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SUPERZERO by Darrel Bristow-Bovey

Chapter 1: You can’t spell zero without a Zed
Pre-reading
1
...
This is an open-ended question designed to build or activate background knowledge
...

2
...

2
...

Learners can choose any superhero: e
...
Superman (able to fly through the air at tremendous speed;
leap a huge distance; pick up incredibly heavy objects like an ocean liner; withstand attack (skin
cannot be pierced))
...
Why does Zed feel he is different from the other children?
3
...
Unlike the others, he feels ill at ease with others of own age and does not know
what to say
...
What is Zed’s point of view about bad luck? Why does he feel this way?
4
...
Since he has used up a great deal
of his share of bad luck already, he feels that he will have an easier time later on
...
Why does he get on so well with Katey?
5
...
Even though she sees his shortcomings, she
remains his loyal friend
...
Zed says he has had “an adventure from which he barely escaped with his life”
...

6
...
The question demonstrates the learners’ ability to read between the lines, using
the insights they have gained into Zed’s character
...

7
...

7
...
Why are garages, old loft rooms, and attics often so interesting? What are some of the things that are
usually stored there?
1
...
People usually store old books, photographs, old clothes
and furniture or household items that they do not have space for
...
Which comic book superhero is your favourite? Which super powers would you like to have?
2
...
It encourages identification with Zed
...
Why does Zed enjoy the comics so much?
3
...
It provides an opportunity for learners to show how good an understanding they
have of Zed
...
/ They take
him away from his dull and rather unsuccessful life to a very exciting world of high achievement
...
The words “used to be parked” and “those were your dad’s” seem to indicate that Zed’s father is
dead
...
He probably misses his father a great deal
...

5
...
Open-ended
...

6
...
Zed’s mother disapproves of adults reading comics
...

7
...
a) Something you “need’ is essential, for instance warm clothes in winter
...

b) He knew that Zed would find them useful research for being a superhero and understand his own
destiny better
...

8
...
Open-ended
...
For example, he was revelling in the experience of reading these
and was trying to work out which was the one his father liked best
...
What does the voice tell him to do? Is this sensible? Why? Why not?
9
...
This is not a sensible idea because it would be dangerous for any of the children to try to ride
down; Zed is prone to accidents so it would be even more dangerous for him
...
What did Zed do to avoid being hit by the bus? Why does this make him feel like a
superhero?
10
...
Although he has some scrapes and bruises, he escapes being killed or
badly injured by the bus
...


Chapter 3: Ulric Chilvers
Pre-reading
1
...
Clark Kent is Superman and Peter Parker is Spiderman
...
Has someone made you feel a little nervous and frightened (given you ‘the creeps’ when you met
them? Why?
2
...
Clear reason must be given
...
What message do the comics have for Zed?
3
...

Post-reading
4
...
She giggles because she finds him attractive
...


5
...
Why? Which super powers does he
not have so far?
5
...
He does not have presence, superhuman strength, superhearing or the
ability to fly
...
What history is there between Zed and Daniel Dundee?
6
...
Daniel was furious and held a grudge against him
...
What does Zed learn about Bighton School from Jerome, the caretaker? Does this surprise you or not?
7
...
This is not surprising because he seems to
be the kind of person that would destroy things
...
What is different about Buckman’s New-Worlde Circus?
8
...

9
...
Zed feels resentful about the kind of time that Katey has been spending with Ulric
...

10
...

10
...
What does the expression “He couldn’t put his finger on it” mean?
11
...
He knew something was wrong but could not work out what it
was
...
What are the main attractions at a circus?
1
...

2
...
A medium / spiritual consultant claims to tell the future and sometimes to communicate messages
from the dead to the living
...
What makes Ulric’s behaviour suspicious?
3
...
His eyes are glowing brightly
...
What does Madame Hoblidaya warn Zed about when she looks at his palm?
4
...

5
...

5
...
He then moves
his head back and puts the metal stem of the bulb into his mouth
...
He is using the electricity generated by the electric eels to power the bulb
6
...
She was using a crocodile in her act and people in the audience felt they would be risking their lives
...
Katey volunteers to help Kimiko
...
Katey is daring/ willing to take risks/ willing to help others
...
What seems like a dangerous stunt is really a trick
...
a) The purpose of the stunt is to get as much publicity as they can
...
This kind of sensation attracts attention and far more
people are likely to come to the circus
...
No one can be sure about who they are seeing
or what the people are doing
...
What signs are there in this chapter that Zed could be a superhero?
9
...
He leaps over the barricade
and holds the crocodile down, despite its huge power and the smoke that is burning his eyes and his
throat
...

