Spar Mystery 5: Understanding Christie's Five Little Pigs Through Debate
In this 6-week multi-day class we will expand critical thinking skills immersing ourselves in one of Agatha Christie's most popular Poirot mysteries, Five Little Pigs, through discussion and Spar debate. ESL friendly, CEFR level C1, C2 #academic
Cindy Frank
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What's included
6 live meetings
5 hrs 30 mins in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Students will be required to read the portions of the text we will be considering for the upcoming week. We will be reading three to four chapters a week for this class. There will be optional writing assignments given after each session that can be returned for comment and assessment.Assessment
Families and/or learners will receive written assessments throughout the class. There are optional homework assignments given throughout the course. If learners choose to complete any of these assignments they will receive immediate written feedback on their work.Class Experience
US Grade 7 - 10
Advanced Level
Kindly note: This is an ESL friendly class, CEFR level — C1, C2 (Advanced) Please feel free to write me via Outschool email with questions. *** Any of the five of them could have done it. But which of them did? Somehow the "Little Pigs" nursery rhyme keeps running through Poirot's mind. What does it mean? And can Poirot in fact solve what appears to be an utterly unsolvable case, one that occurred sixteen years in the past? Five suspects. And this is the fifth of the Spar Mystery series! Clever, intriguing, and enthralling, Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs is also the perfect book to employ both the technique of Spar debating and to maximize critical thinking to become as acute an observer and insightful a thinker as the man with "the little grey cells" Hercule Poirot. Spar Mystery 5: Understanding Christie's Five Little Pigs Through Debate is the fifth in my own series of Spar Mystery classes which began with my own Spar Mystery!: Understanding The Hound of the Baskervilles Through Debate and continued with Spar Mystery 2!: Understanding Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Through Debate and Spar Mystery 3: Understanding Christie's And Then There Were None Through Debate. It is not necessary to have taken Spar Mystery!: Understanding The Hound of the Baskervilles Through Debate or Spar Mystery 2!: Understanding The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Through Debate, or Spar Mystery 3: Understanding Christie's And Then There Were None Through Debate or Spar Mystery 4: Understanding Christie's A Murder is Announced Through Debate first before taking Spar Mystery 5: Understanding Christie's Five Little Pigs Through Debate. No previous experience in debate is necessary for this class. Five Little Pigs is is one of Christie's best-selling mysteries and considered one of her finest creations featuring her detective, Hercule Poirot. A wealthy young woman due to be married, Carla Lemarchant, comes to Poirot with an extraordinary request: exonerate her mother, Caroline Crale. Sixteen years earlier Caroline Crale was convicted of murdering her husband and Carla's father, the renowned painter, Amyas Crale. While Caroline died in prison, her daughter believes that she was innocent. Against all odds, Poirot chooses to revisit this cold case, piecing together clues from the past to track down a culprit who for decades may truly have "gotten away with murder." Each class in Spar Mystery will feature an introduction with games and lateral thinking mind puzzles to give students the opportunity to further sharpen their critical thinking skills. Optional writing assignments will be provided as well to give learners the opportunity both to enhance oral speaking abilities and explore creative writing. Spar Mystery follows the same format as my own Spar Lit Sr: Understanding Essays Through Speech and Debate and Spar Lit Sr: Understanding Short Stories Through Speech and Debate. Our 6-session class will focus on blending the acknowledged technique of Spar debating with understanding Five Little Pigs through debate and discussion. Spar means “SPontaneous ARgumentation” a quicktime technique that is used to prepare students for formal debate. Our class will use Spar debating to explore dive deep into one of the finest mysteries in history, No previous experience in speech or debate is necessary for full participation in this class. The result? Students will learn to take a position on key issues involving intriguing literary questions, while