With the help of the chart (= tableau) below, imagine 6 questions focusing on your school mates’ reading habits. Ex: What type of books do you read?
Question words
Question words are also called wh questions because they include the letters ‘W’ and ‘H’.
Question words |
Meaning |
Examples |
---|---|---|
who |
person |
Who’s that? That’s Nancy. |
where |
place |
Where do you live? In Boston |
why |
reason |
Why do you sleep early? Because I’ve got to get up early |
when |
time |
When do you go to work? At 7:00 |
how |
manner |
How do you go? By car |
what |
object, idea or action |
What do you do? I am an engineer |
which |
choice |
Which one do you prefer? The red one. |
whose |
possession |
Whose is this book? It’s Alan’s. |
whom |
object of the verb |
Whom did you meet? I met the manager. |
what kind |
description |
What kind of music do you like? I like quiet songs |
what time |
time |
What time did you come home? |
how many |
quantity (countable) |
How many students are there? There are twenty. |
how much |
amount, price (uncountable) |
How much time have we got? Ten minutes |
how long |
duration, length |
How long did you stay in that hotel? For two weeks. |
how often |
frequency |
How often do you go to the gym? Twice a week. |
how far |
distance |
How far is your school? It’s one mile far. |
how old |
age |
How old are you? I’m 16. |
how come |
reason |
How come I didn’t see you at the party? |
How do they help us understand reality?
Vocabulary List
Fiction |
Young Adult Literature |
Dystopia |
dystopian fiction speculative fiction an ideal a novel a plot social science-fiction a series a tale a utopia eerie oddly familiar fictional fictitious uncanny to find out to look for to make up stories to mimic |
Realistic fiction non fiction fantasy horror graphic novel comics set in the real contemporary addressing issues Exploring diversity : cultural, gender, ability, and sexual orientation innovation experimentation from 12 to 18 |
a dictatorship censorship the law tyranny dismal insane totalitarian unacceptable to ban / to forbid to give in to give up
|
Definitions of the terms Fiction, Young Adult Literature and Dystopia.

Dystopian Literature
Main information :
– A few examples of dystopian literature : The Hunger Games, Delirium, I Robot
– Key elements of the genre : an imaginary futurisitic world / oppression and control of government – society – firm.
– It starts with a perfect society
– A dystopian story shows what would happen if….and aims at criticising our present society.
– This genre was born at the end of the 19th C with The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.
– In the first part of the 20th C. it was used to criticise Socialism and communism (Brave New World / Anthem / 1984 / Fahrenheit 451)
– Most novels were targeted at adults.
– The first young adults dystopia was The Giver by Lois Lowry in 1993.
– Since then , this genre has been very successful with young adults (Among the Hidden / The House of the Scorpion / Uglies / The Maze Runner / Feed / The City of Ember / Bar Code Tattoo / The Forest of Hands and Teeth / Divergent / Matched / Delirium
– Its ingredients :
a society controlled by its government or technology or its religion or ideas.
a society based on lies.
a disaster is often at the origin of this dystopian society.
individuality is banned and conformity is imposed.
Citizens are dehumanized.
Under a perfect image, citizens are kept under control thanks to propaganda.
The main character of the story is not fooled (= être dupe) and questions (= remettre en question) the principles of the society
– Its themes and messages :
the danger of government’s control and particular policies which reduce individual liberties.
the importance of knowledge and truth
yielding (fournir) one’s personnal data to someone else.
forsaking (= abandoning) one’s individuality.
The danger of technology.
The danger of desensitisation
Young Adult Literature
Dystopia
The Seven Sisters
the Seven Sisters trailer
Watch the trailer, answer the questions and then sum it up.
a) Pick up key words, audio elements, informations about the atmosphere.
b) In your opinion, what sort of document is it ? What do you expect to see ?
c) Focus on the elements of story. (setting, characters, society)
d) Then, what happens ?
e) What is the purpose of this document ?