10
...

10
...
Even superheroes need moms
Pre-reading
1
...
This question is designed to build or activate background knowledge
...
[It is important for people to remain silent so that we can tell the whole story as well as
we can
...
]
Post-reading
2
...
Zed is aware that his mother is really worried about him
...
Why does his mother cry after hearing the story?
3
...
She knows just how
much difficulty lies ahead for him
...
Do you think that Zed has been a superhero in the story so far? Why?
4
...
He has shown his concern to rescue the helpless and his
strength and ingenuity by going to Katey’s rescue so quickly and then managing to hold down the
powerful crocodile
...

5
...
Write down a synonym for “sob”
...
Cry
...


Chapter 6: A place beside the sea
Pre-reading
1
...
This is open-ended
...

During reading
2
...
His grandmother’s view is that however hard you try, you cannot change your future
...
Zed’s mother takes him to visit his grandma
...
a) She hopes that her mother-in-law will help Zed
...

b) She spoke to him about what being a superhero entailed and was able to help him understand
himself
...
For a number of reasons, Grandma did not tell her son (Zed’s father) that he was a superhero
...
Learners can choose any two
...
]
5
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A supervillain is similar to a superhero in that he or she has special powers
...

6
...
They are underhanded, secretive and will stop at nothing to succeed, unlike superheroes who always
act openly and behave fairly
...
Grandma mentions three kinds of evil in the world
...
This is an open-ended question
...
There could be a good followup discussion allowing learners to weigh up the different choices and offer reasons why a particular
evil is worse than the two others
...
Would you like to be a superhero like Zed and his father before him? Why/why not?
8
...
Accept any answer that is well argued
...
What has your experience at school been? How easy is it for some children to have a bad influence on
other children?
1
...
It allows children to explore one of the issues of the book
...

During reading
2
...
Someone of them have been vandalising the school – toilets have been broken, there is graffiti on the
walls and a row of windows has been broken
...
What changes can Zed see in some of the other learners?
3
...

4
...
(Note that she keeps insisting that everyone is
fine, except for Zed
...
She has been hypnotised and then been subjected to mind bending
...
What does Mr Minardi threaten to do? Notice here that Ulric seems very worried about this
...
Mr Minardi threatens to cancel the school talent show
...
What does Zed mean when he says to Ulric, “I know who you are and I know what you are”?
4
...

5
...
Someone who wants to be more successful than you
...
Ulric
recognised that Zed was his rival when he felt a cold, electric current between them when they first
met
...
What does Ulric do to try to make Zed change from superhero to supervillain?
6
...

7
...
Why are Zed, the kitten and many other people, seen
as zeros in Ulric’s eyes?
7
...

8
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He drops the terrified kitten into a box that has a puff adder in it
...

a) What is your view of his action?
b) How does Ulric’s action prove Grandma’s point that “supervillains don’t play by the rules”?
8
...
Learners must be free to express their own opinion
...

b) His action is cruel and immoral
...
What literary device does the author use in describing the world in terms of binary code?
9
...
What ways do you use to organise your thinking, especially when you are a bit stressed?
1
...
This is an opportunity to link English with Life Orientation
...
What are the signs that Ulric is gaining more and more power?
2
...

Post-reading
3
...
They do not even come to class
...
What do the words, “Ulric Chilvers seems to have the power to change people’s personalities” tell us
about his powers? Name someone who does appear to have changed
...
It seems that he is able to manipulate people’s minds and consequently their behaviour
...
An example is Chris who sometimes seems to look at people blankly as if he does not
even see them
...
He does whatever
Ulric asks him to do
...
Why is it so important for Zed to get into the music rehearsals?
5
...

6
...
He is playing classical music in order to hypnotise some of the other learners
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Zed has to climb up the drain pipe to see into the music room
...

7
...
Someone bigger would not be able to climb up it
...


8
...

9
...


