Complete Comprehension Book 4

Complete Comprehension A structured programme for teaching reading comprehension skills

Year 4 21 inspiring texts, with lesson plans and photocopiable practice

Downloadable resources Visit www.schofieldandsims.co.uk/completecomprehension to access a wealth of downloadable resources, including: O

Teaching unit Modelling slides

O

Printable Comprehension texts

O

Child-friendly Skills graphics

O

Skills deskmats for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2

Use the unique code below to access printable versions of the comprehension texts in this book. This code is for one-time use only so please ensure that you save the materials for future reference.

By redeeming the code above, you agree to safeguard the downloadable materials for your own use only, including studying, classroom teaching, lesson planning and in-school training. No part of any of the texts in Complete Comprehension may be uploaded to the internet, to an internal website (intranet or Virtual Learning Environment/VLE), or to another computer.

Complete Comprehension Year 4 Contents Year 4 overview

2

Introduction

4

Skills guide

14

Word meaning

14

Prediction

22

Retrieval

16

Relationship

24

Summarising

18

Word choice

26

Inference

20

Comparison

28

Teaching units and Progress checks

30

Unit 1

Roman Britain

Unit 2

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle

Unit 3

Volcanoes in Action

Unit 4

Tsunamis on the Move

Unit 5

Russian Doll

Unit 6

The Little Daughter of the Snow

Unit 7

The History behind Christmas Traditions

2

page 30

Summarising

by Ruth Brocklehurst Non-fiction Retrieval

by Julia Jarman

Fiction Retrieval

page 38

page 46

by Anita Ganeri Non-fiction Word meaning

by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

Non-fiction Word meaning

?

?

page 54

page 62

by Rachel Rooney Poetry Inference

page 70

by Arthur Ransome Fiction Retrieval

page 78

by The Telegraph Non-fiction

A Christmas Tree

Mixed skills

page 86

by Charles Dickens

Unit 8

The Moomins and the Great Flood

Unit 9

For Forest

Unit 10

Fiction

The Borrowers

Unit 11

Progress check 1

Year 4 overview

Year 4 overview

Max and the Millions

Relationship

page 90

by Tove Jansson Fiction Inference

page 98

by Grace Nichols Poetry Retrieval

page 106

by Mary Norton Fiction Prediction

page 114

by Ross Montgomery Fiction

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Unit 14

The Secret World of Polly Flint

by Marcia Williams Fiction page 130

Inference

by Michael Morpurgo Fiction page 138

Inference

by Helen Cresswell Fiction

Unit 15 Unit 16

The Great Elephant Chase

Unit 17

Retrieval

Black Beauty

Unit 18

Non-fiction

Charlotte’s Web

Unit 19

by Daily Mail

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

Word choice

by Lemony Snicket

Fiction

Unit 20

Mixed skills

Little Women

Word meaning

Unit 21

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave Threats to African Elephants

Everything Castles

Progress check 3

page 122

Inference

Year 4 overview

Unit 12 Unit 13

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips

Progress check 2

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright

page 146

page 150

by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Non-fiction page 158

Inference

by Gillian Cross Fiction page 166

Retrieval

by Anna Sewell Fiction Word meaning

?

page 174

by E.B. White Fiction page 182

?

page 190

by Louisa May Alcott Fiction Comparison

page 198

by Crispin Boyer Non-fiction

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Mixed skills

page 206

by Michael Morpurgo

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Fiction

3

Introduction

Introduction Reading is one of the most important outcomes of a primary school education, and one of the most powerful skills we will ever master, as it is crucial for understanding the world around us. It is no exaggeration to say that the benefits of being an effective reader last a lifetime.

Complete Comprehension is a whole-school programme designed to equip pupils with everything they need to become strong, successful readers. The series, which comprises a book of lesson plans, teaching guidance and photocopiable resources for every year group from Year 1 to Year 6, breaks down the complex process of comprehension into separate Comprehension skills (see page 5).

The comprehension skills are signposted throughout the series through the use of child-friendly logos and graphics. Each teaching unit includes a photocopiable Comprehension text and a set of Skills focus questions that target a single skill, along with detailed guidance to support you, the teacher, to model the relevant skill in context using the Let’s try… questions.

In addition, a Skills guide is provided at the end of this introduction (see page 14). It includes an in-depth description of each skill, and explains how the skills relate to each other. It also lists strategies to help you develop your pupils’ familiarity with each skill and offers advice on how to deal with common difficulties. A selection of resources are also available to download from the Schofield & Sims website (www.schofieldandsims.co.uk/completecomprehension), including a selection of child-friendly Skills graphics, which explain the skills in simple terms, and Skills deskmats, which function as a reminder of the different skills.

In addition to this skill-specific instruction, Complete Comprehension prioritises vocabulary expansion, specifically the pre-teaching of vocabulary, as another prerequisite for successful comprehension. Every teaching unit includes a Language toolkit, which contains a set of Key vocabulary words from the comprehension text and accompanying activities to boost understanding in advance of reading.

The features outlined above are integrated into each Complete Comprehension teaching unit alongside enjoyable activities and discussion opportunities. These have a dual function: first, they promote reading for pleasure; second, they support pupils to engage with the text’s features and build their background knowledge by exploring the themes in each text. Children are also encouraged to make comparisons with other texts and to reflect on their personal reactions to the text as readers. See pages 6 to 11 for a complete guide to the teaching unit.

The 21 teaching units in this book are designed to be completed at regular intervals over the course of a year: it is recommended that you work through seven units a term, leaving the remaining weeks free to spend on other reading work.

Series overview

The comprehension skills

4

Each Complete Comprehension teaching unit targets one of the following skills, which are all essential for meaningful reading. In particular, word meaning, retrieval and inference are seen as cornerstones of comprehension, as children must be confident in these areas before they can master the remaining skills.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Word meaning

Prediction

Understand the meaning of vocabulary in the text.

?

Wo

This symbol is used to represent word meaning in the teaching units.

Go to page 14 to read more about word meaning.

This symbol is used to represent prediction in the teaching units.

Go to page 22 to read more about prediction.

Word meaning is the target skill in Units 4, 5, 18 and 20.

Prediction is the target skill in Unit 11.

Retrieval

Relationship

Recall key details from the text.

Comment on the way the text has been structured.

R e la ti o n s hi p

Re trie v al

This symbol is used to represent retrieval in the teaching units.

This symbol is used to represent relationship in the teaching units.

Go to page 16 to read more about retrieval.

Retrieval is the target skill in Units 2, 3, 7, 10, 15 and 17.

Summarising Identify and comment on the text’s main points.

P re d i c ti o n

Go to page 24 to read more about relationship.

Relationship is the target skill in Unit 8.

Word choice .............. ..

Discuss the effect of words and phrases used in the text.

... ............. ......... ..................

Sum

m a risin

g

This symbol is used to represent summarising in the teaching units.

Wo r d c h o i c e

This symbol is used to represent word choice in the teaching units.

Go to page 18 to read more about summarising.

Go to page 26 to read more about word choice.

Summarising is the target skill in Unit 1.

Word choice is the target skill in Unit 19.

Inference

Comparison

Use details from the text and background knowledge to make judgements about aspects of the text.

Make comparisons about events, characters and structure in the text.

I n fe re n c e

This symbol is used to represent inference in the teaching units.

Go to page 20 to read more about inference.

Inference is the target skill in Units 6, 9, 12, 13, 14 and 16.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

C o m p ris o n a

This symbol is used to represent comparison in the teaching units.

Go to page 28 to read more about comparison.

Comparison is the target skill in Unit 21.

Series overview

?

rd m e a n i n g

Use details from the text and background knowledge to make plausible predictions based on the text.

Introduction

Key Stage 2 Comprehension skills

5

Introduction

Structure of the teaching unit Every Complete Comprehension teaching unit contains the same four components, which are explained below.

A short Introduction gives a synopsis of the text and highlights links to other texts in the book or to other curriculum subjects.

Teaching is split into five steps.

Lesson plan The first two pages of the teaching unit allow you to see the content of the lesson at a glance. Teaching is divided into five steps to give you the flexibility to make the lesson longer or shorter according to your needs (see Teaching with Complete Comprehension, page 8). Taught as a whole, each unit provides the ideal balance of a holistic reading experience and discrete practice of reading skills.

The Language toolkit identifies vocabulary terms for pre-teaching and includes a bank of supporting activities.

The Target skill is clearly signposted.

The Reading list offers a selection of related texts across a range of genres to encourage comparison and the strengthening of background knowledge.

The Modelling panel provides detailed guidance for the Let’s try… questions on the target skill. These questions are also included in the downloadable Modelling slides.

Structure of the teaching unit

Skills focus

6

These pages support you to model the target skill for your class using the Let’s try… questions, which are also included in the downloadable Modelling slides for easy display. The mark schemes for the Pupil questions, which the children can attempt after the modelling session, are also found here.

Mark schemes are provided for all pupil questions, and offer guidance on common areas of difficulty.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

A short, child-friendly Introduction helps pupils to access the text. This can be read aloud to pupils before reading the text.

Each comprehension text is available online in a downloadable format.

Introduction

The final two parts of each unit are aimed at the pupil. These resources may be photocopied for each child.

Comprehension text The text for each unit is designed to be photocopied, or downloaded and printed, and distributed to each pupil. The children should be encouraged to make their own highlights and annotations.

Some of the texts include an illustration, which can be discussed before reading the text.

The Target skill is clearly signposted.

The Mix it up! questions can be used to practise a range of skills.

Each unit includes a set of five Target-skill questions to enable the children to practise applying the target skill, as well as a set of Mix it up! questions that offer practice in a range of comprehension skills. The resources can be photocopied for each child.

The Target-skill questions can be used to practise the skill after modelling the Let’s try… questions for your class.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The Mix-it up! questions would work well as a homework task, if desired.

Structure of the teaching unit

Pupil resources

7

Introduction

Teaching with Complete Comprehension There are 21 teaching units in this book. They can be used flexibly, but it is recommended that they are taught consecutively, as they have been arranged in a specific order to promote discussion and build progression. There are seven units to complete each term, leaving the remaining weeks free to spend on other reading work. Each term’s teaching units are followed by one of the three optional Progress checks (see Assessment, page 11).

Each teaching unit is divided into five steps, which are shown in the diagram below. These could be taught as separate sessions over the course of a week; alternatively, multiple steps could easily be combined into a single session.

The Get ready, First steps and Skills focus steps form the backbone of each teaching unit and should be completed in order. The optional Explore and Where next? steps are intended to be adapted as necessary to fit the time you have available and the needs of your cohort.

1

2

3

4

5

Get ready

First steps

Explore

Skills focus

Where next?

Prepare the children to engage with the text

Read the text together and check understanding

Discuss and appreciate the text’s themes and features

Model a comprehension skill and answer test-style questions

Round off teaching with a related activity or further reading

1 Get ready

Teaching with Complete Comprehension

The Get ready session is designed to be carried out verbally as a class.

8

Start by introducing pupils to the Key vocabulary terms in the Language toolkit. These are words from the text passage that are unusual or that the children may find difficult to read or understand.

Use the Vocabulary discussion questions to encourage the children to use the words in context, referring to related or opposite words if desired. You could then use the Vocabulary activities to reinforce understanding.

Once your pupils are comfortable with the language in the toolkit, display the comprehension text and accompanying illustration(s) and use the Get ready questions to encourage the children to access their existing knowledge of the genre and subject matter. This will ensure that their minds are fully engaged when you come to read the comprehension text together.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

O

discuss word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known

O

draw on what they already know or on background information provided by the teacher

O

link what they have read or heard to their own experiences.

Introduction

In the Get ready session, the children will:

2 First steps Like the Get ready session, the First steps session is intended to be conducted verbally as a class.

Begin by reading the comprehension text with your class. The First steps questions, which should be discussed after reading the text, follow the order of the text and help you to ensure that the children have grasped the basic outline of the passage. The work done in this part of the teaching unit will prepare them to answer more complex questions in the Skills focus session (see page 10).

In the First steps session, the children will: O

listen to and discuss a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction

O

check that the text makes sense to them as they read, and correct inaccurate reading.

3 Explore This optional session can be adapted to the needs of your cohort. It offers opportunities for further discussion and enrichment activities to bring the text to life.

The Explore enrichment activities might include using imperative verbs to guide their partner after reading an instructional text. These activities, which represent an enjoyable change of pace within the lesson, will help to build positive attitudes to reading.

In the Explore session, the children will: O

learn to appreciate and recite rhymes and poems

O

become very familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales, retelling them and considering their particular characteristics

O

participate in discussion of what is read to them, taking turns and listening to what others say.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Teaching with Complete Comprehension

The Explore discussion questions highlight key themes or literary features of the text. They support the development of analytical skills and encourage the children to express their opinions and listen to the views of their peers, promoting a culture of active reading.

9

Introduction

4 Skills focus This is the skills-based session of the teaching unit. From Year 2 onwards, the teaching unit is always structured around three sets of questions: modelled target-skill questions (the Let’s try… questions), practice target-skill questions and mixed skill questions.

1 Model the target skill First, introduce or recap the target skill, perhaps using one of the downloadable Skills graphics to focus the children’s attention. The strategies suggested in the relevant pages of the Skills guide (see pages 14 to 29) may also be helpful at this point.

Once you have explained the skill, display the Let’s try… questions (also available as a downloadable resource). Using the answers and modelling guidance provided on the Skills focus pages of each unit (see page 6), model the questions for your class. The modelling process is intended to be an interactive experience for the children. The Modelling panel contains prompts to help you keep them engaged and highlight the steps in your method.

2 Practise the target skill Once the Let’s try… questions have been discussed and completed, the children increase their familiarity with the target skill by working through the Target-skill questions. The children could work in small groups to complete these questions, with adult supervision as required. Answers and guidance can be found on the Skills focus pages of each teaching unit.

3 Practise a range of comprehension skills The session ends with a set of Mix it up! questions, which offer practice in a range of the Key Stage 2 comprehension skills. These questions are a good way to build the children’s confidence in recognising questions from different skill areas. They would also work well as a homework task, if desired.

Teaching with Complete Comprehension

In the Skills focus session, the children will:

10

O

discuss the significance of the title and events

O

make inferences on the basis of what is said and done

O

predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far

O

explain clearly their understanding of what is read to them.

5 Where next?

This optional session includes two useful resources that encourage further engagement with the text.

The Reading list offers a selection of related texts, categorised by genre, which could be used alongside the main unit text to build background knowledge or provide some interesting contrasts. (See The comprehension texts, page 12, for guidance on making contrasts between the texts within this book.)

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

In the Where next? session, the children will: O

listen to and discuss a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction

O

develop pleasure in reading and motivation to read.

Introduction

The Speaking and listening task and the Writing task can be used to help you round off the unit.

Both tasks are closely linked to the themes in the comprehension text, and act as a bridge to other areas of the English curriculum. They also represent an opportunity for the children to apply and strengthen the background knowledge they have gained in the course of the teaching unit.

Assessment Each Complete Comprehension book contains three Progress checks designed to be used at the end of each term. These are informal assessments, in which the children work more independently (without the support of the full teaching unit structure) to answer a set of questions that cover a range of comprehension skills. The Progress checks can be used to boost the children’s confidence and provide introductory practice for the reading component of the national tests (SATs). They are designed to be used as a helpful transition towards more formal assessment resources. Full marking guidance is provided for each question.

Running the Progress checks 1 Give each child a copy of the comprehension text and spend a few minutes looking at it together, discussing the title and any illustrations. Read the pupil introduction aloud and discuss any questions the children have. You could also consider dividing the text into shorter sections if some children require further scaffolding.

3 Encourage the children to reread the text before answering the questions independently. There should be no set time allotted to this activity; allow the children to spend as long as they wish on the Progress check and encourage them to review their answers when they have finished. If they find a question challenging, support them to identify the target comprehension skill and provide them with the relevant Skills graphic to remind them what they need to consider when thinking about their answer.

Please note that the Progress check is a tool designed to give a brief snapshot of pupils’ comprehension.

It should not be used as a formal assessment but can give you an indication of areas your class are finding more challenging, which you can then use to guide your teaching.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Teaching with Complete Comprehension

2 Once all the children have read the text, you could briefly remind them of the different comprehension skills they have worked on and discuss how they can identify the questions in each skill area. You may wish to use the downloadable Skills graphics or refer to the Skills guide (see pages 14 to 29) to help with this. You could also clarify some of the vocabulary that the children have found tricky during reading, but this discussion should be brief.

11

Introduction

The comprehension texts This book contains 24 text passages in total. The texts are arranged in themed pairs, linked by either author or subject matter. These pairings have been planned to facilitate discussion and comparison of related texts as you move through the book. They can be used alongside the external resources in each unit’s Reading list (see page 10).

In addition to discussing the units in their intended pairs, there are many other links you can make between the texts in each book, including discussing texts of the same genre. As many of the links are crosscurricular, these extra class discussions can be a useful way to strengthen the children’s background knowledge. The Curriculum links chart below uses shading to show the text pairs and the cross-curricular links for the texts in this book.

The comprehension texts

Curriculum links in Complete Comprehension 4

12

Unit

Title

Author

Genre

Curriculum links

1

Roman Britain

Ruth Brocklehurst

Non-fiction Information text

History: Roman Britain

2

The TimeTravelling Cat and the Roman Eagle

Julia Jarman

Fiction

History: Roman Britain

3

Volcanoes in Action

Anita Ganeri

Non-fiction Information text

Geography: Volcanoes and earthquakes

4

Tsunamis on the Move

International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

Non-fiction Information text

Geography: Volcanoes and earthquakes

5

Russian Doll

Rachel Rooney

Poetry

PSHE: Ourselves, growing and changing

6

The Little Daughter of the Snow

Arthur Ransome

Fiction Traditional tale

Geography: Russia

7

The History behind Christmas Traditions

The Telegraph

Non-fiction Newspaper article

History: Victorian Britain

Progress check 1

A Christmas Tree

Charles Dickens

Fiction Classic fiction

History: Victorian Britain

8

The Moomins and the Great Flood

Tove Jansson

Fiction Classic fiction

9

For Forest

Grace Nichols

Poetry

PSHE: Communities

Geography: Rainforests Geography: The Caribbean

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Title

Author

Genre

10

The Borrowers

Mary Norton

Fiction Classic fiction

11

Max and the Millions

Ross Montgomery

Fiction

PSHE: Respecting self and others

12

My Secret War Diary

by Flossie Albright

Marcia Williams

Fiction

History: World War II

13

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips

Michael Morpurgo

Fiction

History: World War II

14

The Secret World of Polly Flint

Helen Cresswell

Fiction

Progress check 2

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave

Daily Mail

Non-fiction Newspaper article

History: Local history

15

Threats to African Elephants

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Non-fiction Information text

Science: Living things and their habitats

The Great Elephant Chase

Gillian Cross

Fiction

Black Beauty

Anna Sewell

17

PSHE: Caring for living things PSHE: Caring for living things History: Victorian Britain Fiction Classic fiction

PSHE: Caring for living things

PSHE: Caring for living things

History: Victorian Britain

18

Charlotte’s Web

E.B. White

Fiction Classic fiction

19

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

Lemony Snicket

Fiction

20

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

Fiction Classic fiction

PSHE: Families and close positive relationships

21

Everything Castles

Crispin Boyer

Non-fiction Information text

History: Local history; Medieval Britain

Progress check 3

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Michael Morpurgo

Fiction Mythology

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The comprehension texts

16

Curriculum links

Introduction

Unit

13

Skills guide Word meaning

?

Word meaning Understanding word meaning Without an understanding of words, effective reading is impossible. As Lemov (2016)1 remarked, ‘Successful reading relies on a reader’s capacity to understand both a large number of words as well as the subtleties and nuances of those words, even when words change their meaning according to the setting’. Learning to define words in context is an important skill, and one that confident readers use regularly.

It is crucial that children do not simply learn to ‘define’ individual words, like a dictionary, but that they understand the vocabulary they encounter in the context in which it appears. The National Curriculum (2014) requires children in Key Stage 1 to understand texts by ‘drawing on what they already know or on background information or vocabulary provided by the teacher’, while children in Key Stage 2 must check that a text makes sense to them by ‘explaining the meaning of words in context’. Developing this skill helps children to make links between known and unknown words and teaches them to use the context of a word to interpret its meaning.

Word meaning in Complete Comprehension The teaching of vocabulary can be divided into two key types: explicit and implicit instruction.2 Explicit instruction is the teaching of specific words and phrases that are necessary to either comprehend a specific text or comprehend meaning more generally in advance of reading.

Implicit instruction is the teaching of strategies that help learners assess their understanding of words as they read.

Word meaning is the target skill of several teaching units in each Complete Comprehension book. In addition, both types of vocabulary instruction are addressed in every teaching unit: explicit instruction is the focus of the Get ready session, in which Key vocabulary terms are taught before reading the comprehension passage. Implicit instruction underlies the work done in the subsequent Explore and Skills focus sessions (see pages 8 to 11 for a full description of the teaching sequence).

14

See Units 4, 5, 18 and 20

?

Word meaning questions usually require children Wo to make links between rd m e a n i n g synonyms. In Complete Comprehension, questions may be worded as follows: O

Which word is closest in meaning to…? Tick one.

O

Explain what the word(s) … tell(s) you about…

O

What does the word … mean in this sentence/line?

O

Underline the word which tells you that…

O

Draw lines to match each word to its meaning.

O

Find and copy one word/a group of words that means the same as…

Often, questions that assess the skill of word meaning only require the child to find out one piece of information. However, this information does not usually come directly from the text but must be deduced using vocabulary knowledge. Word meaning questions thus sometimes require the use of other comprehension skills, such as inference (see page 20) to reach the correct answer.

Key challenges As they read, many children skip over words they do not understand, losing meaning in the process. Teaching children to note down and ask about any vocabulary they do not understand when reading is therefore crucial.

Many children have relatively shallow vocabulary knowledge, only understanding a word when it appears in a familiar context. For example, many will have no trouble with ‘It was raining’ but will struggle with ‘The money was raining down’. It is important to provide opportunities for children to deepen their knowledge by investigating words in a range of contexts.

Children with less secure vocabularies may also struggle to generate linked vocabulary (e.g. knowing that ‘repeat’, ‘redo’ and ‘recycle’ are all connected by the prefix ‘re–’, which refers to doing something again). Incorporating the etymology and categorisation strategies described on page 15 when you are teaching will support the children to make these connections.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

O

O

O

Context clues: Reading around the target word or sentence to gain a general idea of the context can help children make an educated guess about the word’s meaning. However, it is important to note that using context clues can also lead to confusion, as authors generally do not write with the primary aim of supporting readers to make meaning. When you use this strategy, the children should only be directed to words with a helpful context. When teaching vocabulary explicitly, it is a good idea to introduce a new word within multiple contexts before modelling how to use the specific context to construct meaning. The vocabulary discussion questions in each unit’s Language toolkit (see page 6) help the children to understand the Key vocabulary terms in context.

Substitution: Encourage the children to make substitutions to help them check the meaning of a word. If the target word is replaced by a new word, does the sentence still make sense? Is the new word a synonym, or has the meaning of the sentence changed? If the sentence still ‘works’, how does this information help the children to answer the question?

Shades of meaning: When the children are investigating possible synonyms for unfamiliar vocabulary, ensure that they understand that a synonym is similar to, but not the same as, the original word. Asking the children to place a group of synonyms on a scale from the weakest to the strongest can help them to appreciate nuances.

Etymology: Children need to be taught the meanings of root words, prefixes and suffixes, and should be encouraged to use these to help them make educated guesses about word meaning.

Throughout Complete Comprehension, and especially at Key Stage 2, etymology activities are included in the Vocabulary activities section of the Language toolkit.

Skills guide

O

O

Modelling word meaning When modelling word meaning for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the relevant teaching units.

1 Read aloud. Model reading the whole question carefully.

2 Identify and underline the key words in the question.

3 Model scanning the text efficiently to locate each key word, or related key words, from the question.

4 Demonstrate reading the sentences before and after each key word to look for context clues.

?

Word meaning

Strategies for developing word meaning

5 Make links aloud between the key words and their synonyms. Model using this knowledge to help you gauge the meaning.

6 Formulate an answer. Model checking that it answers the question.

Categorisation: For vocabulary knowledge to become deeper and more securely embedded, the children need to be able to categorise vocabulary.

For example, knowing that ‘zebra’ and ‘mongoose’ both refer to animals, and that ‘angry’ and ‘exasperated’ both describe negative feelings, will support the children to make essential links as they read. Providing them with word cards to sort into categories can help to build up this understanding.

1 Lemov, D. (2016) Reading Reconsidered. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, p. 251.

2 Lemov (2016), pp. 253–256.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

15

Skills guide

Retrieval Understanding retrieval Retrieval is the act of efficiently locating, and reproducing, important details in a text. Other reading skills cannot be mastered without a knowledge of retrieval, which is often seen as the most important reading skill.

Retrieval

The National Curriculum (2014) requires children in Key Stage 1 to ‘identify/explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction texts’, while children in Key Stage 2 must ‘retrieve and record information/identify key details from fiction and non-fiction’. Strong retrieval skills are essential for effective comprehension.

Retrieval in Complete Comprehension Retrieval relies on a secure understanding of the information in a text. The key to successful retrieval is remembering that the information required to answer the question is always stated explicitly in the text. The children must be encouraged to focus on the text rather than relying on memory or on their extrinsic knowledge (in contrast to other comprehension skills, such as inference – see page 20).

Because it is so important, retrieval is the focus skill in many of the units in each Complete Comprehension book. This allows the children to practise retrieval in many different contexts. In addition, further retrieval practice is built into every teaching unit through the questions in the First steps session (see page 9) of the lesson. These straightforward questions encourage the children to develop the habit of looking back at the text after their initial reading to pick out key details. This helps them to generate a ‘mental model’ of the text, which will give them a better idea of where to look for answers when they encounter more formal questions in the Skills focus session (see page 10).

16

See Units 2, 3, 7, 10, 15 and 17

In Complete Comprehension, retrieval questions often begin Re trie v al with a ‘question word’, such as ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how’ or ‘which’, that relates to the target information (e.g. ‘who’ for a character; ‘when’ for a time). Often, some of the words used in retrieval questions are taken from the text, which provides an important signpost to readers of where in the text the answer is likely to be found. The children should be encouraged to pay attention to the number of details they have been asked to give, as retrieval questions will often ask for more than one piece of information.

In Complete Comprehension, retrieval questions are often worded as follows: O

Who…/What…/When…/ Where…/How…/ Which…?

O

Give two…

O

According to the text…

O

Find and copy two examples of … from the text.

O

Draw lines to match each statement…

O

Tick to show whether the statement is true or false.

O

Tick to show whether the statement(s) below is/are fact or opinion.

It is important to note that retrieval questions will sometimes require the children to draw on other comprehension skills, such as inference (see page 20), to reach the correct answer.

Key challenges Some children find retrieval difficult; they try to remember the information or use their extrinsic knowledge to answer questions, instead of referring back to the text. When teaching retrieval, you must emphasise the fact that the information will always be found in the text.

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O

O

Identify key words: To retrieve information, the children need to be able to identify key words in the question before locating them in the text.

This should be modelled explicitly by looking at the question, removing any extraneous information, and then deciding on the key words needed.

Sometimes, the key words in the question will be synonymous with words in the text. It is important to model discussing possible synonyms that the text may use instead of the key words.

Scanning: Scanning is the process of rapidly searching the text for specific information, such as a key word. This is a fundamental reading skill that should be prioritised and practised. It is important to model a systematic approach by scanning every line of the text, perhaps using your finger or a ruler on the page. Activities that do not require the children to decode may be helpful for developing scanning skills. The children could use ‘search and find’ texts, such as the Where’s Wally? books, to practise scanning. Alternatively, you could provide a section of text and challenge the children to see how many words, letter strings or punctuation marks they can find in it within a given time.

When modelling retrieval for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the relevant teaching units.

1 Read the question aloud. Remind the children that they should resist the temptation to draw conclusions based on their own knowledge, and model focusing your attention back to the words in the text.

Skills guide

O

Modelling retrieval

2 Locate the key words in your concept or question.

3 Scan the text for those key words, or related key words, and highlight or underline them.

4 If necessary, read around the key words to look for context clues.

5 Find the information you need in the text and highlight or underline it.

6 Check that the information you have found answers the question.

Retrieval

Strategies for developing retrieval

Point out the evidence/Fastest finger first: To emphasise the importance of always referring to the text rather than falling back on extrinsic knowledge, challenge the children to ‘point out the evidence’ for their answer, for example by highlighting, circling or underlining the text. You could also play games such as ‘Fastest finger first’, in which players race to physically place their finger on the word(s) in the text that answer a question or provide a relevant detail.

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Skills guide Summarising 18

Summarising

See Unit 1 .............. .. ... .............

Understanding summarising Once the skill of sequencing has been embedded in Key Stage 1, the children can progress to the Key Stage 2 skill of summarising. To sequence, the children use their knowledge of the whole text to order the events within it. To summarise, they use their knowledge of the whole text and its sequence to identify the most important points and reformulate them concisely.

The National Curriculum (2014) requires children to be competent at ‘summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph’ and ‘identifying key details that support the main ideas’. A confident reader will automatically summarise key information, retaining the most important information and discarding extraneous details.

Summarising in Complete Comprehension Summarising requires a secure understanding of the content of separate sections of a text as well as the text as a whole. Summarising is the target skill for several teaching units across the Complete Comprehension series for Key Stage 2. In addition, the First steps questions that appear in every unit (see page 9) provide extra summarising practice, as they prompt the children to think about the main events in a text immediately after they first read it. These questions focus on the type of details that the children should look for when attempting to summarise a text (e.g. the number of characters in the extract; their relative importance; main events and their chronology).

In Complete Comprehension, summarising questions are often worded as follows:

......... ..................

Sum

m a risin

g

O

What…?/Which…?/Who…?/When…?/Where…?

O

Which word best describes…? Tick one.

O

Which subheading best summarises the content of paragraph X? Tick one.

O

Look at paragraph X. What is the main point of this paragraph?

O

Find and copy/Underline a group of words to summarise the content of paragraph X.

O

Which of the following would be the most effective (alternative) title for the whole extract? Tick one.

O

What is the overall theme of the text?

O

Look at the last paragraph. Summarise why…

O

Summarise what the first verse tells us about…

O

Match each verse/paragraph to its idea/topic.

O

What does this sentence tell you about the content of the paragraph?

O

Number the statements/events to show the order in which they happen in the text.

Key challenges Children tend to find summarising a challenge for two main reasons. First, because it requires a good understanding of the entire text: for those who have poor working memories, or who find decoding a challenge, the cognitive load of summarising this much material can be too heavy. Some children also find it difficult to sum up the key points concisely once they have identified them because they struggle to eliminate extraneous detail.

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O

O

Skim-reading: Skim-reading means reading a text quickly to assimilate the main ideas. It enables the children to gain an overview of what each paragraph of a text is about. This helps them to generate a mental map of the text and predict where information is most likely to be found.

This strategy is particularly helpful when reading non-fiction. You could introduce skim-reading by showing the children the text with most lines blacked out, so that only the title and the first sentence of each paragraph are visible. Discuss what this content tells the reader about the paragraph. Encourage the children to use the first line of a paragraph to ‘get the gist’ of the text before reading it in more detail. It is also worth reminding them to look at titles, subheadings, illustrations, captions and words that are formatted in bold or italics.

Captions: Children often struggle to retain the sequence and content of a text while reading. Model annotating each paragraph with a brief caption.

This method will support the children to summarise as they read and help them to order events and information.

‘Somebody Wanted But So Then’: This is a useful structure to use when summarising the events in a story, because it is easy to remember. Model the technique using a well-known story, as in the example below: O

Somebody: Cinderella.

O

Wanted: To go to the ball and escape her evil stepmother.

O

But: The magic ran out before she could live happily ever after.

O

So: She went back to her ordinary life.

O

Then: The prince found her and they lived happily ever after.

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Cut it down: Once the children have learnt how to write a summary, challenge them to make it more concise by removing all unnecessary information.

Using a summary you have prepared yourself or one written by a pupil, work as a group to remove any extraneous detail. As you read through, make sure that you also draw attention to any examples of particularly concise writing.

O

Limits: When the children have developed some confidence in using this skill, you could add another level of challenge by giving them a limit to the number of words or characters they can use to summarise a text or concept.

Skills guide

O

O

Modelling summarising When modelling summarising for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the relevant teaching units.

1 Read the question aloud.

2 Model deciding whether the question is asking you to give a summary of the whole text or of a specific part of the text.

Summarising

Strategies for developing summarising

3 If the question asks for a general summary, model skim-reading the whole text to remind yourself of the key points. If you are summarising part of a text, model scanning the text to find that part, using the key words and/or the locator from the question, and reminding yourself of the main points.

4 Model formulating a concise summary or answering the question using your summarising skill.

5 Model checking your summary for non-essential details and removing them.

6 Finally, model checking that your final answer matches the question.

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Skills guide

Inference

See Units 6, 9, 12, 13, 14 and 16

Understanding inference Inference skills are essential for understanding our world: we use them whenever we gauge other people’s emotions using their facial expressions or tone of voice.

Children will therefore have some ability to infer even before they learn to decode.

Inference

Inference is often described as the ability to ‘read between the lines’ or ‘find clues’ in a text. However, it can be more helpfully defined as the skill of using both evidence from the text and our background knowledge to come to a reasonable conclusion.

Academics have separated inference-making into a number of distinct categories (Kispal, 2008).3 However, most recognise two main categories of inference: Coherence inferences are necessary for basic comprehension. They can be formulated from understanding a text’s cohesive devices, such as pronouns, or from linking background knowledge to the text. For example, from the sentence ‘Maggie loved playing catch but sometimes she refused to bring the ball back’, we could infer that ‘Maggie’, ‘she’ and ‘her’ are the same (using cohesive devices), and that Maggie is probably a dog (using background knowledge).

Elaborative inferences are not necessary for basic comprehension, but they make a text more interesting.

An elaborative inference might be a prediction or speculation that the reader makes about a character or the consequences of an action. For example, from the sentence ‘Maggie loved playing catch but sometimes she refused to give the ball back to her owner’, we could infer that, because she sometimes refused to bring back the ball, Maggie might be a puppy. Elaborative inferences depend on background knowledge and are thus more demanding than coherence inferences.

The National Curriculum (2014) requires pupils in Key Stage 1 to be ‘making inferences on the basis of what is being said and done’. At Key Stage 2, learners must rely on their background knowledge, ‘drawing inferences such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives’.

Inference in Complete Comprehension Inference is the focus skill in a high proportion of the units in each Complete Comprehension book, to allow the children to practise inference in different contexts.

20

In Complete Comprehension, inference questions often include I n fe re n c e the phrase ‘How/Why do you think…?’. It is a good idea to draw the children’s attention to this wording to help them remember that they need to make a judgement using their own knowledge in addition to the text, rather than limiting themselves to details explicitly mentioned in the text, as they would when answering a retrieval (see page 16) or summarising (see page 18) question. Once the children’s inference skills have begun to embed, most questions will require them to provide evidence to support their inferences. You should explore the expectations of these questions with the children.

In Complete Comprehension, inference questions are often worded as follows: O

Why…/How…/Which…?

O

Why/How/What do you think…? Explain your answer.

O

How can you tell…?

O

Explain why…

O

Give two reasons…

O

True or false…

O

Think about the whole text. What impression do you get of…? Give one impression and one piece of evidence.

More demanding inference questions are sometimes structured using a grid format to support children’s responses. It is also important to note that inference questions always require the use of other comprehension skills, such as retrieval (see page 16), to reach the correct answer.

Key challenges For many children, inference is a real challenge. This is because they are required to make an intuitive leap to move from what they know (direct evidence that they can see in the text) to what they think (the conclusion they come to after locating and assessing the evidence).

An understanding of the text, robust vocabulary skills and strong background knowledge are essential prerequisites for successful inference-making. The skills of word meaning (see page 14) and retrieval (see page 16) must therefore be embedded before inference skills can fully develop.

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O

Think-alouds: Confident readers make inferences automatically as they read. However, when teaching children to infer, you should slow down and model your thought process. ‘Think-alouds’ (statements that verbalise your thought process) can be useful.

For example, you could think aloud to model dividing your thoughts into two types: ‘what I know’ and ‘what I think’ (e.g. ‘From the text, I know that… This makes me think…’). Think-alouds can also be used to model refining an inference (e.g. ‘I thought that… because… but… so…’), and can be incorporated into the strategies below.

Inference check: Marzano (2010)4 suggested that teachers could support inference-making by modelling asking the following four questions:

O

Graphic organisers: These are especially helpful when the children are asked to provide evidence or an explanation for their inferences. For example, the children could complete a ‘I can see…I know…I think’ chart: a table with three columns in which they first record what they can see in the text or image.

They then record what they know from the text, and use this to write what they think (the inference). It is important to explicitly model the thinking process behind this strategy.

1 ‘What is my inference?’

2 ‘What did I use to make my inference?’

3 ‘How good was my thinking?’

4 ‘Do I need to change my thinking?’

Modelling inference When modelling the skill of inference for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the teaching units.

Skills guide

O

Inference

inferences about people’s preferences, location or relationship. For instance, you could listen to a conversation or watch a video clip showing two people and ask the children what they can infer about their relationship (e.g. ‘Do you think these people are friends or enemies? How can you tell from what they do and what they say?’).

Strategies for developing inference

These questions could be used in the strategy above.

1 Read the question aloud.

O

O

Objects and visual representations: Using objects and images that relate to the text can be helpful when exploring inference, as this eliminates the need to decode and therefore reduces cognitive load. You could use images to represent characters or scenes from the text, and model inference by adding thought or speech bubbles to them.

Alternatively, you could assign objects to characters from a text. For example, if you were reading ‘The Three Bears’, you could provide different porridge bowls and ask the children to decide which character each bowl is most likely to belong to.

Real-life scenarios: Many children will need prompting to connect the inferences they make in everyday life with inferences made while reading.

One strategy is to use models such as ‘think-alouds’ to explore real-life scenarios, using clues to make

2 Locate the key words in the question. Scan the text for those key words, or related key words, and highlight or underline them.

3 Read around the key words to look for context clues.

4 Discuss what the text tells you about the key words.

5 Model using this information to make an inference.

This might involve relating the ideas in the question to your own experiences to model the use of background knowledge.

6 Model justifying your inference with evidence from the text.

7 Check that the information answers the question.

3 Kispal, A. (2008) ‘Effective Teaching of Inference Skills for Reading’. Literature Review. Research Report DCSF-RR031, National Foundation for Educational Research.

4 Marzano, R.J. (2010) ‘The Art and Science of Teaching/Teaching Inference’. Educational Leadership, 67(7), 80–81.

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Skills guide Prediction

Prediction Understanding prediction Prediction is the skill of being able to make inferences (see page 20) about what is likely to happen later in a text. In a fiction extract, this might relate to a character’s actions; in a non-fiction extract, it might be about the type of information that will be found in the next part of the text. A skilled reader makes predictions automatically, finding links between known and new information as they read. The National Curriculum (2014) requires pupils in Key Stage 1 to predict ‘what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far’ while Key Stage 2 children need to predict ‘what might happen from details stated and implied’.

The ability to make predictions requires a thorough understanding of a passage. To make a plausible prediction, the reader must be able to select details from the text and use these, and their own background knowledge, to decide what is likely to happen.

Prediction in Complete Comprehension One teaching unit in each Complete Comprehension book focuses on prediction. In addition, the children’s prediction skills are engaged in the Get ready session of every unit. These questions encourage the children to use the title and any subheadings, illustration(s) and their own background knowledge to help them predict what a passage will be about. Following on from this, the Mix it up! questions in the Skills focus session offer frequent opportunities to practise and refine this important skill. (See pages 6 to 11 for a complete guide to the teaching unit.)

As prediction requires the use of inference skills, it is not surprising that prediction questions are often worded similarly to inference questions. Once the children’s prediction skills have begun to embed, most questions will require them to justify their predictions using the text. In Complete Comprehension, prediction questions may be worded as follows:

22

O

Who…/What…/When…/Where…/How…/Which…?

O

Predict…

O

Imagine…

O

Which is most likely…?

See Unit 11

The skill of prediction is usually assessed through tick-box or extended P re d i c ti o n response questions: however, on occasion, it may also be assessed through other question types, which may require additional teacher modelling.

Key challenges Often, children with poor comprehension skills will be able to formulate a prediction, but their predictions will not be sufficiently plausible, and may not be linked to the original text. You should remind all children to use the text to inform any prediction and underlying inference; this can also help when answering prediction questions that require additional justification, which can be challenging. (For more information on the challenges of teaching and using inference, see page 20.)

Strategies for developing prediction O

O

‘Think-alouds’: One way to support children to predict is to use ‘think-alouds’ (statements that verbalise your thought process). You can use thinkalouds at different points to model prediction: O

Before reading (e.g. ‘I’ve found this book and when I look at the title/illustrations I think… because… so that might mean… I could predict…’).

