Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Amazon S3

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

By Ian Fleming

Dictation passages

Week One

Most motorcars are conglomerations (this is a long word for "bundles") of steel and wire and rubber and plastic, and electricity and oil and gasoline and water, and the toffee papers you pushed down the crack in the back seat last Sunday.

(Chapter 1, page 11)

Week One

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Week One:

Opening:

Most motorcars are conglomerations (this is a long word for "bundles") of steel and wire and rubber and plastic, and electricity and oil and gasoline and water, and the toffee papers you pushed down the crack in the back seat last Sunday.

(Chapter 1, page 11)



From Archant (via TheSun.co.uk)

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? 2014 - Julie (Bogart) Sweeney - Brave Writer

Week One

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Why this passage:

Ian Fleming is famously known as the author of the James Bond books. James Bond is an international spy who goes on mysterious missions of intrigue to solve crimes, and is a great lover of fine automobiles. In this story for children, Fleming shows us what a fan of cars he is. The details of what this vehicle can do reveal a fertile imagination and an enthusiasm for the technological accomplishment of fourwheeled transport. He takes it further when he adds features to the car that are most likely on everyone's "dream vehicle" list!

The opening passage, then, is the basis for the entire work. We are treated to a spare, clear description of what makes a car. The word "car" derives from its longer version: motorcar.

What to note:

"Conglomeration"--what a great word! It rolls off the tongue with a joyful flood of consonants and vowel sounds. I like the way Fleming tells us what the word means. He repeats this practice throughout the book any time he introduces a term he considers worthy of further explanation. If you stay alert, you might make a list of those terms that Fleming deems "long" or "fancy" and at the end, you will have a lexicon of new, impressive terms to add to your own writing.

The use of parentheses is classic. We'll look at how they add value to sentences in the "How to teach" section.

Let's also note the use of "and." In many written lists, the author will opt to use commas when writing a series of items. The sentence in this opening passage uses "and" instead. Count them. How many are there? (There are 8!)



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? 2014 - Julie (Bogart) Sweeney - Brave Writer

Week One

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

How to teach the passage:

The use of parentheses in this sentence follows the usual criteria for parenthetical remarks. The sentence is written as part of a story. The parenthetical remark is an "aside" to the reader. It indicates a moment where the writer "pops out" of the story to share information with the reader that is quite separate from the story itself.

In this case, the writer is highlighting for his young readers that conglomeration is a big word, and he goes on to define it with a smaller, more familiar word: bundles. When two words are considered equivalent, we call them "synonyms." We'll take a look at "synonyms" in this week's grammar notes.

This practice of using a parenthetical remark to speak directly to the reader creates an intimacy between reader and writer. It's as though the two are sitting across the table from one another over tea. The writer is telling a story, but is fully aware of the presence of the reader and therefore, caters to that reader's "need to know" when he uses big or unfamiliar terms, or wants to add detail to the information shared.

You may have noticed, however, in other books you've read that the writer will tell a story without referencing the reader. You are transported to the world of the story and the writer is invisible to you. These two sorts of writing are equally valid and create a different experience for the reader. Which do you like?

Inside the parentheses is the term bundles. It is featured in quotation marks because it is isolated from the sentence. The quotes make the term stand out so that we know it is this specific word that is the synonym for conglomeration.

The choice to use the word "and" in a list is deliberate. Most of the time, a writer will opt for commas. Let's look at how the passage would read with commas. The items in the list are in bold, as are the commas:

Most motorcars are conglomerations (this is a long word for "bundles") of steel, wire, rubber, plastic, electricity, oil, gasoline, water, and the toffee papers you pushed down the crack in the back seat last Sunday.

Commas speed the reader along. They keep the rhythm of the writing moving forward. The list runs by.

How does it feel to reread the passage using all those "ands"? The choice to use "and" creates a different feel for the reader. When I read "and," I am much more conscious of there being eight items (or at least, a good many!). The "and" slows me and forces me to note each individual part. They mount together to a climax. In this



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? 2014 - Julie (Bogart) Sweeney - Brave Writer

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