so gently you pull outone of the feathers of the birdand you write yours name in a corner of the picture

– Jacques Prevert (translated by Lawrence Ferlinghetti)

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Additional Resource 4 – Bird Template and Mobile

Scale up or down as appropriate:

How to make a Shape Poem Mobile: full instructions with stage-by-stageimages:

http://catonalimb.blogspot.com/2010/11/paper-string-and-branches-bird-mobile.html

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Additional Resource 5 : Bird Templates for BirdbrainAmong the Branches

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