O

While reading (e.g. ‘I wonder what’s going to happen next. I know… So that makes me think… I could predict…’).

O

After reading (e.g. ‘While I was reading I predicted… I was right because/I was incorrect because…’).

Multiple predictions: Confident readers not only make predictions, but they also constantly re-evaluate and adjust their predictions as they read. One way to help the children develop this skill is to start from a narrow viewpoint: for example, you could show them a small part of an illustration or a phrase from the text and ask them to make a prediction based on what they can see, then show them more of the picture/text and ask them to make another prediction. This will help them to adjust their first prediction as they read.

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O

Graphic organisers: Once the children have started to make predictions, you could use graphic organisers to help them organise their ideas and scaffold their justifications. It is important to explicitly model the thinking process behind this strategy. Examples of useful graphic organisers for prediction include: O

O

‘I predict… because’: The children complete a chart that asks them to record their predictions and their justification.

Modelling prediction When modelling the skill of prediction for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the teaching units.

1 Read the question aloud. Point out the need to look back at the text rather than making a hasty prediction that does not relate closely enough to the text – the children need to think about what is likely to happen rather than what they want to happen.

Skills guide

Making links: Making plausible predictions involves making links to other known texts, characters and information. Although predictions should be made with reference to a specific text, extrinsic knowledge relating to the wider genre or subject matter of the text is also important. For instance, if you are reading ‘Cinderella’ with your class and the children have read other fairy tales, they will know that in a fairy tale the main character usually lives happily ever after, and this could have a bearing on any predictions they make. As part of the ‘think-aloud’ process detailed above, you could model making links to known texts and different types of text. In Complete Comprehension, each extract has at least one linked text; listed on pages 12 to 13 and often referred to in each unit’s introduction, these links are designed to help you make connections with the children’s existing knowledge. Each unit also includes a Reading list of related texts.

2 Identify the key words in the question. Scan the text for those key words, or related key words, and highlight or underline them.

3 Read around the key words to look for context clues.

4 Discuss what you know already.

5 Discuss what you think may happen next, linking this back to the text.

Prediction

O

6 Model justifying your prediction. This might involve relating the ideas in the question to your own experiences to model using your background knowledge.

7 Check that the information in your answer matches the question.

‘What has happened… What will happen…

What actually happened’: The children complete a chart by recording event(s) from the text and their predictions about what will happen next.

You could then give them copies of the source text and allow them to read beyond the extract and record what actually happened.

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Skills guide Relationship

Relationship Understanding relationship Understanding the relationship between elements of a text and the overall text structure is one of the skills of a confident reader. The children must be able to understand the structure and theme of a text in order to derive meaning from it – for example, through appreciating how the organisation of the text helps the reader to understand its content; or how the author builds up atmosphere in a suspenseful narrative. The National Curriculum (2014) requires Key Stage 2 pupils to read ‘books that are structured in different ways’ to become accustomed to ‘identifying and discussing themes and conventions’ and ‘how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning’. As Oakhill et al. (2015) notes, an understanding of the relationships within a text ‘supports comprehension, especially that of new texts, [and] helps the reader to establish critical relations between information’.5

Relationship in Complete Comprehension This skill of relationship requires a secure overall understanding of the text. Children must possess a deep knowledge of a range of text structures and themes: they need to be able to appreciate that a quest story or a mystery will be structured differently from other fiction narratives, and that a non-fiction, instructional text will have a different effect on the reader than that of a traditional information text. The building blocks for understanding relationship are incorporated into every Complete Comprehension book through regular opportunities for discussing theme and structure in the Get ready and Explore sessions of each unit (see pages 8 to 9). In addition, relationship is the target skill of one unit in each Complete Comprehension book aimed at Key Stage 2.

It is also regularly tested in the Mix it up! questions.

Relationship questions can be structured in a variety of ways. The children should be encouraged to justify their responses with evidence. In Complete Comprehension, relationship questions are often worded as follows:

24

O

Who…?/What…?/When…?/Where…?/How…?/ Which…?/Why…?

O

At this point…

See Unit 8

O

At what point in the text…?

O

Who do you think this information is for?

O

Why do you think the first sentence in paragraph X was included?

O

What does this sentence tell you about…?

O

What do you think is the author’s opinion of…?

O

How has the text been written to make you want to find out more? Give one point and one piece of evidence.

O

Why has the author structured the text in this way?

O

Which event in the text led to…?

O

How do X’s feelings change over the course of the story? Give two changes.

O

How does the author encourage you to read on at the end of this extract? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

O

Why do you think this text has been written?

O

Look at the first sentence. What effect do you think the author is trying to create?

R e la ti o n s hi p

Relationship is most often assessed through extended response questions. However, sometimes question types that require additional teacher modelling will be used. It is important to note that relationship questions require the use of other comprehension skills, such as inference (see page 20), to reach the correct answer.

Key challenges Although readers automatically make judgements about the relationship between different elements of a text as they read, these can be challenging to articulate, as they require a solid understanding of the content of the whole text. Children often find relationship challenging because they do not understand the text well enough. Overall understanding should therefore be prioritised before attempting to introduce the analysis of relationship. There is also a correlation between poor overall comprehension and a person’s understanding of text structures.6 To remedy this, teachers should explicitly teach and make reference

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Mind maps: The children create a branching diagram to show related ideas in a text.

O

Flowcharts: The children create a diagram to show cause and effect in the text.

O

Top hat diagram: The children complete a hatshaped chart to compare and contrast what they know about two texts. They summarise the differences in the ‘brim’, and then note any similarities in the raised part of the ‘hat’.

O

Genre-specific skeleton: The children create a graphic representation to show the structure of the text (e.g. for a non-chronological report, they might include boxes for the introduction, each subheading and the conclusion).

Strategies for developing relationship O

O

O

Remembering content: In order to make an informed judgement about the relationship between parts of a text, the children must understand the structure of the text itself. Research

by Paris and Paris (2007)7 shows that when pupils are taught techniques to remember the key elements of narrative, such as the ‘five-finger trick’ (thumb – ‘who’, first finger – ‘where’, second finger – ‘beginning’, third finger – ‘middle’, fourth finger – ‘end’), they can retell stories more fully and show improved narrative comprehension. It is important to discuss the structure of narrative and non-narrative texts, both in the Get ready and First steps sessions of Complete Comprehension and whenever you read texts as a class.

Plotting points: Relationship questions sometimes focus on a character’s actions at a particular point in the text. While this relies on the ability to sequence and structure the text, you can support the skill of relationship by modelling how to plot key points on a graph. You could plot a character’s emotions throughout the text on an axis of emotion, or use a graph to show how one character’s actions affect another.

Graphic organisers: Once the children can recognise different text structures, they may find it helpful to use a graphic organiser to explore these structures. These can range from the more general (e.g. sequencing story plot points on a storyboard) to the more specific (e.g. making a plan for a nonchronological report). It is important to explicitly model both the thinking process behind this strategy, and the activity itself. Examples of useful graphic organisers for relationship include: O

Skills guide

O

Modelling relationship When modelling the skill of relationship for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the relevant teaching units.

1 Read the question aloud.

Relationship

to a variety of text structures (e.g. for fiction texts: quest/mystery stories versus fairy tales/comic stories; for non-fiction texts: information texts as compared to instructional texts), both when teaching with Complete Comprehension and elsewhere across the curriculum.

2 Locate the key words in the question. At this point, you could talk about the genre and theme of the text and about how what you know could help you to answer the question.

3 Scan the text for those key words, or related key words, and highlight or underline them.

4 Read around the key words for context clues.

5 Discuss how the information relates to the text as a whole. Does it help to communicate a certain theme?

6 Discuss how it relates to the text.

7 Check that the information in your answer matches the question.

Storyboards: The children draw six key events from the story and write captions for them.

5 Oakhill, J., Cain, K. & Elbro, C. (2015) Understanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension. London: Routledge, p. 92.

6 Oakhill et al. (2015), p. 90.

7 Paris, A. & Paris, S. (2007) ‘Teaching narrative comprehension strategies to first-graders’. Cognition and Instruction, 25(1), 1–44.

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Skills guide Word choice

Word choice Understanding word choice Word choice is the skill of understanding why an author has chosen to use specific words or phrases, and of being able to comment on the effect that this language has on the text and the reader. The National Curriculum (2014) requires pupils to be adept at ‘discussing words and phrases that capture the reader’s interest and imagination’ and able to ‘discuss and evaluate how authors use language, including figurative language, considering the impact on the reader’. Understanding word choice is a key reading skill and one that is crucial for developing pupils’ writing abilities.

Word choice in Complete Comprehension Word choice relies on a good understanding of the vocabulary in a text. Once the children have grasped the meaning of the words used in a text, they can then be supported to think about why those particular words were used: what was the author hoping to achieve? This skill can be developed through carefully modelled discussion of the effect of words and phrases in every text you share in the classroom. The children should be encouraged to focus on the effect of the word choice, rather than on the meaning created by that choice (see page 14 for more about the skill of word meaning).

In Complete Comprehension, the Explore and Where next? sessions (see pages 9 to 11) often relate to the author’s use of language. Discussion questions are provided to help you and your class examine the effect of figurative language and atmosphere on the reader.

Often, the words used in a word choice question will be found in the text itself. Sometimes, a quotation will be given for pupils to find in the text. The author or writer is often referred to directly in the question (e.g. ‘Why does the poet use the word … to describe…’).

In Complete Comprehension, word choice questions are often worded as follows:

26

O

Give two things this word/group of words tells you about…

O

The author often uses the word … to describe…

Why do you think the author does this?

See Unit 19

O

What impression does the group of words … give you of…? Give one impression and one piece of evidence.

Wo r d c h o i c e

O

Find and copy one word/group of words that tells you…

O

What is the effect of using repetition in this line/ paragraph/text?

O

What does the group of words … tell you about how … is feeling?

O

What does the word/group of words … tell you about the character of…?

O

What does this group of words tell us about…?

Tick one.

O

What effect does this choice of words have on the reader?

O

How does the author’s choice of words here add to the atmosphere at the end of the story?

O

What impact does this sentence have on the reader? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

Sometimes word choice questions require the use of other comprehension skills, such as inference (see page 20), to reach the correct answer.

Key challenges The skill of word choice relies on robust vocabulary knowledge: after all, one cannot make a judgement about the effect of the author’s choice of language without understanding its meaning. If the children are finding vocabulary challenging, you could refer to the word meaning strategies on page 15.

Even pupils with large vocabularies often find discussing the impact of language challenging.

However, by reading widely in class and discussing the literary effects in a wide range of texts, you can support them to become more familiar with this kind of analysis.

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O

Discussion and think-alouds: The children need to become comfortable with exploring the effect of words and phrases in the text. Providing regular opportunities to discuss texts, including modelling thinking aloud about why a text is effective and what impact certain word choices have on the reader, will help them to grow in confidence. You can do this with every text you explore as a class, including all the texts in Complete Comprehension.

Categorisation by effect: For vocabulary knowledge to become deeper and more secure, the children need to be able to categorise vocabulary by effect. For example, they might collect adjectives that show that a character is elderly, or vocabulary that builds tension. Providing them with word cards to sort into categories can help to build their understanding.

O

Figurative language: Although word choice questions often deal with the effect of single words, the focus can sometimes be on the effect of figurative language, including alliteration, metaphor, personification and simile. It is crucial that the children are exposed to numerous examples of each of these concepts so that they learn to identify them in new texts.

O

‘What I know’ and ‘What I think’: To reach a conclusion about a word’s impact, the children should always use the sentences before and after the target word or phrase for context. A useful strategy to help with this is the ‘What I know…What I think’ model (similar to the chart mentioned on page 21). When using this strategy to explore word choice, ‘what I know’ refers to the word(s) and who/ what they are about, while ‘what I think’ encourages the children to make an inference about the words’ effect on the text.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

When modelling the skill of word choice for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the teaching units.

1 Read the question aloud.

2 Identify the key words in your question, including the target word(s).

Skills guide

O

Modelling word choice

3 Discuss what you already know about the word(s), including generating synonyms if applicable.

4 Scan the text for the target word(s) and highlight or underline them.

5 Read the sentences before and after the target word(s) to get a sense of the context.

6 Discuss the effect the words have on the surrounding sentence(s) or paragraph.

7 Formulate your answer, checking that the information in your answer matches the question.

Word choice

Strategies for developing word choice

27

Skills guide Comparison

Comparison Understanding comparison Comparison is the act of identifying the similarities and differences between two things. We make comparisons every day, from comparing the options on a menu to comparing films at the cinema – it is a key life skill. The National Curriculum (2014) requires pupils in Key Stage 2 to know ‘how to compare characters, settings, themes and other aspects’ so they can ‘mak[e] comparisons within and across books’. Comparison is a higher-order thinking skill, and fluent comparison of texts is a key attribute of a confident reader. Moreover, research has shown that teaching comparative thinking leads to significant gains in pupil achievement across the curriculum.8

Comparison in Complete Comprehension Each teaching unit in Complete Comprehension provides a number of opportunities for the children to make comparisons. The Get ready questions encourage them to use their knowledge of texts that may be linked to the unit’s text by subject matter. The Where next? reading list provides related books to allow them to compare texts that share a theme but are generically different. Finally, every text in each Complete Comprehension book is linked to another text in the same book, which enables you to easily build in comparison discussions every time you teach a unit (see The comprehension texts, page 12).

In Complete Comprehension, comparison questions are often worded as follows:

28

O

Who…?/What…?/Where…?/When…?/How…?/ Which…?

O

Compare…

O

Compare and contrast…

O

How does/are/is…?

O

Give one/two way(s) in which … is/are similar to/ different from…

O

What impression does the text give you of…?

Give one impression and one piece of evidence.

See Unit 21

O

Compare how … and … feel about…

Give two points and evidence from the text.

C o m p ris o n a

O

How are … and … different from…?

O

What do … and … have in common?

O

Compare the characters of … and… Give one difference and explain your answer using the text.

O

At first … feels… How do their emotions change straight after that?

O

Look at the first two paragraphs. What was similar about … and…?

O

What is the main difference between … and…?

The skill of comparison is most often assessed through short and open-ended questions. However, on occasion, questions may be structured in other ways, including in gridded formats. These questions may require additional teacher modelling.

Key challenges Comparison is a complex skill to master and must be modelled carefully. Often, children find comparison challenging when they have not understood the content of the text as a whole. Overall understanding should therefore be prioritised before you attempt to introduce comparison. The children also need to be familiar with the concepts of ‘similarity’ and ‘difference’, and be comfortable describing what they can see or have read in two different texts or two parts of the same text. They can then look for similarities or differences between the two.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

O

Spot the difference: One of the best ways to demonstrate the skill of comparison is by using images: you could start by comparing pictures of familiar animals or objects, and then look at more complex images: for example, different depictions of the same events. You could also play games such as ‘spot the difference’. Once the children can confidently compare more complex images, you can move on to written texts. It is often easiest to begin by making comparisons between two very different texts before attempting more nuanced comparisons. For example, if you are working with children in lower Key Stage 2, you could compare hero and villain characters in fairy tales. In upper Key Stage 2, you might progress to comparing two characters’ reactions to the same event, or examining how one character’s mood or behaviour changes throughout a text.

Graphic organisers: Once the children have some understanding of comparison, they may find it helpful to use a graphic organiser to structure their ideas. It is important both to explicitly model the thinking process behind this strategy, and to show the pupils how to complete it. Examples of useful graphic organisers for comparison include: O

Top hat diagram: The children complete a hatshaped chart to compare and contrast what they know about two texts. They summarise the differences in the ‘brim’, and then note any similarities in the raised part of the ‘hat’.

O

Venn diagram: The children complete a diagram composed of two overlapping circles, writing similarities in the overlapping central section and differences in the two outer sections.

When modelling the skill of comparison for your class using the Let’s try… questions (see page 6), the steps below may be useful. Specific modelling guidance is also provided in the teaching units.

1 Read the question aloud.

2 Locate the key words in the question.

Skills guide

O

Modelling comparison

3 Scan the text for the key words, or related key words, and highlight or underline them.

4 Read around the key words and look for context clues.

5 Use the text to describe and discuss each of the elements being compared. Draw attention to any contrasts you notice.

6 Make comparisons between the two elements, thinking about the similarities and differences, depending on the focus of the question.

7 Use your comparison to form a conclusion.

8 Model checking that your conclusion answers the question.

Comparison

Strategies for developing comparison

8 Manzano, R.J., Pickering, D. & Pollock, J.D. (2001) Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. ASCD: Alexandria, VA, pp. 17–19.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

29

Unit 1

Roman Britain

by Ruth Brocklehurst

Summarising

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 34 to 37

The Roman influence on Britain – as on other countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East – was hugely important.

Many of the ideas and systems established by the Romans 2000 years ago remain in place today. This text compares life in towns and in the countryside during the Roman occupation of Britain. It also alludes to some of the Roman methods for keeping the unruly Britons under control. The text in Unit 2, from The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, explores this theme further in its fictional account of the son of a British chieftain befriending a Roman mosaic-maker.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 34 to 35) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What type of text do you think this is? Explain your answer.

Based on the illustration and the subheadings, the children should be able to identify that the text is non-fiction.

Non-fiction

2 The title of this text, ‘Roman Britain’, is a strange combination of words: is it about Rome or is it about Britain? What do you think the text might be about?

The title refers to the occupation of Britain by the Romans and the subsequent adoption of Roman culture in Britain. Depending on their background knowledge, the children may be able to explain that the Romans brought many traditions and ideas to Britain when they invaded.

30

3 What do you already know about the Romans?

Do you know anything about Roman Britain?

Children often study the Romans in lower Key Stage 2, so the children may have lots of information to share, and may also know some facts about Roman Britain. It is important that the children have some background knowledge about the Romans to help them access this text, so if necessary you could spend some time discussing some of the non-fiction resources from the Reading list. Record ideas from your discussion on the board in a graphic map and refer back to it after reading the text (see Explore).

Language toolkit Key vocabulary agriculture

civilians

civilized

commercial

fortified

fully fledged

innovations

intensive

lavish

produce

rebellions

wares

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Why would you need years of intensive training to become a fully fledged pilot?

O

If your bake sale was a commercial success, would that mean you raised lots of money or not much?

O

If someone offered to cook you a lavish dinner for your birthday, what treats would you ask for?

O

What kind of wares can you buy at your local corner shop?

O

Can you name some important innovations from the last hundred years? How have they changed our lives?

Vocabulary activities O

Encourage the children to look for examples in the text that show that produce can be used as both a verb and a noun. Challenge them to come up with five other words like this.

O

Civilian and civilized come from the same Latin root (civis, meaning ‘citizen’). Discuss the connection between the two words.

Are civilians always civilized?

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

1 Where did the Romans prefer to live: in towns or in the countryside? Why? In towns, because they thought towns were more civilized.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 32 to 33.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: In small groups, ask the children to imagine that they were living in Britain under Roman rule, and to discuss the pros and cons of Roman influence. They should use the text and also think about how they would feel if another nation invaded this country today. At the end of the discussion, ask each group to report back one advantage and one disadvantage of Roman rule.

O

Writing task: Working in groups or individually, the children could make an illustrated government poster promoting Roman life to the Britons of 2000 years ago, trying to persuade them that it is a good thing to live like a Roman. They could use the text and the resources in the Reading list to help them.

2 What things did the towns have that made living more convenient for the public?

Fresh water/aqueducts/wells/fountains/public toilets/ bathhouses. Some children will mention other facilities (e.g. market square; shops; roads laid out in a grid; fortified walls).

3 What happened to farming in Britain after the Romans arrived?

It became big business. Some children may be able to expand on their answer to explain that some people became very rich but others lost their land and had to rent small pieces of land from richer farmers.

4 What made it easier for farmers to get their produce into the towns?

The new road network.

Return to the graphic map about the Romans you created in Get ready and add to it with the new knowledge and information you have gained from the text. Work with the children to organise it into concepts by grouping ideas and themes together.

Add missing knowledge by researching on the internet or in the school library. This will help the children to categorise and group ideas which are key summarising skills.

Bath, Colchester, Lincoln, York, Chester, Exeter, Gloucester, St Albans and London were all important towns in Roman Britain. Let the children choose a town to research and ask them to find out what remains can still be seen today (e.g. the baths in Bath; the city walls in York; the amphitheatre in Chester; the villa at Chedworth in Gloucestershire).

4 Skills focus

See pages 32 to 33

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of summarising.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 1 Modelling slides and the Modelling summarising guidance on page 32.

2 The children can then attempt the Summarising questions on page 36.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The Orchard Book of Roman Myths by Geraldine McCaughrean Roman Invasion by Jim Eldridge The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle by Julia Jarman (Linked text: Unit 2) Class reads The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff Tiger, Tiger by Lynne Reid Banks Non-fiction Life in Roman Britain by Anita Ganeri Rotten Romans by Terry Deary Usborne Look Inside: Roman Town by Conrad Mason Poetry Romans Ruled by Paul Perro Films Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans (BBC Films, 2019) Websites The BBC Bitesize website offers some useful information and video clips about Roman Britain.

The ‘Kids Rule!’ section of the English Heritage website includes a video ‘interview’ with a Roman legionary based at Housesteads Roman Fort in Northumberland.

Non-fiction

O

Reading list Fiction Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld

3 Explore O

Summarising

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 1

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 37 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

2 First steps

31

Unit 1

Modelling summarising

See Unit 1 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 18 to 19) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 What are the two overall themes of this text about Roman Britain? town living and country living/farming Identify ‘overall’ and ‘themes’ as key words, and discuss their meaning. Emphasise that you must look at the whole text to decide on its themes – remind the children that you are looking for two. Use the text’s main headings to show it has two main parts: the first is about towns and the second is about the countryside.

2 Look at the section ‘Town Life’. Which sentence best summarises the content of this section? Tick one.

Towns were built using a grid system.

The Britons and the Romans.

The Romans brought towns to Britain.

Life in Britain improved due to Roman innovations.

Some children struggle with this question type as they make a hasty decision based on matching up key words in the question with similar words in the text. Explain that you need to focus on what the question is asking. Remind them that the answer needs to be a summary of the whole of the Town Life section. Model considering each statement in turn and deciding whether it is a good summary (e.g. the first statement is true but too specific; the second statement is too vague, and so on) before choosing your answer.

3 Look at the section ‘Town Life’. Number the statements to show the order in which they happened in the text.

Walls were built to make sure traders paid their taxes.

4

People paid to use toilets.

3

The Romans built towns.

1

People traded meat, pottery, bread and metalwork.

2

Refer to knowledge gleaned during the Explore activities and point out that ‘The Romans built towns.’ stands out as the first thing that happens. Model highlighting the statement in the text to check this. Explain that it makes sense that the walls would be built after the towns, but model double-checking against the text.

Finally, model working out the order of the two remaining statements.

4 Which section tells you about a Roman farming system that lasted in England for hundreds of years?

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst

Social changes

32

Model using the question’s key words (e.g. ‘farming’) to work out that the answer must come from the Country Life section. Think aloud: I think this will be about how the Romans changed the British farming system, so I will look in the sections Farming innovations and Social changes because I know they will both be about changes. Model skim-reading both paragraphs looking for references to time and then finding and writing your answer.

Summarising questions mark scheme

See page 36

Answer

Guidance

1

Town councils

If necessary, explain that the information is somewhere in the Town Life section and prompt the children to choose the subheading from this section that is the best match.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

Farming became big business.

You could remind the children of the process you followed in Modelling question 2. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Peasants had to rent land on big estates.

3

The Romans brought pheasants to Britain.

4

Although this question is presented in a recognisable format, the children need to read the text very closely to answer correctly.

Encourage them to highlight and number the statements in the text before ordering them. Award 1 mark for the correct numbers in all boxes.

Farmers began to build rectangular 2 huts instead of round houses.

Farmers started to rotate their crops.

4

5

1

The Romans changed how people lived in Britain (in the towns and the countryside).

The chase

building city walls

Defending towns

rebuilding houses in the Roman style in the country

Grand designs

running water and toilets in the towns

Public conveniences

hunting

Mix it up! questions mark scheme Answer

Do not accept answers that are focused on either town life or country life without mentioning the other. Award 1 mark for a plausible summary linked to the text.

The children need a good understanding of the whole text to answer this question. You could support less fluent readers by attempting this question in a small group, with the children discussing each option in turn. Award 1 mark for at least two pairs correctly matched. Award 2 marks for all four pairs correctly matched.

See page 37

?

Guidance

The children will have already encountered ‘civilized’ in the Key vocabulary, so you could refer back to your earlier discussions. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Skill: Word meaning.

1

educated

2

They thought it was uncivilised/not very advanced/not educated.

This question follows on from the previous one, but if the children struggle, direct their attention to the sentence beginning ‘To the Romans, the only civilized way … ’.

Award 1 mark for a correct answer. Skill: Inference.

3

They involved the Britons in local government.

As this question does not have a locator, you could prompt the children to look under the subheading Town councils and scan for the question’s key words. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Retrieval.

4

In the town: People bought food that had been transported from the countryside.

In the countryside: People got their food from farming and hunting.

5

to stop the Britons rebelling/fighting the Romans OR to keep the peace

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Both sides of the comparison must be given. If they give partial answers (e.g. ‘People in the countryside hunted’), encourage them to extend these. Award 1 mark for a reference to how people got their food in one location. Award 2 marks for two references to how people got their food in both locations.

Skill: Comparison.

If the chidren struggle, ask them who would have made this rule – the Romans or the Britons/civilians – and which people would have been allowed weapons (the Roman soldiers).

Award 1 mark for a plausible answer. Skill: Inference.

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst

3

Guidance

Unit 1

Answer

33

Unit 1

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst The Romans ruled most of the known world around 2000 years ago and are remembered for their sophisticated way of life, organisation of society, and for their inventions. They were so advanced that in places they conquered, such as Britain, the people took on Roman customs and ways of living which are still used today.

Town Life If Britain was to become a fully fledged part of the Roman empire, then its people would have to learn how to live and think like Romans. To the Romans, the only civilized way to live was in a town – but the Britons didn’t have any. So the Romans got building.

Like the forts every Roman town followed a similar design. The streets were laid out in a grid, dividing the town into rectangular blocks known as insulae. At the heart of every town was the forum, a busy market square where people met to do business and catch up on the news. The forum was lined with shops on three sides, and on the fourth side stood the Roman equivalent of the town hall, the basilica.

Town houses A wealthy Roman would have lived in a large, luxurious town house, or domus. But most people lived in the insulae, working in various trades and services. They sold their wares – from metalwork and pottery, to meat and bread – from shops at the front of their houses and lived at the back or upstairs.

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst

Public conveniences Fresh water was supplied to towns through a system of pipes called aqueducts. Most people didn’t have water at home. They collected drinking water from wells or fountains in the streets and used public toilets and bathhouses. People had to pay to use the lavatories, so many used buckets at home, which they simply emptied into the gutters!

Defending towns Roman Britain was usually a peaceful place, but during the 2nd century many towns had fortified walls built around them. These were not just for protection; they were also a way to show off a town’s importance. More importantly, the walls enabled soldiers to control the traffic going in and out, making sure that traders paid their taxes on goods bought and sold.

Town councils The Romans divided most of Britain along tribal lines, into regions called civitates.

Each had a main town (or civitas capital) with a council of town leaders in charge of taxes, law, public buildings and roads. By involving the Britons in local government, the Romans hoped to keep them loyal and avoid rebellions.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

After the Romans arrived, dozens of new towns and army forts were built around Britain. The thousands of people who lived there didn’t produce their own food. But the new road network made it much easier and quicker for farmers to transport their produce to these new consumers. For the first time, farming became big business.

Unit 1

Country Life

Farming innovations To supply the growing demand, agriculture became more intensive. Farmers began to rotate their crops – planting a field with corn one year and beans the next – to keep the soil rich. The Romans developed more efficient tools and brought new ideas about fertilizers, land drainage and animal breeding.

Grand designs As farms grew, so did the houses where the successful farmers lived. Soon after the Roman invasion, many of them began to adopt a more Roman lifestyle. They replaced their round houses with rectangular huts, which they rebuilt in the Roman style, adding extra floors, verandahs and annexes as they grew wealthier. By the late 2nd century, many of these farmhouses had become lavish mansions, which the Romans called villas.

Social changes Before Roman times, Britain’s farmland was divided into small farms, owned and farmed by individual families and tribes. But, as farming became more commercial, many wealthy landowners bought up huge estates. The peasants no longer owned their own land, but rented homes on the estate they farmed. This social system lasted in England and Wales for the next thousand years, long into the Middle Ages.

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst

The chase Hunting was central to country life in Roman Britain, both as a sport and for catching food. Animals hunted included hare, deer, and wild boar, but hunting for birds was also popular. In fact, it was the Romans who first brought pheasants to Britain, especially to hunt. Hunters used a variety of weapons including bows and arrows and spears. This was a great privilege: all other civilians were strictly forbidden from carrying weapons.

From Roman Britain by Ruth Brocklehurst, copyright © 2013 Usborne Publishing Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Usborne Publishing, 83–85 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8RT, UK. www.usborne.com.

Unit 1

Summarising 1

Name:

Which section of the text tells you about how towns were run?

1 mark

2

Look at the section Country Life. Which sentence best summarises the content of this section? Tick one.

Farming became big business.

Roads made it easier for farmers to transport their produce.

Hunting was popular in Roman Britain.

The Romans brought farming to Britain.

3

1 mark

Look at the section Country Life. Number the statements to show the order in which they happened in the text.

Peasants had to rent land on big estates.

The Romans brought pheasants to Britain.

Farmers began to build rectangular huts instead of round houses.

Farmers started to rotate their crops.

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst

4

1 mark

Write one sentence to summarise the whole text.

1 mark

5

Draw lines to match each section to its main idea. The first one has been done for you.

The chase

building city walls

Defending towns

rebuilding houses in the Roman style in the country

Grand designs

running water and toilets in the towns

Public conveniences

hunting 2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Name:

To the Romans, the only civilized way to live was in a town – but the Britons didn’t have any.

Which word is closest in meaning to civilized? Tick one. safe

2

Unit 1

Mix it up!

educated

enjoyable

unacceptable

1 mark

What did the Romans think about the way the Britons lived before they arrived?

1 mark

3

What did the Romans do to keep the Britons loyal and prevent rebellions? Tick one.

They involved the Britons in local government.

They created a new road network.

They rebuilt the Britons’ houses in the Roman style.

They stopped the Britons from carrying weapons

4

1 mark

Look at the section Country Life. Compare how people got their food in the town and in the countryside.

In the countryside

2 marks

5

Hunters used a variety of weapons including bows and arrows and spears. This was a great privilege: all other civilians were strictly forbidden from carrying weapons.

Why do you think the other civilians were not allowed to carry weapons?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Roman Britain, by Ruth Brocklehurst

In the town

Unit 2

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle by Julia Jarman

Retrieval

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 42 to 45

Jarman’s popular historical novels are inspired by the exploits of her cat. This instalment breathes life into Roman Britain and helps the reader to imagine life 2000 years ago. The hero, Topher, follows his time-travelling cat, Ka, to 79 CE. In this extract, Topher, part of the Atrebates tribe, recounts what life is like under Roman rule.

Ka is happy among the cat-loving Romans, but Topher has divided loyalties, caught between his family’s hatred of the invaders and his friendship with a Roman mosaic-maker. This extract dramatises the tensions between the Britons and the Romans touched on in Unit 1. You could discuss the links between the two texts once both units have been completed.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 42 to 43) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What do you know about time travel?

The children may be avid Doctor Who fans and be able to tell you about how the world-famous Timelord works, or they may have read other books that feature time travel such as Time Travelling with a Hamster or A Wrinkle in Time (see Reading list).

The important thing is to discuss the concept of travelling not geographically but through time and how it can change the sequence of how things happen.

Fiction

2 In this story, a time-travelling cat brings her owner, a young boy, to Roman Britain.

What do you know about life in Roman times?

What do you know about Roman Britain?

If Unit 1 has been completed, the children should have lots of facts to share about Roman Britain, specifically about life in towns and in the countryside. See the Reading list for some useful resources for expanding their background knowledge of the Romans.

38

3 The boy in this story becomes an apprentice and learns how to make mosaics. Have you ever seen a mosaic? How about a Roman mosaic?

Mosaics are still appreciated and created today as pieces of art, so many of the children may have seen one. There may even be an example in school.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary arms

bide our time

civil

compound

declined

lilting

mosaics

occupied

perched

proudly

rebellion

repel

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Why is it important to be civil to the people around you?

O

If a space is occupied, what does this mean?

O

Most people collect certificates and awards proudly. What have you done proudly?

O

What changes at your school would cause a rebellion?

O

If you bide your time, are you in a rush or waiting patiently?

Vocabulary activities O

The word lilting is used to describe the gentle, sing-song sound of someone’s voice. Ask the children to collect other words that describe how someone speaks and place them on a ‘Shades of meaning’ chart (see page 15) from gentle and soft to harsh and violent.

O

Arms has several different meanings.

Encourage the children to use dictionaries to find as many possible contexts as they can for this word (e.g. a person’s arms; weapons; arms on a sofa).

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the class into small groups and ask each group to discuss what they think is the most important contribution the Romans made to life today. The children are likely to have different opinions, so they need to think about the reasons for their choice and argue their point.

Can they convince the other people in their group?

They could use the fact files they made in Explore to support them, or you could recap your discussions of the Romans from earlier in the lesson before they start.

O

Writing task: The children could write a set of instructions for an apprentice to explain the steps required to complete a mosaic. They could include information from the text and from their own research.

1 When is this text set?

In Roman times/Roman Britain.

2 What happened to Topher’s family home?

The Romans destroyed it.

3 What would Bryn the Elder not do?

He wouldn’t fight the Romans.

4 Where were Marcus and Cassius working?

What were they making?

They were working in the bathhouse. They were making mosaics for the floors.

5 Did you enjoy the text? Why? Why not?

Answers will vary. The children should be able to justify their responses (e.g. It was interesting to read about Topher’s feelings about the Romans).

O

The children could research Roman mosaics.

What were they used for and how were they made?

What skills do the children think are needed to be a mosaicist? Have any been found that are near enough for the children to visit? You could show some online images of Roman mosaics, and use resources from the Reading list, including a fun video clip that could be incorporated into an art lesson.

The children could make a fact file about Roman Britain. They will need to decide on the key pieces of information that explain why the Romans were so important. Key concepts are likely to include: urbanisation and commerce; innovations like running water and central heating; infrastructure, like roads and towns; organisation of the armies; political and social structure; and education and the arts. Work from Unit 1 and resources from the Reading list will support this activity.

4 Skills focus

Reading list Fiction Empire’s End by Leila Rasheed

3 Explore O

Unit 2

5 Where next?

Retrieval

2 First steps

See pages 40 to 41

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of retrieval.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 2 Modelling slides and the Modelling retrieval guidance on page 40.

Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle Class reads Revolt Against the Romans by Tony Bradman Roman Diary: The Journal of Iliona, A Young Slave

by Richard Platt Non-fiction Roman Britain by Ruth Brocklehurst (Linked text: Unit 1) Roman Soldier’s Handbook by Lesley Sims The Romans: Gods, Emperors and Dormice by Marcia Williams So You Think You’ve Got It Bad? A Kid’s Life in Ancient Rome by Chae Strathie Poetry 1066 and Before That by Brian Moses and Roger Stevens Websites The English Heritage’s YouTube channel includes a fun video entitled ‘How To Make A Roman Mosaic’.

The ‘Iris’ blog from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, USA, hosts a simple article entitled ‘A Brief Introduction to Roman Mosaics’.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 45 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 40 to 41.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Fiction

2 The children can then attempt the Retrieval questions on page 44.

39

Unit 2

Modelling retrieval

See Unit 2 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 16 to 17) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Using information from the first paragraph, tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

False

Topher liked Marcus when he first met him.

Topher’s family lived in the bath house.

Bryn the Elder wanted to live in a Roman house.

There were some roundhouses near the gate of the Roman town.

Read the first statement and remind the children how to complete the table. Next, model identifying the key words in each statement and scan for these in the paragraph, underlining them when you find them.

If necessary, model reading around the key words to decide whether the statement is true or false. Explain that to get 1 mark you must answer at least two correctly, and that all must be correct for 2 marks.

2 How did the battle with the Catuvellauni change the attitudes of Topher and his father towards the Romans?

Topher’s dad was less critical of the Romans/he said ‘we need them’ and Topher felt grateful to the Romans for saving his life.

Model noticing that this question does not have an explicit locator, but that the group of words ‘battle with the Catuvellauni’ is repeated at the beginning of the third paragraph. Explain that you will concentrate on this part of the text. Next, identify the key words in the question (you could gather synonyms for ‘attitudes’).

Model scanning for them in the text, encouraging the children to help you look for useful information. Remind them that you need to find one feeling for Bryn the Elder and one for Topher to answer the question fully.

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman

3 Look at the paragraph beginning The battle with the Catuvellauni … . What was the special name for the stones that were used in the mosaic?

40

tesserae Depending on whether you completed the research activity in Explore, some children may try to use their extrinsic knowledge to answer. This is a good opportunity to emphasise the need to use the text in retrieval questions, even if only to check that you are correct. Model locating the third paragraph and scanning for the key word ‘stones’. Point out that the italics show that the word ‘tesserae’ is in a different language (Latin).

4 How did Bryn the Younger feel about Topher working for the Romans? Tick one.

He gave his permission.

He was so angry that he bit Topher.

He was biding his time.

He hated it.

As there is no locator, model identifying the key words, emphasising that the question is about Bryn the Younger, Topher’s brother, rather than his father, Bryn the Elder, whom the children will associate with the first two answer options. Remind them that the answer will be in the text, and then model scanning for ‘Bryn the Younger’ and finding this name in the last paragraph. Model reading around it carefully to find your answer.

Retrieval questions mark scheme

See page 44

Answer

Guidance

1

Remind the children that the answers to retrieval questions are always found in the text. Encourage them to scan the paragraph for the question’s key words (e.g. ‘Bryn the Elder’; ‘refuse’; ‘fight’; ‘Druid’). Award 1 mark for a reference to the Romans killing his people if he fought them.

(He said there was no point because) the Romans would kill the whole tribe if he did.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

All the distractors are in the text, so the children need to read the text closely to see which one comes first. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

2

He drew a dolphin’s tail.

3

Marcus

4

flat at one end, sharp at the other

Some children may answer ‘in the shape of a tooth’. Do not accept this as it is not explicitly stated in the text. If they say it is ‘cut to fit like a tooth into a gum’, this can be accepted.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

5

Because his father had changed his attitude towards the Romans.

Some children may refer back to Modelling question 4 and answer that Bryn was angry because Topher was working for a Roman. Accept this, but remind them that they must retrieve the specific reason given in the text nearest to the key words.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

This question does not have a locator, but it follows on from the previous question. If necessary, prompt them to reread from the middle of the third paragraph. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme Answer

See page 45

?

Guidance Some children may pick one of the distractors based on how they think the tribe would like to behave rather than using evidence from the text. If so, encourage them to read around the target word. Award 1 mark for the correct answer circled.

Skill: Word meaning.

polite

2

the battle with the Catuvellauni

Some children may focus on Topher becoming friends with Marcus, becoming fascinated by Roman mosaics, or becoming an apprentice. If so, highlight that they are looking for one major event that changed things. Award 1 mark for the correct answer. Skill: Relationship.

3

Impression: angry

As this is the first question of this type in the book, the children may benefit from recapping how to approach the ‘impressions and evidence’ grid format before they attempt this question.

If they find this format challenging, encourage them to scan the text for evidence first before deciding on an impression.

Award 1 mark for a plausible impression. Award 2 marks for a plausible impression with appropriate evidence from the text. Skill: Inference.

Evidence: He would have bitten Cassius’ finger off./He hated Topher working for the Romans.

4

5

Topher and his dad start to accept the Romans.

I think Bryn the Younger will pick on Topher/try to stop him working with Marcus and Cassius, because it says he hated Topher working for the Romans.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Remind the children that summarising means finding the main, or most important, point of the whole text and ask them which statement sums up the content of several paragraphs rather than a single event. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Summarising.

Some children might find it useful to have a locator. If so, provide one (e.g. ‘Look at the last paragraph’). Accept any plausible prediction that can be backed up by the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman

1

Unit 2

Answer

41

Unit 2

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle,

by Julia Jarman This text is set in Roman Britain in 79 CE. It focuses on Topher, a child, and his father, Bryn the Elder, who is leader of the Atrebates tribe. In this extract, Topher becomes friends with Marcus, a Roman mosaic-maker and becomes apprentice to Marcus’ father, Cassius.

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman

They didn’t become friends straight away. Topher had hated Marcus on sight – when he’d seen him working in the bathhouse, which occupied the ground where his family’s roundhouse used to be. The Romans had GHVWUR\HG WKHLU URXQGKRXVH 7KH\ KDG RIIHUHG WR UHSODFH LW ZLWK D 5RPDQ style house on the main street, but Bryn the Elder had declined. Proudly, he said he preferred to live in an Atrebatan house with others of his tribe, and had set up a compound of roundhouses near the north gate. The Roman rulers tried hard to get in with him, but Bryn kept his distance.

