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Lesson 1: To demonstrate an understanding of the text ‘Explorers or boys messing about’. To identify the perspective Morris has of the men using evidence from the text to support your point of view.

Do it nowIf someone has an adventure, they become involved in an unusual, exciting, and rather dangerous journey or series of events.

What ‘adventures’ would you like to have before you hit your elder years?

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‘It is not an adventure, if it does not contain an element of danger.’

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

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‘The pursuit of an adventure, if there is an element of danger involved, is a selfish act.’

To what extent do you agree with this statement?

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New knowledgeThe title of the text we are going to read is ‘Explorers of boys messing about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill.’ What do you think the writer of this article thinks about adventurers?

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This is a shortened newspaper article that tells the story of two men rescued by the Chilean Navy when their helicopter crashed in the sea off Antarctica. (The full article can be found in The Guardian here: http ://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/28/stevenmorris ).

The writer, Steven Morris, is a reporter for the broadsheet newspaper The Guardian and in this extract, from an article published in 2003, he gives an account of two hapless “explorers”.

Let’s read the newspaper article.

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Title Explorers or boys messing about? Either way, taxpayer gets rescue bill, Steven Morris Summary

Adapted from an article published in The Guardian newspaper, 28 January 2003. Helicopter duo plucked from liferaft after Antarctic crash.

1 Their last expedition ended in farce when the Russians threatened to send in military2 military planes to intercept them as they tried to cross into Siberia via the icebound Bering3 strait.

4 Yesterday a new adventure undertaken by British explorers Steve Brooks and Quentin 5 Smith almost led to tragedy when their helicopter plunged into the sea off Antarctica.

6 The men were plucked from the icy water by a Chilean naval ship after a nine-hour 7 rescue which began when Mr Brooks contacted his wife, Jo Vestey, on his satellite phone8 asking for assistance. The rescue involved the Royal Navy, the RAF and British9 coastguards.

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Last night there was resentment in some quarters that the men’s adventure had cost the

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taxpayers of Britain and Chile tens of thousands of pounds.

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Experts questioned the wisdom of taking a small helicopter – the four-seater Robinson

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R44 had a single engine – into such a hostile environment.

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There was also confusion about what exactly the men were trying to achieve. A website

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set up to promote the Bering Strait expedition claims the team were planning to fly from

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the north to south pole in their “trusty helicopter.”

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But Ms Vestey claimed she did not know what the pair were up to, describing them as

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‘boys messing about with a helicopter.’

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The drama began at around 1am British time when Mr Brooks, 42, and 40-year-old Mr

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Smith, also known as Q, ditched into the sea 100 miles off Antarctica, about 36 miles

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north of Smith Island, and scrambled into their liferaft.

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Mr Brooks called his wife in London on his satellite phone. She said: ‘He said they were

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Both in the liferaft but were okay and could I call the emergency people?’

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Meanwhile, distress signals were being beamed from the ditched helicopter and from Mr

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Brooks’ Breitling emergency watch, a wedding present.

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The signals from the aircraft were deciphered by Falmouth coastguard and passed on to

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The rescue coordination-centre at RAF Kinloss in Scotland.

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The Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship, HMS Endurance, which was 180 miles away surveying

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Unchartered waters, began steaming towards the scene and dispatched its two Lynx

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Helicopters.

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One was driven back because of poor visibility but the second was on its way when the

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Men were picked up by a Chilean naval vessel at about 10.20am British time.

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Though the pair wore survival suits and the weather at the spot where they ditched was

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Clear, one Antarctic explorer told Mr Brooks’ wife it was ‘nothing short of a miracle’ that

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They had survived.

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Both men were experienced adventurers. Mr Brooks, a property developer from London,

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Has taken part in expeditions to 70 countries in 15 years. He has trekked solo to Everest

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Base camp and walked barefoot for three days in the Himalayas. He has negotiated the

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White water rapids of the Zambezi river by kayak and survived a charge by a silver back

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Gorilla in the Congo. He is also a qualified mechanical engineer and pilot.

