Lesson+3

Transformation in Texts

__**10 Words**__

Decide, assistance, creative, describe, discipline, format, make, rescue, alien, elite.

__ Australian Story __

Continue watching 'The Story of Samuel' here.

__**Questions**__
 * 1) When Samuel was a baby he was diagnosed with cancer. What did the doctors say caused it?
 * 2) Describe the impact this had on his parents.
 * 3) How did the cancer transform their lives?
 * 4) Samuel describes and explains many of his experiences with cancer and brain tumors. He has had cancer several times throughout his young life. How has he dealt with having cancer?
 * 5) Do you think this has been a positive or negative transformation in this family's life? Why?
 * 6) Read the following exerts from the program:

RED SYMONS, FATHER: It was the first most awful moment of my life. I can remember calling my father in tears and saying "He has to have brain surgery, he's four years old", just that. It's still too awful to contemplate, so I don't.

SAMUEL SYMONS: Lots of the kids at primary school didn't actually know that I had a brain tumour. They would have known that I was missing school because I just wasn't there.

SAMUEL SYMONS: I personally haven't seen my mum upset about me, because she obviously does it when I'm either in surgery, or when I'm not with her. I think she's really scared if I see her like that, that I'll cry too, or I'll become emotional about it. But I find that I don’t necessarily have that much of an emotional attachment to it, because I sort of try to detach myself from it because I want to not let it interfere with my actual life. ELLY SYMONS, MOTHER: I just wish I could trade places with him so he doesn't have to go through it all the time, a swap.

SAMUEL SYMONS: I think after being so close to death that I could give it a little peck on the cheek, even then I don’t tend to think about it or never have really thought about it because I was too busy trying to stay alive and keep living. That I really just didn't care about death, and never have and never will.

Pick one of these exerts and describe what you think about the effects that cancer has had on changing this family's life.

Worksheet