“We shall be civil to them – as they say – and bide our time,” he told the family.

Topher found it hard to be civil. His brother found it hard to bide his time. He wanted to attack the Roman property at least, but Bryn the Elder forbade that, even when a statue of the emperor appeared in the Forum, with the bronze eagle perched on his hand. Even when the Druid, high priest of the Atrebates, came out from his secret place in the woods to urge rebellion. He called on Bryn the Elder in the middle of the night.

Topher remembered it well, waking up to the lilting voice of the strange bearded figure ordering his father to gather a fighting force and repel the invaders. He remembered feeling afraid as his father refused to take up arms against the Romans. “There is no point,” he’d said. “The Romans would simply kill us all.” The Druid said death was honourable and led to The Better Place, but his father would not be persuaded. There was no point in fighting the Romans yet, he said. They must wait till the tribe was stronger and had a chance of driving them out.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

“They must fit into mortar like teeth into gum,” he said, tapping Topher’s teeth to make his meaning clear.

Bryn the Younger would have bitten his finger off. Bryn hated Topher working for the Romans.

He thought Bryn the Elder was wrong to give permission.

He was angered and disgusted by his father’s changed attitude, though he hid his feelings in front of him. So Topher didn’t suffer too much, not when his father was at home, but when Bryn the Elder went on a journey and didn’t return, things got bad.

From The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman. Copyright © Julia Jarman, 2001. Published by Andersen Press.

Unit 2 The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman

The battle with the Catuvellauni changed things. Bryn the Elder seemed to give up his dream of pushing out the Romans. We need them, he said, and became less critical of the Roman way of life, though he still lived in the roundhouse. The battle changed Topher too. He couldn’t help feeling grateful to Marcus and the Romans for saving his life. Sometimes he stopped to watch them building the floors of the bathhouse. Their mosaics fascinated him. He loved the patterns and pictures they made, and one day he was able to help. Marcus was having trouble drawing the curving tail of a dolphin – he usually did straighter designs – so Topher drew it for him, even though he had never seen a dolphin! Marcus told him about these creatures which he’d seen on the voyage to Britain. And after that Marcus sometimes let him cut a few stones called tesserae and even place them in the mortar. He said Topher had a talent for it and Cassius, his father, agreed. He said Topher had a good eye for colour too. Soon after that he became an apprentice. Cassius taught him how to cut the stones correctly. Each one had to be flat at one end, sharp at the other.

Unit 2

Retrieval 1

Name:

Look at the second paragraph. Why did Topher’s father, Bryn the Elder, refuse to fight the Romans when the Druid asked him to?

1 mark

2

Look at the paragraph beginning The battle with the Catuvellauni … . How did Topher first help with the mosaic? Tick one.

He cut a stone.

He placed stones in the mortar.

He became an apprentice.

He drew a dolphin’s tail.

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman

3

1 mark

Who had seen a dolphin before? Tick one.

Cassius Topher Marcus the Druid

4

1 mark

How did the stones need to be cut for the mosaic?

1 mark

5

Look at the last paragraph. Why was Bryn the Younger disgusted?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Name:

“We shall be civil to them – as they say – and bide our time,” he told the family.

Which word is closest in meaning to civil? Circle one. patient

2

Unit 2

Mix it up!

polite

rude

calm

1 mark

What event made Topher feel differently about the Romans?

1 mark

3

Look at the last paragraph. What impression do you get of Bryn the Younger?

Give one impression and one piece of evidence from the text.

Impression

Evidence

4

Which sentence best summarises the contents of the whole extract? Tick one.

A statue appears in the Forum.

Bryn the Elder refuses to live in a Roman house.

The Druid lives in the forest.

Topher and his dad start to accept the Romans.

5

1 mark

What do you think Bryn the Younger will do while Bryn the Elder is away? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

I think

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman

2 marks

Unit 3

Volcanoes in Action

by Anita Ganeri

Retrieval

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 50 to 53

The image of a volcanic eruption with masses of fiery lava is extremely powerful and is one that many children find exciting. However, how many of them realise that gases and ash clouds are also released when a volcano erupts? And how many visualise a volcano as a crack in the ground on land or on the seabed, rather than the iconic cone-shaped mountain? This myth-busting text introduces the children to the subject of volcanoes and their ability to cause natural disasters. You could discuss this text alongside that of Unit 4, Tsunamis on the Move, once both units have been completed.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 50 to 51) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 This text is about volcanoes. What do you know about volcanoes?

Answers will vary depending on the children’s background knowledge. Record all the information they contribute in a graphic map, including any questions they want to answer.

Non-fiction

2 What type of text do you think this is? What do you think this text is going to tell us about volcanoes?

The children should be able to ascertain from the title and subheadings that this is a nonfiction text. If necessary, prompt them to use the subheadings to give an overview of the content.

You could discuss the fact that this is a scientific/ geographical text rather than a historical text because it is telling us about volcanoes in general rather than specific eruptions.

46

3 How would you feel if you lived near a volcano?

Why do you think some people live near them?

Some children may respond that it would be relatively safe to live near a volcano if it hadn’t erupted for many years, whereas others might feel that they would constantly worry about an eruption. Some children may also have a sense of the economic necessity for some people to live near volcanoes and the lack of choice that they have. If not, you could discuss these points.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary agriculture

alter

choked

emerge

faces

founded

hazardous

molten

scalding

secondary

spew

vast

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Do you prefer vast spaces or cosy corners?

Explain why.

O

You should be very careful near scalding hot teapots. What other things in the kitchen can be scalding?

O

Have you ever founded a club or society?

What might you need to do to found one?

O

Vehicles spew harmful gases and pollutants.

What other things can spew things out?

Vocabulary activities O

How many synonyms can the children think of for vast? Challenge them to also come up with some antonyms. They could then order all of the words they have found on a scale from ‘big’ to ‘small’.

O

Emerge comes from Latin emergere, which means ‘to come out’. Challenge the children to think of synonyms for emerge. Can they think of different contexts in which this word could be used?

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 48 to 49.

1 What is lava?

Molten rock.

Unit 3

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 53 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

2 First steps

2 What is a volcanologist?

A volcano scientist/someone who studies volcanoes.

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the children into pairs and ask them to imagine that they have travelled back in time to Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius is erupting. In groups, ask them to create a radio report about the eruption and what is happening to the town. Record each group’s report and share them with the class afterwards.

O

Writing task: The children could work in small groups to research in more detail why volcanoes erupt and what happens when they do. Ask each child to create a poster that includes a colourful diagram with labels to explain what happens.

3 Do all volcanoes erupt in the same way?

No – some spew out streams of lava, others explode violently. Some children may also explain the different types of materials that can emerge from a volcano.

4 Does everyone who lives near a volcano choose to live there?

No – some choose to live near volcanoes, but some have no choice.

Retrieval

5 Where next?

3 Explore

O

One of the most famous volcanic eruptions happened in ancient Rome when Mount Vesuvius buried the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. As a class, discuss Mount Vesuvius’s eruption (see Reading list) and allow children to ask questions. You could show some images of the surviving artefacts (e.g. the ruins; the dog mosaic) to help them understand life in ancient Rome.

Be aware that, although many children find this a fun and fascinating topic, it also has the potential to be upsetting for some.

As a class, watch a news clip (see Reading list) about the volcanic eruption in Iceland in 2010.

Discuss the fact that, although no-one was hurt by this volcano, lots of people inside and outside Iceland were still affected by it. Identify the effects of the natural disaster mentioned in the video (e.g. the ash cloud; planes being unable to fly). Discuss how these might have made people feel (e.g. upset/ worried) and why (e.g. they’d never seen anything like it before/they couldn’t visit their friends and families in other places).

4 Skills focus

See pages 48 to 49

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of retrieval.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 3 Modelling slides and the Modelling retrieval guidance on page 48.

2 The children can then attempt the Retrieval questions on page 52.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Reading list Fiction I Survived the Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 by Lauren Tarshis Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne and Sarah Courtauld Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osborne The Volcano Disaster by Peg Kehret Class reads The Secrets of Vesuvius by Caroline Lawrence Non-fiction Earthshattering Events! by Robin Jacobs Everything: Volcanoes and Earthquakes by National Geographic Kids Pompeii … Buried Alive by Edith Kunhardt The Roman Record by Paul Dowswell Tsunamis on the Move by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA (Linked text: Unit 4) Volcanoes by DK Poetry Volcano Wakes Up! by Lisa Westberg Peters Websites The BBC Newsround website offers two interesting videos: ‘“Volcano plane” takes flight’ (2017) and ‘Kilauea volcano: Kids tell us what it’s like to live near a volcanic eruption’ (2018).

The DK findout! website has a labelled image of a volcano.

The National Geographic Kids website has a useful fact file on volcanoes.

Non-fiction

O

47

Unit 3

Modelling retrieval

See Unit 3 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 16 to 17) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Look at the section ‘What is a volcano?’. According to a volcanologist, what three things come out of a volcano? lava/molten rock, ash and gas Read the question aloud and remind the children of the strategies for answering retrieval questions. Model using the locator to find the section and highlighting the word ‘volcanologist’. Encourage them to help you read around the word to retrieve the answer. Remind them that the answers to retrieval questions are found in the text and model copying three answers.

2 Look at the section ‘A volcanic eruption’. Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

False

All volcanoes produce lava when they erupt.

Being near a volcano when it erupts is extremely hazardous.

Some volcanic eruptions cause landslides.

Volcanic eruptions never produce lumps of flying rock.

Remind the children how to complete a ‘true or false’ question. Next, model using the locator to find the relevant section and explain that all the answers will be in that part of the text. Talk through each statement, identifying the key words and discussing synonyms for them. Scan the text for each statement’s key words and model retrieving the answer before ticking the correct column in the table.

3 Look at the section ‘Volcanoes and the landscape’. What does a volcano erupting under the sea create? (chains of) islands Read the question and model locating the correct section. Identify the key words ‘under the sea’ and model scanning for these. Model reading around this group of words to find what is produced. Remind the children that you only need one answer as the question would only be worth 1 mark. Model picking one answer and writing it down.

4 Look at the last section. Complete the following table about volcanoes.

Read the question together and locate the correct section. Explain that you can complete the table in Volcano is dead and will never erupt again. extinct any order and start with ‘extinct’.

Volcano is active but not erupting. dormant Model finding this word in the text and copying the definition into active Volcano last erupted 200 years ago. the table. Next, draw attention to ‘Volcano is active but not erupting’ from the table and model how to identify the name of this volcano type. Finally, model looking back at the paragraph’s first sentence and identify the remaining category ‘active’.

Check that it matches the description in the table.

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri

Volcano category

48

Description

Retrieval questions mark scheme

See page 52

Answer

Guidance

1

If the children find this question tricky, encourage them to think about which option best answers the question in the subheading. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

A volcano is a place where molten rock, ash and gas

emerge from the Earth.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance T

A volcanic eruption can take place under the sea.

This question deals with multiple paragraphs and does not include a locator. If children find it tricky, remind them to approach each statement individually and scan the text for its key words (e.g. ‘sea’; ‘gas’; ‘tsunami’; ‘choke’). Award 1 mark for at least two statements correctly ticked. Award 2 marks for all four statements correctly ticked.

F

A volcanic eruption can produce no gas.

A volcanic eruption can cause a tsunami.

A volcanic eruption can cause people to choke.

3

lava and ash

4

millions

5

The soil is rich. OR It is good for agriculture. OR There isn’t enough space anywhere else. OR People didn’t know they were dangerous.

If the children answer ‘rock’, point out that this cannot be correct, as the question says ‘rock’ is being made. Award 1 mark for both correct answers.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

If the children struggle, provide them with the locator ‘Living with volcanoes’. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Some children may mention that they are ‘danger areas’. This is not a reason why people live in these areas and should not be accepted. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

See page 53

?

Answer

Guidance

1

molten

Do not accept answers longer than one word (e.g. ‘The word is molten’; ‘molten lava’). Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Skill: Word meaning.

2

It makes the definition sound more scientific/correct/official compared to the usual definition.

Some children may find this tricky. If so, ask them whose opinion on volcanoes they would trust more, another pupil’s or a volcanologist’s, and why. Award 1 mark for an explanation that suggests ‘volcanologist’ makes the definition sound more authoritative/scientific. Skill: Word choice.

3

Many people think volcanoes are mountains/cone-shaped, but volcanologists think they can just be cracks. OR Many people think volcanoes spew out lava, but volcanologists think they can also explode/emit ash and gas.

Some children may respond by only referring to one side of the comparison. If so, remind them that they need to refer to both sides of the comparison. Award 1 mark for a reference to one difference stated in the text. Skill: Comparison.

4

The text says that they were built before people understood the dangers of volcanoes./Now, volcanologists know why volcanoes are dangerous, so the cities must be old.

Some children may not recall the meaning of ‘founded’. If so, remind them of your discussion of the Key vocabulary. This question also relies on the children using their extrinsic knowledge that learning a lot about something takes time. Award 1 mark for a plausible explanation related to the text. Skill: Inference.

5

Why do volcanoes erupt?

If the children struggle to think of additional information, ask them what they would still like to learn. Award 1 mark for any plausible subheading. Skill: Prediction.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri

2

Unit 3

Answer

49

Unit 3

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri This text introduces the subject of volcanoes. It debunks some misunderstandings that many people have about volcanoes, such as what they look like and what they do.

What is a volcano?

0DQ\ SHRSOH WKLQN RI D YROFDQR DV EHLQJ D FRQH VKDSHG PRXQWDLQ ZLWK UHG KRW ODYD PROWHQ URFN IORZLQJ IURP WKH WRS 7KLV VRUW RI PRXQWDLQ is a volcano, but to a volcanologist (a scientist who studies volcanoes) a volcano is simply a place where molten rock, ash and gas emerge from LQVLGH WKH (DUWK 0DQ\ YROFDQRHV DUH FRQH VKDSHG EXW RWKHUV DUH MXVW cracks in the ground.

Many volcanoes do spew out streams of lava, but others explode violently instead. Flowing lava, explosions of ash and other volcanic effects have caused some of the world’s worst natural disasters.

A volcanic eruption When a volcano throws out material from within, it is erupting. The ways in which volcanoes erupt can vary widely. When some volcanoes erupt, they produce rivers of molten lava.

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri

When others erupt, they produce vast clouds of ash, and little or no lava.

Some volcanoes produce a mixture of both lava flows and ash. All eruptions also produce gases.

Volcanic eruptions are extremely hazardous events. Anybody and anything near an erupting volcano faces serious dangers, such as being burnt by scalding lava, choked by clouds of ash and gas or hit by lumps of flying rock. Erupting volcanoes also set off secondary hazards, such as fires, mudflows, landslides and tsunamis (giant waves at sea).

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Over hundreds, thousands or millions of years, volcanoes build up and alter the landscape. Lava cools and turns solid, and ash builds up in

Unit 3

Volcanoes and the landscape

OD\HUV FUHDWLQJ QHZ URFNV RQ WKH VXUIDFH 7KLV QHZ URFN IRUPV FRQH shaped mountains and even whole mountain ranges. Volcanoes that erupt under the sea build up islands and chains of islands.

Living with volcanoes Even though volcanoes are so dangerous, hundreds of millions of people around the world live close to them and some large cities are located in danger areas. Why do so many people live near volcanoes? One of the main reasons is that the soil around volcanoes is very rich and good for agriculture. Another is that shortage of space means that many people have no choice over where they live. And many cities were founded before people understood the real dangers of volcanoes.

Volcanologists categorize volcanoes as active, dormant or extinct. An active volcano is one that is erupting today or that we know has erupted in the last 10 000 years.

A dormant volcano is an active volcano that is not erupting at the moment.

An extinct volcano is a dead volcano that experts believe will never erupt again.

From Volcanoes in Action by Anita Ganeri. Reproduced by permission of Wayland, an imprint of Hachette Children’s Books, Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ.

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri

Active, dormant and extinct

Unit 3

Retrieval 1

Name:

Which sentence best summarises the content of the first paragraph? Tick one.

Volcanoes cause some of the worst natural disasters.

Volcanoes are cone-shaped mountains.

A volcano is a place where molten rock, ash and gas emerge from the Earth.

Volcanologists study volcanoes.

2

1 mark

Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

False

A volcanic eruption can take place under the sea.

A volcanic eruption can produce no gas.

A volcanic eruption can cause a tsunami.

A volcanic eruption can cause people to choke.

2 marks

3

Look at the section Volcanoes and the landscape. What two things make new layers of rock around volcanoes?

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri

1 mark

4

According to the text, how many people live close to a volcano? Tick one. very few

5

most

hundreds

millions

1 mark

Look at the section Living with volcanoes. Give two reasons why people live near volcanoes.

1 2

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 3

Mix it up!

Name:

Look at the first paragraph. Find and copy one word that means the same as ‘melted’.

1 mark

2

This sort of mountain is a volcano, but to a volcanologist (a scientist who studies volcanoes) a volcano is simply a place where molten rock, ash and gas emerge from inside the Earth.

Why do you think the author has included the word volcanologist?

1 mark

3

Compare what many people think a volcano is to what volcanologists think a volcano is. Give one difference.

Many people think

but volcanologists think

4

1 mark

Look at the section Living with volcanoes. How can you tell that lots of cities built near volcanoes are quite old?

1 mark

5

What do you think the next subheading would be if you could read on?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Volcanoes in Action, by Anita Ganeri

.

Unit 4

Tsunamis on the Move

by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA Printable text • Modelling slides

Word meaning

?

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 58 to 61

In Europe, tsunamis are rare, but they are more common in other countries, particularly those bordering the Pacific. Tsunamis, which sometimes occur after earthquakes, are often catastrophic, killing many people and destroying infrastructure. This text is a poster extract written by the International Tsunami Information Center in Hawaii, USA. It explains why tsunamis happen and describes their features. It also explains how to stay safe during a tsunami. While the children are unlikely to experience a tsunami directly, this is an interesting topic to study alongside the other natural phenomena covered by the geography curriculum, such as volcanoes (see Unit 3).

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 58 to 59) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What do you know about tsunamis?

Answers will vary. If the children’s knowledge is limited, you could show them an introductory video on the topic (see Reading list).

Non-fiction

2 The word ‘tsunami’ is Japanese. Can you think of a reason why we use a Japanese word to describe this type of wave?

Discuss the fact that, because many tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean near to Japan, it makes sense that the Japanese have a specific word to describe this phenomenon. You could provide some other examples of words that Englishspeaking countries have adopted from other languages (e.g. ‘karaoke’; ‘safari’).

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3 Tsunamis are definitely not normal waves, but have you ever seen or felt a very big wave?

What was it like?

Answers will vary. Some children will have experienced being knocked over at the beach by a particularly strong wave, or they may have played in waves at a swimming pool, or have been surfing.

Encourage them to share how they felt when they saw or felt the wave (e.g. amazed because it was really powerful; scared because I couldn’t get up).

Language toolkit Key vocabulary ashore

concrete

debris

devastating

generated

heed

official

recedes

reinforced

shallow

sturdy

threaten

Vocabulary discussion questions O

What are the differences between being ashore and being afloat?

O

If you heed someone’s advice, do you listen to them or ignore them?

O

Sometimes clothing is reinforced to make it sturdier. How could you make clothing sturdy by reinforcing it?

O

What items might be made from concrete?

Vocabulary activities O

Official ends with the suffix ‘–cial’. This sounds the same as the suffix ‘–tial’. Ask the children to think of words with these two suffixes (e.g. ‘special’; ‘essential’). Scribe their ideas, then see if you can identify a rule.

O

The word debris is from French which is why the ‘s’ is silent. ‘Tsunami’ has a silent ‘t’ because it is from Japanese. Ask the children to think of other words with silent letters and research their etymology online as a class.

Can they see any patterns?

O

Discuss synonyms for generated (e.g. ‘made’; ‘produced’) to ensure the children understand this technical vocabulary.

4 What type of text do you think this is?

A non-fiction, information text. The children should be able to use the title, author, text layout and the Key vocabulary to deduce the text type.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

5 Where next?

O

2 What is the main cause of tsunamis?

Earthquakes (below or near the seafloor).

3 What are the warning signs of a tsunami?

An earthquake/the ground shaking; a (rapid) fall in sea level; a loud roar. The children might also mention that a tsunami warning/evacuation warning may be announced.

4 What should you do if there is a tsunami?

Move inland/evacuate; get to higher ground; go to the top of a tall, reinforced building/climb a tall tree; stay away from rivers and streams; look for something to help you stay afloat.

3 Explore O

O

Gather some other non-fiction texts on tsunamis (e.g. books – see the Reading list; leaflets; web pages; documentary clips; newspapers; dictionary entries).

As a class, discuss the purpose of each example and examine the way it presents its information. Discuss what information it includes and how its format helps it convey that information (e.g. a poster is often a good way to convey safety information quickly because it is eye-catching and all on one sheet of paper).

In 2004, a terrible tsunami happened in the Indian Ocean and over a quarter of a million people lost their lives. Discuss what caused the tsunami and why so many people died (you may wish to use some of the resources in the Reading list to support this discussion). You could extend the discussion by exploring how things have changed in the area since 2004 (e.g. people have rebuilt; a new warning system has been installed).

4 Skills focus

See pages 56 to 57

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of word meaning.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 4 Modelling slides and the Modelling word meaning guidance on page 56.

2 The children can then attempt the Word meaning questions on page 60.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the children into pairs, with one role-playing a journalist based in a place where a tsunami is happening, and the other child role-playing a news presenter back in the studio. The presenter should interview the journalist and ask them to explain what is happening in detail.

The children can draw on what they learnt about the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in the Explore section to help them think of suitable questions and answers.

Writing task: Ask the children to each make a poster about dealing with emergencies in their school. The subject is up to them (e.g. what to do if there is a fire/ flood; what to do if someone is unwell). They should think about where their poster would be displayed and how they can present the information most effectively.

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Word meaning

1 What is the purpose of this text?

The children should be able to agree that the poster’s purpose is to inform the reader about the dangers of tsunamis.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 56 to 57.

Reading list Fiction The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo Class reads The Somerset Tsunami by Emma Carroll Non-fiction Destination: Planet Earth by Jo Nelson DK (Eyewitness) Natural Disasters by Claire Watts The Science of Natural Disasters by Alex Woolf Tsunamis by Louise Spilsbury and Richard Spilsbury Tsunamis by Chana Stiefel Volcanoes in Action by Anita Ganeri (Linked text: Unit 3) Websites The CBBC Newsround website hosts a helpful introductory video, ‘What is a Tsunami?’. The website also includes images of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami survivors marking its 10-year anniversary.

The National Geographic Kids website has some useful facts on tsunamis.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction hosts a video called ‘Lessons save lives: the story of Tilly Smith’. Tilly Smith, a 10-year-old schoolgirl, describes how she spotted the warning signs of a tsunami in 2011 while on holiday, saving hundreds of lives.

Non-fiction

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 4

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 61 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

2 First steps

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Unit 4

Modelling word meaning

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See Unit 4 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 14 to 15) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Tsunamis … Are caused primarily by earthquakes occurring below or near the seafloor. What does the word primarily mean in this sentence? mainly/mostly Read the question and model scanning for the target word. Underline it and model reading around it to gather any information that might help with the meaning. Think aloud: Is ‘primarily’ similar to any words we know? Primary colours are the colours you mix to make the other colours. So a ‘primary cause’ must be the most important or main cause. You could also model substituting synonyms (e.g. ‘firstly’; ‘most importantly’; ‘above all’) into the sentence. Model picking a synonym and writing your answer.

2 Tsunamis … Can crest to 10m high heights, strike with devastating force, and quickly flood all low-lying coastal areas. What does the word devastating tell you about the wave? that it can destroy things/cause a lot of damage

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

Read the question and ask the children if they know any words that are like ‘devastating’. You could remind them of your Key vocabulary discussion. Some might know synonyms (e.g. ‘destructive’; ‘damaging’). Use their suggestions to model working out the meaning and writing your answer. You could also discuss what the children could do if they had never heard or couldn’t remember this word (e.g. How does the context help?; Does it seem to be a force for good or bad?; What would happen to a flooded area?). Discuss how they could use this thought process to come up with a plausible answer.

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3 If you’re at the beach and the ground shakes so hard you can’t stand up, or it shakes for an unusually long time, a tsunami may have been generated. Which word is a synonym for generated? Tick one. created

stopped

avoided

intercepted

Read the question and model reading the target sentence aloud with each answer option replacing ‘generated’ and considering whether it makes sense. You may wish to remind them of your Key vocabulary discussion. Point out that this question requires you to tick only one answer and model ticking one box.

4 Look at the paragraph beginning Stay away from rivers … . Find and copy one word that means ‘travel faster than’. outrun Read the question and identify the locator. Point out that even though ‘travel faster than’ is a group of words, you are looking for a single word that has the same meaning. You could also point out that you will be looking for a verb as the group of words describes a way of moving. Model scanning the paragraph for verbs with this meaning. Then model writing the correct answer.

Word meaning questions mark scheme

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See page 60

Answer

Guidance

1

cause harm/endanger/put at risk

If the children find this question tricky, refocus them on the locator and remind them to read around the word to work out its meaning. Award 1 mark for a reference to causing harm/damage.

2

recedes

This section has a lot of tricky vocabulary and some children may pick another unfamiliar word. Encourage them to visualise what happens when a tsunami begins to help them work out the correct word. If you have played them a video clip showing how tsunamis act, remind them of this. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

This question has a lot of tricky vocabulary (e.g. ‘preceded’; ‘rapid’; ‘recedes’). However, the previous question should have aided the children’s understanding of this part of the text.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer circled.

uncovering

4

away from the sea

Accept answers that refer to people moving away from the tsunami. Encourage the children to break the word down into familiar words (‘in’ and ‘land’) if they are unsure. Award 1 mark for a reference to moving away from the shore/sea/tsunami.

5

move away from danger

All the alternative answers in this question are strong distractors.

Point out that you only ‘evacuate’ when you are in danger.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

See page 61

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Answer

Guidance

1

Provide a locator (the first section) if the children struggle to find the information. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

2

3

earthquakes OR underwater volcanic eruptions OR landslides OR meteorites

Deep water

Shallow water

travel at jet airliner speeds

travel slowly

have small waves

are very tall

So that you know it will provide protection from the tsunami. OR Because a weak/less strong building may get washed away/collapse.

4

T

5

Some children might struggle if they do not understand that tsunamis can wash away buildings. If so, ask them what might happen to the building if it is weak/not well built. Award 1 mark for any plausible explanation. Skill: Inference.

F

Tsunamis travel slowly in the deep ocean.

A fall in sea level follows a tsunami.

There is no need to take notice of official announcements.

Large pieces of rubbish can float in tsunami waters.

‘True or false’ questions are not as common as other question types. You could discuss the strategies for these questions with the children before asking them to attempt this one.

Award 1 mark for at least two statements correctly ticked.

Award 2 marks for all four statements correctly ticked.

Skill: Retrieval.

Where to go after a tsunami has passed, because people need to know what to do next.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Accept answers that are direct quotes and those that paraphrase the text, provided they are taken from the correct section of text.

Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Comparison.

To answer this question, the children must understand that the purpose of this poster is to provide safety information for people who might experience a tsunami. Accept any answer that relates to the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

3

Guidance

Unit 4

Answer

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Unit 4

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA This text is from a poster that gives information to people living in areas at risk of tsunamis. It explains how to identify the warning signs that indicate a tsunami is about to happen and gives advice on how to stay safe during this type of natural disaster.

Tsunamis …

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

• $UH D VHULHV RI ORQJ ZDYHOHQJWK ORQJ SHULRG RFHDQ ZDYHV 7KH\ DUH not surfing waves.

• •

Come ashore for hours. The first wave may not be the largest.

•

Are less frequently caused by underwater volcanic eruptions and landslides, and rarely by meteorites.

Are caused primarily by earthquakes occurring below or near the seafloor.

Tsunamis …

• • • •

Travel at jet airliner speeds in the deep ocean, but the waves are only tens of centimetres high and cannot be felt aboard ships.

Slow down and grow in height tremendously upon entering shallow water.

Can crest to 10m high heights, strike with devastating force, and TXLFNO\ IORRG DOO ORZ O\LQJ FRDVWDO DUHDV Threaten life and property.

Knowledge is Safety: Tsunami Warning Signs A big earthquake is one of nature’s warning signs. If you’re at the beach and the ground shakes so hard you can’t stand up, or it shakes for an unusually long time, a tsunami may have been generated.

Tsunamis may be preceded by a rapid fall in sea level as the ocean recedes, exposing reefs, rocks, and fish on the sea bottom. Tsunamis often come ashore as a wall of water, and quickly flood inland.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

What you should do

Unit 4

A loud roar like an oncoming train or jet aircraft may be heard as a tsunami rushes toward the coast.

After an earthquake, move quickly inland and to higher ground.

Tsunamis from a local earthquake can strike in minutes, and before a tsunami warning is announced. If you notice nature’s tsunami warning signs, act immediately.

Tsunamis from distant locations can take up to 24 hours to cross an ocean basin. Tsunami warnings will be announced advising when coastal communities should evacuate to safe shelters.

Stay away from rivers and streams. If you see a tsunami, you may not EH DEOH WR RXWUXQ LW /RRN IRU D VWXUG\ PXOWL VWRULHG UHLQIRUFHG FRQFUHWH building and climb to its highest floor or the roof. If there is no time, climb up and cling to a strong tree.

If you’re swept up by a tsunami, look for something to help you stay afloat, and to protect you from dangerous floating debris like houses, cars, and trees. wave

50 m

10 m

4000 m

sea floor

Tsunami waves slow down and get much taller as they get closer to the shore.

International Tsunami Information Center. (2011). Tsunamis on the Move. www.tsunamiwave.org

Figure not to scale

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

Learn to recognize nature’s warnings. Heed official tsunami warnings.

Unit 4

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1

Word meaning

Name:

Tsunamis … Threaten life and property.

What does threaten mean in this sentence?

1 mark

2

Look at the section Knowledge is Safety: Tsunami Warning Signs. Find and copy one word that means ‘moves back’.

1 mark

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

3

Tsunamis may be preceded by a rapid fall in sea level as the ocean recedes, exposing reefs, rocks, and fish on the sea bottom.

Which word could be used to replace exposing in this sentence? Circle one.

uncovering

4

hiding

throwing

sitting

1 mark

After an earthquake, move quickly inland and to higher ground.

What does inland mean in this sentence?

1 mark

5

Tsunami warnings will be announced advising when coastal communities should evacuate to safe shelters.

Which group of words is closest in meaning to evacuate? Tick one. go straight home move away from danger walk away run away

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 4

Mix it up!

Name:

Name two things that cause tsunamis.

1 2

2

2 marks

Look at the second section. Complete the table to show two differences between tsunamis in deep water and tsunamis in shallow water.

Deep water

Shallow water travel slowly

have small waves

3

Look for a sturdy, multi-storied, reinforced concrete building and climb to its highest floor or the roof.

Why is it so important to make sure the building is sturdy?

1 mark

4

Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

False

Tsunamis travel slowly in the deep ocean.

A fall in sea level follows a tsunami.

There is no need to take notice of official announcements.

Large pieces of rubbish can float in tsunami waters.

2 marks

5

If you were asked to add information to this text, what would you write about next?

Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Tsunamis on the Move, by International Tsunami Information Center, Hawaii, USA

2 marks

Unit 5

Russian Doll

by Rachel Rooney Printable text • Modelling slides

Word meaning

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Photocopiable text and questions • pages 66 to 69

A former teacher, Rachel Rooney is adept at capturing the way that children view the world, and children love the strong images and the relatable themes of her poetry. Rooney’s interest in how words work and the sounds they make means that her poetry is ideal for performing in the classroom. This poem uses the iconic imagery of Russian dolls to explore the complexity of personality and identity. These themes are beautifully reflected in the changes in mood from verse to verse. The link with Russia prepares the children for Unit 6, ‘The Little Daughter of the Snow’, a story from Arthur Ransome’s Old Peter’s Russian Tales & The Battle of the Birds and the Beasts.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 66 to 67) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 Have you ever seen a Russian nesting doll?

What do they look like?

Answers will vary. Use the illustration, a real set of Russian nesting dolls (also known as Matryoshka dolls) or a video clip to help the children understand how they fit together.

Poetry

2 What type of text is this? How can you tell?

The children should be able to use the text’s layout to identify it as a poem (e.g. there are verses; the lines are short). They may also be able to point out some of the poem’s features (e.g. there is repetition in the first and last lines of the verses). You could ask them to describe some other typical features of poems (e.g. rhyme; rhythm; imagery).

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3 What other poems and poets do you know?

Which ones do you like best? Why? Answers will vary depending on the children’s experience of different texts. They should be able to name some poets that they have encountered in class (e.g. Michael Rosen; Joseph Coelho; Aoife Mannix). Their reasons for liking these poems will vary (e.g. they’re funny/they’re powerful/they sound nice). It could be helpful to share your own favourite poem and explain what you like about it.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary blameless

butter-won’tmelt-in-mymouth

fluttery

full of cheek

hot-head

jealous

poking

scowling

scurrying

skittle

slick

wasting

Vocabulary discussion questions O

If you’re full of cheek, are you likely to be happy or sad? Are you well behaved or mischievous?

O

Our facial expressions are an important part of communicating with people. Can you show me what scowling might look like?

O

If a person is a hot-head, do they always feel warm? Why are they described as ‘hot’?

O

Have you ever knocked a skittle over? What game were you playing?

Vocabulary activities O

Butter won’t melt in my mouth is an idiom.

Versions of several idioms are used in this poem (e.g. ‘wouldn’t say boo to a goose’; ‘the grass is always greener’). Challenge the children to find them and work out what they mean. Can they think of any other idioms?

O

Lots of adjectives, such as jealous, end in ‘–ous’. This suffix means ‘full of’. See how many other adjectives with this ending the children can think of (e.g. ‘furious’; ‘glamorous’; ‘glorious’).

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

2 How many dolls are there?

Seven.

3 Which groups of words or patterns are repeated in the poem?

‘Inside there’s another me’ is repeated at the beginning of most of the verses. The children may also realise that the last line of each verse also uses a similar structure: they mostly start with ‘A’ and end in ‘me’.

4 What do we learn about the dolls’ personalities in the poem?

All the dolls are different. Some are good, while some are naughty; some are loud, while some are quiet. Some children might suggest that the dolls’ personalities tell you about all the different parts of the narrator’s personality.

3 Explore O

O

Look at the second verse with the children. Explain that authors and poets often show how a character is feeling using their actions. Identify the emotion that the doll is feeling and discuss how the poet shows this emotion through the doll’s actions. Ask the children to pick another emotion that is not mentioned in the poem and suggest actions that they would use to show that a character was feeling that emotion (e.g. an excited character might jump up and down; an anxious character might keep checking the time).

Ask each child to list the characteristics that would form their own, personal set of Russian dolls. You could provide a list of adjectives to help them (e.g. happy; cheerful; good-natured; smiley; energetic; anxious; shy; worried; timid; angry; irate; annoyed; testy; snappish). What different ‘dolls’ can be found inside each of them? Which aspects of their personality are close to the surface and which do they keep hidden inside? Some aspects of their personalities may be the same as in the poem, but there will be others that are unique to each child.

4 Skills focus

See pages 64 to 65

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of word meaning.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 69 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 64 to 65.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: As a class, listen to a recording of Rachel Rooney reading her poem (see Reading list). Split the children into pairs and ask them to discuss the reading (e.g. How does the poet use her voice to show the different personalities of the dolls? Does this make the poem easier to understand? Do they like the poem more when it’s on paper or read aloud? Why is this?).

O

Writing task: Find and share with the children a couple of other poems that use repetition (see the Reading list for some suggested resources). Ask the children to work in pairs to make a list of all the repeated lines they can find in the poems. Next, divide the children into larger groups and ask them to discuss the lines they have collected (e.g. Where did the lines come from? What effect does their repetition have in the poems?).

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Word meaning

1 Who are the characters in this poem?

The Russian dolls/The narrator/‘Me’. You may need to discuss this question in more detail with the children, as this is open to interpretation in the poem.

2 The children can then attempt the Word meaning questions on page 68.

Reading list Fiction The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson ‘The Little Daughter of the Snow’ by Arthur Ransome (Linked text: Unit 6) The Littlest Matryoshka by Corinne Demas Bliss The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell Class reads The Magic Nesting Doll by Jacqueline K. Ogburn Non-fiction Matroyshka Dolls by Hands-On Art History Poetry The Language of Cat And Other Poems by Rachel Rooney Michael Rosen’s A to Z by Michael Rosen (ed) Moon Juice by Kate Wakeling Websites The CLPE’s Poetryline website has a wealth of useful resources for teaching poetry, including a recording of Rachel Rooney reading ‘Russian Doll’.

Poetry

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 5

1 Model the skill using the Unit 5 Modelling slides and the Modelling word meaning guidance on page 64.

2 First steps

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Unit 5

Modelling word meaning

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See Unit 5 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 14 to 15) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 In the first verse the poet uses the idiom butter-won’t-melt-in-my-mouth. What does this mean in the context of this poem?

On the outside, the doll looks perfect/as if she would never do anything wrong.

Read the question and establish that the group of words ‘butter-won’t-melt-in-my-mouth’ is an idiom (the children will have already encountered it in the Key vocabulary). Explain that if they are not familiar with an idiom, they can work out what it means by reading around it to look for context clues, as well as from the words themselves (e.g. butter melts when it is hot, which is linked to being angry, so it suggests that the person is the opposite of this, i.e. calm and cool). You could also point out that the imagery in the verse is attractive and flawless (e.g. ‘painted smile’; ‘rosy-posy shell’).

2 All you see is outside me … . Find and copy one word in the first verse that supports this statement. shell Read the question and explain that it requires you to look through the first three lines of text (the first verse).

Read the verse aloud and model looking for a word linked to the outside of the doll. Scroll along the lines using your finger. If the children are unsure, eliminate some of the other words to help them hone in on the target word. You could explain that ‘shell’ is a noun meaning ‘the outer covering of something’.

3 Look at the first two lines of the poem. Which word is closest in meaning to fluttery in this sentence?

Tick one. grumpy

watery

sparkly

flickering

Read the question and think together about things that flutter (e.g. eyelashes; butterflies; flags). What are they doing when they flutter? Establish that they are moving quickly. Model rereading the whole of the first verse. Underline ‘fluttery’ and read the list of answer options aloud. The children should be able to help you disregard some of them (e.g. ‘grumpy’ and ‘watery’) as they do not match the context or the meaning of ‘fluttery’. Decide between the remaining two options together, modelling how to think back to the definition of ‘flutter’ to help identify the right answer.

4 Find and copy two words that describe the personality of the doll in the second verse. bored OR wasting OR dreamer OR can’t-be-bothered Read the question and identify its locator and key words. Model underlining the emotive words in the second verse: ‘bored’; ‘wasting’; ‘dreamer’; ‘can’t-be-bothered’. The question asks for two words, so model choosing two of the four options and writing them as your answer.

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney

Word meaning questions mark scheme

64

?

See page 68

Answer

Guidance

1

cheek

Some children might choose ‘joker’ or ‘clown’. If so, ask them to think about what sort of word ‘mischief’ is (an abstract noun) and what sort of word their answer is (a concrete noun). Then allow them to search for an abstract noun in the text. You may need to remind the children of your discussion of the Key vocabulary.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

She’s shy/quiet/timid/easily scared.

If some children struggle to work out the meaning of this phrase, remind them of the strategies used in Modelling question 1.

Encourage them to think about the meaning of key words in the verse, to help them unlock the meaning of the idiomatic phrase.

Award 1 mark for a plausible explanation.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

Encourage the children to consider both synonyms for ‘angry’ and behaviour associated with the emotion. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

hot-head OR stamping OR scowling OR cross OR bothered

5

Some children might choose the distractor ‘angry’. If so, encourage them to read around the word ‘jealous’ and to think about the phrase ‘never gets enough’. Award 1 mark for the correct answer circled.

greedy

thinks it’s better everywhere else.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme Answer

Some children may need help locating the correct verse. Remind them of the steps they can use to work out the meaning of an idiom. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

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See page 69

Guidance

Some may find this question tricky because it requires inference as well as comparison skills. If so, encourage them to go through each option looking for evidence to support it. You could remove an incorrect answer if they are still finding it tricky. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Comparison.

1

They are both at school.

2

That she was shaped like a skittle.

OR That she was vulnerable/could be easily knocked over. OR That she was made of wood.

Ensure the children know the poet is comparing the doll to a skittle used in bowling. Then help them to think about the properties of a skittle and draw a plausible connection with the doll. Award 1 mark for any plausible answer. Skill: Word choice.

3

The poet is talking about the person you are deep down, that you don’t show to people.

Do not accept answers that use the word ‘hides’ or any variations, because it is taken directly from the poem. Also do not accept answers that suggest a particular emotion (e.g. ‘She’s scared’), because this emotion is not associated with the last paragraph.

