Teachers Notes. Eric Vale Super Male. Written by Michael Gerard Bauer Illustrated by Joe Bauer OMNIBUS BOOKS. Teachers Notes by Madeline Holmes

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1 Teachers Notes Eric Vale Super Male OMNIBUS BOOKS Written by Michael Gerard Bauer Illustrated by Joe Bauer Category Junior Fiction Title Eric Vale Super Male Author Illustrator Michael Gerard Bauer Joe Bauer Extent 208 pp Age Primary school ISBN Contents Teachers Notes by Madeline Holmes Introduction About the Author. 2 About the Illustrator. 2 Reading the Text... 3 After Reading the Text Extension Activities... 7 Teachers Notes may be reproduced for use in school activities. They may not be redistributed for commercial sale or posted to other networks.

2 Introduction When Mr Winter announces a study unit on superheroes and declares a superhero week, Eric Vale knows it s his time to shine. Superheroes are the coolest thing ever and Eric s practically an expert on the subject. He s shrugged off the Epic Fail moniker and things are looking up. What Eric should really know by now is that he has a case of bad luck up to his eyeballs, and what goes up must come down. Not to mention that whenever Chewy and Eric s sister, Katie, are involved, things tend to go badly. About the Author Michael Gerard Bauer was born in Brisbane. He taught at schools before resigning in 2000 to pursue his dream of being a published writer. His first novel The Running Man won the CBCA s Book of the Year (Older Readers) Award in 2005 and he has since garnered many other honours including international awards. His other books include Don t Call Me Ishmael!, Ishmael and the Return of the Dugongs, Ishmael and the Hoops of Steel, Dinosaur Knights, You Turkeys!, Just a Dog and Eric Vale Epic Fail. Many of Michael s books have been published in other countries and in different languages. Michael blogs at and has an author page on Facebook. About the Illustrator Joe Bauer is a young filmmaker whose recent film The Killage has enjoyed international critical success. In addition to making comedy films, Joe has been drawing since childhood. He is the creator of the original covers for his father Michael s first two Ishmael books. This is his second published illustrated book.

3 Reading the Text Part One After you have read the first chapter, have a discussion about your first impressions and thoughts on Eric Vale Super Male. Here are some topics you can use to prompt discussion: What do you remember about Eric Vale from his first book? Has he changed in Eric Vale Super Male? Why can t Eric focus in class? Do we learn anything new about Eric s classmates or teacher in the opening chapters? What do you think about Eric s Agent Dale obsession? Can you relate to this? What do you think the story might be about? Does the title give anything away? Research task Eric sets his story about Secret Agent Derek Danger Dale in a Pharaoh s tomb. What do you know about pyramids and mummies and pharaohs? Why do you think this is an appealing setting? What other historical settings do you think might make good backgrounds for Eric s stories? Choose a place that you think would make an interesting setting for a story and research it as if you are a writer searching for information for a new book. Write up your findings on your blog to share with your classmates. Literary component 1) Continue with your blog you began in Eric Vale Epic Vale. Aim to write at least six responses to the novel. You can write what you like as long as it connects to the novel in some way. Here are some topic suggestions: characters you like or don t like, plot developments that take you by surprise, 3

4 your predictions for the story, what the plot makes you think about and similar books you may have read. You can also use the class discussion questions to prompt your responses. 2) Look at the illustrations in the story. Do you think illustrations can tell a story by themselves? Write a blog entry about the purpose of illustrations in fiction. Part Two Have a class discussion about heroes. Here are some questions to prompt conversation: Do you agree with Meredith s assessment of superheroes or Eric s? What are the qualities of a superhero? What is the difference between a real-life hero and a superhero? Can you name someone who displayed heroic qualities? What would you call an act of heroism? What do you think of Chewy s character Mr Self-Belief? In your opinion, what makes a hero? Can you think of different groups of people we call heroes in everyday life? (example: sports men and women) What is the opposite of a hero? Group task You have been asked to attend a debate to decide whether superheroes are good role models. In this debate you will be put in teams of three and assigned a pro or con side. If you are in the pro team, you need to argue that superheroes are good role models and if you are in the con team, you need argue that superheroes are not good role models. It doesn t matter if you disagree with the task you ve been given; the point of the exercise is to be able to construct a sound argument and convince others that you re right. 4

5 Some things to consider: You need to define what a good role model is. If you have to argue that superheroes are good role models, you need to ask what qualities make a superhero a good role model. If you have to argue that superheroes aren t good role models you need to clearly explain why they are not. Literacy component Think about the class discussion on superheroes and what the book says about them and use this to create your own ideal superhero character profile. You need to come up with a superhero name, a description of what he or she looks like, a description of the super power, and some background information that explains how and why he or she became a superhero. Part Three Have a discussion about characters fears in the novel. Here are some questions: What does fear mean to you? How would you describe a fear? Can you identify a character s fear from the novel? How do characters in the story overcome their fears? How are fears created? Are the fears of characters in the book realistic? Can you relate to the characters fears from the story? Research task Choose someone you consider a real-life hero to research. It might be someone you know personally or someone you ve heard about or read about in the news. Present your findings in a two-minute talk to the class and make sure to define your understanding of a hero. Be creative in how you share your information. You could include props like photographs or video footage. You might like to dress up as your chosen subject. 5

6 Literary component 1) Compose an essay on the importance of self-belief. 2) Write a blurb for a story using your superhero character profile. 3) Continue with your blog. After Reading the Text Have a class discussion about your final impressions of the story. Here are some guiding questions: Was the ending expected? What did you think of Meredith s talk? Is Eric s habit of finding himself in embarrassing situations bad luck or of his own making? Do you think Eric could have avoided any of his mishaps? Do you think the Hall of Horrors is a good idea for a school fête? Did any character surprise you? What makes a book funny? What do you think Chewy s purpose in the story is? Was there a theme to the story? Did you find the story satisfying? What did you most like about the story? If you were describing the book to a friend, what would you say? Literacy component Write a short story using your superhero character profile and blurb you created earlier. Give you character a problem to overcome. 6

7 Extension Activities 1) Write a review on Eric Vale Super Male that is suitable for publication in your school newsletter. 2) Create an anti-bullying role play, like Sophie and Jarrod s that can be performed at an assembly. 3) Rewrite an episode in the book from Chewy s perspective. Before you begin, think about how Chewy views the world. 4) Illustrate your superhero story in a similar style to the novel. 5) Create a detailed plan for your own Hall of Horrors. 6) Design an alternative cover for the novel. 7) Choose a scene from the novel and write a script to act out as a group or in pairs. The scene might be presented as a live performance in class or as a film. 7