Sherlock Holmes Short Stories 2 Pre-Reading Activity Elementary My Dear Friends!

STAGE Sherlock Holmes 2 Short Stories Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Introduction

The stories The Speckled Band. A young woman called Helen Stoner comes to ask Sherlock Holmes for help. She explains that she lives with her stepfather, Dr Roylott, in the country. He married her wealthy widowed mother in India, and inherited all her money when she died in an accident; the only stipulation in the will was K. K. K. stands for the Ku Klux Klan, a secret group of that if Helen or her sister Julia married, Dr Roylott men in America, who wanted John’s uncle to return would have to pay them a regular allowance. Two years important documents to them; their threat or warning ago Julia met a young man who asked to marry her, of death was five orange pips. Unfortunately John is and Dr Roylott agreed, but soon after this she died killed before Holmes can identify the killers. Holmes mysteriously in her room, calling out, ‘The speckled realises that they must be the captain and two sailors band!’ Now Helen wants to marry, and Dr Roylott has on a ship just arrived in London, and sends them five made her sleep in her sister’s room. Holmes is sure orange pips to frighten them. They die when their ship Helen is in danger, so he and his friend Watson go to is lost in a storm later that year. the house to investigate. They spend the night in Helen’s bedroom, and when an Indian snake (which Background to the story looks like a speckled band) comes through an air-vent, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was born in Holmes hits it to make it go back to Dr Roylott’s room, Edinburgh, Scotland. He studied medicine and worked where it kills its master. as a doctor for eight years. To supplement his income A Scandal in Bohemia. The King of Bohemia visits he started writing short stories. The main character of Holmes and Watson, and asks Holmes to get some his first novel, a strange, violin-playing, opium- love letters and a photograph back from Irene Adler, a smoking, intellectual detective called Sherlock beautiful singer who he had been in love with. The Holmes, attracted considerable public interest, and King explains that if his royal fiancée finds out that he there was constant demand for more Holmes stories. had an affair with Irene, the engagement will be Sherlock Holmes, the best-known detective in broken and there will be a scandal. Holmes finds out literature, supposedly lived at 221B Baker Street in where Irene has hidden the photo. He is confident that London, and had a wide range of cultural and other the next day he and the King can go to her house to interests. He was famous for his powers of deductive collect it, but Irene has realized what he is planning. reasoning and his arrogance. He was usually assisted She has got married, and now leaves England with the by his faithful friend, Dr Watson. photo. However, she promises never to show it to anyone, so the King is satisfied. Holmes is impressed Discussion points by the intelligence of a woman who is cleverer than 1 What kinds of problems do you think Holmes liked he is. best? What interested him most in his work? The Five Orange Pips. A young man called John 2 If you had a problem that you thought the police Openshaw tells Holmes and Watson about his fears. could not solve, would you go to a private His uncle and father have both died in accidents, but investigator/detective today? Why or why not? John suspects they were murdered. In both cases, 3 What other detectives do you know of, in books or shortly before they died, they received an envelope films or on television? Which do you like best, and with K. K. K. on it, and five orange pips inside. Now why? John has received a similar envelope, and Holmes is concerned for his safety. Holmes discovers that

The Speckled Band A Scandal in Bohemia The Five Orange Pips

To the teacher

Aim: To build interest in the stories by drawing on well-known character. Focus on clothes, where he students’ own knowledge of genre and character, to lives, companions, the types of investigations he speculate about possible plots normally undertakes (murder, blackmail, mystery, Time: 20–30 minutes intrigue) and why (great intelligence, incompetence Organization: Draw a silhouette of Sherlock Holmes of police, attention to detail when looking at clues). on the blackboard or show the illustration above. Draw Then put students into groups of four to five, and attention,To the teacher for example, to the deerstalker hat, the pipe, give them the titles of the three short stories. They and the foggy atmosphere to elicit the name of the will probably need to use a dictionary to find out the detective. Ask students to tell you how they knew meaning of some of the words who it was, feeding in new vocabulary. Ask students to guess what they think the stories Alternatively, invite the students to give you the might be about. Each group could write down their names of famous detectives in films and books, ideas, and then exchange them in a full class group. eliciting that of Sherlock Holmes. Then ask students Do not tell students if their guesses are right or to tell you what associations they make with this wrong.

The Speckled Band After reading Chapter 1 (pp. 1–6)

… will keep a wild animal in her room to kill anyone who tries to hurt her … will leave her stepfather and live alone Helen … will die soon, like her sister Stoner … … murdered her sister and will go to prison … will marry and be happy … will sleep in a hotel from now on … something different

… is planning to murder Helen … is going to hurt Sherlock Holmes … keeps wild animals which will suddenly kill him Helen’s … whistles secretly to his friends the gipsies at night stepfather … … murdered Julia with the gipsies’ help … killed his wife (it wasn’t an accident) so will go to prison … something different

… will talk to the gipsies … is planning to kill the wild animals … is going to ask Helen’s stepfather some questions Sherlock … already knows what the speckled band is Holmes … … will kill Helen’s stepfather in the end … wants to stop Helen dying like her sister … something different

To the teacher

Aim: To check understanding of the story so far, and characters. They should decide which statements are anticipate plot development correct, and choose the most likely outcome, giving Time: 30 minutes (for each of the three stories) reasons for their choice. It is advisable not to tell Organization: After reading up to a particular point in them whether their guesses are right or wrong, so the story, divide students into groups and ask them that interest in continuing with the book is fully to consider what could happen next to the main maintained.

PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS ASTAGE Scandal in Bohemia After reading Chapter 1 (pp. 14–18)

King2 … will kill himself because of the scandal Wilhelm … will marry Clotilde because she will never know about Irene von … will marry Irene because he loves her Ormstein … will kill Irene because she won’t give back the photograph … … something different

… will fall in love with Sherlock Holmes … will give back the photograph to the King … will ask for a lot of money for the photograph Irene … only wants to marry the King Adler … … only wants to stop him marrying Clotilde … is cleverer than the King … is cleverer than Sherlock Holmes … something different

… will tell Clotilde about Irene … will fall in love with Irene Sherlock … will steal back the photograph Holmes … … will ask the King for more money … will send Dr Watson to ﬁnd the photograph … something different

The Five Orange Pips After reading Chapter 2 (pp. 31-34)

… will go to America … will die on his way home … will soon get another letter from K.K.K. John … is going to meet K.K.K. at Waterloo Station Openshaw … … has murdered his uncle and father for their money … is going to run away from K.K.K. … something different

… are Brown, Robinson and Williams … are three men who have names beginning with K … is a group of people who are planning to kill their enemies K.K.K. … … is a strange word meaning death … are friends of John’s who are playing with him … is something different

… will kill John’s enemies … will discover who/what K.K.K. really is Sherlock … will ask the police to help John Holmes … … will need Dr Watson’s help … will save John’s life … something different