If a child gives this answer, ask them to read the whole verse and think about other reasons that the girl might be ‘hiding’. Award 1 mark for a plausible answer. Do not accept ‘scared/afraid’.

Skill: Inference.

4

It is about the differences that make up our character and how we hide some parts of our character from others.

Some might say the poem is about how people are like Russian dolls. Accept this only if they explain why (e.g. ‘We are like Russian dolls, because how we are on the inside isn’t the same as how we look on the outside’). If they do not understand the analogy, discuss who is narrating the poem: is she a doll or does she sound more like a schoolgirl? Award 1 mark for a plausible summary linked to the text. Award 2 marks for a plausible summary linked to the text that demonstrates understanding of the poem’s analogy. Skill: Summarising.

5

I would choose the cheeky personality in the third verse because they are funny and get up to mischief, which would make me laugh.

The children must use their personal experience to answer.

If they struggle, encourage them to think about the personality traits mentioned in the verses and compare these to those of the people they like to spend time with. Award 1 mark for a verse with a plausible explanation. Do not award marks for identifying a verse with no explanation. Skill: Inference.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney

4

Unit 5

Answer

65

Unit 5

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney This poem describes the look and the personalities of a set of Russian dolls.

Each Russian doll in a set is smaller than the last so that it can sit inside the previous one. Sometimes, each doll is also decorated differently. In this poem, each Russian doll shows a different side of the narrator.

All you see is outside me: my painted smile, WKH URV\ SRV\ VKHOO WKH IOXWWHU\ H\HV $ EXWWHU ZRQ©W PHOW LQ P\ PRXWK W\SH PH But inside there’s another me, bored till playtime.

The wasting paper, daytime dreamer. $ FDQ©W EH ERWKHUHG VRUW RI PH And inside there’s another me, full of cheek.

The quick, slick joker with a poking tongue.

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney

$ FODVV FORZQ IXQQ\ RQH RI PH And inside there’s another me who’s smaller, scared.

The scurrying, worrying, yes miss whisperer. $ ZRXOGQ©W VD\ ERR WR D JRRVH\ PH

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

7KH VFRZOLQJ KRW KHDG VWDPSLQJ IHHW

Unit 5

And inside there’s another me, all cross and bothered.

$ GLGQ©W GR LW EODPHOHVV PH And inside there’s another me, forever jealous who never gets enough, compared. $ JUDVV LV DOZD\V JUHHQHU PH And deepest down, kept secretly a tiny, solid skittle doll.

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney

The girl that hides inside of me.

‘Russian Doll’, from The Language of Cat, by Rachel Rooney. Copyright © Rachel Rooney, 2011. Published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.

Unit 5

?

1

Word meaning

Name:

Look at the third verse. Find and copy one word that means ‘mischief’.

1 mark

2

Look at the fourth verse. What does the group of words wouldn’t-say-boo-to-a-goosey mean?

1 mark

3

Look at the fifth verse. Find and copy two words that tell you that the narrator can sometimes be angry. and

4

And inside there’s another me, forever jealous who never gets enough, compared.

Which word is closest in meaning to jealous? Circle one.

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney

happy

5

2 marks

greedy

angry

unloved

1 mark

Which group of words best completes this sentence? Tick one.

The me in the sixth verse … thinks it’s better everywhere else. wants to be where it is grassy. is the smallest doll. has fluttery eyes.

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 5

Mix it up!

Name:

What do the me in the second verse and the me in the fourth verse have in common?

Tick one.

They are both playing.

They are both wasteful.

They are both at school.

They are both careless.

2

1 mark

A tiny, solid skittle doll.

Give one thing that the word skittle suggests about the doll.

1 mark

3

Look at the last line of the poem. What do you think the poet is talking about?

1 mark

Write one sentence to summarise what this poem is about.

2 marks

5

Which of the personalities would you choose to spend time with? Choose one verse and use evidence from the text to explain your answer.

I would choose

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1 mark

Russian Doll, by Rachel Rooney

4

Unit 6

The Little Daughter of the Snow

by Arthur Ransome

Inference

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 74 to 77

While Unit 5 encouraged the children to engage in personal reflection using the symbol of the Russian doll, this unit invites them to expand their knowledge of Russian folk tales. ‘The Little Daughter of the Snow’, an atmospheric, snowy tale, is retold by Arthur Ransome, author of children’s classic Swallows and Amazons. In the story, an old childless couple long for a daughter so much that they model one from snow. At twilight, she comes alive and begins to dance and sing, warning her new ‘parents’ that she will melt away if their love ever wanes.

The story is narrated by ‘old Peter’ for his grandchildren, Vanya and Maroosia, who interrupt the tale at the beginning of this extract.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 74 to 75) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 This story is a based on an old Russian story.

What do you know about Russia?

Answers will vary, but all the children should be able to mention Russian dolls if Unit 5 has been completed.

Collect what they know about Russian culture (e.g. Russian ballet; Russia’s participation in World War I and World War II; Russian folk tales; Russian traditional dress; Russian food) in a graphic organiser, referring to texts from the Reading list if desired.

Fiction

2 This is a story with a lesson to be learnt. Do you know any other stories that have a moral message?

Answers will vary. Some may draw on knowledge of fairy tales covered during Key Stage 1 (e.g.

‘Rumpelstiltskin’ teaches the importance of not making rash contracts; ‘Cinderella’ teaches that working hard and being good bring reward in the end). Some may also refer to fiction books they are currently reading (e.g. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone teaches the importance of teamwork and friendship).

70

3 What life lesson would you write about if you were writing a story with a message?

Answers will vary. Explore what prompted the children’s choices. Do stories with these messages already exist? If some children struggle to articulate a relevant message, encourage them to think about messages from stories they know and pick one that they think is important.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary cocks

crisp

doth

flushed

pelted

regular

sheepskin

stirred

tenderly

twilight

veins

whirled

Vocabulary discussion questions O

I like snow when it is crisp and dry. How do you like the snow?

O

If a sleeping bear stirred, would it be a good idea to approach it? Why?

O

What job do veins do? Are veins only found in the body?

O

If your face gets flushed, what does it look like? Why might this happen?

Vocabulary activities O

Ask the children to find as many synonyms as they can for tenderly. You could ask them to complete a ‘Shades of meaning’ activity (see page 15) using the words they have found.

O

Explain that, in this text, the word regular is used in an old-fashioned and informal way to give emphasis to the word it is describing.

Can they think of synonyms (e.g. ‘real’; ‘proper’; ‘right’; ‘complete’; ‘total’).

O

Explain that twilight comes between the end of the day and the beginning of the night.

What other words do the children know for this time of day?

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

O

Speaking and listening task: Ask the children to work in pairs, with one child pretending to be the snow girl just after she has come to life and the other pretending to be either the old man or woman. The old man/woman should ask the snow girl questions (e.g. How have you come to life? How do you feel about being made of snow? What are you going to do now? Are you going to stay here forever?). The snow girl should answer as authentically as possible.

O

Writing task: Working in pairs, the children could research another Russian myth. Once they have researched it, they could write a summary of it and then present their summary to the class.

1 Name the characters in this story.

The old couple and the little snow girl. The children may also mention Vanya, Maroosia and old Peter.

2 What did the old couple want more than anything else?

To have a child.

3 What did the old couple do to try to have a daughter?

Made one out of snow.

4 What happened to the snow girl the old couple made?

She came alive. Some children may also say that she started dancing and sang a song.

O

Koshka’s Tales by James Mayhew

Research Russia and its culture using the resources on the Reading list and any other useful resources you have available. First, find out where Russia is and point it out on a map. Then, find out about what the country is like (e.g. geography; weather; wildlife).

Finally, find out some facts about Russian history and culture (e.g. Russian Empire; Russian Revolution; Cold War; Leo Tolstoy; Tchaikovsky; St Basil’s Cathedral).

As a class, discover what happens next in ‘The Little Daughter of the Snow’ and find out how it ends (see Reading list). Compare the message of this story with another moral story (e.g. The Lorax; The Giving Tree). Which book do the children like best? Which book is more optimistic? Which book has the most important message?

4 Skills focus

Reading list Fiction The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

3 Explore O

Unit 6

5 Where next?

Inference

2 First steps

See pages 72 to 73

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of inference.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 6 Modelling slides and the Modelling inference guidance on page 72.

2 The children can then attempt the Inference questions on page 76.

Old Peter’s Russian Tales & The Battle of the Birds and the Beasts by Arthur Ransome The Lorax by Dr Seuss Russian Fairy Tales by Alexander Afanasyev Spies in St. Petersburg by Katherine Woodfine Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga by Alexander Afanasyev Class reads The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson Non-fiction Journey Through Russia by Anita Ganeri R is for Russia by Vladimir Kabakov Poetry ‘Russian Doll’ by Rachel Rooney (Linked text: Unit 5) Websites The CBBC Newsround website hosts a video featuring conversations with Russian children and teenagers, called ‘Russia: What’s it like living there?’

(2018).

The DK findout! website has a labelled image of St Basil’s Cathedral.

The National Geographic Kids website has a useful fact file on Russia.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 72 to 73.

Fiction

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 77 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Little Daughter of the Snow by Arthur Ransome and Tom Bower (Please note that this is a condensed, illustrated version.)

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

71

Unit 6

Modelling inference

See Unit 6 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 20 to 21) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Look at the first sentence. How do you know that the old couple have watched the children more than once?

Because it says that they ‘used to’ stand by the window.

Read the question aloud and identify the first sentence of the text. Think about the words and groups of words that tell you something has happened before, or that someone has a habit of doing something (e.g. ‘always’; ‘again’; ‘used to’; ‘return’; ‘often’). Emphasise the importance of little words such as these to give extra meaning to a sentence. Search the first sentence to see if any can be found. Model picking out the correct phrase and writing the answer.

2 Look at the first paragraph. How do you think the old couple felt about not having children? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.

They felt sad. I know this because they watched the children play all the time.

Read the question aloud and model identifying its key words and locator. Ask the children whether the couple want a child or not: summarising their thoughts in this way will help them structure their inference.

Now ask them to use groups of words from the paragraph to say how they know. Some should pick out the phrases ‘none of these made up for having no children’ or refer to the couple watching the children playing ‘for whole hours’. Model selecting one piece of evidence and formulating an answer that includes a feeling and a reason why.

3 Read the first paragraph. In your own words, describe the care given to the animals.

The couple looked after them, but they didn’t love them.

Read the question aloud and and identify the locator. Underline phrases in the paragraph that describe how the couple cared for the animals (e.g. ‘took no notice’; ‘never felt her’; ‘fed, but that was all’; ‘did not care for them’) to build a clear picture. Remind the children that this question asks them to put the evidence in their own words. Then model articulating what this tells you in your own words.

4 … the old people watched and wondered, and thanked God. Why do you think the old people thanked God?

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome

Because it was amazing/magic/a miracle that the snow girl had come alive and they thought God had made it happen.

72

Read the question and identify the locator. Help the children to identify what the old people were watching and wondering about by reading around the sentence. Identify that it was the snow girl dancing and singing and ask the children why they might then be thanking God. Establish that they believed God was responsible for what they were seeing. Model writing an answer that explains these inferences.

Inference questions mark scheme Answer 1

2

See page 76 Guidance

neglectful

He watched the children make a snowman/woman/snow witch/ snow Baba Yaga.

Some children might choose the distractor ‘ignorant’. If so, ask them whether they think that the couple did not know how to look after their animals or whether they just chose not to look after them well. Award 1 mark for the correct answer circled.

Some children may struggle to find the correct part of the text as this question has no locator and the text uses the phrase ‘little snow girl’ instead of ‘snow daughter’. If so, encourage them to scan for mentions of the old man and read around these to find the answer. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

If the children don’t know the phrase ‘there’s no knowing’, they may interpret it as negative. If so, clarify what this phrase means.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

3

She thinks it is possible.

4

Because they felt like they were handling their child.

The children might say it is because they didn’t want to break the snow girl. If so, ask them why the couple didn’t want to break the snow girl to help them develop their thinking further.

Award 1 mark for any plausible reason based on the idea that the snow girl is the couple’s child.

5

She says that she hasn’t got warm blood. OR She says that she has water in her veins. OR She says that she might melt/go back into the sky.

Some children may have trouble locating the snow girl’s song.

If so, encourage them to scan for the phrase ‘she sang’. You could also point out that this portion of the text is laid out differently.

Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

1

See page 77

Guidance

It feels like you are listening to the story with them.

Some children might have trouble recalling these characters.

If so, encourage them to scan the introduction and the text for their names. Some might choose the distractor ‘It tells you it is a folk tale’. If so, explain that while folk tales can use this device, they do not have to, and remind them of familiar folk tales that don’t use this device (e.g. Robin Hood; the Pied Piper of Hamelin). Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Relationship.

2

danced OR sang OR smiled OR laughed

The children may find it tricky to separate things that the snow girl does from things that parts of her do (e.g. ‘her lips flushed’; ‘her eyes shone’). If so, encourage them to look for the subject pronoun ‘she’. Award 1 mark for any two correct answers. Skill: Retrieval.

3

turned/became red/pink

The children must understand that this word describes the snow girl’s transformation. If they struggle, ask them to describe the difference between lips made of snow and real lips. Alternatively, ask them to look at the other changes in this paragraph, as most of them focus on colour. Award 1 mark for ‘turned red’ or a suitable synonym. Do not accept ‘red’ on its own, because ‘flushed’ is a verb. Skill: Word meaning.

4

The Miracle’s Rules

5

I think the couple will stop loving the girl and she will disappear, because she warns that she might in the song.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The children should be able to identify the snow girl’s song because they used it in the inference questions. You could discuss whether the children can come up with another, more effective, summary. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Skill: Summarising.

Some children might suggest that the old couple will hide the snow girl, using the fact that they built her ‘where nobody could see them’ as evidence. This should be accepted for 1 mark.

If the children are familiar with the full story, emphasise that their prediction must be based on evidence from this extract before they tackle this question. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction.

Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome

Answer

?

Unit 6

Answer

73

Unit 6

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome ‘The Little Daughter of the Snow’ is a short story within a book of stories called Old Peter’s Russian Tales. It is one of several folk tales told by a man called ‘old Peter’ to his grandchildren, Vanya and Maroosia. In this extract, an old childless couple are amazed when they make a daughter out of snow and she unexpectedly comes to life.

And these two, the old man and the old woman, used to stand whole hours, just peeping through their window to watch the children playing outside.

They had dogs and a cat, and cocks and hens, but none of these made up for having no children. These two would just stand and watch the children of the other huts. The dogs would bark, but they took no notice; and the cat would curl up against them, but they never felt her; and as for the cocks and hens, well, they were fed, but that was all. The old people did not care for them, and spent all their time in watching the Vanyas and Maroosias who belonged to the other huts.

In the winter the children in their little sheepskin coats …

“Like ours?” said Vanya and Maroosia together.

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome

“Like yours,” said old Peter.

In their little sheepskin coats, he went on, played in the crisp snow. They pelted each other with snowballs, and shouted and laughed, and then they rolled the snow together and made a snow woman – a regular snow Baba Yaga, a snow witch; such an old fright!

And the old man, watching from the window, saw this, and he says to the old woman, – “Wife, let us go into the yard behind and make a little snow girl; and perhaps she will come alive, and be a little daughter to us.”

“Husband,” says the old woman, “there’s no knowing what may be. Let us go into the yard and make a little snow girl.”

So the two old people put on their big coats and their fur hats, and went out into the yard, where nobody could see them.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 6

And they rolled up the snow, and began to make a little snow girl. Very, very tenderly they rolled up the snow to make her little arms and legs. The good God helped the old people, and their little snow girl was more beautiful than ever you could imagine. She was lovelier than a birch tree in spring.

Well, towards evening she was finished – a little girl, all snow, with blind white eyes, and a little mouth, with snow lips tightly closed.

“Oh, speak to us,” says the old man.

“Won’t you run about like the others, little white pigeon?” says the old woman.

And she did, you know, she really did.

Suddenly, in the twilight, they saw her eyes shining blue like the sky on a clear day. And her lips flushed and opened, and she smiled. And there were her little white teeth. And look, she had black hair, and it stirred in the wind.

She began dancing in the snow, like a little white spirit, tossing her long hair, and laughing softly to herself.

Wildly she danced, like snowflakes whirled in the wind. Her eyes shone, and her hair flew round her, and she sang, while the old people watched and wondered, and thanked God.

“No warm blood in me doth glow, Water in my veins doth flow; Yet I’ll laugh and sing and play By frosty night and frosty day – Little daughter of the Snow.

“But whenever I do know That you love me little, Then I shall melt away again.

Back into the sky I’ll go – Little daughter of the Snow.”

From Old Peter’s Russian Tales & The Battle of the Birds and the Beasts, by Arthur Ransome. Copyright © Arthur Ransome Literary Estate.

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome

This is what she sang: –

Unit 6

Inference 1

Look at the first paragraph. Which word best describes the old couple’s treatment of their animals? Circle one.

loving

2

Name:

ignorant

caring

neglectful

1 mark

What gave the old man the idea to make a snow daughter?

1 mark

3

“Husband,” says the old woman, “there’s no knowing what may be.”

Does the old woman believe that the snow girl will come alive? Tick one.

She is certain it will happen.

She thinks it is possible.

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome

She thinks it is unlikely.

She is certain it will not happen.

4

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning And they rolled up the snow … . Why do you think the old couple worked the snow tenderly?

1 mark

5

Look at the snow girl’s song. How does it show that the snow girl is not human?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 6

Mix it up!

Name:

Read from the beginning of the text to “Like yours,” said old Peter. What effect does the author create by introducing old Peter and the two children, Vanya and Maroosia? Tick one.

It feels like you are listening to the story with them.

The characters are needed for the plot.

It makes you like the old couple more.

It tells you it is a folk tale.

2

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning Suddenly, in the twilight … . Give two things that the snow girl did when she came alive. and

3

1 mark

… her lips flushed and opened.

What does flushed mean here?

1 mark

Which title best summarises the snow girl’s song? Tick one.

Melting Away The Miracle’s Rules The Pretty Snow Girl

By Frosty Night

5

1 mark

Look at the snow girl’s song. What do you think might happen next? Explain your answer.

I think

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

The Little Daughter of the Snow, by Arthur Ransome

4

Unit 7

The History behind Christmas Traditions

by The Telegraph

Retrieval

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 82 to 85

This text is an abridged version of a news article from The Telegraph newspaper. The article debunks some myths about Christmas customs and provides the reader with an explanation of the origins of some common Christmas traditions. This text is linked to Progress check 1, ‘A Christmas Tree’, in which Charles Dickens describes memories of a Victorian Christmas. Once the Progress check has been completed, you may wish to discuss the similarities and differences between the two texts.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 82 to 83) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 Looking at the layout, what type of text do you think this is? Where might you find a text like this?

It is a non-fiction (newspaper) article. I could find a text like this in a newspaper/magazine/online.

The children should be able to use the title and subheadings to identify this text as non-fiction.

Some will be able to use the two-column layout to give a more specific answer. You could show them a print newspaper to reinforce their understanding.

Non-fiction

2 This text is about Christmas traditions. Do you celebrate Christmas? What Christmas traditions do you participate in?

Answers will vary. Some children will have religious traditions. Others will have secular traditions. Some children might not celebrate personally but may have participated in events at school or in the local community. Make a list of traditions on the board that acknowledges the diversity of experiences within your class.

78

3 What do you know about where Christmas traditions come from?

Answers will vary. Some children will have some knowledge of Christmas traditions developing mostly in Victorian times, especially if they have studied the Victorians in history lessons. However, many children will probably think that Christmas traditions have always existed or have existed since the first Christmas.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary benefactor

derive

dowry

edible goods

mainstream

monarch

practice

reigns supreme

reputation

reveal

rotund

word got out

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Which edible goods would you choose to enjoy as part of a celebratory meal?

O

What sort of behaviour would give a person a good reputation at school?

O

What do think your interests reveal about you?

O

How many British monarchs can you name?

O

Smartphones have only recently become mainstream objects. What other technology do you think will also become commonplace?

Vocabulary activities O

Discuss that practice can refer both to practising to improve (e.g. ‘music practice’) and to the act of carrying something out (e.g. ‘putting into practice’). You could also highlight the difference between the noun practice and the verb ‘to practise’.

O

The word benefactor means ‘someone who does a good thing’. It comes from the Latin bene facere, meaning ‘to do good’. Challenge the children to think of other words with the ‘–or’ suffix (e.g. ‘actor’; ‘narrator’) and work out what the suffix means.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 80 to 81.

1 What is this text about?

Christmas traditions and where they come from.

2 What Christmas traditions are mentioned in the text?

Christmas trees (with lights/tinsel); Father Christmas/ Santa (and why he wears red); stockings; eating turkey. If the children are struggling to answer fully, encourage them to use the text’s subheadings as a guide.

3 According to the text, how did the story of Father Christmas start?

Saint Nicholas, a bishop from Turkey/Myra, gave a dowry/some money to two girls so they could get married.

4 Did you enjoy the text? Why? Why not?

Answers will vary. The children should be able to justify their responses (e.g. I liked it because it told me the stories behind Christmas traditions and I had never thought about them before).

3 Explore O

Point out that the text describes how Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, brought several popular Christmas traditions to the UK from Germany. Divide the class into small groups and ask them to research a Christmas tradition not mentioned in the article.

This could be one of the traditions the children contributed in the Get ready session. Ask the groups to report their findings to the class and record them in a table on the board.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the class into pairs. Ask the children to imagine that they are part of a Victorian family and each argue one side of the debate over whether to get a new Christmas tree.

There are good arguments for (e.g. they’re pretty/ exciting/fashionable; you get presents) and against (e.g. they’re expensive; candles could be dangerous; you have to cut down trees; you’re copying a celebrity). At the end of the session, take a class vote on who would decide to get a Christmas tree.

O

Writing task: Split the class into small groups and ask each group to create a table of the pros and cons of famous people promoting things and making them popular (e.g. you could ask one group to consider the benefits and drawbacks of a celebrity supporting a charity and ask another group to think about a celebrity that makes an expensive fashion item popular). You could also think about how sports personalities support particular brands.

Retrieval

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 7

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 85 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

2 First steps

Reading list Fiction A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and Robert Ingpen ‘A Christmas Tree’ by Charles Dickens (Linked text: Progress check 1) The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie dePaola The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell

As a class, collect details from the text to help you discuss how the character of Saint Nicholas is different from the Father Christmas that we think of today. Create a chart on the board and record the differences between them. Ask the children to think about things like the characters’ appearance; the reason they gave/give gifts; the people they gave/ give gifts to; and the places they live(d).

4 Skills focus

See pages 80 to 81

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of retrieval.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 7 Modelling slides and the Modelling retrieval guidance on page 80.

2 The children can then attempt the Retrieval questions on page 84.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Class reads A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig Non-fiction Horrible Christmas by Terry Deary The (Wonderful) Truth About Santa by B.K. Gendron Poetry ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ by Clement Clarke Moore Films The Polar Express (Castle Rock Entertainment, 2004) Websites The CBBC Newsround website hosts an informative video entitled: ‘What do the Victorians have to do with Christmas?’ (2019).

Non-fiction

O

79

Unit 7

Modelling retrieval

See Unit 7 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 16 to 17) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 How did Martin Luther recreate the beauty of stars twinkling through the pines indoors?

He took a tree home and attached candles to each branch.

Read the question and model locating the quote by running your finger along the lines until you find it. Model reading around the quote to identify the answer. You might need to remind the children that ‘pines’ refers to pine trees. Remind them that the answers to retrieval questions are in the text and they can usually use the words from the text in their answer. Finally, model writing an answer.

2 Name three things that Germans used to decorate their trees. glass decorations, edible goods and tinsel/strips of silver Read the question and point out the key word ‘three’. As there is no locator, model using the subheadings to identify the first section as the most likely to contain your answer. Read the section aloud and model highlighting useful information, drawing attention to key words (e.g. ‘decorate’). Finally, model writing the three phrases, keeping your answers concise by eliminating any extra words.

3 Look at the last section. Which country did turkeys come from?

America Read the question and draw attention to its locator and key words. Read the section and identify the key word ‘turkey’. Read around it to find where it came from. Some children may answer ‘England’ because the text says that Henry VIII was English. If so, discuss the meaning of ‘imported’ with them and refocus them on the extract. Establish that turkeys came from America and model writing the correct answer.

4 Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

The History behind Christmas Traditions, by The Telegraph

Prince Albert was the first person to eat turkey for Christmas.

80

In 1846 the royal family was sketched standing around a Christmas tree.

Saint Nicholas was originally from Myra.

Saint Nicholas wanted everyone to know about his kind acts.

False

This is a tricky format, so it is a good idea to demonstrate how the table works by reading the first statement.

Remind the children that if they think the sentence is true, they put a tick in the ‘True’ column and if they think it is false, the tick goes in the ‘False’ column. Next, model how to answer the question by reading each statement, checking it against the text and ticking the correct column. Explain that to gain 1 mark you would need to answer two statements correctly, and that all four must be correct to get 2 marks.

Retrieval questions mark scheme

See page 84

Answer

Guidance

1

The royal family were sketched standing around a Christmas tree.

Some inference is required as the text says it became fashionable after the family was sketched. Help the children understand the implied relationship between the sketch, which would have appeared in a newspaper seen by many people, and the tree’s popularity. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

some European countries

All of the distractors appear in the text, and the target section includes a reference to Turkey. However, the question’s key words should help the children identify the correct answer.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

6th December and 25th December

Some children may need a locator (the second section). Some may answer ‘Christmas Day’ and ‘St Nicholas’ Day’. If so, refocus them on the question, which asks for a date, and ask them to refine their answer. Award 1 mark for both correct answers.

Do not accept ‘Christmas Day’ or ‘St Nicholas’ Day’.

4

Bishops used to wear red.

5

turkey, stuffing and pigs in blankets OR pickled herring and meatballs OR tamales OR fried eel

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

This is a tricky question and some children will choose the distractor ‘He appeared in a Coca-Cola advert in red’. While true, it is not the reason given in the text for Santa wearing red. Point out that the answer must be what the text states is the actual reason rather than what people believe is true. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Encourage the children to scan the section for the key words ‘the world’. Highlight that this is a ‘find and copy’ question so the full meal, exactly as stated in the text, needs to be given for a mark to be awarded. If only part of the answer is stated (e.g. ‘turkey’; ‘meatballs’), the mark cannot be awarded. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

See page 85

?

Guidance

Remind the children to eliminate answer options until they are left with the most likely one. Although ‘twinkling’ does suggest a very slight movement, do not accept ’they were travelling’, as ‘shining’ is closer in meaning to the target word. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

1

They were shining.

2

People found out that he dropped bags of gold down a chimney that landed in a girl’s stocking.

If necessary, provide the children with a locator (the second section). Remind them that, as this is a summarising question, they need to find the main point of the section. Encourage them to highlight key information and then reduce this down to the essentials. Any reasonable summary of the paragraph should be accepted. Award 1 mark for an appropriate summary.

Skill: Summarising.

3

Similarity: They were both red and white.

Point out that 2 marks are available so two pieces of information are needed for both marks to be awarded. Provide a locator (the third section) if children struggle to identify the relevant subheading. Award 1 mark for one similarity or difference.

Award 2 marks for one similarity and one difference.

Skill: Comparison.

Difference: Father Christmas’ outfit is fur-trimmed whereas Saint Nicholas wore bishop’s robes.

4

The text calls it a legend, which means that we don’t know it definitely happened.

Some children may struggle with the meaning of ‘legend’. If so, briefly explain the word’s meaning. Award 1 mark for an explanation that identifies the story as a legend/notes that there is no evidence it happened. Skill: Inference.

5

Why do we eat mince pies? OR Why do we put wreaths on our doors? OR Why do we sing carols at Christmas?

This is an open question, but the children need to think about what a logical progression for the text would be. If they are struggling, refer back to some of the Christmas traditions discussed in class. Award 1 mark for any plausible prediction linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The History behind Christmas Traditions, by The Telegraph

Answer

Unit 7

Answer

81

Unit 7

The History behind Christmas Traditions,

by The Telegraph This article explains how some modern Christmas traditions came about. It answers some fascinating questions, including: Why do people have Christmas trees?

Why does Father Christmas look jolly and wear red? And who was the first person to eat turkey at Christmas?

Why do we have

What’s the story behind

Christmas trees?

Father Christmas, and why

It is thought the first person to bring

do we have stockings?

a tree indoors was the German

The story of Father Christmas starts

theologian Martin Luther. Walking

with Saint Nicholas, a bishop who

through a forest, he was so taken by

lived in Myra, Asia Minor (what is

the beauty of stars twinkling through

now known as Turkey) in the fourth

the pines that he took a tree home and attached candles to each branch.

The History behind Christmas Traditions, by The Telegraph

Germans decorated their trees with edible goods and glass decorations.

Tinsel was originally made in Germany from thin strips of silver. Electric lights were first created in 1895 by Ralph Morris, an American telephonist.

Christmas trees made it to Britain in

century. He had a reputation for giving to the poor and being kind to children.

Legend has it that Saint Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down the chimney of a poor man who could not afford his daughter’s dowry.

The bag fell into a stocking that had been left by the fire to dry.

He also dropped a bag of gold

the 1830s, and in 1841, Prince Albert

for the second daughter. The father

set up a tree in Windsor Castle. In

tried to find out who this mystery

1846, the royal family was sketched

benefactor was, and when he did,

standing around their Christmas tree,

Saint Nicholas begged him not to

after which the practice became very

reveal his identity.

fashionable.

Word soon got out, and when anyone received a secret gift, it Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

celebrate Saint Nicholas’ Day on 6th

While goose, boar and peacock have

December, when they leave out clogs

all been popular Christmas meats

or shoes to be filled with presents and

over the centuries, turkey reigns

sweets. Later, his feast day became

supreme as the traditional Christmas

associated with December 25th.

Day meal in the UK.

Unit 7

Nicholas. Some European countries

Why do we eat turkey on Christmas Day?

was always thought to be Saint

Legend has it King Henry VIII was

Why does Santa wear red?

the first English monarch to eat turkey

The legend goes that Santa’s suit is

on Christmas Day, popularising it

red because of a hugely successful

among the upper classes after the

DGYHUWLVLQJ FDPSDLJQ IRU &RFD &ROD

bird was imported from America.

that featured a big Father Christmas

The introduction of refrigerators in

wearing red robes with a white trim,

the 1950s brought the dish into the

the soft drink’s colours.

mainstream and onto dining tables around the country.

derive from the colours of Saint

However, turkey, stuffing and pigs

Nicholas. Over time, the bishops’

in blankets are not the norm for the

red and white robes were replaced

rest of the world; most countries have

E\ D IXU WULPPHG VXLW +LVWRULDQV

different classic Christmas meals. The

argue that bishops’ robes appeared

Swedes often eat pickled herring and

in

but

meatballs, in Mexico they eat tamales

the red one came to be linked

and in Southern Italy they favour

to Father Christmas during the

fried eel.

many

different

colours

19th century.

Saint

Nicholas

was

drawn

throughout history in various forms: thin, intellectual and even frightening. ,W ZDV &RFD &ROD©V DGYHUWV WKDW created the image of the rotund, jolly, ZKLWH KDLUHG PDQ ZH©UH DOO IDPLOLDU with today.

From ‘The history behind Christmas traditions: Saint Nicholas, mistletoe and crackers’, by Isabelle Fraser, 18 December 2017.

Copyright © Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2017.

The History behind Christmas Traditions, by The Telegraph

But the red and white actually

Unit 7

Retrieval 1

Name:

Look at the first section. Why did Christmas trees become fashionable in England?

1 mark

2

Look at the second section. According to the text, who celebrates St Nicholas’ Day? Tick one.

Germans some European countries Turkish people Americans

3

1 mark

Which two dates are associated with the feast of Saint Nicholas?

The History behind Christmas Traditions, by The Telegraph

and

4

1 mark

According to the text, why does Santa wear red? Tick one.

He appeared in a Coca-Cola advert in red.

Bishops used to wear red.

Red is a Christmassy colour.

Santa’s favourite colour is red.

5

1 mark

Look at the last section. Find and copy two Christmas meals eaten around the world.

1 2

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

2

Unit 7

Mix it up!

Name:

… the beauty of stars twinkling through the pines …

What does the word twinkling tell you about the stars? Tick one.

They were travelling.

They were shining.

They were dull.

They were big.

1 mark

Look at the second section. Summarise how Saint Nicholas became known for giving secret gifts.

1 mark

3

Compare the traditional outfits of Saint Nicholas and Father Christmas mentioned in the text. Give one similarity and one difference.

Difference

2 marks

4

Look at the last section. How does the text suggest that the story about Henry VIII eating turkey might not be true?

1 mark

5

Imagine you are the journalist who wrote this article. Write a subheading for the next section of your article.

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

The History behind Christmas Traditions, by The Telegraph

Similarity

Progress check 1

A Christmas Tree

by Charles Dickens Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 87 to 89

This text is from a nostalgic essay that reflects Charles Dickens’ central role in the Victorian movement to rediscover Christmas, a celebration that was in decline at the time. Dickens describes a magical festive scene from 1850 and begins to reflect on his own childhood memories of Christmas. In this text, the children will build on the learning from Unit 7 and on their knowledge of the Victorian period from the history curriculum.

You could explain that, in 1850, presents were placed on the tree rather than under it, so the wonderful decorations described in this text are gifts for the children. For guidance on running this task, see page 11.

Progress check questions mark scheme Answer 1

Guidance

sparkled

The children may find the language of this sentence tricky – ‘tapers’ is especially worth discussing. If some underline incorrect words (e.g. ‘brilliantly’; ‘lighted’), discuss the word class of the target word. Award 1 mark for both correct answers underlined. Skill: Word meaning.

glittered

multitude

innumerable

3

sugar-plums

If the children struggle to identify the key phrase in the text, break up the paragraph into smaller sections. The answer is quite far away from the locator quote. However, if they persevere with their reading around the key phrase, they should be able to find it. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Skill: Retrieval.

4

He enjoys it/likes remembering it.

Some children may think that the locator quote suggests a negative emotion due to its complicated grammar and use of ‘not’. If so, help them to substitute synonyms into the quote to understand its meaning (e.g. ‘I don’t care to resist’ means ‘I don’t want to refuse’). If necessary, explain that this means the author wants to spend time remembering his childhood, so this must be something he enjoys. Award 1 mark for a plausible feeling.

Skill: Inference.

5

At the beginning of the text the mood is happy/Christmassy/festive, but at the end the mood is serious/quiet/ thoughtful.

Provide locators (the first paragraph; the second paragraph) if the children struggle to answer this question. Award 1 mark for a reference to the festive atmosphere at the start of the text and the comparatively quiet atmosphere at the end of the text. Skill: Comparison.

Fiction

2

86

?

Encourage the children to find each answer option in the text and use the context to work out their meaning. You could also help them to break the words down into parts and compare them to other words they know (e.g. ‘multi–’ is a prefix meaning ‘many’, found in the word ‘multiply’, so ‘multitude’ might be the answer). You could break up the paragraph into smaller sections if necessary. Award 1 mark for both correct answers ticked.

Skill: Word choice.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

1

Name:

Look at the sentence below. Underline two words that mean the same as ‘shimmered’.

It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects.

1 mark

2

Look at the first paragraph. Which words does the author use to show that there is plenty of everything at Christmas? Tick two.

Progress check 1

Progress check 1

multitude innumerable perched imitation

3

1 mark

What was inside the jolly, broad-faced little men? Tick one. sugar sugar-plums sweetmeats chocolates

… my thoughts are drawn back, by a fascination which I do not care to resist, to my own childhood.

How does the author feel about remembering his childhood?

1 mark

5

Compare the mood at the beginning and end of the text. How does it change?

At the beginning of the text the mood is

but at the end the mood is .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1 mark

A Christmas Tree, by Charles Dickens

4

1 mark

Progress check 1 A Christmas Tree, by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Tree, by Charles Dickens This text was written in 1850, only a few years after Queen Victoria and her family had made the Christmas tree popular in Britain. In this extract, the author describes all the splendid presents and decorations that can be found in the branches of a Christmas tree. The magical scene he describes makes him begin to think about his own childhood and his memories of Christmas.

I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree. The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads. It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects. There ZHUH URV\ FKHHNHG GROOV KLGLQJ EHKLQG WKH JUHHQ OHDYHV DQG WKHUH ZHUH real watches (with movable hands, at least, and an endless capacity of EHLQJ ZRXQG XS GDQJOLQJ IURP LQQXPHUDEOH WZLJV WKHUH ZHUH )UHQFK SROLVKHG WDEOHV FKDLUV EHGVWHDGV ZDUGUREHV HLJKW GD\ FORFNV DQG various other articles of domestic furniture (wonderfully made, in tin, at Wolverhampton), perched among the boughs, as if in preparation for VRPH IDLU\ KRXVHNHHSLQJ WKHUH ZHUH MROO\ EURDG IDFHG OLWWOH PHQ PXFK more agreeable in appearance than many real men – and no wonder, IRU WKHLU KHDGV WRRN RII DQG VKRZHG WKHP WR EH IXOO RI VXJDU SOXPV WKHUH ZHUH ILGGOHV DQG GUXPV WKHUH ZHUH WDPERXULQHV ERRNV ZRUN ER[HV SDLQW ER[HV VZHHWPHDW ER[HV SHHS VKRZ ER[HV DQG DOO NLQGV RI ER[HV WKHUH ZHUH WULQNHWV IRU WKH HOGHU JLUOV IDU EULJKWHU WKDQ DQ\ JURZQ XS gold and jewels; there were baskets and pincushions in all devices; there were guns, swords, and banners; there were witches standing in enchanted rings of pasteboard, to tell fortunes; there were teetotums, KXPPLQJ WRSV QHHGOH FDVHV SHQ ZLSHUV VPHOOLQJ ERWWOHV FRQYHUVDWLRQ FDUGV ERXTXHW KROGHUV UHDO IUXLW PDGH DUWLILFLDOO\ GD]]OLQJ ZLWK JROG OHDI imitation apples, pears, and walnuts, crammed with surprises; in short, as a pretty child, before me, delightedly whispered to another pretty Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

collection of odd objects, clustering on the tree like magic fruit, and flashing back the bright looks directed towards it from every side – some RI WKH GLDPRQG H\HV DGPLULQJ LW ZHUH KDUGO\ RQ D OHYHO ZLWK WKH WDEOH and a few were languishing in timid wonder on the bosoms of pretty mothers, aunts, and nurses – made a lively realisation of the fancies of childhood; and set me thinking how all the trees that grow and all the things that come into existence on the earth, have their wild adornments DW WKDW ZHOO UHPHPEHUHG WLPH

Progress check 1

child, her bosom friend, “There was everything, and more.” This motley

A Christmas Tree, by Charles Dickens

Being now at home again, and alone, the only person in the house awake, my thoughts are drawn back, by a fascination which I do not care to resist, to my own childhood. I begin to consider, what do we all remember best upon the branches of the Christmas Tree of our own young Christmas days, by which we climbed to real life.

From ‘A Christmas Tree’, by Charles Dickens.

Unit 8

The Moomins and the Great Flood

by Tove Jansson

Relationship

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 94 to 97

This book, the first in the Moomins series, was published in Finland in 1945, but the Moomins are still popular today thanks to the books’ imaginative fairy-tale style and iconic illustrations. In this story, Moomintroll and Moominmamma are travelling through a dark and scary forest looking for Moominpappa. Tove Jansson’s use of evocative language to show changes in atmosphere and mood makes this text ideal for exploring relationship. The forest setting links this text to that of Unit 9. You could compare the two texts once both units have been completed.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 94 to 95) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 The title introduces the Moomins, who are madeup creatures. Have you read any other stories about made-up creatures?

All children should be able to contribute some ideas.

Some will already be familiar with the Moomins from their own reading. You could discuss why an author might want to make up a new creature rather than use a real person or animal (e.g. more creative freedom).

Fiction

2 The title of this story mentions a ‘great flood’.

What does the word ‘great’ tell us about the flood?

Answers will vary. Many children are likely to say that ‘great’ means that the flood is a good thing for the characters in the story. If so, remind them that ‘great’ also means ‘grand’, ‘important’ or ‘very big’, and ask them if a very big flood would be a good or bad thing.

Can they think of any other stories that feature great floods (e.g. Noah’s Ark). Are the floods positive or negative in these stories?

90

3 This is a quest story. Quest stories usually involve a long, dangerous search for something. Do you know any other quest stories?

Answers will vary depending on the children’s exposure to different texts. However, many will be able to contribute ideas from class or independent reading. These might include classic texts (e.g. The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum) or popular modern texts (e.g. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan; Journey to Jo’burg by Beverley Naidoo).

Language toolkit Key vocabulary And how!

anxious

company

disturb

faintly

flickering

gleamed

gripped

longing

snug

soothingly

stretch of water

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Do you like to have company or do you prefer to be on your own? Why?

O

When was the last time you felt snug and cosy?