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He and his wife spent their honeymoon flying the helicopter from Alaska to Chile. The

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16,000-mile trip took three months.

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Mr Smith, also from London, claims to have been flying since the age of five. He has

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Twice flown a helicopter around the globe and won the world freestyle helicopter flying

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Championship.

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Despite their experience, it is not the first time they have hit the headlines for the wrong

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Reasons.

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In April, Mr Brooks and another explorer, Graham Stratford, were poised to become the

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First to complete a crossing of the 56-mile wide frozen Bering Strait between the US and

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Russia in an amphibious vehicle, Snowbird VI, which could carve it way through ice

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Floes and float in the water in between.

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But they were forced to call a halt after the Russian authorities told them they would

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Scramble military helicopters to lift them off the ice if they crossed the border.

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Ironically, one of the aims of the expedition, for which Mr Smith provided air back-up,

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Was to demonstrate how good relations between east and west had become.

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The wisdom of the team’s latest adventure was questioned by, among others, Gunter

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Endres, editor of Jane’s Helicopter Markets and Systems, said: ‘I’m surprised they used

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The R44. I wouldn’t use a helicopter like that to go so far over the sea. It sounds as if

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They were pushing it to the maximum.’

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A spokesman for the pair said it was not known what had gone wrong. The flying

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Conditions had been ‘excellent’.

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The Ministry of Degence said the taxpayer would pick up the bill, as was normal in

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Rescues in the UK and abroad. The spokesperson said it was ‘highly unlikely’ it would

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Recover any of the money.

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Last night the men were on their way to the Chilean naval base Eduardo Frei, where

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HMS Endurance was to pick them up. Ms Vestey said: ‘They have been checked and

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Appear to be well. I don’t know what will happen to them once they have been picked up

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HMS Endurance – they’ll probably have their bottoms kicked and be sent home the long

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Way.’

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Pen to paperWhat is Steven Morris’ perspective on the two men?

Perspective Evidence (highlight the key techniques that help to present this perspective)

The

writ

er, S

teve

n M

orris

, is

criti

cal o

f the

act

ions

of t

he m

en.

The men’s sense of adventure is costly.

The men were ill-prepared.

The men were seemingly experienced.

The men have never been in trouble before.

The men / Ms Vestry don’t seem to realise the seriousness of the situation.

New knowledgeLook at the following paragraph about Steven Morris’ perspective on the two men.

Steven Morris thinks the men’s sense of adventure is costly. This is evident when he writes that

the men’s activity has ‘cost the taxpayers of Britain and Chile tens of thousands of pounds.’ The

use of the verb ‘cost’ implies that other people are paying for the adventure of the two men and

when combined with the noun ‘taxpayers’ we realise that this is inclusive of all people and,

therefore, their little expedition has affected a large number of people. In using the proper nouns

‘Britain’ and Chile’, Morris conveys the idea that this also affects all the taxpayers in two countries,

again emphasizing that multiple countries are involved and affected and we learn that the cost has

been great through the hyperbolic use of ‘tens of thousands of pounds’. Further more Morris

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reinforces the impact on others when he writes ‘taxpayers will pick up the bill’. The use of the

modal verb ‘will’ puts forward a certainty and contains a tone of disappointment that innocent

people will have to fund the men’s irresponsibility.

WHAT? HOW? WHY?

Pen to paperNow construct your own WHAT HOW WHY paragraph analyzing an alternative perspective Morris holds on the two men.

WHAT? What is this perspective?HOW? 1. How do you know? What evidence do you have?

2. What methods has Morris used to help him convey this? WHY? Why has Morris employed these methods? What is revealed about his perspective?

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Lesson 2: To analyse how Steven Morris uses language to create a particular tone and convey his perspective.

