The Demon Headmaster

1. The Demon Headmaster • Setting: The setting of a play is when and where it takes place. • When do you think this play could be set? • Where is this play set? • Why is this setting interesting for school pupils to read about?

2. The Demon Headmaster You have read a play called ‘The Demon Headmaster’ by Gillian Cross, adapted by Adrian Flynn. Now you are going to write about how the playwright made the play fun and interesting.

3. The Demon Headmaster • We will look at three things about the play that made it fun and interesting: • The Characters • The Setting • The Story (the Plot!)

4. The Demon Headmaster Introduction • To begin with, we will write an introduction. Your introduction should contain: • The name of the play and the authors. • What you will be writing about (how the author made the play fun and interesting). • Which aspects of the play you will be focussing on (the characters, the setting and the plot) • Then go on to say what the play is about in no more than three or four sentences.

5. The Demon Headmaster Character Quotations You will work in teams of 4 Each team will have a character. You will go through the play and look for quotations that you think are fun or interesting, either said by or about that character and write them down on a large piece of paper. Leave a space after each one, and when you have finished, go back and say whythat quotation was fun or interesting.

6. The Demon Headmaster Paragraph 1 This paragraph will be about the characters in the play. You should pick three or four characters to talk about. You should definitely pick the Head and Dinah, as they are the main characters. You can choose the other two. You will be writing about how each character is fun and interesting. To prepare, you should go through the play and write down two quotations each from your chosen characters. These should show why the character is fun or interesting. You will then write a paragraph about you characters, saying why they are fun and interesting, using your quotations as evidence. Your teacher will show you some examples.

7. The Demon Headmaster Paragraph 2 This paragraph will be about the setting of the play. You will be writing about how the setting made the play fun and interesting. First, describe when and where the play is set. Say why the time in history the play is set is fun or interesting.

8. The Demon Headmaster Paragraph 3 • This paragraph will be about the plot of the play. The plot is the story line. You might want to write about: • The mystery at the beginning • The shock when the Headmaster hypnotises the assembly • The Headmaster’s evil plan • The Normals’ plan to stop the Headmaster. • The ending • Try to find a quotation from each section to use as evidence for why that moment was fun and interesting.

9. The Demon Headmaster Conclusion • This paragraph is where you round up your ideas and say how you’ve proven that the playwright made the play fun and interesting. • You should include: • Why you liked the play • Why you think Gillian Cross was a good author and why Adrian Flynn was a good playwright. • A sentence or two about how the characters, setting and plot made the play fun and interesting. • You usually don’t need any quotations in the conclusion.