Where were you and what were you doing?

O

When might you need to talk to someone soothingly? What would a soothing voice sound like?

O

Why might you say sorry if you disturb someone?

O

If someone speaks faintly, would you ask them to speak up or keep their voice down?

Vocabulary activities O

Gleamed is the past tense of the verb ‘to gleam’, meaning ‘to shine brightly’. Ask the children how many synonyms they can find for gleamed. Discuss how the past tense of flickering is a synonym for gleamed.

O

Ask the children to collect some synonyms for gripped (e.g. ‘clutched’; ‘squeezed’; ‘grasped’; ‘clung’; ‘held’) and place them on a ‘Shades of meaning’ chart (see page 15) in order of intensity.

O

And how! is an old-fashioned, informal interjection used to express strong agreement or enthusiastic acceptance. Demonstrate using it to reply to an invitation and then discuss informal equivalents that we use today (e.g. ‘For sure!’).

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

1 Where is this story set?

In the dark forest.

2 The children can then attempt the Relationship questions on page 96.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 97 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 92 to 93.

3 What are the characters looking for?

Somewhere to build a house before it gets too cold.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the class into pairs. Each pair should discuss the best things about the dark and the worst things about the dark. Once they have agreed on the top three best and worst things, they can share their ideas with another pair.

Do they have the same ideas?

O

Writing task: Ask the children to think about a contrasting setting for the extract (e.g. in a desert; in the snow; in the mountains; in a sunny meadow) and have a go at rewriting the first three paragraphs from the text using this alternative setting. They could draw on the vocabulary you discussed in the second Explore activity.

4 What is Moomintroll afraid of?

Dangerous creatures that might be in the forest.

Some children might also suggest that he is afraid of the dark.

5 Who or what lives in the swamp?

The Great Serpent.

3 Explore

O

O

Moomintroll is scared of what might be in the forest because it is dark. Discuss what makes the dark so frightening. Encourage every member of the class to contribute something they find scary (e.g. the dark; being alone; big dogs; ghosts; insects; heights; meeting new people) and make a class list. Are there any common themes or patterns? You could discuss some strategies for what to do when we feel scared.

Discuss the atmosphere in the extract and come up with some words and phrases to describe it. Start by drawing evidence from the text (e.g. ‘completely quiet’; ‘dim’; ‘twilight’; ‘peculiar’; ‘flickering’; ‘anxious’; ‘whisper’; ‘dangerous’; ‘so frightened’) and then add your own descriptions as a class (e.g. eerie; unnerving; mysterious). Discuss how the atmosphere would change if the setting were bright, sunny and open, and come up with some more vocabulary words to describe this.

Think about how characters in other quest fiction (e.g. Fox in The Animals of Farthing Wood) are similar to and different from Moomintroll and his mother. Draw a line down a piece of flipchart paper or the whiteboard to record the information (e.g.

Moomintroll relies on his mother to keep him safe but Fox is the leader of the animals; Moomintroll is scared of what he might find on his journey through the forest whereas Fox is brave and heroic).

Relationship

2 Who are the characters?

Moomintroll, his mother Moominmamma and a little creature with no name.

O

Unit 8

1 Model the skill using the Unit 8 Modelling slides and the Modelling relationship guidance on page 92.

2 First steps

Reading list Fiction The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann The Dark by Lemony Snicket Journey to Jo’burg by Beverley Naidoo The Legend of Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Quest by Aaron Becker Class reads The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Outlaw by Michael Morpurgo Non-fiction Amazon Rainforest by William B. Rice Rainforests in 30 Seconds by Jen Green Poetry ‘For Forest’ by Grace Nichols (Linked text: Unit 9) A Year of Nature Poems by Joseph Coelho Films Finding Nemo (Pixar Animation Studios, 2003)

4 Skills focus

See pages 92 to 93

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of relationship.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Fiction

The Golden Compass (New Line Cinema, 2007)

91

Unit 8

Modelling relationship

See Unit 8 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 24 to 25) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 What atmosphere is the author trying to create in this extract? a scary atmosphere/a feeling that something dangerous or scary might happen This question requires the children to think about their impressions of the whole extract. Explain that ‘atmosphere’ refers to the mood or feeling you get from the text. You could refer back to the Explore session, when the children thought about the darkness and what makes them scared. Model how to use this knowledge to identify the atmosphere in this text. Explain how the author builds tension using phrases such as ‘they walked on, further and further into the silence and the darkness’ to create a scary atmosphere.

2 Look at the second paragraph. Why do you think the author included this information about Moomins?

It explains why the Moomins needed to go into the forest even though they find it scary. It makes the reader wonder whether they will find a house in time for October.

Model using the locator to find the relevant paragraph. Read it aloud and discuss what it tells you about the Moomins (e.g. They are looking for a place to build a house; they are in a hurry; they like snug, warm places).

Explain that you need to say why this information is important to the rest of the extract. Establish that it shows that the Moomins are not comfortable in the dark, scary forest, but that they are on a mission to find a snug, warm place before winter comes. Discuss the interest and suspense that this ‘quest’ adds to the story.

3 What event changes Moomintroll’s mood from frightened to brave?

He sees the creature and realises that it is very little and not scary at all.

This is a tricky question because of the lack of locators. Model identifying the key words ‘frightened’ and ‘brave’ and explain that you will use these to help you scan the text. Ask the children if they can remember when Moomintroll got scared – was it at the beginning, in the middle or towards the end? Model finding ‘frightened’ in the fourth paragraph and read on together, focusing on Moomintroll’s feelings. Highlight relevant parts of the text and discuss these before formulating your answer.

4 Why do you think the author has chosen the deepest part of a forest as the setting for this extract?

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson

The trees make the setting dark and shadowy. OR The characters can’t see and this creates a sense of danger/mystery/makes the story suspenseful/exciting for the reader.

92

Recap your discussion from Modelling question 1 about the frightening atmosphere of this text. Ask the children what about the forest makes the mood feel scary, and elicit that the trees/darkness contribute to the mood. Model using this knowledge to understand why the author has chosen this setting. Explain how choosing a scary setting makes the reader want to know how the characters will deal with any dangers that come their way, and that the suspense keeps the reader interested.

Relationship questions mark scheme Answer

See page 96 Guidance

1

The forest is dark and scary.

2

When Moominmamma shines the light on the creature/the Moomins meet the little creature.

The children must understand that they are looking for a theme, or main idea, that sums up the entire text. Once they have decided on an answer, encourage them to check it by highlighting words and phrases that relate to their chosen theme – can they find several examples to support their answer? Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

If necessary, prompt the children to reread the second half of the extract (from the fifth paragraph) and think about how the atmosphere is different. They could then work out when the atmosphere changes. Award 1 mark for a correct reference to the sighting/conversation with the little creature.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

They make the atmosphere more tense/ frightening, because the characters are going to be left in the dark again/ Moomins can’t stand the cold.

Encourage the children to think about how the mood of these sentences is different from the conversation that came before them. Award 1 mark for any reference to a plausible effect.

Award 2 marks for any reference to a plausible effect plus an appropriate explanation using evidence from the text.

4

It makes me want to find out whether they will be able to cross the water without the Great Serpent catching them!

Alternative answers might include: ‘I want to see if Moomintroll will carry on being brave if something scary happens’; ‘I want to know if they will ever get out of the forest’. Encourage children whose answers are vague (e.g. ‘It’s really exciting’) to expand on their reactions by making links to the events in the text.

Award 1 mark for a plausible answer linked to the text.

5

people who want to read an exciting story

If the children choose an incorrect option, encourage them to think back to your discussion of this text’s genre in the Get ready session. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

See page 97

?

Answer

Guidance

1

Because all the trees made it dim/gloomy.

If some children struggle, provide them with a locator (the first paragraph). Some might quote directly from the text and others might paraphrase; either is acceptable. Award 1 mark for the correct answer. Skill: Retrieval.

2

No, because she says they should walk faster anyway/that she hopes they are too small to be noticed.

Answers will vary. Some children may give a positive answer (e.g.

‘Yes, because she says “everything looks worse in the dark”, and nothing bad happens to them in the text’). This is acceptable provided it is linked to the text. Award 1 mark for any plausible explanation linked to the text. Skill: Inference.

3

two eyes (staring from behind a tree)

Some children may need to be directed to the last sentence of the paragraph. If they use information from later in the text (e.g. ‘He saw the little creature’) remind them to use the locator.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer. Skill: Retrieval.

4

weakly

5

I think the Great Serpent appears and they have to fight it, because the mood makes me think something bad will happen/because the Great Serpent was mentioned at the end.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

If the children struggle, ask them to start by eliminating the answer options they think are incorrect, using the whole of the locator sentence to help them. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

Answers will vary, depending on the children’s reactions to the text. Accept anything plausible that is linked to the events of the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson

Unit 8

Answer

93

Unit 8

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson In this passage, Moomintroll and his mother, Moominmamma, go into the dark forest looking for the right place to build a house. Moomintroll is very scared in the great forest, and he’s not the only one.

It must have been late in the afternoon one day at the end of August when Moomintroll and his mother arrived at the deepest part of the great forest.

It was completely quiet, and so dim between the trees that it was as though twilight had already fallen. Here and there giant flowers grew, glowing with a peculiar light like flickering lamps, and furthest in among the shadows moved tiny dots of cold green.

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson

¦*ORZ ZRUPV § VDLG 0RRPLQPDPPD EXW WKH\ KDG QR WLPH WR VWRS DQG WDNH a closer look at them. They were out searching for a snug, warm place where they could build a house to crawl into when winter came. Moomins cannot stand the cold at all, so the house would have to be ready by October at the latest.

So they walked on, further and further into the silence and the darkness.

Little by little, Moomintroll began to feel anxious, and he asked his mother in a whisper if she thought there were any dangerous creatures in there.

“I shouldn’t think so,” she said, “though perhaps we’d better go a little faster anyway. But I hope we’re so small that we won’t be noticed if something dangerous should come along.”

Suddenly Moomintroll gripped his mother tightly by the arm. “Look!” he said, so frightened that his tail stuck straight out. From the shadows behind a WUHH WUXQN WZR H\HV ZHUH VWDULQJ DW WKHP At first Moominmamma was frightened too, but then she said soothingly: “It’s really a very little creature. Wait, and I’ll shine a light on it. Everything looks worse in the dark, you know.”

And so she picked one of the big glowing flowers and lit the shadow up with it. Then they saw that there really was a very little creature sitting there, and that it looked friendly and a little scared. “There, you see,” said Moominmamma.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 8

“What sort of thing are you?” asked Moomintroll, who had had time to feel brave again. “And this is my mother. I hope we didn’t disturb you.”

(You can see that his mother had taught him to be polite.)

“Not at all,” said the creature. “I was sitting here feeling rather sad and longing for company. Are you in a big hurry?”

“Yes,” said Moominmamma. “You see, we’re looking for a nice, sunny place where we can build a house. But perhaps you’d like to come with us?”

“And how!” said the little creature, leaping out towards them. “I’d got lost and thought I’d never see the sun again!”

So they continued, all three, taking a large tulip with them to light the way.

But around them the darkness thickened all the time, the flowers glowed more faintly beneath the trees, and finally the very last one went out. In front of them gleamed a black stretch of water, and the air was heavy and cold.

“Oo, how horrid,” said the little creature. “That’s the swamp. I don’t dare go there.”

“Because that’s where the Great Serpent lives,” said the little creature in a very low voice, looking about him in all directions.

“Pooh!” said Moomintroll, wanting to show how brave he was. “We are so small that we wouldn’t be noticed. How will we ever find the sunshine if we don’t dare cross it?

Just come along with us.”

From The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson. Copyright © Tove Jansson, 1945, Moomin Characters™.

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson

“Why not?” asked Moominmamma.

Unit 8

Relationship 1

Name:

Which sentence best describes the theme of this text? Tick one.

The forest is dark and scary.

The little creature appears.

The Great Serpent lives in the swamp.

Moomins cannot stand the cold.

2

1 mark

At first, the mood in this extract is dark and frightening. What event changes this?

1 mark

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson

3

But around them the darkness thickened all the time, the flowers glowed more faintly beneath the trees, and finally the very last one went out. In front of them gleamed a black stretch of water, and the air was heavy and cold.

What effect do these sentences have on the atmosphere? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

4

How does the last paragraph encourage you to read on?

1 mark

5

Who do you think this book has been written for? Tick one. people who have been affected by floods people who want to learn facts about forests people who want to read an exciting story people who like funny stories

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 8

Mix it up!

Name:

Why did it seem like twilight when the Moomins arrived at the great forest?

1 mark

2

Look at the third paragraph. Moominmamma tells Moomintroll that she doesn’t think there are any dangerous creatures in the forest. Do you think she really believes this? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

1 mark

3

Look at the fourth paragraph. What did Moomintroll see that frightened him?

1 mark

… around them the darkness thickened all the time, the flowers glowed more faintly beneath the trees …

Which word is closest in meaning to faintly? Tick one. brightly weakly strongly noisily

5

1 mark

What do you think might happen next in the story? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

I think

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson

4

Unit 9

For Forest

by Grace Nichols

Inference

Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 102 to 105

Born in Guyana in 1950, Grace Nichols has lived in the UK since 1977. Nichols, who has a strong interest in Guyanese folk tales, delights in wordplay and places a strong emphasis on rhythm, musicality and the sounds of words. Guyana is culturally linked to the Caribbean, and Nichols is very much influenced by the oral traditions, rhythms and culture of Caribbean folklore. Guyana is also part of the Amazon rainforest region, and this poem was inspired by the poet’s visit to the rainforest as a young woman. Once both units have been completed, you could compare the treatment of the forest in this poem to the forest setting already encountered in Unit 8.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 102 to 103) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What type of text is this? What features would you expect to find in it?

The children should be able to use the text’s layout to identify it as a poem. They will refer to a variety of features, possibly including: short lines; separate verses; rhyming words; rhythm; repeated words.

Poetry

2 This is a poem about the rainforest. What do you know about rainforests?

Answers will vary depending on the children’s background knowledge. You could record what they know on a graphic map and return to it later in the lesson. The rainforest in the poem is in Guyana so looking at where Guyana is on a world map would also be useful. You could also refer to some resources from the Reading list at this point.

98

3 Have you been in a forest or woods before?

What was it like? How did it make you feel?

Answers will vary. Some children will have experience of being in a forest. Your school may also have Forest School classes in the school grounds or may be situated near a forest. For children who have not experienced woodland settings first-hand, you could share your own experiences and show them some video clips and pictures of any forests you have visited. Make a list of the vocabulary that the children use to describe these forest environments and their own feelings about them.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary broadcast

caress

eldorado

gown

howl

letting her hair down

roosting

teeming

tune in

Vocabulary discussion questions O

If your friend was letting her hair down, how might she being behaving?

O

Forest floors are teeming with life. What sort of things would you find living there?

O

How could you broadcast some good news?

O

What would you expect to find roosting in a tree?

O

What could you tune in to?

Vocabulary activities O

The word caress is used to describe how someone touches something. Ask the children to collect synonyms for caress and place them on a ‘Shades of meaning’ chart (see page 15).

O

Eldorado comes from Spanish and is used to mean ‘a place where wealth is easy to find’.

Challenge the children to think of other words that are related to wealth.

O

Letting her hair down is an idiom, meaning to behave freely and have fun. See if the children can think of any other idioms related to body parts (e.g. ‘it cost an arm and a leg’, ‘give someone the cold shoulder’, ‘I’m all ears’) and explain their meanings.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 100 to 101.

2 What can you hear in this forest?

Water(sound); birds/birdsound; monkeys.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Listen to a recording of Grace Nichols reading her poem (see Reading list for a suggested resource). Notice the repetition, the refrain, the rhythms and rhymes. Split the class into pairs and ask each pair to read the poem out loud and choose their own sounds or percussion to accompany their reading of the poem. The readings could be performed in class and the children could discuss which readings they enjoyed most, and why.

O

Writing task: Using the poem as inspiration, ask the children to work in pairs and write a poem about a place they know well, using refrains, repetition and rhyme.

3 What does the forest dream about?

Mountain; when the earth was young; the caress of gold.

4 What does the poet say we should do at the end?

Keep the forests. You could discuss what the poet might mean by this, and why they include this message right at the end of the poem.

3 Explore O

O

O

Rainforests ensure the delicate natural equilibrium of nature, protecting everything from endangered species to the climate. Their destruction, largely due to human-led deforestation, has a catastrophic impact on local and global climates and habitats.

Discuss the importance of the rainforests to the world and the differences between the Amazon region and your class’s home environment, making links to the geography curriculum as appropriate.

Guyana is a country on the north coast of South America. It is known for its huge areas of rainforest, and for its rich natural resources such as sugar, bauxite (used to produce aluminium) and gold.

Guyana closely aligns with Caribbean culture.

Choose a place or region in Guyana to find out more about, and compare it with where you live.

The language of this poem, particularly the grammar and some of the vocabulary, is influenced by Grace Nichols’ Caribbean roots. Explore some other Caribbean poets, or poets with Caribbean heritage, and compare their use of language. You could look at poems by James Berry, John Agard, Benjamin Zephaniah and Valerie Bloom, as well as reading some more of Nichols’ work (see Reading list).

The children could make an illustrated display of their favourite Caribbean poems.

4 Skills focus

See pages 100 to 101

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of inference.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 9 Modelling slides and the Modelling inference guidance on page 100.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Inference

1 What is this poem about?

The forest/rainforest. If the children answer ‘a woman’, explain about the use of personification in this poem.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 105 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Reading list Fiction The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson (Linked text: Unit 8) Stanley Saves the Amazon Rainforest by Tony Frais Class reads The Explorer by Katherine Rundell Non-fiction 100 Facts: Rainforests by Camilla de la Bédoyère Amazon Adventure by Lonely Planet Kids Poetry A Caribbean Dozen by John Agard and Grace Nichols (eds) Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah Websites The CLPE Poetryline website includes a recording of Grace Nichols reading ‘For Forest’.

The Rainforest Alliance website hosts ‘Kids’ Games and Activities’ and a section aimed at educators.

The WWF website’s Tropical Rainforests section is useful for background information.

Poetry

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 9

2 The children can then attempt the Inference questions on page 104.

2 First steps

99

Unit 9

Modelling inference

See Unit 9 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 20 to 21) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Forest could keep secrets. Using evidence from the text, explain why the forest could be good at keeping secrets.

We know that the forest is good at keeping things to herself because it says ‘she don’t broadcast her business’.

Model scanning the text for evidence linked to keeping secrets. Get the children to think about what helps them to keep secrets, to help them identify the key words. Underline anything useful and then decide which supports the idea best.

2 What do the words watersound and birdsound tell you about what you might see and hear in the forest?

Give two things. waterfalls OR rushing rivers OR animals in water birds calling OR singing Identify the key words in the text and track back and forward around them to develop some context. Draw on the discussions in the Get ready and Explore sections to support the children’s understanding of what water sounds might be – waterfalls, rivers, animals moving in water – and think about what you might see if you heard this ‘watersound’. Think about the noises that birds make, and about what kind of birds might be living in the rainforest, as well as considering other rainforest animals that might make sounds. Explain that one idea for watersound and one idea for birdsound is needed for each mark.

3 … the teeming creeping of her forest-ground. Is the ground really moving? Explain your answer.

No. It just seems as if it is moving because there are lots of animals and insects moving around on the forest floor.

Locate the key phrase and read around it. First, answer the question by discussing whether the forest floor is really moving. Then discuss what might make a floor look like it was moving. Underline any words that might help, such as ‘teeming’, which was discussed in the Key vocabulary section.

4 and when night come and darkness wrap her like a gown What does this suggest to you about night-time in this forest?

That it is very dark/thick/smothering, with not a bit of light seeping through anywhere.

Start by modelling finding the locator quotation in the poem and reading around it for context. Ask the children to think about what the phrase ‘darkness wrap her like a gown’ means, and discuss what it would feel like if they completely covered themselves with a thick, dark cloak or blanket. Use the vocabulary from this discussion to formulate your answer.

For Forest, by Grace Nichols

Inference questions mark scheme

100

Answer 1

2

See page 104 Guidance The children will already have encountered the idiom ‘letting … hair down’ as part of the Key vocabulary, but you may wish to recap its meaning if the children are not sure. Award 1 mark for the correct answer circled.

She is relaxed.

The forest keeps herself to herself.

Some may choose ‘The forest is loud.’ because the poem refers to the noise of the forest. If so, highlight that the question is focusing only on the lines in the quote. If some children are struggling, remind them of the strategies used for Modelling question 1. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

I think it would be scary/unsafe/ something bad might happen, because it says the forest is like a bad dream at night.

This question requires the children to interpret the meaning of the target verse and form their own opinion, so answers will vary.

Accept any plausible answer that shows understanding of the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible impression. Award 2 marks for a plausible impression with appropriate evidence from the text.

4

Because this is an everyday sound in the rainforest so she is used to it.

The children should be able to understand that the noise of the howler monkeys is a normal sound in the forest. If some struggle, refer them back to your discussions of rainforest sounds in Modelling question 2. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

5

That we have to look after our rainforests and other natural environments.

Although this question includes a locator, the children will also need to consider the message conveyed in the poem as a whole: that the forest is a good thing/that the forest is like a person with feelings. If some struggle, prompt them to think about synonyms for ‘keep’ in the last line (e.g. ‘protect’; ‘look after’). Award 1 mark for a reference to protecting the forest.

See page 105

?

Answer

Guidance

1

tunes in to sounds OR lets her hair down OR keeps secrets OR dreams OR roosts OR stretches OR stirs

If necessary, prompt the children to scan for verbs in the poem and underline groups of words that tell them things that the forest does before selecting two points. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

2

tell everyone

3

That it is thick/dark/velvety/silky/ luxurious/suffocating.

Some children may refer only to the texture of the darkness being like fabric, while others may choose a positive or negative adjective. Accept any plausible answer that is linked to the quoted text. Award 1 mark for any plausible answer.

Skill: Word choice.

4

What the forest used to be like (when she dreams about it) and how it has changed, because it says she dreams about ‘when earth was young’. OR What the animals of the forest really get up to, because she ‘tune in every day’ and watches what goes on.

Some children might look for evidence for the secrets Forest keeps in the verse that indicates she keeps secrets and so struggle to answer this question. If so, encourage them to read on to the next verse to find out what Forest thinks about.

Award 1 mark for a plausible secret. Award 2 marks for a plausible secret plus an explanation linked to the text.

Skill: Prediction.

5

The Forest Queen OR Help the Forest OR The Magic of the Forest

Answers will vary but may reflect the following themes: the density and extent of the forest; the importance of protecting the forest; the personification of the forest (as a woman).

If some children struggle, remind them to look at the poem as a whole and think about its main message. Award 1 mark for any plausible title. Skill: Summarising.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

If necessary, remind the children of the strategies used to answer Modelling question 1. You could also refer back to the discussion of the target word from the Key vocabulary. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

For Forest, by Grace Nichols

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

Unit 9

Answer

101

Unit 9

For Forest, by Grace Nichols This poem is about the beautiful and mysterious rainforests of Guyana and how we must make every effort to retain our rainforests.

Forest could keep secrets Forest could keep secrets Forest tune in every day to watersound and birdsound Forest letting her hair down WR WKH WHHPLQJ FUHHSLQJ RI KHU IRUHVW JURXQG But Forest don’t broadcast her business no Forest cover her business down IURP VN\ DQG IDVW H\H VXQ and when night come and darkness wrap her like a gown

For Forest, by Grace Nichols

Forest is a bad dream woman Forest dreaming about mountain and when earth was young Forest dreaming of the caress of gold Forest roosting with mysterious eldorado

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

wake her up with howl

Unit 9

and when howler monkey Forest just stretch and stir to a new day of sound but coming back to secrets Forest could keep secrets Forest could keep secrets

For Forest, by Grace Nichols

And we must keep Forest

From A Caribbean Dozen, by Grace Nichols. Copyright © Grace Nichols 1994. Reproduced with permissions from Curtis Brown Group Ltd on behalf of Grace Nichols.

Unit 9

Inference 1

Forest letting her hair down What does this line suggest about the character of the forest? Circle one.

She is messy.

2

Name:

She is shy.

She is relaxed.

She is lonely.

1 mark

But Forest don’t broadcast her business no Forest cover her business down from sky and fast-eye sun Which of the following options best matches the meaning of the lines above?

Tick one.

The forest likes to show off.

The forest is dark.

The forest is loud.

The forest keeps herself to herself.

3

1 mark

Look at the third verse. What do you think it would be like to be in this forest at night? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

For Forest, by Grace Nichols

4

and when howler monkey wake her up with howl Forest just stretch and stir Why do you think the forest is not alarmed by the monkeys’ howls?

1 mark

5

What is the author’s message in the last line of the poem?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 9

Mix it up!

Name:

Give two things that the character ‘Forest’ does.

1 2

2

2 marks

But Forest don’t broadcast her business What does the word broadcast mean in this sentence? Tick one. keep secret whisper tell everyone hide

3

1 mark

and when night come and darkness wrap her like a gown What does the group of words wrap her like a gown suggest about the darkness in the forest at night?

1 mark

If the character ‘Forest’ told you one of her secrets, what do you think it would be?

Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

5

What do you think would be the most effective alternative title for the whole poem?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

For Forest, by Grace Nichols

4

Unit 10 Retrieval

The Borrowers

by Mary Norton Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 110 to 113

Published in 1952, The Borrowers tells the story of the Clocks, who live under the floorboards of a human house and ‘borrow’ what they need from its owners. Generations of children have been fascinated by the idea of a miniature world beneath their feet – a theme explored further in the Unit 11 text. The Borrowers provides children with a new perspective on everyday items and the resourceful ways in which they can be employed.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 110 to 111) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 This is a story about tiny people (about the size of your hand) who live among humans. What do you think the advantages would be of being so small?

What disadvantages would there be?

This question will help the children start to think about what it means to be a Borrower. Possible disadvantages might include the danger of being stepped on or eaten by big people’s pets. Possible advantages might include being able to use things that big people wouldn’t miss, such as a reel of thread for a stool.

Fiction

2 Have you ever borrowed something and forgotten to give it back? Or have you lent something to someone and they have returned it broken?

How did it make you feel?

Answers will vary, but are likely to show a negative reaction to this sort of ‘borrowing’. Discuss the pros and cons of borrowing things from others (e.g. You don’t have to buy the borrowed item yourself, but if you lose it or damage it you might have to replace it).

106

3 The family in this story ‘borrow’ everything they need, but they don’t ask the owners first. Do you think this is borrowing, or is it something else?

The children will be alert to the fact that borrowing without asking is not right, and may say it is stealing. Others may say it is all right if the family are taking things that the owners don’t need; some might even think that it is good that the Borrowers are reusing or recycling things that were not being used. Encourage a range of viewpoints.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary cautious

faint

frond

glory

hollow

jagged

mellow

remote

scurry

vibrated

wander

whirr

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Easter eggs are hollow so that they can be filled with chocolates. What other things can you think of that are hollow?

O

Jagged rocks make it dangerous to swim in the sea. What other things can be jagged?

O

Would a cautious person be more likely to dive into a swimming pool or use the steps?

Why?

O

What animals scurry? How would you describe their movements?

O

Why might it take a long time to reach a remote village?

Vocabulary activities O

Wander and ‘wonder’ are words that sound similar but have different meanings. Ask the children to put each of these words in a sentence that uses it correctly.

O

The author uses the onomatopoeic word whirr to describe the noise a clock makes.

An onomatopoeic word is supposed to sound like the noise it describes. Ask the children to think of some other onomatopoeic words (e.g. ‘buzz’; ‘pop’; ‘splat’).

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

1 Who are the main characters in this text?

Pod and his daughter Arrietty (Clock). Some children might also mention Arrietty’s mother, as Arrietty thinks about her in this extract. If so, discuss the fact that she does not play a big enough role in this extract to be a main character.

2 The children can then attempt the Retrieval questions on page 112.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 113 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 108 to 109.

2 How did Arrietty’s family get their surname?

From the clock at the entrance of their home.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Divide the class into groups of six to eight. Assign half of the group to argue for and half against the Borrowers’ right to take things from the human house, making a list of three bullet points to sum up their argument. Groups could then present both sides of the argument to the rest of the class. You could even appoint a member of staff as a judge to decide who makes the most convincing argument.

O

Writing task: Discuss the fact that Arrietty is going borrowing for the first time in the extract, and that she thinks it is both scary and exciting. Ask the children to write about a time that they did something new (e.g. rode a bike or a skateboard; baked a cake; participated in a competition). Ask them to describe what they did, who they did it with and how they felt about it.

3 Where does Arrietty have to wait?

Under the clock.

4 What happened straight after the clock whirred suddenly?

The clock struck the time/struck three o’clock. You may need to remind the children that some clocks, like Big Ben, chime to tell the time.

5 Where did Pod go?

Outside./To the doormat.

3 Explore

O

As a class, imagine a room, such as a bedroom or a living room, and make a list of the main pieces of furniture that you might see there. Now ask the children to imagine that they are Borrowers and think about things they could borrow to make tiny versions of these items in the room (e.g. a match box for a bed; some cotton wool for a mattress). The children could even make some of these pieces of furniture as part of the D&T curriculum.

Draw on the discussion from Get ready about the moral issues surrounding being a ‘borrower’. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Polonius says, ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be’. Discuss what this means with the children, asking them whether they would rather borrow or lend something. Use some additional questions to relate your discussion back to the text (e.g. How do you think the humans who live in the house feel about their possessions going missing? Do you think the house’s owners know they are sharing the house with the Borrowers? Do you think they would be happy to help the Borrowers if they did?). You could put the children in pairs and ask them to explain their answers to their partner.

4 Skills focus

Fiction The Little Grey Men by ‘B.B.’ Max and the Millions by Ross Montgomery (Linked text: Unit 11) Mrs Pepperpot Stories by Alf Proysen Truckers by Terry Pratchett Class reads The Borrowers by Mary Norton Non-fiction Guinness World Records 2020 by Guinness World Records This Book Is Not Rubbish by Isabel Thomas What a Waste by Jess French Films The Borrowers (Polygram Filmed Entertainment, 1997) Gulliver’s Travels (Twentieth Century Fox, 2010)

See pages 108 to 109

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of retrieval.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Reading list

Websites The Guinness World Records website has a section about the smallest things in the world.

Fiction

O

Retrieval

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 10

1 Model the skill using the Unit 10 Modelling slides and the Modelling retrieval guidance on page 108.

2 First steps

107

Unit 10

Modelling retrieval

See Unit 10 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 16 to 17) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Look at the first paragraph. What does Arrietty see that tells her she is nearly at the entrance to the upstairs world? a faint light at the end of the passage Read the question and model using the locator to find the relevant part of the text. Next, identify key words in the question (e.g. ‘see’, ‘upstairs world’). Model scanning through the paragraph looking for similar words.

‘See’ is not there but highlight ‘saw’ as a related word. Finally, model reading around this word to find the answer to the question.

2 Look at the second paragraph. Pod tells Arrietty to stay under the clock. What is she waiting for? the sign/a sign from Pod Again, model using the question’s locator to block out the relevant part of the text. Next, look for key words in the question and model highlighting ‘stay under the clock’. Model scanning the second paragraph for a similar phrase and finding a group of words that is not identical but is very similar. Model reading around this phrase to find your answer.

3 As Arrietty scrambles through the hole, she sees bright sunshine outside. What season is it in the text? spring Model noting that this question does not have a locator, so you will need to rely on its key words. Model identifying these (e.g. ‘scrambles’; ‘hole’; ‘bright sunshine’; ‘season’). Model scanning for these in the text, encouraging the children to help you, and highlight each one as you spot it. Explain that you do not need to find all of the words: once you have found one or two you can start scanning in this part of the text to look for an answer.

4 Tick to show whether each statement about the doormat is true or false.

True The doormat is chestnut coloured.

False

The doormat comes up to Pod’s neck.

The doormat is the name of an island.

The doormat looks like a field of corn.

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

This question is quite tricky because the doormat is described in two paragraphs, the fourth and the last.

Remind the children that they have encountered this type of question before and recap how to fill in the table. Next, model reading each statement and locating its key word(s). Scan for and underline these in the text, before modelling reading around them to decide whether the statement is true or false.

108

Retrieval questions mark scheme

See page 112

Answer

Guidance

1

He might need to get back in quickly.

Remind the children to use the strategies practised in the Modelling questions, focusing on identifying and underlining key words and reading around them to answer the question.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

pride

Some children might copy ‘tears’. This is acceptable if they can verbally justify their reasoning by explaining that Arrietty’s tears are a result of feeling moved rather than upset. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

Some children may struggle to identify the relevant part of the text. Remind them to use the key words from the question, some of which will be exactly the same in the text (e.g. ‘two hundred years’). If necessary, direct them to the third paragraph and help them scan for this key phrase. If the children seem to be relying on extrinsic knowledge (e.g. ‘It told the time’), remind them that they should be able to point to their answers in the text.

Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

guarded the/their threshold measured the/their time

5

an open front door

grass

like a dry leaf in the wind

If the children are struggling to find the answers, encourage them to scan for the key words, including looking for words related to ‘see’. Award 1 mark for both correct answers ticked.

As the answer is paraphrased, the children may need extra support. If they look for the answer ‘mouse’, encourage them to read on. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

See page 113

?

Answer

Guidance

1

That it is risky/dangerous/scary, because it sounds like they might need to run away or escape very fast/ that something might chase them.

If a child answers ‘Because it is dangerous’, remind them that the question asks them to explain their answer and that it is worth 2 marks. Encourage them to expand their answer by considering what sort of dangers Arrietty and Pod might face. Award 1 mark for a plausible inference. Award 2 marks for a plausible inference plus an explanation linked to the text.

Skill: Inference.

2

gleamed

Encourage the children to identify past tense verbs if they are struggling (e.g. ‘vibrated’; ‘saw’; ‘gleamed’). Reading around shows that ‘vibrated’ is connected to sound and that ‘gleamed’ is connected to light, which should help them identify the correct option. Award 1 mark for the correct answer underlined.

Skill: Word meaning.

3

far OR remote

Some children may answer ‘far above her head’. If so, remind them that the question asks for one word only. It is important they learn to read the questions quickly and accurately.

Award 1 mark for a correct answer. Skill: Word choice.

4

3 o’clock

You may need to remind the children that some clocks, like Big Ben, chime to tell the time. Award 1 mark for the correct answer. Skill: Inference.

5

Arrietty waits under the clock.

2

Pod appears on the doormat.

4

Pod and Arrietty go through the gates.

1

Arrietty crouches and sees the bright sunshine outside.

3

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Some children may benefit from finding, highlighting and numbering each event in the text before filling in the answer boxes. Award 1 mark for the correct numbers in all boxes.

Skill: Summarising.

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

4

Unit 10

Answer

109

Unit 10

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton The Clock family, Pod, Homily and their daughter Arrietty, are Borrowers – tiny people who live under the floor of a house inhabited by humans. To keep safe, Borrowers try not to be seen by anyone, so they rarely go out into the open.

In this extract, Arrietty goes above the floorboards for the first time when she joins Pod on his trip to gather some bristles from the humans’ doormat.

There were other gates; all of which Pod left open (“Never shut a gate on the way out,” he explained in a whisper, “you might need to get back quick”) and, after a while, Arrietty saw a faint light at the end of the passage.

She pulled her father’s sleeve. “Is that it?” she whispered.

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

Pod stood still. “Quietly now,” he warned her. “Yes, that’s it: the hole under the clock!” As he said these words, Arrietty felt breathless but, outwardly, she made no sign. “There are three steps up to it,” Pod went on, “steep like, so mind how you go. When you’re under the clock you just stay there; don’t let your mind wander and keep your eyes on me: if all’s clear I’ll give you the sign.”

The steps were high and a little uneven but Arrietty took them more lightly than Pod. As she scrambled past the jagged edges of the hole she had a sudden blinding glimpse of molten gold: it was spring sunshine on the pale stones of the hall floor. Standing upright, she could no longer see this; she FRXOG RQO\ VHH WKH FDYH OLNH VKDGRZV LQ WKH JUHDW FDVH DERYH KHU DQG WKH firm outline of the hanging weights. The hollow darkness around her vibrated with sound; it was a safe sound – solid and regular; and, far above her head, she saw the movement of the pendulum; it gleamed a little in the half light, remote and cautious in its rhythmic swing. Arrietty felt warm tears behind her eyelids and a sudden swelling pride: so this, at last, was The Clock!

Their clock … after which her family was named! For two hundred years it KDG VWRRG KHUH GHHS YRLFHG DQG SDWLHQW JXDUGLQJ WKHLU WKUHVKROG DQG measuring their time.

But Pod, she saw, stood crouched beneath the carved archway against the light: “Keep your eyes on me,” he had said, so Arrietty crouched too. She saw the gleaming golden stone floor of the hall stretching away into the distance;

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 10

she saw the edges of rugs, like richly coloured islands in a molten sea, and VKH VDZ LQ D JORU\ RI VXQOLJKW ¤ OLNH D GUHDPHG RI JDWHZD\ WR IDLU\ODQG ¤ the open front door. Beyond she saw grass and, against the clear, bright sky, a waving frond of green.

Pod’s eyes slewed round. “Wait,” he breathed, “and watch.” And then in a flash he was gone.

Arrietty watched and waited. All was still except for a sudden whirr within the clock. A grinding whirr it was, up high in the hollow darkness above her head, then the sliding grate of slipped metal before the clock sang out its chime. Three notes were struck, deliberate and mellow: “Take it or leave it,” they seemed to say, “but that’s the time – ” A sudden movement near the shadowed lintel of the front door and there was Pod again, bag in hand, beside the mat; it rose knee deep before him like a field of chestnut corn. Arrietty saw him glance towards the clock and then she saw him raise his hand.

From The Borrowers, by Mary Norton. Copyright © Mary Norton, 1953. Reproduced by kind permission of Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd.

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

Arrietty saw him scurry across the sunlit floor. Swiftly he ran – as a mouse runs or a blown dry leaf – and suddenly she saw him as ‘small’.

“But,” she told herself, “he isn’t small.

He’s half a head taller than mother … ” She watched him run round a FKHVWQXW FRORXUHG LVODQG RI GRRU PDW into the shadows beside the door.

There, it seemed, he became invisible.

Unit 10

Retrieval 1

Name:

Look at the first paragraph. Why doesn’t Pod shut the gates on the way out?

1 mark

2

Arrietty felt warm tears behind her eyelids and a sudden swelling pride: so this, at last, was The Clock!

Find and copy one word from the sentence that tells you how Arrietty feels about seeing the clock.

1 mark

3

What two things has the clock done for the last two hundred years?

1 2

4

2 marks

Look at the fourth paragraph. What does Arrietty see when she crouches beneath the archway? Tick two. a wooden floor an open front door grass

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

humans

5

1 mark

Look at the sixth paragraph. Which of the following options best describes the way in which Pod runs across the floor to the doormat? Tick one. like a lion like a tree like a dry leaf in the wind like a chestnut

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 10

Mix it up!

Name:

“Never shut a gate on the way out,” he explained in a whisper, “you might need to get back quick” …

What does this tell you about the adventure Pod and Arrietty are embarking on?

Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

2

Look at the sentence below. Underline one word that means the same as ‘glimmered’.

The hollow darkness around her vibrated with sound; it was a safe sound – solid and regular; and, far above her head, she saw the movement of the pendulum; it gleamed a little in the half light, remote and cautious in its rhythmic swing.

1 mark

3

Look at the sentence beginning The hollow darkness around her … . Find and copy one word that tells you the space inside the clock is large.

1 mark

4

Look at the paragraph beginning Arrietty watched and waited. What time is it?

5

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton

1 mark

Look at the whole text. Number the events to show the order in which they happen in the text.

Arrietty waits under the clock.

Pod appears on the doormat.

Pod and Arrietty go through the gates.

Arrietty crouches and sees bright sunshine outside.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1 mark

Unit 11 Prediction

Max and the Millions

by Ross Montgomery Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 118 to 121

Max and the Millions is the exciting story of 10-year-old Max, who feels like an outsider at school because he is deaf. One day, Max discovers something incredible – a tiny world in a pile of sand on the missing caretaker’s floor.

However, this microscopic world is at war, so Max undertakes to bring about peace while trying to find his missing friend. The extract’s light-hearted and humorous tone will easily engage the children with the text’s themes of disability and difference. This unit is linked to the Unit 10 text, The Borrowers, which is also about a group of tiny people living in close proximity to humans.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 118 to 119) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 The hero of this story is deaf. How might hearing loss affect a person’s daily life?

Some children will have first-hand experience of hearing loss, and others might know someone with a hearing impairment, but many will have no experiences to draw on. Explain that there are different levels of hearing loss and that people with hearing loss manage it in a range of ways (e.g. using sign language; wearing hearing aids; lip reading).

Discuss some ways in which people can adapt everyday activities (e.g. using subtitles on the TV; installing Wi-Fi doorbells that send notifications to a phone).

Fiction

2 Look at the illustration. Using evidence of what you can see and information from other stories that you have read, what do you think this story is about?

