Other Worlds
1
The Poison in the Blood
Tom Holland
Other Worlds
I Am a Dalek
Gareth Roberts / Dr Who
Other Worlds
2
Contents
Other Worlds 3
Extract from The Poison in the Blood 6
Extract from I Am a Dalek 7
Further development 9
More reading 12
Adult Literacy Core Curriculum References 14
Acknowledgement
The learning materials to accompany the Quick Reads
publications have been produced as part of The Vital
Link’s Reading for Pleasure campaign, funded by the
Department for Education and Skills and in co-operation
with World Book Day. Our thanks go to the writing and
editorial team of Nancy Gidley, Kay Jackaman and
Moreen Mowforth.
www.vitallink.org.uk
Other Worlds
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Purpose
To explore the variety of ‘other worlds’ in fiction and their uses
in reflecting our own.
To begin to develop an understanding of the role of myth and
legend as the basis for modern story telling.
Resources
Copies of I Am a Dalek
Copies of The Poison in the Blood
Handouts 1 and 2: Book extracts
Flipchart, pens
Activity
Myths, legends, fairy tales, fantasy and science fiction often
present the reader with settings that are ‘human’ or familiar to act
as the terms of reference for activities that most definitely are not.
Each of the genres has its own conventions and purposes, but all
offer readers the opportunity to project themselves into a world
familiar in some ways, but which is also ‘an other world’ where
different rules of behaviour and consequences apply. Humans are
sometimes depicted as weak, their fate in the hands of beings or
intelligences whose actions they may not be aware of, or able to
influence.
The activity below can be done prior to reading the books, or after
reading them in order to compare with other books or stories.
Write the following headings in columns on a flipchart sheet (you
will need one sheet for each small group): type of story;
characters’ appearance; speech; behaviour; physical surroundings;
methods of travel; attitudes to humanity. Ask readers, in small
groups, to use their knowledge of stories with main characters who
are not human (from books, folklore, TV, film, magazines, etc.) and
note down as much specific information as they can remember on
the features of those characters under each of the headings. If you
have enough groups, you might like to allocate a genre with which
a group is particularly familiar, so you have more to compare.
Other Worlds
continued
Other Worlds
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Activity
Display the flipchart sheets. Ask readers to comment on
similarities or clear differences between the different types of
stories. For example, are the main characters in the stories
generally completely human in physical appearance, or do they
have features that mark them out as ’other worldly‘? Is their
attitude to mankind benevolent? Do they adopt human
behaviour/characteristics to try and hide their identities and gain
acceptance, or are they just themselves and expect mankind to
accept them on their own terms? Do the human beings with
whom they interact fear and obey them, or try to
exploit/harness their powers to meet their own ends? Are the
physical settings for the stories completely supernatural, or are
they a combination of the familiar with the imaginary?
Invite readers to share their personal preferences among these
sorts of stories, identifying the qualities that make them like one
rather than another.
Reflection
I Am a Dalek and The Poison in the Blood are very different
types of book, but both include heroes who are trying to defeat
monsters and whose actions dictate human futures.
Ask readers to read through Handouts 1 and 2. What similarities
can readers see in the two extracts, one set in the future and
one in the distant past? For example, description of the
‘monsters’ (tentacles, slime, drool, noise, unusual body
arrangements!); use of tools (bows, arrows, sonic screwdriver)
to defeat them.
There would, however, appear to be some differences in the
approach of the heroes to their task. Can readers say what these
are? What hints do these give of the way in which the stories
may develop? Will the Doctor happily undertake any actions
necessary to destroy an enemy? Is Heracles likely to debate the
pros and cons of actions? How closely do the two of them seem
to be identifiable as human? Which human traits do they use
which are useful or positive, and which that are destructive or
negative?
continued
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Development
These activities could be undertaken when readers have read
either of the texts.
The Poison in the Blood introduces readers to some of the
Greek myths and legends. Using a dictionary or thesaurus,
readers could define the difference between a myth and a
legend. They might like to research a myth or legend from
their own culture and present it to the rest of group.
