Mr Harris and the Night Train

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• Secundair onderwijs

Mr Harris and the Night Train

Lesson 1 - class reading

Lesson 2 - Language production

What might happen on a night train?

Why do people feel nervous when they travel alone?

train carriage

luggage

ticket

stranger

afraid

shadow

Some key vocabulary on fear

adjectives:

afraid

• feeling fear; general term
• E.g.: He was afraid of the dark corridor.

frightened

• suddenly afraid
• E.g.: The noise frightened her.

terrified

• extremely afraid
• E.g.: She was terrified when she saw the killer.

anxious

• worried about the future
• E.g.: Mr Harris was anxious about reaching home safely.

Some key vocabulary on fear

verbs:

tremble / shake

• move slightly because of fear
• Eg.: He trembled when he heard the voice.

gasp

• breathe quickly in surprise or fear
• E.g.: He gasped when the light went out.

Some key vocabulary on fear

Expressions:

a chill down my spine

• to feel a sudden, intense sensation of fear, excitement.
• often accompanied by goosebumps
• Eg.: When I thought I saw a ghost it sent a chill down my spine.

a feeling of dread

• an intense anxiety about a future event, often accompanied by a sense of impending catastrophe
• E.g.: I experienced a feeling of dread when I heard the police report on the news.

sweaty palms

• refers to the physical symptom of sweating in the hands -> a state of nervousness
• E.g.: He got sweaty palms while walking through the woods in the dark.

Matching exercise

Matching exercise-key

• seat  = a ‘chair’ on a train
• whisper  = to speak very, very quietly
• fall (fell) = to move suddenly from a high place to a low place
• ghost  = a dead person that living people think they can see
• guard  = a man who works on a train
• bright  = full of light; shining strongly
• blood  = the red liquid in a person’s body
• terrible =  very bad; making you afraid or unhappy
• carriage  = a ‘room’ on a train
• diamond  = a beautiful, very expensive, bright stone
• necklace  = something beautiful that women wear round the neck
• corridor = the long, narrow place on a train with doors to the carriages

Key

1–L

2–C

3–B

4–I

5–J

6–K

7–H

8–A

9–G

10–D

11–F

12–E

Mr Harris & the Night Train

Class reading - part 1

• answer the while reading questions
• complete your story tracker

p.22 until: ...into the black night again.

Is it day or night?

1. Day
2. Night

Is Mr Harris alone?

1. Yes
2. No

Are there many people on the train?

1. Yes
2. No

How does Mr Harris feel?

Mr Harris & the Night Train

Class reading - part 2

• answer the while reading questions
• complete your story tracker

p.24 until: ...the dark cold night.

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Where is Mr Harris sitting, when the train leaves the station again?

1. By the aisle.
2. In his bed.
3. By the window.
4. In the restaurant.

Does Mr Harris meet anyone on the train?

How are the young woman and the man related?

1. husband/wife
2. father/daughter
3. mother/son
4. brother /sister

What do you think will happen next?

Mr Harris & the Night Train

Class reading - part 3

• answer the while reading questions
• complete your story tracker

p.25 until: ...Mr Harris looked at him.

What do you think will happen next?

Mr Harris & the Night Train

Class reading - part 4

• answer the while reading questions
• complete your story tracker

p.27 until: ...the back of the train.

Who is Mr Harris talking to in this part of the story?

1. The young woman
2. The police
3. The train guard
4. another passenger

What did Mr Harris see happen between the woman and her brother?

1. They were sleeping.
2. They were fighting.
3. They were talking about a ticket.
4. They were leaving the train together.

What did the young woman use to kill her brother?

1. A gun
2. A rope
3. Poison
4. A knife

What does the guard say about Elena and her brother now?

1. They died about eighty years ago.
2. They are living in Finland.
3. They disappeared on the train.
4. They escaped with the diamonds.

What are Elena and her brother now, according to the guard?