The children may say that it is about a boy finding a race of tiny people or that it is about a giant boy finding a race of regular-sized people. You could increase the challenge by asking the children to explain what evidence they have used to draw their conclusions.

114

3 What problems might the boy, Max, face when he tries to engage with the tiny, blue-haired people?

The children may pick up on the fact that Max might hurt them unintentionally. Some children might also consider the blue-haired people’s perspective and suggest that he might frighten them or seem strange to them.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary disbelief

focused

fumes

inhaled

intricate

microscopic

miniature

minuscule

robes

scattered

swear

trickles

Vocabulary discussion questions O

What does it mean if your eyes are focused on an object in the distance?

O

If I scattered flower seeds all over the soil, can you show me how I would have done it?

O

Why would you swear to do something?

O

How might you feel if you inhaled some smoke or pollution fumes?

O

Where might you find a beautiful object that is intricate and minuscule?

Vocabulary activities O

The prefix ‘micro–’ in microscopic means ‘small’. Challenge the children to think of other words that use this prefix (e.g. ‘microphone’; ‘microwave’; ‘microscope’; ‘microchip’) and to work out the meanings of the words they collect.

O

Complete a ‘Shades of meaning’ activity (see page 15) with the children using trickles at one end of the diagram.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

1 What did Max use to see the tiny kingdom?

Microscope goggles (that belonged to Mr Darrow/ the caretaker).

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 121 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 116 to 117.

2 What size were the people?

Really small./The size of ants.

O

Speaking and listening task: In pairs, the children could do a ‘hot seat’ activity where one child is Max and the other child asks questions about how he is feeling at different points in the text. Questions to Max might be: Why did you pick up the goggles? How did you feel when you saw the huts and the people?

How did your feelings change when you realised that the people were alive and running away from you?

Were you worried you would hurt someone?

O

Writing task: The children could read a few pages from their current reading book. As they read, they could jot down some notes about what they think will happen next. They could then use these notes to write a prediction and explain it using the text.

You could then allow them to read on for another few pages and revise their predictions.

3 Explore

O

O

Explain that Mr Darrow and Max share the hobby of model making. Ask the children to form small groups and discuss their hobbies or interests. These may be organised activities, either inside or outside of school, or things they do for fun in their own time.

Ask them to think about what sort of skills they need to be successful at their chosen activities and if there are any skills that all the activities have in common (e.g. hard work; determination; team work; precision; communication; creativity; problem solving).

As a class, look at some characters with disabilities in other stories (e.g. Captain Hook in Peter Pan; Percy Jackson in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief; Arthur in Brightstorm). Discuss what you notice and what you think about these characterisations.

Ask the children to decide which character they think they would like to read about most.

As a class, discuss famous people you have heard of who had/have a disability (e.g. Louis Braille; Stephen Hawking; Ellie Simmonds; Evelyn Glennie).

Ask the children to consider these questions: What have these people done that makes them good role models? What sort of skills did they need to achieve their ambitions? Do the children think they share any of these qualities? Encourage them to explain their answers.

4 Skills focus

See pages 116 to 117

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of prediction.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 11 Modelling slides and the Modelling predictions guidance on page 116.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Reading list Fiction The Borrowers by Mary Norton (Linked text: Unit 10) Brightstorm by Vashti Hardy The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift and Sally Prue The Minpins by Roald Dahl Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Class reads The BFG by Roald Dahl Non-fiction Under the Microscope: Earth’s Tiniest Inhabitants

by Baby Professor Unseen Worlds by Hélène Rajcak and Damien Laverdunt Poetry ‘In the Land of Giants’ by George Szirtes Films The BFG (Walt Disney Pictures, 2016) Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (Walt Disney Pictures, 1989)

Fiction

4 What did all the little people do when they saw Max? Squeaked with terror and ran away/into the huts/ houses to get away from Max.

Prediction

5 Where next?

3 What did Max think the tiny people were at first?

Models (made by Mr Darrow)./Not alive.

O

Unit 11

2 The children can then attempt the Prediction questions on page 120.

2 First steps

115

Unit 11

Modelling prediction

See Unit 11 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 22 to 23) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 ‘Mr Darrow will come back and tell Max off for touching his things.’ Do you agree with this prediction?

Tick one. Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

No

Yes

Because Mr Darrow and Max worked on the castle together, so they are friends.

Read the question and model looking for Mr Darrow’s name in the text. Underline all instances and discuss what you can tell from the surrounding text (e.g. Max takes the goggles from his desk; Max thinks he turned Max’s castle into a kingdom; Max thinks Mr Darrow is the best model maker). Use this information to decide whether Mr Darrow will be angry with Max. Model ticking an answer and writing a sentence to support it, acknowledging other answers are possible (e.g. Yes, because Max took Mr Darrow’s goggles without asking).

2 It was the most beautiful, perfect, intricate model Max had seen in his entire life. Do you think that Max will make more models in the future? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

No, because Mr Darrow has already made the best model possible and filled it with real people.

Model finding the locator quotation in the text and reading around it for context clues, focusing on Max’s reaction to seeing how his model has changed. Use his reaction to justify a prediction of whether he will make more models in the future. Model writing an answer with an explanation based on the text, acknowledging other answers are possible (e.g. Yes, because Max will build more places for the blue-haired people to live).

3 Look at the paragraph beginning It was a boy. Do you think that Max will end up hurting the bluehaired people? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

Yes, because he has nearly crushed one of them already and they are too small to see without microscope goggles.

Read the question and identify the correct part of the text. Draw attention to the fact that Max could have crushed the boy ‘without realising it’. Ask the children whether they think this could happen again and use their answers to form your prediction. Point out you must give a two-part explanation for 2 marks, and model scanning the whole text for other useful evidence. Acknowledge other answers are possible (e.g. No, because Max is used to working with models and he will be careful now).

4 Look at the paragraph beginning Max stared at the boy. Who might this boy be? Explain your answer.

He is a king/prince, because he is wearing robes and a crown, and the text mentions a castle.

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery

Model reading the paragraph and underlining information about the boy. Use this to form a prediction about who he might be. You could look back through the text for other information to support your prediction (e.g. the castle; the mention of a kingdom), explaining that this question would be worth 2 marks.

116

Prediction questions mark scheme Answer 1

Yes

Guidance

Because he can stop them getting crushed.

OR No

See page 120

The children may use their extrinsic knowledge to answer prediction questions such as these. They may also refer to similar stories they have read (e.g. The Borrowers).

Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction with one piece of evidence from the text.

Because they have houses with everything they need in them.

2

Yes, because he thinks they are exciting.

OR No, because he wants to protect them.

Provided the prediction links to characterisation or events in the text, it should be accepted. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction with one piece of evidence from the text.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

They will see that Max isn’t hurting the boy in blue robes who is still outside and they will go back out into the city.

If the children struggle, explain that the blue-haired people are likely to react to what happens last in the extract, and encourage them to refer to this event as evidence for their prediction.

Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text.

4

Max Speaks to The Boy

5

Yes, because the boy in blue robes isn’t scared of Max. OR No, because Max nearly crushed him so he will be angry with Max.

Some children might choose the distractor ‘Max Is Terrified’. If so, encourage them to think about how Max is feeling at this point in the extract: is he more scared or interested? Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

This question builds on the answer to the previous question.

Encourage the children to think about what Max and the boy might talk about. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction with one piece of evidence from the text.

See page 121

?

Answer

Guidance

1

They make it seem like Max was in a hurry/determined (to see what was on the floor/around the castle).

Some children may pick an effect that applies to only one of the words (e.g. ‘It tells you that Max took something that didn’t belong to him’). If so, refocus them on the question and remind them to look for one effect that applies to both words.

Award 1 mark for any plausible effect that can be applied to both words. Skill: Word choice.

2

concentrated

3

furniture OR fireplaces OR unmade beds

The children must write ‘unmade beds’, as this is a ‘find and copy’ question. References to the roofs or windows are also unacceptable as the question specifies that the items must be inside the huts. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

4

Impression: Max looks up to/admires Mr Darrow.

If the children find this format challenging, encourage them to find their evidence before deciding on an impression. Accept evidence that is paraphrased or taken directly from the text.

Award 1 mark for a plausible impression. Award 2 marks for a plausible impression with appropriate evidence from the text. Skill: Inference.

Evidence: Mr Darrow has made a tiny model kingdom and Max says that Mr Darrow is the only person who could have done it.

5

Max Discovers the Blue-Haired People

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Some children may tick the word ‘peeked’, as it is a strong distractor. If so, encourage them to think about the word ‘focused’ and help them to realise that it doesn’t mean ‘looked quickly’, but ‘looked until it became clear’. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

Accept anything that conveys Max discovering the tiny bluehaired people for the first time. If some children need support, provide them with multiple choice options. Award 1 mark for any plausible title that summarises the main event of the extract. Skill: Summarising.

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

Unit 11

Answer

117

Unit 11

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery Max and Mr Darrow, the caretaker at Max’s boarding school, share a love for model making. However, one day Mr Darrow disappears, leaving Max trying to work out what has happened to him. In this extract, Max discovers a group of tiny, blue-haired people living in the models they have made.

Max grabbed the microscope goggles from Mr Darrow’s desk and marched over to the castle. He crouched down, pulled the goggles over his head and focused on the floor beneath him. His breath caught in his throat.

The castle was surrounded by hundreds of miniature wooden huts.

Thousands, in fact. The huts had doorways and windows and roofs made of microscopic palm leaves, and chimneys with actual smoke coming out of them. Max could even see furniture and fireplaces and unmade beds WKURXJK WKHLU PLQXVFXOH KDQG FDUYHG ZLQGRZV

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery

And standing in the streets, staring up at him, were thousands upon WKRXVDQGV RI WLQ\ EOXH KDLUHG SHRSOH Max laughed in disbelief. The people were no bigger than ants, and there was every kind of person you could imagine: young people and old people and dukes and duchesses and babies and beggars, all staring back up at him. They were so realistic that Max could swear some of them were actually pointing at him, too.

Mr Darrow hadn’t just come back – he’d turned Max’s castle into a kingdom. It was the most beautiful, perfect, intricate model Max had seen in his entire life. Who else but Mr Darrow could have made it? Who else could have created an entire city filled with thousands of handmade people, who really did look like they were pointing and screaming and running away and …

Max stopped. He took the goggles off, blinked a few times and looked back down. This time, he really couldn’t believe his eyes.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 11

He wasn’t imagining it. This wasn’t like the time he accidentally inhaled too many model glue fumes and thought his bedroom ceiling was made of toast. The tiny people were running away from him. All of them. ,W DOO KDSSHQHG LQ WKH EOLQN RI DQ H\H ¤ OLNH ZDWFKLQJ D VSHG XS ILOP 7KH SHRSOH VFDWWHUHG WKURXJK WKH FLW\ DW VXSHUIDVW VSHHG PDNLQJ ZKLVSHU TXLHW squeaks of terror. Max could see parents pulling their children into huts and slamming the doors, and soldiers leaping on to the backs of fleas and riding DZD\ DQG FURZGV SRXULQJ GRZQ VLGH VWUHHWV OLNH WULFNOHV RI EULJKW EOXH rainwater.

This wasn’t a model. These weren’t handmade people. They were alive.

And then Max saw a tiny movement on the sand in front of him.

It was a boy. He was standing on his own outside the city, just in front of Max’s right foot. If Max had moved another centimetre forward, he’d have crushed the boy like a bug without realising it.

0D[ VWDUHG DW WKH ER\ 7KH ER\ VWDUHG EDFN +H KDG EULJKW EOXH UREHV WKDW were far too big for him.

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery

And balanced on his head was a tiny wooden crown.

From Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery. Copyright © Ross Montgomery, 2018. Published by Faber & Faber Limited.

Unit 11

Prediction 1

Name:

Do you think the blue-haired people will need Max’s help? Tick one.

Yes

No

Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

1 mark

2

Do you think that Max will tell anyone else at his school about the blue-haired people? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

1 mark

3

Read from the paragraph beginning It all happened in the blink of an eye … to the end of the text. What do you think the blue-haired people will do next? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery

4

Which of the following would be the most appropriate title for the next chapter in the story? Tick one.

The Boy in Blue Makes a Model Max Speaks to the Boy Max Is Terrified Max Watches a Film

5

1 mark

Read from It was a boy … to the end of the text. Do you think Max will end up becoming friends with the boy? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 11

Mix it up!

Name:

Max grabbed the microscope goggles from Mr Darrow’s desk and marched over to the castle.

What effect do the words grabbed and marched have in this sentence?

1 mark

2

He crouched down, pulled the goggles over his head and focused on the floor beneath him.

What does the word focused mean in this sentence? Tick one. concentrated peeked glanced stopped

3

1 mark

Look at the second paragraph. Find and copy two things Max sees inside the tiny huts.

1 2

Look at the whole text. What impression do you get of how Max feels about Mr Darrow? Give one impression and one piece of evidence from the text.

Impression

Evidence

2 marks

5

Look at the whole text. What title could be used to summarise this extract?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery

4

2 marks

Unit 12 Inference

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright

by Marcia Williams Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 126 to 129

This accessible text explores childhood in wartime as well as offering an introduction to the art of diary writing.

When World War II breaks out, Flossie Albright is nine years old. Her mother has died, and her father is required to join up, leaving Flossie and her baby brother with their great uncle. Flossie’s neighbour, Miss Joan, gives her a diary and encourages her to use it to write her own war story. You could discuss this text alongside that of Unit 13 and compare the two accounts of a young person’s experience of World War II.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 126 to 127) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What is unusual about the layout of this text?

Why is it set out in this way?

Answers will vary. The children should be able to identify that there is a letter embedded in the extract.

Encourage them to look at the first two lines and use the date and the ‘Dear Diary’ line to identify the diary format. Briefly discuss what a diary is if necessary.

Fiction

2 Thinking about the title of the text and the dates in it, what big events do you think might have been going on while the character was writing their diary?

Answers will vary. Some children may need a little help to understand that this is a war diary and that this entry is from right at the start of World War II. Discuss what the children know about the war and what life was like for children during the war.

Depending on their previous learning, they may be able to contribute information about some aspects of the war (e.g. evacuation; rationing; air, sea or land warfare; the Blitz). You could share some resources from the Reading list if desired.

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3 What type of text is a diary: fiction or non-fiction?

What other books do you know that include diary entries? Does anyone keep a diary?

Answers will vary. Explain that a real diary would count as non-fiction, but that many authors write fictional historical diaries to bring a different time period to life for the reader. Some children may be able to contribute other examples of diary texts (e.g.

Anne Frank’s diary; the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series).

Language toolkit Key vocabulary determined

estate

exterminate

forces

orphans

protect

proud

reckon

regiment

undergardeners

welling up

whippet

Vocabulary discussion questions O

How many of the armed forces can you name?

What is the difference between a force and a regiment?

O

What are you determined to achieve in your life? What qualities will help you?

O

How much time in a week do you reckon you spend reading?

O

Why do people often exterminate the weeds in their gardens?

Vocabulary activities O

The children should be relatively familiar with the prefix ‘ex–’, meaning ‘out of’ or ‘away from’. Ask them to make a list of words they know that begin with this prefix and then use dictionaries to collect some words that are new to them. You could challenge them to make sentences using these new words.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

4 Skills focus

See pages 124 to 125

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of inference.

1 Who does this diary belong to?

A girl called Flossie. The children may also be able to share other details about Flossie (e.g. her last name; her age; details of her physical appearance; her hobby) from the text.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 12 Modelling slides and the Modelling inference guidance on page 124.

2 Why has Flossie’s dad gone away?

He has been called up to join the forces in case there is a war.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 129 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 124 to 125.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: The children could jot down some brief notes about the past seven days.

Then, in pairs, they could take turns telling each other about their week. Encourage them to describe the events that happened and say how these made them feel.

O

Writing task: Put aside a few minutes to allow the children to write a private diary entry every day for a week. At the end of the week, discuss how they feel about their diaries, using questioning to scaffold their thinking (e.g. How did writing your diary make you feel? Would you like to keep writing your diary? How would you feel if someone else read your diary?).

4 Where does Flossie live?

At her Great Uncle Colin’s house/on the General’s estate/in Honeysuckle Cottage/in Dorset.

3 Explore O

Look at several fictional and non-fictional diary entries (e.g. Samuel Pepys; Anne Frank; Diary of a Wimpy Kid). Discuss these examples and create a class set of ‘rules for diary writing’ (e.g. date the entry; write in the first person; write as if writing to a trusted friend; be honest; write about your feelings about the events in your life as well as recording the events themselves).

O

Discuss the use of language in Flossie’s diary, encouraging the children to think about how the author brings her to life as a character. You could discuss her use of capital letters and underlining, as well as instances of informal language (e.g. ‘’cos’; ‘flipping’; ‘nicked’; ‘cost a bit’; ‘ain’t’). You could then explore the contrasting language of Miss Joan’s letter.

O

Point out that relatively few people still write traditional diaries, and that social media sites, where users record the events of the day, discuss their interests or express their feelings, are a modern-day equivalent. Discuss differences between diaries and social media (e.g. social media is public, whereas a diary is private or even secret; social media posts are not always honest, whereas diaries are meant to be completely honest; social media can be a place where bullying can happen, whereas writing a diary is believed to support better mental health as it provides somewhere for you to offload and organise your feelings). You could use this opportunity to remind the children of age limits for using social media sites, as well as exploring more generally the pros and cons of social media.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Inference

2 The children can then attempt the Inference questions on page 128.

Reading list Fiction The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo (Linked text: Unit 13) Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian I Am David by Anne Holm The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall Class reads The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier Non-fiction The Story of Anne Frank by Brenda Ralph Lewis War Boy by Michael Foreman World War II for Kids by Richard Panchyk Poetry What Are We Fighting For? by Brian Moses and Roger Stevens Website The National Geographic Kids website has a useful fact file on World War II.

Fiction

3 Which family members are left at home with Flossie?

Her brother Boo and Great Uncle Colin. If the children mention General Mole or Miss Joan, you could explain that they are neighbours rather than family members.

Unit 12

2 First steps

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Unit 12

Modelling inference

See Unit 12 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 20 to 21) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 MY DAD’S GONE TO JOIN THE ARMY! Why did Flossie’s dad join the army? Explain your answer.

He had no choice because every man over 20 years old had to join up and he was over 20.

Model finding the locator quotation and reading around it. Explain that this would be a 2-mark question, so you must make two points. Read the sentence beginning ‘All men over twenty … ’ and discuss what it tells you. Think aloud: If you ‘have to’ do something, does that mean you have a choice? Would ‘all men over twenty’ include Flossie’s dad?. Model using this information to formulate an answer.

2 … I still HATE Dad for going. I do, I flipping DO … except I don’t. What does this tell you about how Flossie feels about her dad going away?

She doesn’t really hate her dad. OR She is very sad about her dad having to go away. OR She feels confused and sad.

Model scanning the text to find the quotation. Point out that although Flossie says she hates her dad first, she then says ‘except I don’t’. Model reading around to find out more. Point out that in the first sentence of the text, Flossie says ‘it makes me SO sad’ and in the paragraph after the quotation she says she ‘was welling up’ when she waved goodbye to her dad. Model using this information to infer that Flossie is very sad/upset that her dad left.

3 Nobody knows for sure whether there will be a war or not. Find two pieces of evidence in the text to back up this statement.

Men like Flossie’s dad have to join up as there ‘MIGHT’ be a war.

The Prime Minister says there won’t be a war but Miss Joan says there will/thinks it is ‘almost certain’.

Model scanning the whole text for the characters’ views on ‘whether there will be a war or not’. Skim-read each paragraph and highlight any relevant information (e.g. ‘he’ll be back in the shake of a lamb’s tail’; ‘maybe war’). Remind the children that the question only asks for two pieces of evidence.

4 Why do you think Miss Joan wrote her note to Flossie?

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams

She wanted to cheer Flossie up and help her feel brave.

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Explain that you must look at the content of Miss Joan’s letter and think about why it was written. Discuss the children’s ideas and model reading through the letter, underlining information that explains Miss Joan’s intentions (e.g. ‘we must all try to be brave’; ‘help you through this difficult time’). Finally, model formulating an answer based on the text and your background knowledge.

Inference questions mark scheme Answer 1

2

See page 128 Guidance

to take her mind off her dad being away

to make her feel happier and less lonely

Because the diary is posh/expensive and Flossie is only a child/the relative of the gardener so she wouldn’t have enough money to buy it herself.

Remind the children to use their background knowledge as well as the text to answer inference questions. Ask them how they would feel if they watched Flossie saying goodbye to her dad. Award 1 mark for each correct answer ticked, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

Some may respond with a vague answer (e.g. ‘It’s expensive’).

If so, encourage them to extend their answer by explaining why this would make people think Flossie must have stolen it.

Award 1 mark for a reference to Flossie not being able to afford the diary.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

at night/at the end of the day/ when it is dark

If the children struggle, ask them why Flossie might need to burn a candle while writing her diary. Award 1 mark for a reference to Flossie writing at night.

4

He has a head gardener/undergardeners/a cook. OR He owns a large estate. OR His daughter gave Flossie an expensive diary.

If the children struggle, ask them to think about how they would know that someone (e.g. a member of the royal family; a celebrity) was rich. Encourage them to find similar clues about General Mole in the text. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

5

Men over 20 had to join up but old men, like Uncle C, didn’t, so the only men left are very old or under 20.

The children may find it useful to create a simple graphic organiser to arrange the information they find in the text.

Award 1 mark for a reference to men under 20 and old men staying home from the war.

See page 129

?

Answer

Guidance

1

The required information is at the end of the paragraph.

Encourage the children to identify key words or phrases in the question and skim-read the paragraph to find the answers.

Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

Cook gave her and Boo some cocoa.

Miss Joan gave her the diary and the note.

2

It makes it seem more personal/ less formal. OR It shows that Flossie is being herself.

3

before you know it

4

They both have dads who have gone off to the army. OR They are both female.

OR They both live on General Mole’s estate.

Do not accept references to both characters living in the past/ living through World War II: these are fictional characters, and the war has not yet started in the text. Encourage the children to focus on a similarity that sets Flossie and Miss Joan apart from the other characters. Also do not accept ‘they live in the same house’; explain that they live in separate buildings on the same estate. Award 1 mark for a plausible similarity linked to the text. Skill: Comparison.

5

I think the war will start and Flossie’s dad will have to fight, because Miss Joan thinks there will be a war.

Any plausible response is acceptable provided it uses information from the text to justify the idea. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text.

Skill: Prediction.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

If necessary, refer back to your discussion of Flossie’s use of language in the Explore session. Encourage the children to think about diary conventions and why the author might have wanted to write this way. Award 1 mark for a reference to Flossie speaking in a personal/informal manner/being herself.

Skill: Word choice.

Encourage the children to use the context to work out their answer: would it reassure Flossie to know that her father wouldn’t be back for a long time? How long would it take to shake a lamb’s tail? Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

Unit 12

Answer

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Unit 12

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright,

by Marcia Williams This is Flossie’s first entry in her posh new diary. She is writing just before World War II starts. Flossie’s dad has just left to join the army and Flossie and her baby brother Boo are left at home on General Mole’s estate.

Thursday 27th July 1939 Dear Diary, I know that you don’t know much about me yet – and I will tell – but I just got to write this first, ’cos it makes me SO sad …

MY DAD’S GONE TO JOIN THE ARMY!

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams

He’s gone with General Mole from the big house to join the Dorsetshire Regiment. All men over twenty years have to join the forces now, because we MIGHT go to WAR WITH GERMANY, but I still HATE Dad for going.

I do, I flipping DO … except I don’t.

Our Prime Minister, Mr Neville Chamberlain, says there won’t be a war, but Miss Joan, the general’s daughter, says there will and I believe her. Miss Joan and I were waving our dads off together and she must’ve noticed that I was welling up. Anyway, when they was gone Cook took Boo and me into the kitchen for some cheering cocoa, and Miss Joan came in and gave me this diary, with a note.

27th July 1939 Dear Flossie, I know that you are very upset that your father has joined up, but we must all try to be brave. Mr Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party are determined to take the whole of Europe for themselves, and they will

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 12

try to exterminate anyone that stands in their way. We must be ready to stop him and to protect those countries and peoples weaker than ourselves, however hard it is to see our fathers go from home.

I hope that this diary will help you get through this difficult time. You can write down all your feelings and tell your own history of the war, if there is one, which I am afraid is almost certain.

Be a brave girl and look after your baby brother, so that your father can be proud of you when he returns home.

Yours sincerely, Miss Joan

Now MY lovely Diary, I’ve written the sad bit, so if my candle keeps burning, I can tell you about me! I’m nine and a quarter years old and Uncle C says I’m skinny as a whippet. I love to draw, so expect to find your pages covered!

I live with my DAD (well, I did until this afternoon), my Great Uncle Colin, who’s too old to fight in a war, and my baby brother, Boo, who’s too young – he’ll be one next month.

My Dad is Archie Albright and if Mr Hitler kills him, Boo and I will be orphans, ’cos our lovely mum died of the pneumonia after Boo was born.

Dad says that if there ain’t no war, he’ll be back in the shake of a lamb’s tail.

So I’m going to pray for peace very, very hard and be brave, just like he said.

We live on General Mole’s estate in Honeysuckle Cottage. Uncle C is the KHDG JDUGHQHU ¤ H[FHSW QRZ WKDW DOO WKH XQGHU JDUGHQHUV KDYH MRLQHG XS WR fight the “maybe war”, he’s just head of himself. We only got the very young and the very old left on the estate now!

From My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams. Copyright © Marcia Williams, 1992. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE1 5HJ. www.walker.co.uk

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams

So here I am with no dad, but a posh diary! If anyone sees me with it, I reckon they’ll think I nicked it! The paper is a flipping miracle: it’s all smooth, with no woody bits. It must’ve cost a bit!

Unit 12

Inference 1

Name:

Look at the note from Miss Joan. Why do you think Miss Joan gave Flossie the diary? Tick two. to protect her from Hitler and the Nazis to take her mind off her dad being away to make her feel happier and less lonely to help her look after her baby brother

2

2 marks

… I reckon they’ll think I nicked it!

Why does Flossie say people will think she stole the diary? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

1 mark

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams

3

… lovely Diary, I’ve written the sad bit, so if my candle keeps burning, I can tell you about me!

At what time of day do you think Flossie is writing?

1 mark

4

Look at the whole text. Give two pieces of evidence from the text that suggest that General Mole is a rich man.

1 2

5

2 marks

Look at the last paragraph. Explain why only the very young and the very old are left on the estate.

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 12

Mix it up!

Name:

Look at the paragraph beginning Our Prime Minister … . Give two things that happened to Flossie immediately after she waved her dad off.

1 2

2

2 marks

The paper is a flipping miracle: it’s all smooth, with no woody bits.

What is the effect of the word flipping here?

1 mark

3

Dad says that if there ain’t no war, he’ll be back in the shake of a lamb’s tail.

Which of the following options would be the best replacement for the group of words in the shake of a lamb’s tail? Tick one. in the spring

in a long while never

4

1 mark

What do Flossie and Miss Joan have in common?

1 mark

5

What do you think might happen next? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

I think

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright, by Marcia Williams

before you know it

Unit 13 Inference

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips

by Michael Morpurgo Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 134 to 137

Diaries are an excellent way to encourage children to develop empathy with fictional characters, and The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, a diary narrated through the eyes of 12-year-old Lily, provides an accessible and sensitive introduction to World War II. Lily lives in a seaside village and hasn’t been much affected by the war. However, one day in 1943 she attends a meeting in the church. There she finds out that her village is going to be used for top-secret army exercises and her life changes forever. You may wish to discuss the links between this text and My Secret War Diary (Unit 12) once both units have been completed.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 134 to 135) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What type of text do you think this is? What features do you notice that make it different from other fictional texts you have read?

The children should notice the date at the top of the text and recognise it as a diary entry, especially if Unit 12 has been completed. They will see from the date it is telling a story from a long time ago and some children will know that this date was during World War II. You could ask the children to tell you about any other books they have read that include journal or diary entries.

Fiction

2 Michael Morpurgo is the author of this text.

Have you read any other books by this author?

Answers will vary depending on the children’s reading preferences. They may have completed the unit on The Butterfly Lion in Complete Comprehension: Year 3. Some children may also know War Horse as a book, film or theatre production.

130

3 Michael Morpurgo has written a lot of books set during World War II, which was taking place when he was born in 1943. If you were an author, what important events from the present day would you write about?

Ideas might include environmental issues, such as global warming or the build-up of plastics in the sea, or world events such as the coronavirus pandemic.

Some children might even suggest things that haven’t happened yet, like a time when all modes of transport go electric.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary bigwig

company

crotchety

ding-dong

droning-on

fodder

hoity-toity

invasion

lock, stock and barrel

perimeter

rheumatism

shells

Vocabulary discussion questions O

What annoying things make you crotchety?

O

Who are the bigwigs in your school?

O

What kind of company do you like to keep?

Maybe you like different people at different times depending on how you are feeling?

Maybe you like to be alone more?

Vocabulary activities O

Ding-dong is an informal word for a fight or an argument. Can the children think of any other informal or slang words that describe conversations? You could explore words such as ‘natter’ and ‘chinwag’.

O

Lock, stock and barrel is an idiom referring to the parts of a gun. (An idiom is a group of words with a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning of each word in the group.) Ask the children to research some other idioms (e.g. ‘over the moon’; ‘see the light’; ‘have cold feet’; ‘bury the hatchet’) and find out about their origins.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

4 Skills focus

See pages 132 to 133

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of inference.

1 What was going to happen in the church that evening?

An important meeting that someone from every house had to go to.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 13 Modelling slides and the Modelling inference guidance on page 132.

3 The man said that everyone would have to move out of the village because the army needed to use the land. What was the army going to use it for?

To practise landings from the sea (for the invasion of France).

4 How long did the man say that people had to pack everything up? Were people allowed to go back to their houses after they left? Why? Why not?

Seven weeks. No – there were guards/barbed-wire fences to keep them away/it was too dangerous because guns would be firing.

3 Explore O

Lily is the main character in this book. Discuss Lily’s personality, referring back to the text for evidence (e.g. nice, because she goes with her mum to the meeting even though she doesn’t want to; funny, because she describes her grandfather as a ‘grumpy old goat’ and complains about Barry smiling at her).

Encourage the children to use their inferences about Lily’s character to make predictions about the next part of the story – will she be scared/upset/excited about her life changing and having to leave her home?

2 The children can then attempt the Inference questions on page 136.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 137 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 132 to 133.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: The children could work in groups to research World War II (see Reading list for suggestions of non-fiction resources). They should gather at least five facts and then present their facts to the class.

O

Writing task: Encourage the children to have a go at writing their own diary entry about a day that changed their life. The diaries could be true or fictional depending on the children’s preference.

They could use some of the titles in the Reading list for inspiration. When the entries are completed, some children may wish to share their entries with the class.

Inference

2 What did Lily call the man who was speaking in the meeting?

A bigwig/Lord Somethingorother.

Unit 13

2 First steps

Reading list Fiction Diary of Dorkius Maximus by Tim Collins Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

O

‘Today was a day that will change my life for ever.’

The first line of this text is very powerful. As a class, record some ideas for days that might change someone’s life forever (e.g. closely avoiding a bad accident; winning a large amount of money; discovering something important; learning a lesson; losing something). Explore how luck can change people’s lives (e.g. where you are born; whether you are born rich or poor).

You could recap the features of diary entries (e.g. date at the beginning of each entry; first-person narration) and talk about what makes a diary interesting. It might be that exciting things happen or it might be the thoughts you have about those things that are entertaining. Ask the children what makes this text interesting. You could also share some other diary texts (see Reading list) and discuss what makes them interesting.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Dork Diaries by Rachel Renée Russell The Lost Diary of Sami Star by Karen McCombie My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright by Marcia Williams (Linked text: Unit 12) The National Trust Secret Diaries series by Philip Ardagh Class reads Friend or Foe by Michael Morpurgo Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipović Non-fiction The Usborne Introduction to the Second World War

by Paul Dowswell Woeful Second World War by Terry Deary World War II by DK Films Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Color Force, 2010)

Fiction

O

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Unit 13

Modelling inference

See Unit 13 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 20 to 21) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 What does the opening line tell you about the day? Tick two.

It was a boring day.

It was an unforgettable day.

It was just like any other day.

It was a very important day.

Read the question together. Model finding the locator (‘opening line’) and using it to find the correct part of the text. Draw attention to the fact that the question asks you to ‘tick two’ options, so you are looking for two pieces of information. Read the opening line together and compare it to the possible answers. Discuss how Lily must be feeling and use that information to select your responses. Model ticking two answers.

2 Yesterday was just like any other day. Rain. School. Long division. Spelling test. What does this tell you about how Lily felt about school?

She thought school was boring.

Model locating the target sentence in the text and read it aloud. Point out the use of lots of one- or two-word sentences and discuss the effect this has: it is very succinct; there’s no extra information or interesting extras – just like Lily’s days at school which sound plain and uninteresting. Model choosing an adjective that reflects Lily’s feelings.

3 Of course, that made Mum really mad. What did Lily’s grandfather do to make Lily’s mum angry?

He suggested that women talk too much.

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo

Encourage the children to help you find the target sentence in the text and demonstrate reading around it looking for clues and scanning for the word ‘grandfather’. Think aloud: Let’s look at what happened just before Lily’s mum got mad. Here it says ‘women were better at talking because they did more of it’. Do you agree that women and girls talk more than men and boys? Is this a fair thing to say about all women and all men? Might it make you angry if someone said that to you?

132

4 I didn’t want to go but now I’m glad I did, really glad. Why do you think Lily was glad that she went to the meeting?

Because she heard what was going to happen to the village/that everyone had to leave. OR She heard about something important/that would change her life.

Ask the children whether they think Lily’s mum would have shared this information with her that night. Think aloud: The adults might not have told Lily because they wouldn’t want her to be worried. Being at the meeting meant she heard the news as soon as the adults did, so this is probably why she felt pleased that she was there.

Inference questions mark scheme

See page 136

Answer

Guidance

1

That something bad/big is going to happen.

Some children might say that it tells us Grandfather was right.

If so, explain that they need to use their own ideas as well as the text. Ask them what it means when someone says ‘Something is up’ – does it mean everything is normal? Award 1 mark for a reference to something being about to happen/change.

2

Because there was no other way of talking to the whole village. OR Because there were no emails, mobile phones, etc. as it was 1943.

If the children struggle, ask them to think about how and where we hear news nowadays (phone or computer in our homes). Why couldn’t Lily and her mum use these methods? Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

shocked

4

Everything was top secret/the army/ government didn’t want anyone to see what was going on. OR People might have been hurt because they were using real shells/bullets.

5

No

If necessary, remind the children to read around the target sentences and think about how they would feel if they found out what Lily finds out next. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Some children may benefit from being given a locator (the last paragraph). If they need further support, ask them to read from ‘After the seven weeks is up…’ to the end. Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

Accept both positive and negative responses, provided that the explanation is clearly linked to the text. Award 1 mark for one answer ticked with one plausible point linked to the text.

Award 2 marks for one answer ticked with two plausible points linked to the text.

Because he says that he knows it’s ‘asking a lot’ and he tells them that it’s ‘absolutely necessary’.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

See page 137

?

Answer

Guidance

1

It makes a contrast and shows

how exciting the news is.

If the children tick any of the distractors, explain that although these statements may be true, they do not respond to the question in enough detail to be correct – they could be used to explain everything else in the text. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Relationship.

2

someone from every house

Some children may rely on their extrinsic knowledge to answer ‘Lily and her mum’ or ‘Lily’s grandfather’. If so, remind them of the expectations of retrieval questions and of the need to use the locator. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Skill: Retrieval.

3

droning-on hoity-toity voice OR voice that almost put me to sleep

Accept shorter and longer groups of words from the same sentence but do not accept single-word answers. Award 1 mark for a correct answer. Skill: Word meaning.

4

The Day My Life Changed OR The Villagers Are Moving Out OR The Village Is to Be Evacuated

If some children find this challenging, provide them with options to choose from. You may also wish to encourage all children to justify their choice of title once the questions have been completed. Accept anything that refers to the news shared at the church. Award 1 mark for a plausible title.

Skill: Summarising.

5

I think Lily and her family will move out, because the bigwig said they had to.

OR I think Lily’s grandfather will refuse to move, because he’s grumpy and has lived in the village for a long time.

The children may benefit from having a grid or graphic organiser to help them organise their responses. Some children’s background knowledge and prior reading may influence their predictions. Predictions should only be accepted where they are linked to the events or characterisation of the extract or to the title. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo

3

Unit 13

Answer

133

Unit 13

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips,

by Michael Morpurgo This fictional text is a diary entry written by a girl called Lily in November 1943 in the middle of World War II. The war hasn’t touched her life much as she lives in a small seaside village but that’s just about to change.

Saturday, November 13th 1943 Today was a day that will change my life for ever.

Grandfather was right when he said something was up. And it is something big too, something very big – I have to keep pinching myself to believe it’s true, that it’s really going to happen. Yesterday was just like any other day. Rain. School. Long division. Spelling test. Barry picking his nose. Barry smiling at me from across the classroom with his big round eyes. I just wish he wouldn’t smile at me so. He’s always The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo

so smiley.

Then today it happened. I knew all day there was going to be some kind of meeting in the church in the evening, that someone from every house had to go and it was important. I knew that, because Mum and Grandfather were arguing about it over breakfast before I went off to school. Grandfather was being a grumpy old goat. He’s been getting crotchety a lot just lately. (Mum says it’s because of his rheumatism – it gets worse in damp weather.) He kept saying he had too much to do on the farm to be bothered with meetings and such. And besides, he said, women were better at talking because they did more of it. Of course, WKDW PDGH 0XP UHDOO\ PDG VR WKH\ KDG D IDLU ROG GLQJ GRQJ DERXW LW Anyway in the end Mum gave in and said she’d go, and she asked me to Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

did, really glad.

The place was packed out. There was standing room only by the time we

Unit 13

go along with her for company. I didn’t want to go but now I’m glad I

got there. Then this bigwig, Lord Somethingorother, got up and started WDONLQJ , GLGQ©W SD\ PXFK DWWHQWLRQ DW ILUVW EHFDXVH KH KDG WKLV GURQLQJ RQ KRLW\ WRLW\ , OLNH WKDW ZRUG VRUW RI YRLFH WKDW DOPRVW SXW PH WR VOHHS But suddenly I felt a strange stillness and silence all around me. It was almost as if everyone had stopped breathing. Everyone was listening, so I listened too. I can’t remember his exact words, but I think it went something like this.

“I know it’s asking a lot of you,” the bigwig was saying, “but I promise we wouldn’t be asking you if we didn’t have to, if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. They’ll be needing the beach at Slapton Sands and the whole practise landings from the sea for the invasion of France when it comes.

That’s all I can tell you. Everything else is top secret. No point in asking me anything about it, because I don’t know any more than you do.

What I do know is that you have seven weeks from today to move out, lock, stock and barrel – and I mean that. You have to take everything with you: furniture, food, coal, all your animals, farm machinery, fuel, and all fodder and crops that can be carried. Nothing you value must be left behind. After the seven weeks is up, no one will be allowed back – and I mean no one. There’ll be a barbed wire perimeter fence and guards everywhere to keep you out. Besides which, it will be dangerous. There’ll be live firing going on: real shells, real bullets.

From The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Copyright © Michael Morpurgo, 2005.

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo

area behind it, including this village. They need it because they have to

Unit 13

Inference 1

Name:

Grandfather was right when he said something was up.

What does this sentence tell you about what is going to happen next?

1 mark

2

Look at the paragraph beginning Then today it happened. Why do you think people were asked to go to the church to hear the news?

1 mark

3

But suddenly I felt a strange stillness and silence all around me. It was almost as if everyone had stopped breathing.

How do you think the people at the meeting were feeling at this point? Tick one.

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo

bored

4

shocked

sleepy

grumpy

1 mark

Why do you think the practice landings couldn’t happen while the villagers stayed in their houses?

1 mark

5

Look at the last paragraph. Do you think the bigwig thought that the people in Lily’s village would want to move? Tick one.

Yes

No

Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 13

Mix it up!

Name:

The paragraph beginning Grandfather was right … describes how life was dull for Lily until she heard the big news. Why do you think the author takes time to describe this? Tick one.

It is important to the story.

It is interesting.

The author likes to write.

It makes a contrast and shows how exciting the news is.

2

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning Then today it happened. Who had to go to the meeting in the church?

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning The place was packed out. Find and copy a group of words that tells you that Lily thought the man had a boring voice.

1 mark

4

Look at the whole text. What title could be used to summarise the extract?

