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	Coming Round Publisher: Antony Lishak So I'm in hospital. That bleeping noise must be my heart. But I can't remember what happened. Colin knows he would never run out on to the road. There must have been a reason - but his mind is keeping it a secret...

Teacher's Notes compiled by the author

CONTENTS

Introduction & Background Rhythm Poems First Person - Present Tense A Child in an Adult World The Characters Siblings... Some Searching Questions... What Happens Next?

INTRODUCTION

I'm not a great fan of "teacher's notes". They can be patronising and irritating. Frequently they are written by people who have no experience of class teaching and whose insight and suggestions are shallow and impractical... But I hope these notes do not fall into this category. They are written by an experienced primary school teacher who also happens to be the book's author. That should at least add some weight to his insight! The ideas and suggestions in these notes are by no means offered up as definitive. They merely contain a few possible ways into the book that might help children get more out of it and could provide starting points for class work. I hope you will find them useful.

BACKGROUND

Briefly, Coming Round was written while two specific events were happening in my life. Firstly I was going through a fitness phase and regularly pounded the streets of Barnet in what turned out to be a vain attempt to lose weight. Secondly, I was attending a first aid course at which I learnt that no matter how unconscious a person might seem to be, never assume that he or she can't hear and think. It was while jogging that I started to wonder whether I'd be able to use my newly acquired skills to resuscitate someone even though I was worn out after a run. It was while pondering this that the idea for the book came to me. With the seed of the story planted in my mind, and the repetitious rhythm of a jog still pounding in my head, I staggered through my front door, eschewed the steaming bath that awaited my sweaty return, rushed upstairs and put pen to paper. Fifteen minutes later I had written the poem on page 12. Coming Round was born. RHYTHM POEMS... The dreadful events of the night of the accident come back to Colin in his dreams. These dream sequences are written in rhythmical poems designed to reproduce the panting, pounding, pacing of a jog... SUGGESTED ACTIVITY... Try and get the children in your class to write rhythm-poems. It need not be a jogging rhythm. It could be a poem that reflects the strokes of a swimmer, or the munching of food, or the zoom of a racing car, or the gallop of a horse... This activity lends itself to collaborative work where children share ideas and help each other construct the poem. It is also an opportunity to perform written work - providing an added incentive for children to produce an impressive effort! THE FIRST PERSON - PRESENT TENSE... The book is written entirely from Colin's perspective and it is written in the present tense. The "me" and the "now". We only learn about all the other characters through his perceptions. This creates a closer bond than usual between the reader and the main character. I deliberately chose this device to accentuate the isolation Colin feels as he battles to come to terms with what has happened to him and also to make the final "punch" that more powerful for the reader. SUGGESTED ACTIVITY... Ask your children to write about an incident that has actually happened to them as if it were happening here and now. Get them to talk about the incident first and make initial notes about what they want to include with a rough order to how the story will develop. Remind them that to write convincingly in the present tense you must convey the impression that you don't know what is about to happen. That everything is new. Unlike the conventional narrator who usually knows the whole story even before it has started! A CHILD IN AN ADULT WORLD... Colin is the only child whose character is developed in the book. We hear about other children, and a few hints are given about Warren, but that's about all, whereas we actually meet Colin's parents and the various hospital adults. Colin is even placed on an adult ward, because there's no room on the children's ward. This was done to underline how alone he felt as the events of the fateful jog unfold in his mind. No one will listen to him - they are all adults and they all know best! SUGGESTED ACTIVITY... Ask your children if they have ever been in situations where they were surrounded by adults and no one seemed to understand what they were feeling. (School is likely to be as fruitful a setting as home!) How did they try to get the adults to understand? This activity lends itself to drama and role play - a wonderful way of getting ideas flowing prior to writing creatively. THE CHARACTERS... Colin, his parents, his brother, the doctors and nurses. These are the only people the reader gets to know... SUGGESTED ACTIVITY Get your children to consider each character and their various characteristics. What do we know about them, what does Colin think about them, what do they do, what do they feel...? Get the children to compile a fact file on each character. Then hold a quiz. Get some groups of children to compile questions based on their discoveries and let them quiz each other. Questions like "Who likes to go fishing? Who does Colin's Head Teacher look like? What kind of mess does Warren leave in the front garden?"... can only be answered if the text is scrutinised quite closely. SIBLINGS... Before I go any further I want to confirm that my own brother has never, and is never likely to, beat up old ladies!... But I am the younger of two brothers and know how it feels to see a once best mate grow up and lose interest in his little pain of a brother! (I can hear your "ahs" of sympathy!!) Colin too is being forced to accept that his brother is changing. He no longer runs, he messes about with bikes and he mugs old ladies! SUGGESTED ACTIVITY What is it like to be a younger brother or sister? It's a question that many of your class members will be able to respond to! Get them to imagine how they might change as they get older - what new interests they might take up... It's an area that lends itself to writing and drama work... SOME SEARCHING QUESTIONS... Why are the first 19 pages grey? Who is Mrs Carter? What newspaper was being read in the bed opposite Colin? What was the difference between Mr Fielding and the doctor? On what day did the accident happen? Does Colin believe in ghosts? Why did Colin once pretend to be asleep at home? Who was "Mrs Interrogator"? What is a PB? Who was Seb Coe? (What does he do now?..........) Why did Colin want wooden crutches? Who was "the old snorer"? Who drives an old Beetle? Why was Colin pleased his room was not redecorated? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?... The book ends with the dreadful realisation that Colin actually witnessed his brother mugging an old lady. What happens next is really up to the reader's imagination. Who does Colin tell? Does his brother know that Colin saw him? What would you do in Colin's situation? All these questions could stimulate ideas and discussions and further the children's understanding of the book. But the question "What happens next?" can be posed on a broader level. Now you've got the book and you've read the notes and, who knows, have even taken up some of the suggestions, what now? Well let me suggest one more idea. Why not get your children to email me, the author, a few questions about the book? Let them tell me what they think about it! (Believe me I'm used to taking criticism!) Get them to ask me things about how I write. Get them to ask me anything!...

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