1. Tourists
2. Police officers
3. Ghosts
4. Passengers from another train

Mr Harris & the Night Train

Class reading - part 5

• answer the while reading questions
• complete your story tracker

p.28 until end of story

Which word best describes Mr Harris at the end of the story?

1. calm
2. afraid
3. curious
4. angry

How much did you like the ending?

Very much.

It was ok.

I didn't really like it.

I hated it.

How mysterious was the story? On a scale from 1-4 (1: not mysterious at all - 4: super mysterious)

1

2

3

4

Do you believe Mr Harris really saw ghosts? Why or why not?
✎ Type one or two sentences.

If you could change the ending, what would happen?
✎ Be creative!

Exercises

Handouts p. 2 & 3

1. gap-filling exercise
2. passage questions

Complete the postcard

Last night I saw two _______!

They came into my _______ on the train at midnight — a brother and a sister.

The brother had his sister’s _______ _______ (two words) in his pocket, and the young woman wanted it back.

She was angry and afraid, and in the end she killed her brother with a knife.

There was _______ all over the _______ and the floor. It was _______!

I ran down the _______ to the back of the train and spoke to the _______.

He told me that it all happened eighty years ago!

I’m coming back to Helsinki by _______.

Best wishes,

Joseph Harris

Complete the postcard

• Last night I saw two ghosts!
• They came into my carriage on the train at midnight — a brother and a sister.
• The brother had his sister’s diamond necklace in his pocket, and the young woman wanted it back.
• She was angry and afraid, and in the end she killed her brother with a knife.
• There was blood all over the seat and the floor. It was terrible!
• I ran down the corridor to the back of the train and spoke to the guard.
• He told me that it all happened eighty years ago!
• I’m coming back to Helsinki by plane.

Best wishes,
Joseph Harris

Group work (p.4)

Groups of 3 - divide the work.

Each group discusses 1 passage.

“He’s going to be very, very angry — and I’m afraid of him.”

Who said these words, and to whom?

• The young woman (Elena)said them to her brother.

Who is the speaker talking about?

• She is talking about her brother, who has taken her diamonds.

Why is she afraid?

• Because her brother is angry and violent.

“Mr Harris’s face was white too. He opened his mouth, but he couldn’t speak.”

Why was Mr Harris’s face white?

• He was shocked and frightened after seeing the murder.

Who else in the carriage had a white face too. Why?

• The young woman, Elena. Her face was white with anger and fear before she killed her brother.

Mr Harris couldn’t speak. What do you think he might have wanted to say?

• He wanted to shout for help or tell them to stop, but he was too afraid.

“Eighty years ago! What are you saying? Were she and her brother … But I saw them!”

Who says these words, and to whom?

• Mr Harris says them to the train guard.

Who are they talking about?

• About Elena di Saronelli and her brother, Carl.

What is the speaker beginning to understand?

• He is starting to realise that the people he saw were ghosts, not living passengers.

Lesson 2

Recap

• What happens at the end of the story?
• Is Mr Harris safe or in danger?
• Could it all have been a dream?
  

How does the writer create suspense?

Find evidence

- setting (place, atmosphere,...)

- sounds

- emotion

Prepare on paper.

Group activity

setting

sound

emotion

Writing / Production Task

Record a message with as title:

“Strange events on the night train – Man reports mysterious woman.”

Instructions:

Prepare in writing (on paper)

Use past tenses (was, saw, said, heard).

Include the five W’s: Who, What, When, Where, Why.

Add one quote, e.g. “I felt someone behind me,” Mr Harris said.

Finish with your opinion: Was it real or imagination?

Length: about 100–120 words (≈ 1-minute speech).

Group 1

Use sentences like:

• Last night I took the night train.

• I saw a man and a woman.

• The woman was angry because...

• Nobody believes me!

Group 2

Use adjectives (frightened, pale, mysterious) and reported speech (He said he saw…).