1 mark

5

What do you think might happen next in the story? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

I think

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo

3

Unit 14 Inference

The Secret World of Polly Flint

by Helen Cresswell Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 142 to 145

The award-wining author Helen Cresswell, who wrote over 100 books, including Lizzie Dripping and Moondial, is particularly well known for her supernatural novels. In this story, Polly Flint hears and sees things that others cannot. In this extract, a man tells Polly about a ghostly village that disappeared many hundreds of years ago (a theme that is picked up in Progress check 2, an article about a real-life ‘ghost village’). Later in the story, Polly finds she can interact with the villagers because of her magical powers. You may wish to draw the children’s attention to this extract’s use of direct speech and informal language.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 142 to 143) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What type of text is this? What do the words ‘secret world’ in the title suggest to you about this book?

Answers will vary, but the children should be able to use the title to suggest that this is a fiction text. Some might say the title suggests there is a place that other people/adults don’t know about, or that the ‘secret world’ is a magical world. You could introduce the word ‘supernatural’, and explain that it describes something that cannot be explained by science, but that some people believe in (e.g. ghosts).

Fiction

2 Have you read any other stories that have magical or supernatural themes?

Answers will vary depending on the children’s prior reading, but all should be able to contribute some ideas. If they struggle, remind them of any texts they have covered in this book that have magical themes (e.g. Units 2, 6 and 8). You could spend some time comparing and contrasting the treatment of magic in these texts.

138

3 Glancing at the text on the page, what do you notice about the way it is laid out?

Support the children to notice that there are a lot of single words and single sentences that have lines to themselves. You could also point out the use of speech marks to help them understand that the entire extract is written in direct speech, and that it will therefore contain a conversation between two or more characters.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary dumbly

enigma

flitting

glancing

legend

nape of the neck

reflections

Sabbath

thrill

triumph

turf

vanished

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Why might you need help to fasten something at the nape of your neck?

O

What is the difference between getting a thrill and getting a fright?

O

Do you think that flitting around the classroom instead of sitting at a table would help your learning? Why?

O

What surfaces could you look at to see reflections?

O

If my team wins the match, it will be a real triumph. When have you felt triumphant?

Vocabulary activities O

How many synonyms can the children think of for enigma?

O

Dumbly describes the state of being too shocked to speak. Can the children think of any synonyms for this state (e.g. ‘speechless’; ‘flabbergasted’; ‘lost for words’)?

O

Use the words above to explain that there are different types of nouns: some nouns describe objects we can touch (e.g. nape of the neck; turf), while others describe ideas (e.g. enigma, triumph, Sabbath, legend). Encourage the children to think of more nouns for each of these categories.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

4 Skills focus

See pages 140 to 141

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of inference.

1 According to the man, do most people believe the tale of the lost village?

No.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 14 Modelling slides and the Modelling inference guidance on page 140.

4 Where does the man say Polly should go to find the lost village?

To the lake.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 145 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 140 to 141.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Working in pairs, the children could research a folk tale (e.g. the Loch Ness Monster) and devise a dialogue to perform for the class, with one child playing the role of someone who has seen the phenomenon and the other playing someone who has not heard the story. The witness should concentrate on using a mysterious tone of voice whereas the listener might be frightened or want to know more.

O

Writing task: The children could write a dialogue in which something special is being revealed (e.g. the location of some buried treasure; that the character is going on holiday somewhere exciting/going to have a new baby brother/sister/cousin). Encourage them to use some of the features of this extract that you identified in the Explore activity above.

3 Explore O

O

O

In this text, the man shares a piece of local folklore with Polly. Folklore describes the traditional beliefs, customs and stories of a community that are passed between generations by word of mouth. Explore the class’s experiences of folklore, referring to stories about the children’s home region if possible.

Alternatively, discuss famous folklore phenomena (e.g. the Loch Ness Monster; the Lost City of Atlantis).

Discuss the fun and interest of these tales even if there is little evidence for them.

The text refers to ‘the May Dances’, a tradition that may be unfamiliar to many children. Explain that this custom is around 600 years old. Some villages in the UK still perform May Dances, often as part of a village fête or carnival. The dances traditionally involve the children of the village dancing round a maypole on the village green. The maypole has different coloured ribbons attached to the top and the children each hold a ribbon and perform a dance that involves weaving around each other to create a multicoloured pattern down the pole. You could show some images to clarify further.

Discuss the technical features of this dialogue, thinking about how they create a mysterious atmosphere. You could point out the use of ellipsis and question marks and highlight the characters’ reactions to what is being said (e.g. the man’s voice is ‘lowered’; Polly feels a ‘cold thrill’ and her eyes are ‘locked’ to the man’s). You could also discuss the man’s informal language (e.g. ‘nobbut’; ‘you’ll hear ’em ringing’; ‘that ain’t all’). The children could read parts of the dialogue aloud in pairs to help them focus on these effects.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Inference

3 How long ago did the village disappear?

Hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

2 The children can then attempt the Inference questions on page 144.

Reading list Fiction Between Worlds by Kevin Crossley-Holland Demelza & the Spectre Detectors by Holly Rivers Goosebumps by R.L. Stine ‘Heatwave Raises Lost “Atlantis” from Its Watery Grave’ by Daily Mail (Linked text: Progress check 2) The Secret Lake: A Children’s Mystery Adventure

by Karen Inglis A World Full of Spooky Stories by Angela McAllister Class reads The Dead World of Lanthorne Ghules by Gerald Killingworth Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce Non-fiction Don’t Read This Book Before Bed by Anna Claybourne Films Atlantis: The Lost Empire (Walt Disney Pictures, 2001)

Fiction

2 What is the name of the lost village? What happened to it?

It was called Grimstone. It vanished/disappeared.

Some children may explain that it was swallowed into the ground.

Unit 14

2 First steps

139

Unit 14

Modelling inference

See Unit 14 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 20 to 21) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Look at the first line. Why do you think the man lowered his voice?

Because he was telling a secret. OR Because he wanted to make the story more special/mysterious/exciting.

Remind the children that to answer inference questions they need to use clues in the text and their own knowledge. Discuss the fact that speaking in a quiet voice or a whisper forces the other person to listen carefully, and can suggest that the information is special or secret. You could read the man’s first two sentences, first in a loud voice and then in a lowered voice, to demonstrate this. Finally, model formulating an answer.

2 “They not all believe it, see. They think it’s nobbut a tale to tell by the fireside. But me, I know it to be true … ”. What do you think the man is trying to suggest here?

He has seen evidence of the lost village for himself.

Model reading the locator quotation carefully. Focus on the key words ‘believe’ and ‘know’ and discuss their meanings. Model relating this knowledge back to the text. Think aloud: The man isn’t saying he believes the tale is true, he is saying he knows it is true. Ask the children how the man could know this, and establish that his use of this word suggests that he has real evidence or first-hand knowledge of the village. Model formulating an answer based on this discussion.

3 Polly swallowed hard. What does this suggest about how Polly felt?

It suggests that Polly felt afraid/nervous/stunned/shocked.

Model finding the locator quotation by scanning for the group of words ‘swallowed hard’. Underline it and then demonstrate reading around the phrase to look for context clues. Think aloud: Swallowing hard was Polly’s immediate reaction to hearing that the village vanished into thin air – that was a very strange thing for her to hear. How would you feel if you heard something strange and a bit spooky like that? Discuss their ideas and model choosing the most plausible emotion.

4 He was watching her with something like triumph. Why do you think the man had a feeling of triumph?

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell

The man felt triumphant because Polly was completely absorbed in the story.

140

Model finding the locator quotation. Think aloud: I know that triumph means ‘success’, and that the man is telling Polly a story. The man probably wants to see from her reaction whether she believes him, as he says lots of people don’t. I will check the text before this quote for evidence of Polly’s reaction. Ask the children to help you find evidence in Polly’s speech and actions (e.g. she nods, wanting to hear more; she swallows hard; her voice is high and thin; the word ‘dumbly’ means she is speechless). Establish that the man felt successful because he could see that his story was having a strong effect on Polly and formulate your answer together.

Inference questions mark scheme Answer

See page 144 Guidance

1

excited

2

Because she felt scared/excited/ surprised when she heard that the village had vanished.

You could recap your discussion of ‘thrill’ from the Key vocabulary by asking the children to tell you whether a ‘thrill’ is a positive or a negative feeling to help them start to eliminate incorrect answer options. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Some children may answer that Polly did not believe the man. This is also acceptable. Award 1 mark for a plausible explanation.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

That not everyone is able to see and hear the signs of the lost village.

Some children will find this tricky. Encourage the children to think about the type of people who could see something that most people think isn’t there (e.g. witches/wizards/magical creatures) to help them understand that only people with special abilities can see the signs. Award 1 mark for a reference to the idea that only certain people are able to see (signs of) it.

4

enigma

If the children answer ‘glancing meanings’, do not accept this.

Remind them that the question asks for one word only, which must mean something similar to ‘confusing’. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

5

Impression: mysterious

Some children may focus on the man’s enjoyment of Polly’s reaction to his story, as this was discussed in Modelling question 4. This is also acceptable. Award 1 mark for a plausible impression. Award 2 marks for a plausible impression with appropriate evidence from the text.

Evidence: He doesn’t finish his sentences./He talks about ‘reflections’ but he doesn’t explain what they are.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme Answer

Unit 14

Answer

See page 145

?

Guidance

Polly stared at the man.

2

on Christmas Day

3

Polly Hears About a Lost Village

4

The author creates a mysterious/ exciting/secretive atmosphere because the man tells Polly a spooky tale and speaks in a lowered voice.

You could remind the children of your discussions of Modelling questions 1 and 3 here. Some may benefit from being given a set of multiple choice options for this question. Award 1 mark for any reference to a plausible atmosphere. Award 2 marks for any reference to a plausible atmosphere plus an appropriate explanation using evidence from the text.

Skill: Relationship.

5

I think Polly will go to the lake and sees a ghost from the village. I think this because Polly is so interested in the story.

Answers will vary: some are likely to focus on Polly continuing her conversation with the man. Accept any plausible answer and encourage the children to justify their answers with evidence from the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Do not award marks for answers that refer to hearing the bells on the/any Sabbath. Explain that this is the man’s own opinion rather than the legend, and remind the children to scan for ‘legend’ in the text. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Skill: Retrieval.

The first and last answer options are strong distractors. If the children tick these, remind them that they are looking for a statement that sums up the whole of the text, rather than describing only one of its events. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Summarising.

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell

Remind the children to begin by eliminating answer options that they know are untrue. Discuss the difference between ‘glanced’ and ‘stared’, and which suggests a more intense interest, as we know that Polly is keen to hear more. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

1

141

Unit 14

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell Polly Flint is a girl who can see things that other people can’t. Her life changes when her family go to live in a small village called Wellow and Polly starts to hear voices and singing from a secret world. Determined to find out more, in this extract Polly speaks to a local man.

“Have they told you?” His voice was lowered now, he was speaking of secrets to be told.

“Told me? What?”

“Of the lost village …”

Polly felt a little cold thrill at the nape of her neck. Slowly, her eyes locked to his, she shook her head.

“Aaaah!” He let out a long breath. “They not all believe it, see. They think it’s nobbut a tale to tell by the fireside. But me, I know it to be true. Tell you, shall I?” Slowly, Polly nodded.

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell

“Hundreds of years ago, hundreds and hundreds, there was a village standing where we are now… right here, on this very spot …”

“What can he mean?” Polly wondered. “There is still a village.”

“And the name of that village,” he went on, “was Grimstone. And it wasn’t very big – oh no, not at all, and in fact it had hardly the number of children it needed to dance the May Dances.”

There was a silence.

“And then –” he paused, “and then – it vanished.”

Polly swallowed hard.

“Vanished?” Her voice came out very high and thin.

“It vanished – right off the face of the earth! Or rather – as some believe – was swallowed right into the earth! What do you say to that?”

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

“Legend goes,” he went on, “that if you kneel and put your ear to the ground on Christmas Day, you can hear the church bells still, ringing away down there.”

Unit 14

Polly shook her head dumbly. He was watching her with something like triumph.

Again she shook her head and stared into his eyes.

“Away down there – under all this –” he waved a long arm about him – “the church bells ringing! That’s what the legend says. What I say,” he leaned towards her again, his voice down almost to a whisper, “is that you can hear them bells any Sabbath, if you will.”

“Really hear them? Through the ground?”

“Lay your ear to the turf and listen,” he said. “You’ll hear ’em ringing, sweet and true. And that ain’t all …”

“What?”

“Ah … signs for those with ears to hear and eyes to see. Voices. Flitting shapes and shadows … faint music … reflections …”

“In the lake. You get by that lake, and you’ll be but a fingertip away.

Water … Water always finds its own level …”

“You mean,” said Polly Flint, deciding to state the case in her own words, since he was so full of enigma and glancing meanings, “You mean, that there’s a village down there still ?”

From The Secret World of Polly Flint by Helen Cresswell © Helen Cresswell, 2008. Published by Five Leaves Publications. Reproduced with permission.

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell

“Reflections?”

Unit 14

Inference 1

Name:

Polly felt a little cold thrill at the nape of her neck.

Which of the following words best describes how Polly felt? Tick one. happy excited irritated angry

2

1 mark

“Vanished?” Her voice came out very high and thin.

Why do you think Polly’s voice came out very high and thin when she heard that the village had vanished?

1 mark

3

“… signs for those with ears to hear and eyes to see.”

In your own words, explain what the man means by this.

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell

1 mark

4

Look at the last sentence. Find and copy one word that shows Polly found the man confusing.

1 mark

5

Read from “Away down there – under all this –” to the end of the text. What impression do you get of the man? Give one impression and one piece of evidence from the text.

Impression

Evidence

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 14

Mix it up!

Name:

… her eyes locked to his …

Which sentence best matches the meaning of this group of words? Tick one.

Polly closed her eyes.

Polly glanced at the man.

Polly locked the man up.

Polly stared at the man.

2

1 mark

According to legend, when can you hear the bells of the lost village?

1 mark

3

Which of the following would be the most effective title for the whole extract?

Tick one.

Polly Meets an Old Villager Polly Hears About a Lost Village

Polly Learns How to Find the Lost Village

4

1 mark

What kind of atmosphere does the author create in this extract? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

5

What do you think might happen next? Explain your answer using the text.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell

Polly Visits a Village called Grimstone

Progress check 2

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave by Daily Mail Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 147 to 149

This newspaper article describes how hot summer weather caused the remains of a Cumbrian village, flooded to make a reservoir in 1935, to emerge from the receding water. This true story provides an interesting contrast to the fictional ghost village explored in Unit 14. This text contains some challenging vocabulary which you may wish to discuss with the children in advance: specifically, it is a good idea to ensure that all children understand what a ‘reservoir’ is before they start. You could also discuss the reference to ‘Atlantis’. For guidance on running this task, see page 11.

Progress check questions mark scheme Answer

Guidance

1

Because it sounds spooky and makes you want to read on. OR Because the village died/was buried by water when it was flooded to make the reservoir.

Some children may struggle with the concept of a place, rather than a person, having a grave. If so, discuss the fact that graves are normally just for people and ask them what effect the writer might be trying to achieve by suggesting that a village can ‘die’. Award 1 mark for a reference to catching the reader’s attention or to the play on words. Skill: Word choice.

2

sad/upset/devastated/angry

Accept any plausible emotion. If the children struggle or give a positive response, ask them to think about how they would feel if they were forced to leave their home and move elsewhere.

Award 1 mark for a plausible emotion. Skill: Inference.

3

sweltering

Do not accept longer phrases containing the target word (e.g. ‘sweltering heat’). Also do not accept ‘summer’, ‘heat’ or ‘dramatically’. Encourage the children to look again for one word that describes very strong heat. Award 1 mark for the correct answer underlined. Skill: Word meaning.

4

T The dam could hold 58 billion litres.

Non-fiction

5

F

The reservoir is four miles long.

The dam wall measures 27.5 metres high.

The dam was built from 90 separate sections.

146

?

He thought it was (aggressively) ugly/ unattractive.

The children may find it helpful to mark the relevant section in their text. They should use the key words in each statement to check the answer in the text. Award 1 mark for at least two statements correctly ticked. Award 2 marks for all four statements correctly ticked. Skill: Retrieval.

The language in this section is quite complex. If necessary, focus the children on phrases such as ‘gone forever’; ‘nature had fashioned so sweetly’ and ‘aggressively ugly’. Award 1 mark for a reference to the reservoir being unattractive/to something beautiful being destroyed. Skill: Summarising.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

1

Name:

A village long-submerged under a massive reservoir is again slowly emerging from its watery grave.

Why do you think the writer calls the reservoir a watery grave?

1 mark

2

Progress check 2

Progress check 2

Hundreds of villagers were evicted from their homes and most of the buildings were blown up …

How do you think the people who lived in Mardale Green felt when they were forced to leave?

1 mark

Underline one word that shows that the weather was extremely hot.

But the ghostly village is again reappearing as water levels drop dramatically amid this summer’s sweltering heat.

1 mark

4

Read from the sentence beginning When the Haweswater Dam was built … to … joined together with flexible joints. Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

False

The dam could hold 58 billion litres.

The reservoir is four miles long.

The dam wall measures 27.5 metres high.

The dam was built from 90 separate sections.

2 marks

5

Read from Lake District writer and walker … to the end of the text. What was the main reason that Alfred Wainwright did not like the Haweswater reservoir?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave, by Daily Mail

3

Progress check 2

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave, by Daily Mail This newspaper article tells the story of a village in Cumbria called Mardale Green.

It was destroyed in the 1930s to make way for a reservoir (a man-made lake used for storing water that goes to people’s homes). However, when the weather is very dry, its ruins reappear, as if out of nowhere.

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave $ YLOODJH ORQJ VXEPHUJHG XQGHU D PDVVLYH UHVHUYRLU LV DJDLQ slowly emerging from its watery grave.

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave, by Daily Mail

Mardale Green, in Cumbria, has rarely been seen since disappearing in 1935 when the valley was flooded to make way for Haweswater Reservoir.

Hundreds of villagers were evicted from their homes and most of the buildings were blown up by Royal Engineers who used them for demolition practice.

Mardale last emerged from the watery depths of the reservoir during a heatwave in 2014.

But the ghostly village is again reappearing as water levels drop dramatically amid this summer’s sweltering heat. $QG VWRQH E\ VWRQH WKH UHPQDQWV RI 0DUGDOH *UHHQ DUH VORZO\ HPHUJLQJ IURP the depths.

The remains of the ancient structures, including farm gates and tree stumps, have now been revealed beside the receding waterline.

When the Haweswater Dam was built, it raised the water level by 95ft (29 metres) and could hold 84 billion litres of water.

The dam created a reservoir 4 miles (6km) long and around half a mile (600 metres) wide. Its wall measures 1541ft (470 metres) long and 90ft (27.5 metres) high.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

The reservoir today supplies about 25 per cent of the North West’s water needs.

It is fed by various streams and aqueducts from Swindale, Naddle, Heltondale and Wet Sleddale.

How did Mardale Green come to be submerged forever underwater?

Progress check 2

It was considered to be an engineering feat in its time, built from 44 separate sections, joined together with flexible joints.

There was a public outcry at the time of its construction after around 100 villagers were evicted from their homes.

The act dictated that farmers abandon their homes along with hundreds of acres of land. Their cattle and sheep were to be sold off unless a suitable alternative could be discovered.

Mardale’s school, church and pub, The Dun Bull Inn, all had to be sacrificed to supply Manchester with water.

Mardale Green was considered one of the most picturesque villages in Westmorland, Cumbria, and many people thought it should be left alone.

Lake District writer and walker Alfred Wainwright lamented the passing of the old valley. He wrote: “Mardale is still a noble valley. But man works with such clumsy hands!

“Gone forever are the quiet wooded bays and shingly shores that nature had fashioned so sweetly in the Haweswater of old; how aggressively ugly is the tidemark of the new Haweswater.”

From ‘Heatwave raises lost “Atlantis” village from its watery grave, 80 years after it was deliberately flooded to create a Cumbrian reservoir’ by Stewart Paterson (freelance writer). Originally published 03/07/2018. Text copyright © MailOnline, 2018.

Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave, by Daily Mail

Residents found out that their homes were to be destroyed in 1919 after WKH 0DQFKHVWHU :DWHU &RPSDQ\ VHFXUHG D ORQJ DZDLWHG +DZHVZDWHU $FW – a compulsory purchase agreement that granted them permission to build a dam on the village.

Unit 15 Retrieval

Threats to African Elephants

by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 154 to 157

This text is an abridged article by the WWF, a global charity that works to protect wildlife and the natural environment. This text, which explains the threats African elephants face in the wild, will develop the children’s understanding of the importance of conservation and encourage them to engage with a fundamental issue of our time: the impact of consumerism on the natural world. The elephant theme continues in the Unit 16 text, a fictional account of the role these animals played as star attractions in nineteenth-century travelling circuses.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 154 to 155) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 What do you already know about elephants?

What would you like to know?

All children should be able to describe an elephant’s physical appearance. Some may be able to tell you where in the world elephants can be found, while others may refer to seeing elephants in a zoo. Record the information they supply, including any questions they want to answer, using a graphic map. You could then add to it later in the lesson, if desired.

Non-fiction

2 This text is about elephants that are threatened by people. Do you know of any other animals that are harmed by people’s behaviour?

Answers will vary. Some children may refer to species of marine life (e.g. sea turtles; seals; fish) being under threat from plastic pollution. Others may be aware of well-known endangered animals (e.g. polar bears; tigers; snow leopards; white rhinos). If they struggle to contribute, you could share one of the books about endangered species from the Reading list.

150

3 WWF is a charity that wants people and nature to live together peacefully. What other issues do you think the WWF fights against?

Answers will vary, but all children should be able to contribute. Some may refer to the destruction of rainforests, especially if Unit 9 has been completed, or to climate change and the melting ice caps.

Others might focus on local issues (e.g. flooding; littering; pollution).

Language toolkit Key vocabulary adequately

agriculture

consumer

declines

habitat

livelihoods

poached

populations

retaliation

savannah

trafficking

unprecedented

Vocabulary discussion questions O

What sort of things might a consumer buy or use? Is everyone here a consumer?

O

What is your favourite animal? What kind of habitat suits them best?

O

If someone is adequately prepared to run a marathon, are they likely or unlikely to finish it? Why?

O

If someone was rude to you, what might you do in retaliation? Is this a good idea?

Vocabulary activities O

Population comes from the Latin populus, meaning ‘a group of people’. Can the children think of any other words that use the same root (e.g. ‘popular’; ‘populous’)? You could challenge them to come up with some synonyms for these words.

O

Declines comes from the Latin words de meaning ‘down’ and clinare meaning ‘to bend’. Can the children think of any words that use the same root but a different prefix (e.g. ‘recline’; ‘incline’)? Allow them to explore how these words differ in meaning and challenge them to use them in a sentence.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

2 In which year was the ban on the international trade of ivory introduced?

1989.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 157 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 152 to 153.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Ask the children to work in pairs, with one taking the role of an interviewer and the other taking the role of an elephant. The interviewer should ask the elephant questions about what is happening to its species (e.g. What are the main problems you are facing? What is being done to help you?). They could then swap roles and roleplay an interview with a person whose crops have been ruined by elephants, or whose family member has been injured by one. Encourage the children to consider both viewpoints sensitively.

O

Writing task: Each child could make an illustrated poster telling people about the threat to African elephants. They should explain what is causing the threat and give a suggestion for what can be done to help the issue, either by governments or by ordinary people. Resources from the Reading list may be helpful here.

3 How has the growth in human populations affected elephant habitats?

Elephant habitats are shrinking because more people are farming on land where they used to live.

4 Why do people who share land with elephants often not like them?

Because they are dangerous./Because they eat/ destroy people’s crops.

3 Explore O

O

As a class, research African elephants. You could divide the class into small groups and assign each group a topic. Topics for research might include approximate size and weight; diet; geographical habitat; interaction with other elephants; baby elephants; and differences between African and Asian elephants. You could also return to any questions the children wanted to answer in the Get ready session. You could collect your findings into a class fact file, video or PowerPoint® presentation, and even present it to children from another class in the school if appropriate.

Research some other vulnerable species and find out what is putting them in danger of extinction.

You could use a graphic organiser to help make the links and patterns more apparent. Is human activity contributing to their vulnerable status? You could create a list of things that the children can do to reduce their impact on nature to encourage them to take action where possible (e.g. reduce your carbon footprint by using fewer disposable items; reduce your travel by plane and car to prevent air pollution; adopt a wild animal; hold a jumble sale to raise money for animal protection charities).

4 Skills focus

See pages 152 to 153

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of retrieval.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Retrieval

1 Where does ivory come from? What do people use it for?

It comes from elephants’ tusks. People carve it into jewellery and ornaments. Some children may need extra support to understand that ivory and tusks are the same thing.

2 The children can then attempt the Retrieval questions on page 156.

Reading list Fiction The Akimbo Adventures by Alexander McCall Smith An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross (Linked text: Unit 16) Class reads Chained by Lynne Kelly Non-fiction Elephants by Laura Marsh Elephants by Steve Bloom How to Help a Hedgehog and Protect a Polar Bear

by Jess French Red Alert! by Catherine Barr Websites The National Geographic Kids website has a useful fact file on African elephants.

The ‘Wildlife’ section of the main WWF website offers useful, adult-facing background information about the threat to African elephants.

Non-fiction

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Unit 15

1 Model the skill using the Unit 15 Modelling slides and the Modelling retrieval guidance on page 152.

2 First steps

151

Unit 15

Modelling retrieval

See Unit 15 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 16 to 17) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Has the ban on the international trade in ivory solved the problem of elephants being killed for their tusks? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

No, tens of thousands of elephants are still being killed.

Read the question together and remind the children of the link between ivory and elephant tusks. Model underlining the phrase ‘ban on the international trade in ivory’ in the first line and reading around the underlined text to retrieve the answer. Point out that you can’t just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ – you need to give an explanation as well. Model writing a correct answer.

2 How many elephants were being killed for ivory each year before the 1989 ban?

100 000 Read the question together. Establish that its key words suggest that the answer will be in the same section as Modelling question 1 and that the phrase ‘How many’ indicates that the answer will be a number. Model scanning for numbers that relate to elephant deaths in the first section. Explain that the question wants the number of deaths before the ban. Model reading around the numbers you have found for clues, noting the use of ‘were’ in the second paragraph and the fact that it is about the 1980s, before the ban. Model writing the correct answer.

3 Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Some places lost most of their elephant herds from poaching.

152

False

The ban didn’t make any difference to the elephant populations.

Africa is the biggest consumer of ivory goods.

Trading of ivory was banned in 1989.

To remind the children how tables work, read the first statement and then think aloud: If we think this sentence is true, we must put a tick in the ‘true’ column and if we think it is false, the tick should go in the ‘false’ column.

Now check the statement against the text, underlining key words. Read around the underlined text to decide whether it is true or false and model ticking the correct column. Repeat the process for each statement.

Explain that to get 1 mark you must answer two correctly and all four have to be correct to get 2 marks.

4 Whose livelihood is badly affected by elephant raids? farmers’ livelihoods Read the question together and model identifying its key words. Point out that the key word ‘whose’ means your answer will be a person or group of people. Model checking your answer against the text before you write it down. Scan the text for the key word ‘raid’ and find the first mention in the third section.

Retrieval questions mark scheme Answer

See page 156 Guidance

1

China

2

growth of human populations/ more people expansion of agriculture/farming

Many children will probably be able to use the key word ‘ivory’ to find the answer in the first section. If they struggle, prompt them with a locator. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Any representation of these concepts in their own words is acceptable. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

As there is no locator for this question, encourage the children to scan for the question’s key words. If they struggle, direct them to the third section. Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

5

amount of food consumed by elephants each day

up to 450kg

number of people killed by elephants in India each year

over 100 people

number of elephants shot by Kenyan authorities each year

between 50 and 120 elephants

Encourage the children to scan for the key words from the table’s statements in the text. Remind them that related words (e.g. ‘consumed’; ‘shot’) may be used instead of the exact words from the text. Some may also need a reminder to fill in the gap in the left-hand column. Award 1 mark for two correct answers.

Award 2 marks for all three correct.

between 35 000 and 50 000

Mix it up! questions mark scheme Answer

If the children struggle, recap the meaning of ‘declined’. If a child gives a single figure as an answer, ask them whether we can know exactly how many wild elephants there are or whether we need to give a range, and refocus them on the text. Some may benefit from being given multiple choice options to choose from.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

See page 157

?

Guidance

If the children tick one of the distractors, revisit your discussion of the target word as part of the Key vocabulary, focusing on the fact that people retaliate in response to an offence or violence. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Skill: Word meaning.

1

revenge

2

Because the elephants damage the farmers’ fields/eat their crops so that they have nothing to sell to make money/nothing to eat.

Do not accept answers that have been lifted from the locator quote. Answers must explain how the damage is a problem for the farmers’ livelihoods. Award 1 mark for a reference to the farmers losing money/not being able to make money/ not being able to eat. Skill: Inference.

3

squeezed

Do not accept answers that include additional words (e.g. ‘squeezed into smaller and smaller areas’). In this case, remind the children of the expectation of ‘find and copy’ questions.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer. Skill: Word choice.

4

People in the West have affection and admiration for/like elephants but people who share land with them are afraid of them/angry with them.

Some children may lift their answers directly from the text, while others may paraphrase. Both approaches are acceptable.

Do not accept answers that only describe one group’s attitude.

Award 1 mark for a comparison that refers to the feelings of both groups. Skill: Comparison.

5

Humans activities harm elephant populations.

Some children may tick one of the distractors, as all relate to the text. If so, encourage them to look at different parts of the text and see which of the answers is relevant to more than one part. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Summarising.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

4

There is conflict/they fight/they kill each other. OR Elephants raid farmers’ fields/damage crops. OR Elephants lose their habitat.

Unit 15

Answer

153

Unit 15

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) This text is written by a charity that encourages people to look after animals and the natural environment. It explains to readers why humans are still a threat to the world’s African elephant population.

Still poached for ivory Despite a ban on the international trade in ivory, African elephants are still being poached in large numbers. Tens of thousands of elephants are being killed every year for their ivory tusks. The ivory is often carved into ornaments and jewellery – China is the biggest consumer market for such products.

The ban on international trade was introduced in 1989 after years of unprecedented poaching. In the 1980s, an estimated 100 000 elephants were being killed per year and up to 80% of herds were lost in some regions.

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

The ban allowed some populations to recover, especially where elephants were adequately protected.

But there has been an upsurge in poaching and illegal ivory trafficking in recent years, driven by increasing demand in Asia, which has led to steep declines in forest elephant numbers and some savannah elephant populations.

Habitat loss and conflict with communities Most elephant habitat still extends outside protected areas, and the rapid growth of human populations and the extension of agriculture into rangelands and forests formerly considered unsuitable for farming mean that elephant habitat is continuing to be lost.

Increasing conflict with people As human populations expand, more land is being converted to agriculture.

So elephant habitat is shrinking, and people and elephants are increasingly coming into contact – and conflict – with each other.

Elephants sometimes raid farmers’ fields and damage their crops – affecting the farmers’ livelihoods – and may even kill people. Elephants are sometimes killed in retaliation.

With human populations continuing to grow across their range, habitat loss – and conflict with communities – will remain major threats to elephants’ survival.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 15

Battles over ever decreasing land Elephants are not only being squeezed into smaller and smaller areas, but farmers plant crops that elephants like to eat. As a result, elephants frequently raid and destroy crops. They can be very dangerous too.

While many people in the West regard elephants with affection and admiration, the animals often inspire fear and anger in those who share their land.

Elephants eat up to 450kg of food per day. They are messy eaters, uprooting and scattering as much as is eaten. A single elephant makes light work of a hectare of crops (about the size of a football field) in a very short time.

Consequences for local people Small farmers – often desperately poor and forced by circumstances to move into elephant habitat – can lose their entire livelihood overnight from an elephant raid.

Elephants are often killed in retaliation. Wildlife authorities in Kenya shoot between 50 and 120 problem elephants each year and dozens of elephants are poisoned each year in oil palm plantations in Indonesia.

Over the last 100 years, African elephant populations have declined from 3–5 million to 470 000–690 000 and Asian elephant populations have declined from 100 000 to between 35 000 and 50 000. Habitat loss and conflict with people are among the biggest threats to their continued survival.

From ‘Theats to African Elephants’ by WWF: wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/elephants/african_elephants/afelephants_ threats/Text © 2020, WWF (panda.org). Some rights reserved.

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

People are also often injured and killed. In India, over 100 people are killed by elephants each year, and over 200 people have been killed in Kenya over the last 7 years.

Unit 15

Retrieval 1

Name:

Look at the first section. Which country is the biggest consumer market for ivory?

Tick one.

Kenya Indonesia India China

2

1 mark

Look at the section Habitat loss and conflict with communities. Give two reasons why elephant habitat is being lost.

1 2

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

3

2 marks

According to the text, what is happening as a result of elephants and people increasingly coming into contact with each other?

1 mark

4

Look at the last two sections. Complete the table using the text. amount of food consumed by elephants each day

up to

number of people killed by elephants

over 100 people

in

kg

each year

number of elephants shot by Kenyan authorities each year

between

and elephants 2 marks

5

Look at the last paragraph. According to the text, how many Asian elephants are left on the planet?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Name:

Elephants sometimes raid farmers’ fields and damage their crops – affecting the farmers’ livelihoods – and may even kill people. Elephants are sometimes killed in retaliation.

Which word is closest in meaning to retaliation? Tick one. revenge

2

Unit 15

Mix it up!

anger

hatred

emergency

1 mark

Look at the third section. Why do the elephants’ raids have a bad effect on the farmers’ livelihoods?

1 mark

Look at the section Battles over ever decreasing land. Find and copy one word that suggests the elephants do not have enough land.

1 mark

4

Look at the section Battles over ever decreasing land. Compare how Westerners feel about elephants with how people who share land with elephants often feel about them.

1 mark

5

Which sentence best summarises the overall theme of the text? Tick one.

Elephants are a threat to all humans.

Selling ivory is illegal.

Forest elephants are in decline.

Human activities harm elephant populations.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1 mark

Threats to African Elephants, by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

3

Unit 16 Inference

The Great Elephant Chase

by Gillian Cross Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 162 to 165

This story takes place in 1881 and follows the adventures of Tad as he travels across America with Khush, an elephant he meets when a travelling show visits his town. In this extract, Tad meets Khush for the first time.

This text provides an insight into a time when attitudes to using animals for entertainment were quite different to current views. You could compare this fictional text and the contemporary factual text, Threats to African Elephants (Unit 15) once both units have been completed.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 162 to 163) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 This is a story about an elephant that people pay to see and ride. What do you think the elephant’s life is like?

The children may have a range of opinions: some might say that the elephant would be happy to have company, while others will think keeping animals for entertainment is cruel. Discuss whether keeping wild animals in captivity is fair. Some children may feel that zoos are acceptable because the animals have been rescued or bred in captivity, or because of the conservation work they do.

Fiction

2 What do you think it would be like to stand next to an elephant? What would you see, hear and smell? How would it make you feel?

Encourage the children to use descriptive language to describe elephants, thinking about their strength and size; their features, including trunks, tusks, ears and skin; and their natural habitats, as well as likely sounds the animals might make.

158

3 This story is set in 1881, in the Victorian period.

What do you know about the Victorians? Have you read any other novels set in Victorian times?

Answers will vary depending on the children’s prior reading. The text in Progress check 1, A Christmas Tree by Charles Dickens, is also set in Victorian times. You could also share some resources from the Reading list to help build up their background knowledge.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary ambling

bellowed

cocoon

crag

craning

domination

flamboyant

gnarled

interwoven

mesmerized

petrified

siding

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Is a flamboyant person more likely to be shy and quiet or loud and outgoing? Do you think you have a flamboyant side?

O

Which is more likely to be gnarled – an ancient oak tree or a pebble washed up on the shore? What might a gnarled object feel like?

O

What happens when someone is craning their neck? What would this look like?

O

What might you find inside a cocoon? What do you think it would be like inside a cocoon?

Vocabulary activities O

Challenge the children to think of as many synonyms as they can for ambling. Then use a ‘Shades of meaning’ activity (see page 15) to order the words they have found.

O

Petrified comes from the Greek word petra, meaning ‘rock’. Discuss with the children how this origin might relate to the meaning of this word. You could also challenge them to think of some synonyms (e.g. ‘stunned’; ‘horrorstruck’).

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of inference.

1 Who rode the elephant first?

A miner.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 16 Modelling slides and the Modelling inference guidance on page 160.

2 What did you have to do to ride on the elephant?

Pay 20 cents/money.

2 The children can then attempt the Inference questions on page 164.

3 What is the elephant’s name?

Khush.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 165 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

4 What did the elephant do to the little girl with crutches?

Lifted her in the air and wouldn’t put her down.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 160 to 161.

3 Explore O

O

O

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Working in pairs, one child should instruct their partner how to draw an animal without naming the animal, ensuring they make their instructions as detailed as possible for their partner. Meanwhile, the partner could hide the drawing from the ‘describer’ until it is finished. The children can then look at the drawing together to see how clear the instructions were and how well the artist was listening! The pairs can then swap roles and repeat the activity.

O

Writing task: Provide some empty thought bubbles in which the children can write what Khush might be thinking as he walks through the crowd and picks up the girl. What is the miner who rode on Khush’s back thinking? What is the showman thinking? What is the girl thinking?

Many zoos claim they make an important contribution to conservation by keeping animals in captivity. Others argue that the only effective and sustainable way to help endangered species is to protect their natural habitats. Drawing on learning from the previous unit, as well as undertaking additional research, make a list together of the pros and cons of zoos and take a class vote at the end of the discussion on the motion, ‘This class believes zoos should be banned’.

Discuss the treatment of the elephant in this story, pointing out that many people today believe it is cruel to use wild animals as circus attractions or for entertainment, but that attitudes were different in Victorian times (here you could discuss the quote from the text about ‘man’s domination of the greatest creature on earth!’). Discuss to what extent attitudes have changed today, perhaps referring to other examples of animals used for human entertainment (e.g. bull fighting; horse racing; donkey or camel rides at the beach; fishing; zoos; marine parks such as SeaWorld, and TV shows like I’m a Celebrity…

Get Me Out of Here). Discuss whether the children think people will continue to use animals in this way in the future.

Discuss the fact that the extract describes the elephant in great detail – not only its appearance, but its smell too! Together, look back at the text and identify the descriptive sentences (e.g. ‘Its side was like a wall of rock, grooved with a thousand interwoven wrinkles. A few hairs sprouted from the rock, like lichens on an ancient crag’). Draw the children’s attention to the author’s use of different viewpoints: she moves between describing the elephant as a whole and ‘zooming in’ on specific details. You could then give the children the opportunity to choose a familiar animal and try to describe it in a similar way to the elephant.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Unit 16

See pages 160 to 161

Inference

4 Skills focus

Reading list Fiction Cogheart by Peter Bunzl Elephant Journey by Rob Laidlaw When the Mountains Roared by Jess Butterworth Class reads Shadow Cat by Gillian Cross Non-fiction Captive by Jo-Anne McArthur Disappearing Acts by Isabella Bunnell Threats to African Elephants by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) (Linked text: Unit 15) Films The Greatest Showman (Bona Film Group, 2017)

Fiction

2 First steps

159

Unit 16

Modelling inference

See Unit 16 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 20 to 21) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 … a great gasp of breath that started at the depot and came sighing down the tracks. What does this tell you about how the crowd felt about the elephant?

They were all amazed by what they saw/by the sight of the elephant.

This question includes a locator. Model locating the quote but remind the children that inference questions require more than simply reading the text. The text describes the gasp travelling down the tracks, which means that everyone in turn is gasping, which suggests they were finding the sight of the elephant incredible.

2 Why was the miner on the elephant nervous? Explain with evidence from the text.

Because he was scared as he was very high up sitting on the elephant.

This question does not include a locator, so make sure you model scanning the text to find the word ‘nervous’.

Look at the text that comes before and after ‘nervous’ and underline any clues about why the man would be nervous. This may include the height at which the man was sitting or the amazed reaction of the crowd. The children might also also say that the man was nervous because he had probably never ridden an elephant before, which they can infer from his nervousness and the crowd’s excitement. Explain that this question would be worth 1 mark for the reason and 1 mark for the evidence.

3 “Take a ride on the elephant and feel, for yourself, man’s domination of the greatest creature on earth!”

What does this tell you about attitudes towards wild animals at the time?

That people did not respect animals/didn’t care about animal rights.

Model finding the locator quotation in the text and reading around it. Draw on the discussions from the Explore activity about animal rights and using animals to provide entertainment. Discuss the meaning of ‘domination’ with the children, then ask them to explain what this tells us about attitudes towards wild animals in the time when the extract is set.

4 Why was Tad mesmerized by the elephant? Give one reason and use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Because it was so big. He says it was like ‘a wall of rock’.

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

As there is no locator, model scanning the text for the key word ‘mesmerized’ and then read around the key word to look for clues. The size of the elephant is mentioned, and the description of Khush’s face emphasises this. Tad might also be mesmerized because of the occasion: the crowd’s response; the showman; the large numbers of people. Alert the children that this question would be worth 1 mark for the explanation and another 1 mark for the evidence from the text, so they need to pick one answer and justify it using the text.