How does Zed try to cover up the noise he makes when he almost falls from the window ledge?
He tosses the pigeon into the room to make it seem that the pigeon had been making the noise
...
Just when it feels it is safe, he breaks its neck
...


Chapter 9: The tide begins to turn
Pre-reading
1
...
What do you think "the tide begins to turn" means?
1
...
The literal meaning is that the tide starts to
flow in the opposite direction
...
What evidence against Ulric does Zed actually have?
2
...

3
...
Zed seems to be guilty of serious misdemeanours
...

Post-reading
4
...
How is he feeling at this moment?
4
...

5
...
This is open-ended
...

6
...
She advised him to study so he can be proactive rather than be caught unawares
...
Why must Zed “keep one step ahead” at this point?
7
...

8
...

8
...
It refers to a change beginning to take place
...
What is an “emergency fund”? How important is it to have one?
1
...

Its importance depends on your circumstances
...
If you have
only enough money to meet your immediate needs, it could be a very useful way of dealing with
unexpected situations that have to be dealt with immediately
...
What do you think Zed should do to stay ahead? Do you think his idea of going to the circus is a good
one? Why?
2
...

Post-reading
3
...
He wants to draw as little attention to himself as possible
...
No one thinks anything of it when Zed walks through the circus area
...
He has realised that you need to give the impression that you know what you are about
...

5
...

5
...

6
...

6
...

Many examples are possible
...

7
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a) A hypnotist is someone who puts people under a spell, usually for medical or entertainment
reasons
...

8
...
These are ‘frequencies’ generated by a machine designed by Ulric’s father
...

9
...
This turns
people into zombies
...
Name the literary device: “I felt his dark light”
...
Antitheses

Chapter 11: The fire underwater
Pre-reading
1
...
Name two
of these and what makes them dangerous
...
Open-ended
...
g
...

During reading
2
...
Daniel realises that Zed is actually a decent and kind person who is concerned to prevent Ulric from
succeeding in his evil plans
...
He is in fact kind hearted and has been concerned to protect Madame Hoblidaya
...

Post-reading
3
...
The “her” is Madame Hoblidaya
...

4
...

a) What creatures are in the portapool?

b) Why, in your view, is Zed still alive after having been shocked by so many electric eels?
4
...

b) Personal response
...

5
...
Zed realises Ulric is going to try out his machine on the audience at the talent concert
...
a) What is a zombie?
6
...

b) What do you think a zombie machine could do to people? What does Ulric plan to do?
6
...
Ulric may be aiming at controlling the
world as his final goal
...
“Lab” is short for laboratory
...
What important role does Daniel Dundee play?
1
...
/ Without him, Zed would not be able to get into the hall and so Ulric
would succeed in hypnotising all of the audience
...
Why is Zed wearing a golden human cannonball suit?
2
...

3
...

3
...
He has also gained a great deal of confidence through having Daniel Dundee and
Madame Hoblidaya’s belief in him
...
Even when he can no longer send
out electric current, he is able to take action
...
He is strong
...

Accept other valid points that learners make
...
Why did Daniel Dundee not fall under Ulric’s spell as many of the others did?
4
...

5
...
This
does not stop him from dashing to save the people in the hall
...
He shows that he accepts his shortcomings
...
He is a brave person
...
Zed makes a globe-like circle in the air with his fingertips when Ulric starts to open his brief case
...

b) They burst into flames or fall apart
...

7
...
Ulric decides that in the style of true supervillain and superhero conflict they have to have a dramatic
and dangerous fight
...

8
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Answers should relate to an evil place
...
What does the title "The end of the beginning" suggest?
1
...
This is the story of how he became a
superhero
...

During reading
2
...
The most frightening thing that he faces is knowing that there is an abyss below him that he will fall
into if he lets go
...
What does he mean when he asks “Do enemies really die”? Do you think that Ulric is really dead?
1
...

2
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Which one is the most
important to him do you think?
2
...

3
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a) Zed is a zero
...

4
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Zed sees himself as a superhero from now on
...
Look at Zed’s list of things that he believes in
...
Personal response
...

6
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Zed is always going to be on the side of the weak, those who are easily taken in and those who are
easily led
...
Is SuperZero a good title for both Zed and the novel? Why?
7
...
The reason given must be clearly stated

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