Obituaries – Lesson 1

Starter
Scan and project two or three current obituaries from newspapers and/or select some from the BBC website. A search on ‘obituaries’ and the year will produce some recent ones. Select people who have made a contribution to society.

Whole class offers ideas about the purpose of an obituary and these are recorded.

Grave stone 3 Development
Select one obituary for analysis, preferably of someone known to the students.
Class works in groups on one of the following aspects of the obituary.

1. The contributions to society of the deceased
2. The writer's objective
3. The tone of the article
4. If BBC obituaries used, comment on differences between these and newspaper versions.

Share phrases and ask class to comment on them. This would ideally be conducted on an interactive whiteboard as students could highlight the obituary both on the main board and on tablets.
Proceed to examine the structure of an obituary e.g.

1. A brief summary of how the person died and the highlights of his/her life.

2. His /her life in detail-each aspect should be in a separate paragraph.

3. A final paragraph outlining the main dates in subject's life – usually in bol – with details of whom he has pre-deceased.

Plenary

Discuss people who have made a contribution to society. Suggestions might be contemporary or historical. How have they contributed?

Homework
Students select a living or historical person who has made a significant contribution to society. The choice might be drawn from topical events. Nelson Mandela, William Wilberforce, the prime minister, Bob Geldorf … . It could also be someone who has contributed to the local community. They research the life of the individual and prepare to write an obituary.
This can be done in an ICT equipped room in the following lesson if access from home is difficult.

Go to Lesson 2