I Am a Dalek is one of the stories of ‘other worlds’ and their
interactions with this one, which are often used to teach
readers some sort of moral lesson. What lessons can readers
draw from this one? For example, we may all have evil in our
genes; you cannot bargain with evil; it is sometimes justified
to break the rules to reward good; recognition of humanity is
not a weakness.
What other kinds of stories that have been used to teach a
lesson can readers share with each other– fairy tales,
parables, fables? The conventions of these are sometimes
followed in plots of novels about ordinary people. This could
be explored through, for example, examination of the March
Quick Reads publication Star Sullivan, short stories in
magazines or film plots.
Other Worlds
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The Poison in the Blood
EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER 6
AT FIRST THERE WAS only a single neck. It rose up
high like a snake’s. It had orange and scarlet frills
around its neck. Its mouth snarled open. Its teeth were
razor sharp. Drool dripped from them. When the drool
landed in the water, it hissed. When it landed on the
mud or rushes, it burned them. The neck coiled and
twisted. The head darted. The jaws were open wide. It
spat poison at the boat. Iolus had to row frantically to
avoid it. The boat rocked. Heracles stumbled. The water
hissed and boiled where the monster’s poison splashed.
Heracles pulled back the string of his bow. He aimed.
He fired. The arrow sang as it flew. It thudded into the
open mouth of the monster, which bellowed in pain. Its
blood was black. It spurted out in a thick flood from
between the monster’s jaws. It splashed into the water.
Again the water boiled.
‘You killed it!’ shouted Iolus. ‘You killed it.’
‘No,’ replied Heracles. ‘Look.’ He pointed. Iolus stared.
Something seemed to be moving beneath the water.
Coils, twisting and turning. ‘More snakes?’ he yelled in
terror.
Heracles shook his head. He strung another arrow and
gritted his teeth. ‘A hydra,’ he whispered. ‘It is a hydra. A hydra with a hundred necks.’……..
Other Worlds
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I Am a Dalek
EXTRACT FROM CHAPTER 6
HE HANDED KATE GENTLY over to Rose. ‘We’ve got
to get her away, far away. I’ll sort it out later. There’ll
be a way. The further she gets, the safer she’ll be.
What’s she called again?’
‘Kate Yates.’
‘Cruel parents and the Dalek factor. Unlucky girl. Go!’
Rose grabbed Kate round the middle and ran for the lift
as fast as possible.
The Doctor returned to the Dalek casing. The green
sparkles had faded.
The electronics inside were damaged by age. It was
unlikely that Kate had managed to spark them into life,
but it was worth making certain.
He waited, thinking over his next move. After a minute,
he raised the sonic screwdriver for another check and
peered inside.
A greasy green eye blinked up at him. A newly formed
Dalek creature, smaller than an adult, was already
stretching its slime-coated tentacles towards the
connections.
continued
Other Worlds
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The Doctor leapt back. ‘No,’ he breathed, staggering
a little. ‘No. That’s impossible…’
He hesitated for a second. He knew he had to kill it –
and kill it now. Could he?
The casing slammed shut on its hinge with a deafening
clang.
The tip of the eye-stalk opened, glowing a bright,
healthy blue.
The sucker arm started to twitch. The base shifted,
freeing itself from the earth that covered it. A croak
came from the grating beneath the head. ‘Aaaaaa...’
The lights on the domed head flickered into life.
The Doctor realised that he had one option left, an
option that had served him well on many occasions.
He ran to the lift doors and pressed the up button
desperately.
Other Worlds
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Further development
Readers may like to draft a short review of I Am
a Dalek, commenting on the differences between
reading the story and seeing an episode of the
series on television.
The ‘Other Worlds’ theme could also be used to
explore the myths, legends and folklore of other
cultures, including European, to see how they
might have influenced our own.
