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Connect the Dots

Year 9 Wide Reading

Genre is a word used to describe text type or category. It is used to
describe the attributes of texts and helps audiences know what to expect from a text.
Authors use genre descriptors to help tell a story. They may play with the rules of genre to
surprise the audience or to communicate values.
Crime fiction is a genre which is easily recognizable. Over the course of this unit you will
be learning some of the descriptors. You will also read and view at least four examples of
crime fiction. You will make connections between these texts and make judgements about
whether they follow or break the rules of the genre, and for what purpose.
You will work on this for homework and in class time. You will read your chosen texts over
the course of a term, and view films in class.
You will keep notes based on your reading and use them to write a report that summarises
what you have discovered about your genre. This will be due towards the end of Term 2.

Tasks
1. Select and read two written texts from the reading list provided by the library.
You could consider reading a classic short story by authors such as Dorothy L. Sayers,
Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, or more modern YA fiction. You will be given
reading deadlines, so choose something you can read in time.
2. After reading each text, take notes using the template provided.
You should take notes based on what you learn about the crime genre, the context and time
that the novel was written in, and the values that the text reflects.
3. In class, view two visual texts and complete viewing activities.

4. After viewing, take notes using the template provided.


5. In class, write a report which summarises what you have discovered about the
genre of crime fiction from your wide reading.
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Connections Log Number: ____. Text Title: _________________________ Author: ______
Text Type: __________ Publication Date: _________ Sub-genre: ________
PLOT DETAILS: DESCRIBE THE CRIME AND RESOLUTION




SETTING AND ENVIORNMENT: WHERE AND WHEN DOES THE STORY TAKE PLACE?




DESCRIBE THE IMPORTANT CHARACTERS





HOW DOES THIS TEXT COMPARE TO OTHER TEXTS OF THE SAME GENRE





WHAT DO YOU LEARN ABOUT CRIME FICTION FROM THIS TEXT










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Writing a Report:

Introduction:
What have you learned about detective fiction from your reading/viewing?
What texts did you cover? (list four).
1. What kind of genre did you cover?
2. What texts did you cover?
3. What did you learn?
I read a whole range of dystopian texts over the holidays. These are texts that have to do
with the end of the world as we know it a dystopia is the opposite of utopia. It means that
the world is imperfect and sometimes involves the apocalypse. The texts I read were When
We Wake by Karen Healey, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne
Collins and the film I am Legend. Through these texts I learned that you need to have
certain personal characteristics to survive adverse circumstances and that writers often
reflect societys concerns in the way they present the dystopia.




Paragraph 1: Connection One
What is one thing that you learned about detective fiction from your reading?
o This could include: Things you learned about the criminal, about how to solve
a crime, about the importance of deduction, or about the way the author
communicates ideas.
What are some examples from your reading that show this?
o Give examples from at least two texts you studied.

One thing that I learned about dystopian fiction from the texts I studied was that they are all
products of their time. This means that the time that they were written in or produced in
affect the way the dystopia is described. The Hunger Games is written during a time that is
obsessed with popular culture and reality TV. This means that the protagonists fight to the
death in a world designed to be watched by millions of viewers. (insert a quote here!) This
reminded me of how people watch reality tv and kind of hope for people to fail or have
something bad happen. We get enjoyment out of watching people suffer. This is a really
negative part of human nature. Another text which is also a product of its time is When We
Wake
One thing I learned about crime fiction is that the writer likes to keep the reader guessing
hiding the clues in amongst red herrings.
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Paragraph 2: Connection Two
What is another thing that you learned about detective fiction from your reading?
o As above, this could include things about the setting or the way the crime is
reveal, or about the way the writer or director tries to keep you guessing.
What are some examples from your reading/viewing that show this?
o Give examples from at least two text you have not already used in the
previous paragraph.
Conclusion: Summarising your findings.
What have you, personally, taken away from this study of detective fiction? Would
you recommend this study to other people? Why/why not?