Do it nowLet’s recap our understanding of Morris’ perspective on the boys’ adventure.Which of the following adjectives do you think best describes Morris’ tone when writing about the men’s behaviour?

Irresponsible favourable censorious critical

Sympathetic ironic reckless admiring

Judgmental approving derogatory imprudent

Satirical immature indignant unsympathetic

Disapproving thoughtful childish over-confident

Now pin your highlighted choices to specific examples within the text. If you have argued that Morris’ tone indicates that he finds the men irresponsible, what evidence do you have to back this up?

New knowledgeWhen exploring the tone of the next, it is important to consider how the tone shifts across the writing of the piece. To do this, we need to simple consider what the tone was like at the start of the text, what the tone was like in the middle of the text and what the tone was like towards the end of the text.

Pen to paperLet’s consider the tone at the start in the middle and towards the end. On the chart in the next page, choose one word to summarise the tone at the start of the article, in the middle and towards the end. Identify quotations that you think encapsulate the tone and from within those quotations, consider the techniques that you think have been used particularly effectively.

Quotations to support How do the techniques used 10

to convey tone also help support the writer’s

perspective?At the start of the article, Morris adopts a ….

In the middle of the article, Morris uses a ….

Towards the end of the article, Morris tone is ….

Pen to paperLook at the following paragraph on the tone at the start of the article:

At the start of the article, the tone Morris adopts is disapproving. This is evident when he states

‘Last night there was resentment in some quarters that the men’s adventure had cost the

taxpayers of Britain and Chile tens of thousands of pounds.’ The use of the noun ‘resentment’

indicates the writer is reflecting the umbrage many people felt towards the men’s expedition as a

result of it costing them money. The use of the past perfect ‘had cost’ suggests upset that

innocent people had to pay from their pockets to finance the men’s trip with the writer suggesting

that had the men not acted in such a reckless way other people would not have had to lose out.

This also causes the reader to ponder over whether men like these should be able to partake in

such activities so freely.

WHAT? HOW? WHY?

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Pen to paperNow construct your own WHAT HOW WHY paragraph analyzing an alternative perspective Morris holds on the two men.

WHAT? What is this the tone?HOW? 3. How do you know? What evidence do you have?

4. What methods has Morris used to help him convey this? WHY? Why has Morris employed these methods? How successfully has a tone been

conveyed?

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Lesson 3: To analyse how Steven Morris uses structural devices to help convey his criticism of the explorers

Do it nowRecap questions:

1. What is Morris’ perspective on the men’s expedition?______________________________________________________________________________

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2. How does the tone shift across the article?______________________________________________________________________________

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3. What is the difference between perspective and tone?______________________________________________________________________________

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Recapping prior knowledgeIn today’s lesson we are going to explore how Morris use structural techniques in his article. Let’s start by refreshing our knowledge of key structural techniques. Mix and match the term with its correct definition.

1. Heading a. Saying the same thing more than once for emphasis.

2. Paragraphs b. A punctuation mark used to separate groups of words for emphasis.

3. Quotes from reliable sources

c. A title at the top of a page or at the start of a section of writing.

4. Short sentence d. A sentence made up of a small number of words used to create impact.

5. Multi-clause sentence

e. Using the views of experts or professionals.

6. Dashes f. A section of a piece of writing, usually dealing with a single theme and indicated by a new line or indentation.

7. Inverted commas g. A punctuation mark that is used to show where speech or a quotation begins and ends.

8. Repetition h. A sentence made up of a number of clauses.

9. Contrast i. A différence in perspective, tone etc etc

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Pen to paperHow does Steven Morris use structural features to help his criticism of the men?

Structural features

Example and how does it support his perspective?

Text type features – newspaper article

Sentence structures

Punctuation

Repetition

Contrast

ReflectionLooking at all of the structural techniques used by Morris, which structural technique do you think most supports him to convey his perspective?______________________________________________________________________________

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