The Secret Lives Of Sgt John Wilson Unit Plan Form – Fill Out and Use This PDF

Table of Contents

(Activities to accompany The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson)

I. Notes to teacher

II.Listening Activities (3)

•“The Prologue”

•Listening for the facts

•Listening for feelings

•Making predictions

III. Reading Activities (4)

•Reading schedule

•Differences between a novel and a biography

•"John Wilson–A Skilled Liar"–reading for facts

•"The Art of the Biographer"

IV. Speaking Activities (2)

•Short Oral report

•Discussion Groups

V. Writing Activities (2)

•A review of The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson

•A letter suggested by the text

VI. Representing Activities (1)

•A map assignment

VII. Quick Assignments and Notes

(arranged sequentially)

i.A guide to People, Places, Things

Notes to Teacher

1.It is unlikely that all of the activities could or should be attempted. There would not be sufficient time to complete them in any case. The fact that there are activities for all four modes (reading, writing, speaking and listening, plus representing) ensures that several curriculum objective are being met. Each activity is directly tied to a specific objective in the ELA 30 curriculum.

2.If teachers plan to use the activities from semester to semester and from year to year, it might be advisable, in order to prevent plagiarism, to keep students’ work on file (or at least copies of it).

3.In most cases an evaluation rubric has been supplied. Where it has not, suggestions are made for evaluation criteria.

4.Teachers know best how much preparation needs to be done for each activity. For example, it might be necessary to review group work skills and responsibilities before using the "Discussion Groups" activity. Tone and style may have to be discussed before students are ready to attempt the Letter Writing assignment.

Listening Activities (3)

“The Prologue”

Learning Objective(s):

Adjust listening strategies to purpose (p.23)

1.Listening to receive information

2.Listening to respond personally

Description of Activity:

This is a listening activity that can be used to introduce The Secret Lives of

Sgt. John Wilson

•Prepare an audiotape using two voices (a male and a female– the male for the voice of the regular print and the female for the voice in italics) of the "Prologue", pp.1-4 [Note: the teacher could read the entire "Prologue", but it will be a more effective exercise if there are two distinct voices. Alternatively, two students could read the "Prologue," provided they are good readers and are well rehearsed.]

•Tell the students that they are going to listen to a "Prologue"(4-5 minutes) from a book by a Saskatchewan writer called The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson. Give them a bit of general information– e.g. the following "blurb" from the inside dust jacket:

The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson is the story of a passionate man who risked everything for love, the tale of a lawman gone terribly wrong.

John Wilson came to Canada in 1912, leaving his wife and family with the promise to return in a year. In 1914, he joined the Mounties, and while stationed in a Saskatchewan village, he caught TB and fell hopelessly in love with the young woman who took care of him. He would do anything for her, anything at all. Played out against a backdrop of catastrophic events–World War One, economic depression, the TB and Spanish flu epidemics– The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson is the riveting account of a mounted policeman and the women who loved him.