gaining a nuanced and thorough understanding both sides of every issue. All students will gain an enhanced exploration of literature while expanding debate techniques. Spar Debate questions will focus on the literary aspect of each weekly reading from the book and the Spar debates are evidence-based from the chapters themselves. The 30 minute discussion at the beginning of each session, guided by me, will allow all students to engage in productive discussion. Guidance will be given as to the parameters of Spar debating which are evidence-based not guided by emotional responses. This class has been purposely limited to six students to maximize the participation of every learner. Spar is quick debate! With debaters given the Pro or Con position, a short Spar debate can illuminate ideas and provide for more nuanced critical thinking. Each ongoing class will run as follows: 5 minutes of general introduction 30 minutes of interactive discussion on the chapter or pages set for the class 20 minutes of ongoing Spar pro/con debate involving key literary questions from the weekly reading **** How does Spar debating work? 10 MINUTE MINI DEBATES! Students face off to debate a Pro/Con question involving the specific reading from literature for the day. COIN FLIP TO DETERMINE PRO/CON Students have 1 minute to brainstorm ideas for their position (evidence/arguments) 1 minute Pro students give a 1 minute opening statements to make their case (Con students listen quietly and takes notes) 1 minute Con students give a 1 minute opening statement to make their case (Pro students listen quietly and take notes) 30 seconds Everyone thinks! 2 to 3 minutes Grand Crossfire discussion where all students can ask each other questions about opposing statements. 30 seconds All students think again to prepare their closing statements 30 seconds Con students give a 30 second closing statement (Pro students listen quietly) 30 seconds Pro students give a 30 second closing statement (Con students listens quietly) Class Plan Class #1: Poirot Meets Carla Lemarchant and speaks to the Professionals: Counsel for the Defense, Counsel for the Prosecution, The Young Solicitor, The Old Solicitor, The Police Superintendent. Class #2 This Little Pig Went to Market, This Little Pig Stayed Home, This Little Pig Had Roast Beef Class #3 This Little Pig Had None, This Little Pig Cried “Wee, Wee Wee” Class #4: Narrative of Philip Blake, Narrative of Meredith Blake Class #5: Narrative of Lady Dittisham, Narrative of Cecilia Williams, Narrative of Angela Warren Class #6 Poirot Finishes the Case Conclusions, Poirot Asks Five Questions, Reconstruction, Truth, Aftermath
Learning Goals
*To gain confidence in speaking and organization
*Understand all the basic ideas of debate and rhetoric
*Gain deeper understanding of mystery literature through debate
* To communicate effectively through speaking, thinking adroitly and responding fluently
* Improve memory retention and organizational skills
* Gain confidence and poise in oral presentation
* Expand vocabulary and word usage
*To gain deeper understanding of the nuances of literature and the mystery novel
Syllabus
6 Lessons
over 6 WeeksLesson 1:
Poirot Meets Carla Lemarchant and speaks to the Professionals
Chapter Discussion and Spar Debate Sparked by: ‘’Thank goodness you’re sensible. You see that it does matter—and what it involves."
Spar Statement: Being direct and honest with painful discussions or topics is often a kinder method of breaking bad news.
Position 1: Agree with the above statement. Explain.
Position 2: Disagree with the above statement. Oftentimes it makes far more sense to distract someone from bitter truths to simply making generally nice comments and moving to a new subject. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
This Little Pig Went to Market, This Little Pig Stayed Home, This Little Pig...
Chapter Discussion and Spar Debate Sparked by: "The desire for drama is very strong in the human race.”—Poirot
Spar Statement: The desire for drama is very strong in the human race.
Position 1: Agree with the above statement. Explain.
Position 2: Disagree with the above statement. We crave quiet, and peace and gentleness in our lives. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
This Little Pig Had None, This Little Pig Cried “Wee, Wee Wee”
Chapter Discussion and Spar Debate Sparked by: “This is why I know Caroline did not do murder.” —Angela
Spar Statement: The realization and acknowledgement that we have done a great wrong forces us to restrain our behavior ever afterwards.
Position 1: Agree with the above statement.