Many people may say that the huge differences
between economies and development means that
we have ‘other worlds’ on this planet now and
may have them in the same country. Readers
may like to consider the following questions:
1. What, if anything, do you think is 'wrong' with
this world, and how have you arrived at
that/those conclusion/s?
2. What do you think would make the world a
'better' place? Their ideas could be researched,
structured in note form and then presented orally
to the group with supporting material from their
research.
Useful websites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ – BBC
Doctor Who website
http://www.gallifreyone.com/ – Outpost
Gallifrey, a popular Doctor Who fan website with
over 24,000 readers daily
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology#T
he_Olympian_gods – very accessible introduction
to Greek mythology
http://www.greatdreams.com/myth.htm – myths
and legends from around the world
continued
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Links to individual author websites can be found
with the author biographies in the file ‘Further
Approaches to Reading for Pleasure’, and with
the individual book files for the relevant March
Quick Reads.
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Other Quick Reads with
an ‘Other Worlds’ theme:
Title Author
Someone Like Me Tom Holt
Other books with an ‘Other Worlds’ theme from the First Choice database:
Title Author ISBN
The Highway Men Ken Macleod 1905207069
The Underbury Witches John Connolly 1905494017
Alien Deeps Douglas Hill 1902260554
The Stainless Steel Rat Harry Harrison 1857984986
The Big Book of the Doug Moench 1563892545
Unexplained
Eve (The X Files) Ellen Steiber 0006483259
Cold Tom Sally Prue 0192718878
Coraline Neil Gaiman 0747562105
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More reading – Quick Reads
March title Author ISBN
The Thief Ruth Rendell 0091796865
Woman Walks into a Bar Rowan Coleman 0099492288
Blackwater Conn Iggulden 0091907039
Star Sullivan Maeve Binchy 0752879545
Hell Island Matthew Reilly 0330442325
The Book Boy Joanna Trollope 0747582114
Don’t make me Laugh Patrick Augustus 1902934466
Someone Like Me Tom Holt 1841494461
Screw it, Let’s Do It Richard Branson 0753510995
How to change your life in 7 steps John Bird 0091907039
Chickenfeed Minette Walters 0330440314
The Team Mick Dennis with 0552153729
the Premier League
May title Author ISBN
Danny Wallace and the Danny Wallace 0091908949
The Centre of the Universe
Desert Claw Damien Lewis 0099493535
Cleanskin Val McDermid 0007216726
The Name You Once Gave Me Mike Phillips 0007216718
Grey Man Andy McNab 0552154334
I Am a Dalek Gareth Roberts/Dr Who 0563486481
The Poison in the Blood Tom Holland 0349119643
I Love Football Hunter Davies 0755314700
Winner Takes All John Francome 0755329481
The Dying Wish Courttia Newland 0349119635
Secrets Lynne Barrett-Lee 1905170300
The Corpse’s Tale Katherine John 1905170319
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See www.quickreads.org.uk for information on these and
future Quick Reads. £1-off Quick Reads book tokens,
valid from 2 March-31 December 2006, are available here.
The books are available everywhere; high-street bookstores,
independent bookshops, supermarkets, libraries and more.
You can also search for your nearest Quick Reads selling store
on a Store Finder Database.
Audio versions of the Quick Reads are available from
W F Howes Ltd as part of their Clipper Emergent Reader
programmes (www.wfhowes.co.uk/cerp/).
See First Choice library booklist at
www.firstchoicebooks.org.uk for mainstream books selected
against criteria for their suitability for emergent readers
Other publications for emergent readers include those from
Sandstone Press (www.sandstonepress.com) and New Island’s
Open Door series (www.newisland.ie).
Other Worlds
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Adult Literacy Core Curriculum References
Activity, Reflection
and Development
Speaking and listening
SLlrE3.1–.6
SLc/E3.1–.4
SLd/E3.1–.3
SLlr/L1.1–.6
SLc/L1.1–.4
Reading
Rt/E3.1, .2, .4, .7, .8
Rt/L1.1–.3, .5
Writing
Wt/E3.1–.4
Wt/L1.1–.6