Position 2: Disagree with the above statement. Once we’ve shown that we are capable of anger or violence we can always succumb to it. 55 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Narrative of Philip Blake, Narrative of Meredith Blake
Chapter Discussion and Spar Debate Sparked by: Philip Blake is—and always has been—Amyas Crale’s best friend.
Spar Statement: When we have a best friend—as Philip Blake was to Amyas Crale—we know them better than anyone.
Position 1: Agree with the above statement. Explain.
Position 2: Disagree with the above statement. People are multifaceted and no matter how well we think we know someone they can behave completely differently with other people in their lives. 55 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie was originally published in 1942. It is essential for families to remember that at this period in history ideas of casual racism and anti-semitism were rife in throughout society, including in Britain where this novel is set. The essay “Death on the Nile and Addressing Racism in Agatha Christie” on BBC.com quotes Vike Martina Plock, a professor of modern literature and culture at the University of Exeter in the UK:
“However, she says that censoring the books in such a way was a mistake – as she believes that, for the most part, Christie was not being racist herself in her novels, but rather reflecting the racist attitudes of her time and leaving them open to critique. "It made the [censored] novels less socially critical as documents of their time because I do think Christie's novels criticise racism rather than perpetuating [it]," she says. "The racism depicted in the books draws attention to the fact that it was very dominant in the culture in which Christie was living.”
We will discuss how the world has changed and thinking has expanded since this period. It’s important to note that subsequent filmed versions of this novel and other Christie novels, including recent the recent Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express directed by Kenneth Branagh, consciously choose to significantly diversify the cast omitting hurtful stereotypes and focusing on the puzzle/mystery aspects of of the books. James Pritchard, great-grandson of Agatha Christie and head of Agatha Christie LTD quoted in an essay on RTL, that his great-grandmother ‘“would not have liked the idea that someone is hurt by his (sic) turns of phrase’ “When the book was written, the language was different. Agatha Christie was above all there to entertain.”
We will address these issues in the first class and throughout the sessions.
While Five Little Pigs was written for an adult audience, publisher HarperAcademic.com, a division of publisher William Morrow, notes that Christie novels work exceptionally well for developing critical thinking in both middle and high school students.
Five Little Pigs is of course a murder mystery, and while the descriptions of the murder or murders are not intensely graphic, there is mention of knives, firearms, and poisons as well as mentions of suicide that are essential to the themes of the story.
Kindly see the attached for further information and please feel free to be in touch with me via Outschool email if questions or issues.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220214-death-on-the-nile-and-addressing-racism-in-agatha-christie
https://newsrnd.com/life/2020-08-26-why-agatha-christie-s-%E2%80%9Cten-little-negroes%E2%80%9D-changed-its-name-in-france.B1VNRN4mD.html
Supply List
Learners will need a copy of Five Little Pigs, available at your local library or via for purchase via amazon.com, local bookstores, or via second-hand bookstores such as Thriftbooks.com https://www.thriftbooks.com/ as well at reduced prices. If possible, please try to get this edition of Five Little Pigs https://www.amazon.com/Five-Little-Pigs-Hercule-Mysteries/dp/0062073575 If you cannot find this we can still make it work though!
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined July, 2020
5.0
652reviews
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree from The University of Michigan, 1982 Honors in The History of Art, Does not Expire
Longtime teacher of literature for both middle and high school students, I am also a mystery aficionado who has taught a high school class in genre literature, featuring numerous mystery novels including The Hound of the Baskervilles and other Agatha Christie novels. I am also the founder and former coach of an award-winning Speech and Debate team that competed at local, state and national levels, long-time speech judge for local, regional, national speech events for NCFL and National Speech and Debate Association, former teacher of high school debate and rhetoric, art history, literature, and AP Language and Composition.
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Live Group Course
$165
for 6 classes1x per week, 6 weeks
55 min
Completed by 10 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 12-17
3-6 learners per class