160

Inference questions mark scheme

See page 164

Answer

Guidance

1

He was the elephant’s keeper. OR He sold tickets for the elephant rides.

This question is challenging as the clues are scattered throughout the text. You could give more specific locators if necessary. Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

2

Tad was in awe of Khush.

If the children find this challenging, discuss what impression the description of the elephant creates. You could ask them to imagine how they would feel if they got really close to an elephant like Tad does. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

Because he was too busy watching the elephant to notice anything else.

Encourage the children to think about the implications of this paragraph, focusing on ‘mesmerized’ and ‘couldn’t take his eyes from’. What does the text suggest about Tad’s state of mind as he stares at the elephant? Award 1 mark for a reference to Tad being completely absorbed by the elephant.

4

So that they listened to what he had to say. OR To keep their attention.

OR To keep them interested.

Some children may suspect that the girl being picked up is part of the act and say that the man shouted to distract the crowd from looking at the elephant. This is also acceptable.

Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

5

He felt scared for her safety. OR He felt that he should have tried to help her.

As this question has no locator, you may want to direct the children to the last three paragraphs of the story. Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

See page 165

?

Guidance

Encourage the children to use the description of the elephant’s movements found later in the paragraph to help them narrow down their options. You may also wish to recap your discussions of the Key vocabulary with the children to help them with the target word. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Skill: Word meaning.

1

strolling

2

He was short OR flamboyant OR wore a tall hat OR had a jacket lined with scarlet silk.

Encourage the children to look for words that describe the elephant keeper’s appearance rather than what he was doing or how he was behaving. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

3

Because it is tall like a mountain. OR Because elephants live a long time.

OR Because its skin is rough like the rock on a crag.

If the children find this difficult, discuss the image that the author creates in this sentence of the elephant as a very old, huge creature. Award 1 mark for a reference to the elephant being very big/old/looking like a rock. Skill: Word choice.

4

At the beginning the crowd thought the elephant was amazing/exciting but at the end they thought it was scary/ dangerous/out of control.

The children must give both sides of the comparison to gain the mark. Award 1 mark for a plausible comparison.

Skill: Comparison.

5

I think the girl will start to walk because the most amazing thing about the elephant hasn’t been revealed yet, so helping people walk could be its talent.

The children’s background knowledge and prior reading may influence their predictions. Accept any prediction that is plausible and backed up with information from the text.

Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

Answer

Unit 16

Answer

161

Unit 16

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross This extract is from a story about Tad, an orphaned boy who leaves his bossy aunt, Mrs Bobb, to go on a journey with an elephant from a travelling show.

The text describes the moment when Tad sees Khush the elephant for the first time as it walks through the town.

Then, suddenly, everything changed, with a great gasp of breath that started at the depot and came sighing down the tracks. The whole crowd turned to look right, and people began pushing and craning their necks. Tad turned too, but for a moment all he could make out was a forest of heads.

And then he saw the elephant.

It came ambling along the front of the crowd, between the main track and the siding. Its huge feet moved delicately over the rough stones and, from high on its neck, a miner waved a nervous hand.

“Only twenty cents for an unforgettable experience!” said a voice like a trumpet.

“Take a ride on the elephant and feel, for yourself, man’s domination of the greatest creature on earth!”

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

The elephant had almost reached Tad before he saw who was shouting. It was a short, flamboyant figure in a tall hat and a jacket lined with scarlet silk. He strode ahead, waving one arm dramatically and leading the elephant on a short length of frayed rope.

The elephant.

It passed close to Tad, not five paces away. Its side was like a wall of rock, grooved with a thousand interwoven wrinkles. A few hairs sprouted from the rock, like lichens on an ancient crag, and the ripe, grassy smell of elephant flesh filled the air.

Tad was mesmerized. If Mrs Bobb had hit him with a mallet, he wouldn’t have noticed. If the girl with the crutches had burst into song, he wouldn’t have heard.

He couldn’t take his eyes from the great, slow body of the elephant.

The elephant stopped, twenty yards further up the line, to let the miner dismount. As it turned back towards Tad, he looked up into its face, at the small, remote eye, almost hidden in a cocoon of wrinkles.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Tad’s eyes travelled over the humped head and down the long line of the trunk, to the massive legs. The nearest foot was thicker than his whole body, with gnarled yellow toenails the size of his fist.

Unit 16

“… most wondrously loyal and intelligent creatures!” the man in the tall hat bellowed, almost in Tad’s ear. “Capable of understanding a vast range of commands …”

The great foot took one more step, and the man in the tall hat raised his voice, suddenly and sharply.

“But I still have not revealed the most amazing fact about Khush –” He paused, as though to gather everyone’s attention. It was a dramatic silence, and even Tad took his eyes off the elephant and looked round, for a second.

And in that second, the elephant moved. The long, grey trunk snaked down – so close to Tad that it brushed his cheek – and looped itself round the girl with the crutches. Before anyone could react, it lifted her high into the air.

There was a gasp, a buzz of whispers – and then a fearful, petrified silence.

Everyone in the crowd gazed up at the unconscious girl in the elephant’s trunk.

Her hair had fallen over her face, and her skirt was hitched up, showing the loops of scarlet ribbon in her frilly white drawers.

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

I should have done something, Tad thought. He stared up at the elephant, but its face was blank. Incomprehensible. Everyone was waiting for the showman to speak, but he was staring as hard as anyone else.

From The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross. Text copyright © Gillian Cross, 2015. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.

Unit 16

Inference 1

Name:

Look at the paragraph beginning The elephant had almost reached Tad … . What do you think was the job of the man in the tall hat?

1 mark

2

Khush the elephant is described as like a wall of rock. What does this suggest about Tad’s feelings about Khush? Tick one.

Tad was in awe of Khush.

Tad thought Khush was cute.

Tad was pleased with Khush.

Tad was angry with Khush.

3

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning Tad was mesmerized. Why wouldn’t Tad have noticed if Mrs Bobb had hit him with a mallet?

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

1 mark

4

… the man in the tall hat raised his voice, suddenly and sharply. “But I still have not revealed the most amazing fact about Khush–” Why did the man raise his voice suddenly and sharply to say this to the crowd?

1 mark

5

How did Tad feel about the girl being lifted up by the elephant?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Name:

Look at the paragraph beginning It came ambling along … . What does the word ambling mean here? Tick one. stamping

2

Unit 16

Mix it up!

strolling

marching

striding

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning The elephant had almost reached Tad … . Give two details to describe the showman’s appearance.

1 2

3

2 marks

Its side was like a wall of rock, grooved with a thousand interwoven wrinkles. A few hairs sprouted from the rock, like lichens on an ancient crag …

Why do you think the author chose to describe the elephant as an ancient crag?

1 mark

How were the crowd’s feelings about the elephant different at the beginning and the end of the text?

1 mark

5

What do you think might happen next? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

I think

because .

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

The Great Elephant Chase, by Gillian Cross

4

Unit 17 Retrieval

Black Beauty

by Anna Sewell Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 170 to 173

Black Beauty, a Victorian classic written in 1877, is about the life of a handsome horse. Unusually, it is written in the style of a memoir, with Beauty himself as its narrator. Black Beauty relates the freedom of his early life and his subsequent experiences with various masters, some kind and some cruel. Anna Sewell’s wish for better treatment of animals was a motivating factor in writing this novel. This unique text will get children thinking about the different relationships humans have with animals, and the responsibilities these bring. The extract from Charlotte’s Web (Unit 18) is an ideal companion piece for this text.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 170 to 171) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 This text is from a Victorian novel called Black Beauty. What do you know about life in Victorian times?

Answers will vary, but all should be able to contribute some ideas if Progress check 1 and Unit 16 have been completed. Encourage them to tell you about a range of topics (e.g. schools; homes; jobs; celebrations; travel).

Fiction

2 Although this is a fiction text, it is written in the style of an autobiography. What is an autobiography?

Some children will be unfamiliar with this term.

Explain that an autobiography is a book someone writes about their own life, as opposed to a biography, which is a book written about the life of someone else, usually a famous person. You could clarify the difference between (auto)biographies and diaries, which are immediate accounts based on specific dates.

166

3 What do you know about horses?

Answers will vary, but all should be able to contribute. Some may have seen horses on a farm or have ridden a horse before. Discuss the fact that caring for horses requires a lot of equipment and hard work (e.g. mucking out; grooming; saddling; training). Record the children’s combined knowledge about horses, sharing some of the texts from the Reading list if desired.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary bit

discontented

fond

grooms

liberty

paddock

plain

prance

rein

skittish

spirits

trot

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Some children are allowed to stay up as late as they like at the weekend. What examples of liberty do you enjoy?

O

I’m very fond of my cat. What are you fond of?

Why?

O

How do you move if you trot? How about if you prance around? How are these different from walking?

O

If your spirits are low, you might feel sad or gloomy. How do you think you would feel and behave if you were in good spirits?

O

Which animals do grooms look after?

Vocabulary activities O

Rein and ‘reign’ and plain and ‘plane’ are homophones (they sound the same but have different meanings and/or spellings).

Challenge the children to collect other homophones for a class list or display.

O

Discontented starts with the prefix ‘dis–’, which denotes a negative or reversal.

Challenge the children to think of words that use the same prefix and discuss their meanings.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

See pages 168 to 169

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of retrieval.

1 Who is the ‘I’ character in this text?

A horse (Black Beauty).

1 Model the skill using the Unit 17 Modelling slides and the Modelling retrieval guidance on page 168.

2 Where does Black Beauty live now?

In a stable.

2 The children can then attempt the Retrieval questions on page 172.

3 Where was Black Beauty living before this?

In a large field/plain.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 173 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

4 How did John let Black Beauty know that he needed to behave himself?

John used his voice and the reins.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 168 to 169.

3 Explore O

O

Black Beauty the horse is the main character in the novel Black Beauty. Discuss other stories in which animals are the main characters, whether or not they are first-person narrators, and in which we learn about their thoughts and feelings. Well-known examples might include Peter Rabbit, Winnie the Pooh, Babe from The Sheep-Pig, or the animals in The Animals of Farthing Wood. The children are likely to be able to contribute their own examples from recent reading, as this is a common device in children’s literature. You could ask them to imagine that their pet, or an animal they know, could talk and tell them their feelings. Discuss and record what the animals might say. Would they be happy or would some of them be sad, bored or distressed?

Explore why some animals might be less happy about their life.

Explore the uses of animals in industry in the Victorian times. Discuss the fact that people were often reliant on horses for farming and local transport (e.g. to pull farming equipment; to pull barges and carriages for transport). Look at pictures online and in books. Why were horses so central to personal and industrial transport? What changed this?

Unit 17

4 Skills focus

Retrieval

2 First steps

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Some animals are treated very badly by humans, which is why organisations like the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) were established.

Discuss in small groups why you should be kind to animals and agree on five points that one of you needs to present to the rest of the class.

O

Writing task: Make a poster designed to stop people being cruel to animals. Some children might want to make their poster from an animal’s point of view.

They could use the discussions in Explore and the speaking and listening task above to help them.

Reading list Fiction Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (Linked text: Unit 18) Kentucky Thriller by Lauren St John The National Trust Secret Diaries series by Philip Ardagh The One Dollar Horse by Lauren St John The Pegasus series by Kate O’Hearn The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club by Alex Bell Class reads War Horse by Michael Morpurgo Non-fiction The Complete Book of Horses by Debby Sly Horse Life by Robyn Smith

Fiction

Films Black Beauty (Warner Bros., 1994)

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

167

Unit 17

Modelling retrieval

See Unit 17 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 16 to 17) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Name two things that Black Beauty liked about his new place. the people/his food/his light, airy stable Model noticing that there is no locator for this question and demonstrate identifying the key words ‘new place’, and the fact that your answer needs to include two points. Model scanning with your finger and finding the phrase ‘new place’ in the first line. Explain that you will read around it to find two things that made Black Beauty happy. Draw attention to the three possible answers and then model selecting two.

2 Look at the first paragraph. Name three items that Black Beauty wore. straps, bit and blinkers Model noticing the locator and the fact that you are being asked for three pieces of information. Model scanning through the first paragraph, paying attention to the body parts (e.g. ‘mouth’ and ‘eyes’) that are mentioned. It is a good idea to refer back to any relevant discussion completed in the Key vocabulary and Explore sections, as the children may not be familiar with the vocabulary.

3 Look at the second paragraph. How did John get rid of Black Beauty’s fidgets?

He would let him go very fast for a few miles.

Model using the locator to find the second paragraph and then read it aloud until you come to the key word ‘fidgets’. Point out that if John brings Black Beauty back ‘fresh’ and ‘clear of the fidgets’, this means he has got rid of them. Model reading these lines again more slowly to look for exactly how John did this, piecing together the meaning gradually as the language is quite complex. Finally, encourage the children to help you write your answer using your own words to reinforce their understanding.

4 Look at the third paragraph. When did Black Beauty get his liberty back for a few hours? on fine Sundays in the summer-time This question is trickier than it looks, so encourage the children to suggest a range of answers. Some may answer only ‘sometimes’, others simply ‘every Sunday’. Explain that, according to the text, Black Beauty would not have been allowed out every Sunday – it had to be the right weather and season.

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

Retrieval questions mark scheme

168

See page 172

Answer

Guidance

1

his liberty/freedom (to gallop around whenever he wanted)

The children need to read quite far into the paragraph to retrieve the answer. If necessary, direct them to the sentence ‘What more could I want?’. Some may also need to recap the meaning of ‘liberty’ from the Key vocabulary. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

three and a half years (of his life)

You could remind the children that ‘how long’ means they are looking for a time period, and discuss synonyms for ‘completely’ and ‘free’. Award 1 mark for the correct answer given in words or figures. Do not accept ‘three years’.

3

kind

patient

As these paragraphs are long, some children may struggle to locate the answers. Remind them to scan for and highlight the mentions of John, and to read around these. Some inference is required, as ‘kind’ does not appear in the text. You could ask the children how John reacts to Black Beauty’s high spirits: does he punish him or help him work off his energy? Award 1 mark for two correct answers ticked.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

4

If the children answer ‘whatever he liked’ encourage them to choose a more specific activity. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

gallop OR lie down OR roll over on his back OR nibble the sweet grass OR talk to the other horses

5

T Black Beauty didn’t like his new place.

Black Beauty pranced about when he hadn’t had enough exercise.

In his new place, Black Beauty had to wait in the stable until he was wanted.

The children should be getting used to this tricky format.

Remind them how to fill in the table, and to scan for key words from the statements in the text, even if they think they remember the answers. Award 1 mark for at least two statements correctly ticked. Award 2 marks for all four statements correctly ticked.

F

John tickled Black Beauty’s feet.

Unit 17

Answer

Mix it up! questions mark scheme Answer

See page 173

?

Guidance

brisk run

2

He was a groom. OR He looked after/ trained Black Beauty.

Many children will not know ‘groom’ as a job title, but they should be able to explain what John did using details from the text. You could revisit your discussion of ‘groom’ in the Key vocabulary.

Award 1 mark for a correct answer. Skill: Inference.

3

Black Beauty didn’t normally get to do what he wanted because he had to pull carriages most of the time.

Some children may focus on the details of Black Beauty’s enjoyment (e.g. ‘Because the grass was cool and soft’; ‘Because he was a young horse and liked trotting around’). If so, encourage them to think about the word ‘treat’: do most people get to have treats/do what they like best every day? Award 1 mark for a reference to not having liberty most of the time/being shut up in the stable/having to work. Skill: Inference.

4

Losing My Liberty

5

To show what life was like for a horse when they lost their freedom and served an owner.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

If the children tick the second or third options, point out that these only cover part of the text rather than the whole extract.

If they tick the fourth option, refocus them on the text’s first sentence – does Black Beauty hate his new life, or are his feelings more complicated? Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Summarising.

If the children find this question tricky, ask them to think about the main message of the extract. How does the author feel about horses? What is the author trying to tell the reader? Award 1 mark for a reference to empathising with animals/treating animals kindly. Skill: Relationship.

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

If the children tick an incorrect answer, prompt them to read around the locator quotation in the text to find out more. You could recap the meaning of ‘trot’ from the Key vocabulary. If they tick the third or fourth options, ask them whether it is likely that the horse jumped/danced for miles at a time. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word meaning.

1

169

Unit 17 Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell This text is about a young horse called Black Beauty who finds himself working for a family after some years of freedom. Although happy enough with the family, in this extract he remembers how his early years of liberty were different from his current situation as a working horse.

I was quite happy in my new place, and if there was one thing that I missed it must not be thought I was discontented; all who had to do with me were good and I had a light airy stable and the best of food.

What more could I want? Why, liberty! For three years and a half of my life I had had all the liberty I could wish for; but now, week after week, month after month, and no doubt year after year, I must stand up in a stable night and day except when I am wanted, and then I must be just as steady and quiet as any old horse who has worked twenty years.

Straps here and straps there, a bit in my mouth, and blinkers over my eyes. Now, I am not complaining, for I know it must be so. I only mean to say that for a young horse full of strength and spirits, who has been used to some large field or plain where he can fling up his head and toss up his tail and gallop away at full speed, then round and back again with a snort to his companions – I say it is hard never to have a bit more liberty to do as you like. Sometimes, when I have had less exercise than usual, I have felt so full of life and spring that when John has taken me out to exercise I really could not keep quiet; do what I would, it seemed as if I must jump, or dance, or prance, and many a good shake I know I must have given him, especially at the first; but he was always good and patient.

“Steady, steady, my boy,” he would say; “wait a bit, and we will have a good swing, and soon get the tickle out of your feet.” Then as soon as we were out of the village, he would give me a few miles at a spanking trot, and then bring me back as fresh as before, only clear of the fidgets, as he called them. Spirited horses, when not enough exercised, are often Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 17

called skittish, when it is only play; and some grooms will punish them, but our John did not; he knew it was only high spirits. Still, he had his own ways of making me understand by the tone of his voice or the touch of the rein. If he was very serious and quite determined, I always knew it by his voice, and that had more power with me than anything else, for I was very fond of him.

I ought to say that sometimes we had our liberty for a few hours; this XVHG WR EH RQ ILQH 6XQGD\V LQ WKH VXPPHU WLPH 7KH FDUULDJH QHYHU ZHQW out on Sundays, because the church was not far off.

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

It was a great treat to us to be turned out into the home paddock or the old orchard; the grass was so cool and soft to our feet, the air so sweet, and the freedom to do as we liked was so pleasant – to gallop, to lie down, and roll over on our backs, or to nibble the sweet grass. Then it was a very good time for talking, as we stood together under the shade of the large chestnut tree.

From Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell.

Unit 17

Retrieval 1

Name:

I was quite happy in my new place, and if there was one thing that I missed it must not be thought I was discontented …

What was the thing that Black Beauty missed in his new place?

1 mark

2

Look at the first paragraph. For how long did Black Beauty get to be completely free?

1 mark

3

Look at the first two paragraphs. Which of the following options best describe John’s behaviour towards Black Beauty? Tick two. kind

4

discontented

patient

cruel

1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning It was a great treat to us … . Find and copy two things that Black Beauty did when he was allowed into the paddock.

1 2

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

5

2 marks

Look at the whole text. Tick to show whether each statement is true or false.

True

False

Black Beauty didn’t like his new place.

Black Beauty pranced about when he hadn’t had enough exercise.

John tickled Black Beauty’s feet.

In his new place, Black Beauty had to wait in the stable until he was wanted.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 17

Mix it up!

Name:

Then as soon as we were out of the village, he would give me a few miles at a spanking trot …

Which group of words could replace spanking trot in this sentence? Tick one. slow walk brisk run prancing jump silly dance

2

1 mark

Look at the first two paragraphs. What was John’s job?

1 mark

3

It was a great treat to us to be turned out into the home paddock or the old orchard … .

Why do you think this was such a treat for Black Beauty?

1 mark

4

Look at the whole text. Which of the following options would be the most effective title for this extract? Tick one.

Losing My Liberty

Training with John Hating My New Home

5

1 mark

Look at the whole text. Why do you think the author wrote this story?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell

Playing in the Paddock

Unit 18 Word meaning

?

Charlotte’s Web

by E.B. White Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 178 to 181

This classic novel, published in 1952, tells the tale of Wilbur the pig and his friends, including Charlotte the spider.

Wilbur is born a runt on Mr Arable’s farm, but Mr Arable’s daughter, Fern, persuades him to keep the pig and the two become great friends. When Wilbur is threatened with slaughter, Charlotte the spider begins writing messages in her web to protect him. This extract, about the close bond between Wilbur and Fern, is worth comparing with the description of animal–human interactions in Black Beauty (Unit 17).

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 178 to 179) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 Look at the illustration. What do you think this text might be about?

Answers might include a baby pig being orphaned and a girl bringing him up or keeping him as a pet.

Encourage the children to think about whether there are any problems with this arrangement: what will happen when the pig grows up? You could show them an image of an adult pig to show the size they grow to and/or discuss the usual fate of adult pigs on farms.

Fiction

2 Like Black Beauty in the previous unit, one of the themes in this story is the relationship between humans and animals. How are human relationships with pets, farm animals and wild animals different?

The children’s exposure to each of these categories will vary. Many will have pets or will have visited a zoo or a farm. Remind them to draw on things they have read about and watched as well as direct experiences. You could also remind them that most birds are wild animals. You might wish to point out that these categories can overlap (e.g. a sheepdog could be a pet and work on a farm).

174

3 At the end of this extract, the girl learns that her pig will be going away. Have you ever been close to an animal or to a person who had to go away for a while? How did it make you feel?

For some children this could be a sensitive subject, as they may be drawn to reflect on the deaths of family members or pets. It might help to give an example from your own experience (e.g. a friend moving away).

Language toolkit Key vocabulary appetite

blossom

brook

enchanted

firm

moist

peered

provide for

relieved

snout

waded

yard

Vocabulary discussion questions O

What’s the difference between a yard and a garden? Which would you prefer to play in and why?

O

If you were enchanted with a new toy, how do you think you would be feeling?

O

If your appetite increased, would this mean you wanted to eat more or less? What activities give you a big appetite?

O

When might an adult be firm with you?

Vocabulary activities O

A brook is a small stream. With the children, collect words that describe bodies of water and the movement of water. On the board, organise them in order of size and power.

O

Snout refers to a pig’s nose and mouth.

Challenge the children to think of other words that are used to refer to parts of animals’ bodies.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

2 How was Wilbur fed? What was he fed?

He was fed milk in a bottle by Fern. Some children may be able to extend their answers to say that Wilbur ate ‘scraps of food’ once he was older.

3 What would Fern do when Wilbur was tired when they were on a walk?

She would put him in a doll’s pram/carriage (next to the doll).

4 At the end of the text, what did Fern’s father say was going to happen to Wilbur?

He was going to be sold.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of word meaning.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 18 Modelling slides and the Modelling word meaning guidance on page 176.

2 The children can then attempt the Word meaning questions on page 180.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 181 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 176 to 177.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the class into small groups. Allow them to discuss their arguments and then let them hold mini debates on the motion ‘This group believes that humans should not be allowed to keep piglets as pets’. Can they convince their classmates of their point of view?

O

Writing task: The children could have a go at writing as Wilbur. They could rewrite the text from his point of view, focusing on his feelings for Fern and her family members, and his reaction to having to leave his home. Alternatively, they could continue the story and write what happens next to Wilbur.

3 Explore O

O

Build on the Get ready discussion about relationships with animals. Discuss the differences in how these relationships work depending on whether the animals are pets, farm animals or wild animals. Using a table, record some of the differences between these categories, using details from your class discussion (e.g. Pets often live in people’s houses and get cuddled by their owners, and sometimes even sleep on their beds, whereas domestic animals are usually kept in separate buildings, and wild animals usually live at an even greater distance from humans). You might compare the ‘purpose’ of each category of animal, and the pros and cons associated with it.

Discuss Fern’s treatment of Wilbur in this extract.

Does she treat him more like a farm animal or a pet?

Encourage the children to pick out words or groups of words that show how Fern treats Wilbur. Discuss their reactions to the fact that he is described as ‘her baby’/one of her ‘infants’, and that she feeds him from a bottle and pushes him around in her doll’s pram – is she treating him more like a human or a pet? Explore Wilbur’s behaviour towards Fern – does he behave more like a human or an animal? Some children may say he is more like a pig because he tunnels in the straw and likes oozy mud, whereas others will think he is more like a human because he waits with Fern at the bus stop. Do the children think that Fern and Wilbur’s relationship will change as they both get older and Wilbur gets bigger?

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Unit 18

1 Where did Wilbur live for the first days of his life?

Where did sleep when he was two weeks old?

At first he lived in a box near the stove in the kitchen.

Once he was two weeks old he had to move outside.

See pages 176 to 177

?

Word meaning

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

4 Skills focus

Reading list Fiction Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (Linked text: Unit 17) James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith Winston and the Marmalade Cat by Megan Rix Class reads Shadow by Michael Morpurgo Non-fiction Animal Encyclopedia by National Geographic Kids Magazine The Crazy About series by Owen Davey Farm Animals by Joanne Mattern Rodent Rascals by Roxie Munro Films Babe (Universal Pictures, 1995) Charlotte’s Web (Paramount Pictures, 2006)

Fiction

2 First steps

175

Unit 18

Modelling word meaning

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See Unit 18 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 14 to 15) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Mr Arable fixed a small yard specially for Wilbur under an apple tree, and gave him a large wooden box full of straw, with a doorway cut in it so he could walk in and out as he pleased. What does the group of words as he pleased mean in this sentence? Tick one. longingly

slowly

freely

frequently

Locate the quote in the text, at the end of the first paragraph, and highlight the group of words ‘as he pleased’. Discuss what the highlighted text means: whenever he likes. Read the list of options and see if any stand out. Some may be easy to disregard, such as ‘slowly’ and ‘longingly’. To decide between the remaining two options, ask the children to think back to the definition they agreed earlier. Explain that the two words mean similar things but ‘frequently’ means ‘often’, whereas ‘freely’ means Wilbur can move whenever he likes.

2 Look at the paragraph beginning Carrying a bottle of milk, … . Which word in this paragraph is closest in meaning to ‘looked’? peered Read the question together and draw the children’s attention to the locator. Explain that you are looking for a word similar to ‘looked’, and that this means you should watch out for any past-tense verbs in the paragraph.

Model scanning through, pausing to eliminate each verb. When you get to ‘peered’, ask the children if they remember this word from the Key vocabulary. If necessary, discuss the meaning of the phrase ‘disappeared from sight’ in the next line – does it mean ‘looked’ or ‘became invisible’? Model writing the correct answer.

3 Wilbur was poking the straw with his snout. Which word is closest in meaning to poking? Tick one. nudging

smelling

eating

burying

Some children might use the word ‘snout’ to conclude that Wilbur was eating or smelling the straw. Explain that you need to check the text to find out more and model reading around the locator quotation. Establish that we learn in the next sentence that Wilbur was building a tunnel. Think aloud: This means he must be moving the straw out of the way with his nose to make space for the tunnel. Act it out if it helps. Establish that Wilbur was digging but not burying anything so the first answer must be correct.

4 Look at the last paragraph. Find and copy one word that tells you that Mr Arable would not change his mind about selling Wilbur. firm Model scanning the paragraph, pausing on any mentions of Mr Arable. Some children might suggest ‘would have to be’ or ‘not willing’ but remind them that you can only give one word as your answer.

Word meaning questions mark scheme Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

Answer

176

?

See page 180

Guidance

1

vanished

If necessary, encourage the children to visualise a bus going down the road. Would you still be able to see the bus if there was a bend in the road and it went around the corner? Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

a doll’s pram

If the children struggle, ask them to think about the meaning of the group of words in context. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

3

infants

Remind the children of the strategies you used in the Modelling questions. If your school has an infants’ section, use this to prompt them. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

4

He followed her around very closely.

If necessary, help the children find the quote in the text and encourage them to read around it. Do not accept ‘got in the way’ as the context does not suggest Wilbur was unwelcome.

Award 1 mark for ‘followed’. Award 2 marks for ‘followed’ plus additional detail.

5

damp

There are some strong distractors here: some children may tick ‘cosy’ because they know Wilbur is comfortable, whereas others will associate mud with a strong smell. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

See page 181

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Answer

Guidance

1

It was small. OR It was under an apple tree. OR It had a large wooden box full of straw/with a doorway that he could go in and out of.

Point out the number of marks for this question and remind the children to provide at least two details in their answer.

Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

2

That Fern loves/worries about/cares about Wilbur.

Remind the children that they can check their answer by rereading the text for other clues about Fern’s feelings for Wilbur.

Award 1 mark for a reference to Fern loving Wilbur/wanting to keep him safe. Skill: Inference.

3

The mood gets sad because we learn that Wilbur is going to be taken away from Fern.

If necessary, encourage the children to sum up what happens before this line in the story and what changes after it. How did they feel about Fern and Wilber after reading the last paragraph?

Award 1 mark for a reference to the mood becoming sad/ shocking, or to the final paragraph providing a contrast with the rest of the extract. Skill: Relationship.

5

Feelings about Wilbur

Evidence

Fern

Fern loves Wilbur like a family member.

She looks after him/he is described as being her baby.

Mr Arable

Mr Arable treats Wilbur as a domestic animal that should be sold for profit.

He says Wilbur is big enough to be sold and does not want to pay for lots of food for him.

Fern will beg her parents not to sell Wilbur because she loves him so much.

OR Wilbur will make friends with his next owner so he doesn’t get made into sausages!

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

This question involves scanning the whole text for evidence of how the characters’ feelings about Wilbur differ. If the children struggle, direct them towards the last paragraph, which summarises Fern’s feelings (she broke down and wept at the idea of Wilbur being sold) and those of Mr Arable. Award 1 mark for one plausible feeling with evidence from the text.

Award 2 marks for two plausible feelings with evidence from the text. Skill: Comparison.

Accept any plausible suggestion as long as it is linked to the events or characterisation of the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text.

Skill: Prediction.

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

4

Unit 18

Answer

177

Unit 18

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White Wilbur is a pig that was born on the farm where Mr and Mrs Arable live with their daughter Fern and son Avery. Wilbur was particularly small when he was born so the family bring him indoors to look after him. Fern takes a keen interest in Wilbur, who seems to like her too.

For the first few days of his life, Wilbur was allowed to live in a box near the stove in the kitchen. Then, when Mrs Arable complained, he was moved to a bigger box in the woodshed. At two weeks of age, he was moved RXWGRRUV ,W ZDV DSSOH EORVVRP WLPH DQG WKH GD\V ZHUH JHWWLQJ ZDUPHU Mr Arable fixed a small yard specially for Wilbur under an apple tree, and gave him a large wooden box full of straw, with a doorway cut in it so he could walk in and out as he pleased.

“Won’t he be cold at night?” asked Fern.

“No,” said her father. “You watch and see what he does.”

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

Carrying a bottle of milk, Fern sat down under the apple tree inside the yard. Wilbur ran to her and she held the bottle for him while he sucked.

When he had finished the last drop, he grunted and walked sleepily into the box. Fern peered through the door. Wilbur was poking the straw with his snout. In a short time he had dug a tunnel in the straw. He crawled into the tunnel and disappeared from sight, completely covered with straw.

Fern was enchanted. It relieved her mind to know that her baby would sleep covered up, and would stay warm.

Every morning after breakfast, Wilbur walked out to the road with Fern and waited with her till the bus came. She would wave goodbye to him, and he would stand and watch the bus until it vanished round a turn.

While Fern was in school, Wilbur was shut up inside his yard. But as soon as she got home in the afternoon, she would take him out and he would follow her round the place. If she went into the house, Wilbur went too.

If she went upstairs, Wilbur would wait at the bottom step until she came down again. If she took her doll for a walk in the doll carriage, Wilbur followed along.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 18

Sometimes, on these journeys, Wilbur would get tired, and Fern would pick him up and put him in the carriage alongside the doll. He liked this.

And if he was very tired, he would close his eyes and go to sleep under the doll’s blanket. He looked cute when his eyes were closed, because his lashes were so long. The doll would close her eyes, too, and Fern would wheel the carriage very slowly and smoothly so as not to wake her infants.

One warm afternoon, Fern and Avery put on bathing suits and went down to the brook for a swim. Wilbur tagged along at Fern’s heels. When she waded into the brook, Wilbur waded in with her. He found the water quite cold – too cold for his liking. So while the children swam and played and splashed water at each other, Wilbur amused himself in the mud along the edge of the brook, where it was warm and moist and delightfully sticky and oozy.

Every day was a happy day, and every night was peaceful.

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

Wilbur was what farmers call a spring pig, which simply means that he was born in springtime. When he was five weeks old, Mr Arable said he was now big enough to sell, and would have to be sold. Fern broke down and wept. But her father was firm about it. Wilbur’s appetite had increased; he was beginning to eat scraps of food in addition to milk. Mr Arable was not willing to provide for him any longer. He had already sold Wilbur’s ten brothers and sisters.

From Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Text copyright © E.B. White, 1952; renewed by E.B. White, 1980. Reproduced by permission of ICM Partners, 65 E. 55th St., New York, NY 10022.

Unit 18

Word meaning

?

1

Name:

Look at the sentences below. Underline one word that means ‘disappeared’.

Every morning after breakfast, Wilbur walked out to the road with Fern and waited with her till the bus came. She would wave goodbye to him, and he would stand and watch the bus until it vanished round a turn.

1 mark

2

If she took her doll for a walk in the doll carriage, Wilbur followed along.

What is a doll carriage?

1 mark

3

Look at the paragraph beginning Sometimes, on these journeys, … . Find and copy one word that means ‘children’.

1 mark

4

Wilbur tagged along at Fern’s heels.

What does this sentence mean? Explain in your own words.

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

2 marks

5

… Wilbur amused himself in the mud along the edge of the brook, where it was warm and moist and delightfully sticky and oozy.

Which word is closest in meaning to moist? Tick one. cosy stinky damp dry

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 18

Mix it up!

Name:

Look at the first paragraph. Give two points to describe the yard Mr Arable made for Wilbur when he was moved outside.

1 2

2

2 marks

It relieved her mind to know that her baby would sleep covered up, and would stay warm.

What does this sentence tell you about Fern’s feelings for Wilbur?

1 mark

3

Every day was a happy day, and every night was peaceful.

How does the mood of the story change after this line?

1 mark

4

How are Fern’s feelings about Wilbur different from Mr Arable’s feelings? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.

Feelings about Wilbur

Evidence

Fern

2 marks

5

What do you think might happen next in the story? Explain your answer.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White

Mr Arable

Unit 19 Word choice

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 186 to 189

This text is from the first book in the hugely popular series, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Its unusual language lends itself to the exploration of word choice, and the ways in which writers use vocabulary to create atmosphere.

In this extract, the Baudelaire children arrive at the house where they will live with their evil, money-grabbing guardian, Count Olaf. On their way in, they encounter a friendly neighbour who they wish could look after them instead! The children will enjoy making links between this text and that of Unit 20: taken from the classic novel Little Women, it also explores contrasts between neighbours.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 186 to 187) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 Look at the title. What type of mood do you think the author will create in this text? Why? The children should be able to suggest a range of synonyms for the words in the title (e.g. I think the text will have a dark/sad/gloomy/scary/unpleasant/ uncomfortable mood./I think the characters will be unlucky./I think lots of things will go wrong).

Fiction

2 This text is from a book about three orphans who go to live with a relative they have never met. How would you expect the children to feel about this?

Answers will vary, but the children are likely to suggest that the orphans might feel upset, scared and confused, or that they would be hoping that their relative would be kind and loving. Check that the children understand the word ‘orphan’ to boost their understanding of the text. You could also discuss the word ‘guardian’ if this is unfamiliar.

Care should be taken if any children do not live with their parents.

182

3 Thinking back to our predictions about the mood of this text, what do you think the orphans’ new home and guardian will be like?

Answers will vary. Encourage the children to come up with a range of grim scenarios (e.g. they will live in a dirty/unpleasant house; they will have to do lots of chores; the guardian will be nasty to them/will never cook their favourite foods). Again, be sensitive to the children’s circumstances.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary assortment

carve

dilapidated

doldrums

drawn

elaborately

judge

neighbourhood

sagged

siblings

soot

undoubtedly

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Do you prefer things that are plain and simple or decorated elaborately? Why?

O

What do you think are important qualities for a judge to have?

O

Describe your neighbourhood. What type of homes are there? What else is in your neighbourhood?

O

If you carve a piece of wood, what are you doing to it?

Vocabulary activities O

Explain that, to choose the right word when writing, you need to know lots of synonyms.

Ask the children to make a list of as many synonyms as they can for three of the Key vocabulary words. Discuss whether the synonyms have the same effect as the original word.

O

Assortment means a ‘mixed up collection of things or people’. Ask the children to think of some synonyms – they could be single words or groups of words.

O

Dilapidated means ‘run down’ or ‘ruined’, while being ‘in the doldrums’ means ‘feeling low’. Ask the children to collect a set of synonyms for both terms and place them in ‘Shades of meaning’ charts (see page 15).

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

1 How did the children get to their new house?

In a car/an automobile./Mr Poe drove them.

2 What were the names of the children?

Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire.

3 Who did the children meet first? What was she/ he like?

Justice Strauss. She was kind and she kept her house lovely and clean/had lots of plants.

4 What was Count Olaf’s house like?

It was dirty/falling down/dark.; It had strange architecture.

3 Explore O

O

Read the group of words ‘the children saw Count Olaf for the first time’. As a class, think of some synonyms the author could have used instead of ‘saw’ if he had wanted to create a different effect with this group of words (e.g. ‘stared at’; ‘glared at’; ‘glanced at’; ‘noticed’; ‘examined’; ‘glimpsed’; ‘spotted’; ‘peeked at’). Discuss some of the different effects that the synonyms create (e.g. ‘glared at’ makes the children sound angry, whereas ‘peeked at’ makes them sound scared; ‘glimpsed’ means they took a short look whereas ‘examined’ means they took a longer look). Use this discussion to demonstrate the fact that synonyms have similar rather than identical meanings.

Split the class into small groups and task each group with sorting vocabulary from the extract by effect.

One group could find adjectives or phrases that show a character is good (looking at the parts about Justice Strauss and her house), while another looks for adjectives or phrases that show a character or object is bad (Count Olaf and his house), and a third group could find vocabulary and structures that build tension. Alternatively, you could introduce more scaffolding into the activity by providing words and phrases from the extract for the children to sort into the three categories above.

See pages 184 to 185

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of word choice.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 19 Modelling slides and the Modelling word choice guidance on page 184.

2 The children can then attempt the Word choice questions on page 188.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 189 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 184 to 185.

Word choice

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

4 Skills focus

Unit 19

2 First steps

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Ask the children to work in pairs and write down a list of words used to describe Count Olaf in the text. Challenge them to think of a synonym for each adjective that exaggerates its meaning (e.g. ‘tall’ becomes ‘colossal’). Then ask the children to say the pairs of words aloud, recording them and playing them back if possible, and decide which word creates a more vivid impression when spoken aloud.

O

Writing task: Ask the children to use evidence from the text and their own imagination to write a brief character description for one of the characters in the text. They should include information about the character’s physical appearance and personality in their description.

Reading list Fiction It’s Not the End of the World by Judy Blume Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Linked text: Unit 20) The Maker of Monsters by Lorraine Gregory The A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson Class reads The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Films Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount Pictures, 2004)

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Fiction

Non-fiction Cars, Trains, Ships & Planes by DK

183

Unit 19

Modelling word choice

See Unit 19 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 26 to 27) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Mr Poe’s automobile rumbled along the cobblestone streets of the city … . The author uses the word automobile instead of ‘car’. What effect does this have?

It makes it feel formal/‘posh’. OR It feels old fashioned/not modern. OR It feels like a different time.

OR It makes it feel foreign.

Read the question and discuss the different possible effects of this word choice. Emphasise that all the associations you have come up with have been generated by a single word. You could also discuss how the sentence would sound more ordinary if the word ‘car’ had been used instead. Finally, model condensing your ideas into a single answer that contains one or two of the points above.

2 Look at the first paragraph. What impression do you get of the places the children pass on the way to Count Olaf’s? Give one impression, using evidence from the text to explain your answer.

Impression: Gloomy/shabby/run-down/old Evidence: The fountain doesn’t work. OR There is just a pile of dirt where the gardens were.

Read the question and model scanning the text to find the places named. Underline or highlight them and any other important words. Ask the children what sort of words they would use to describe the neighbourhood.

Model using these words to write an answer supported by evidence from the text.

3 “Here we are,” Mr Poe said, in a voice undoubtedly meant to be cheerful. What effect does this choice of words have on the reader?

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

It makes them think that it must be a really miserable place because Mr Poe can’t make himself sound cheerful about their new home.

184

Read the question aloud and explain how the group of words ‘undoubtedly meant to be’ shows that Mr Poe didn’t sound very cheerful even if he intended to. Ask the children how they feel when they read these words: Do they feel hopeful? Model writing an answer that describes the effect of these words.

4 The children looked from the well-scrubbed house of Justice Strauss to the dilapidated one next door.

By writing a sentence in this way what effect has the author created?

The author makes Count Olaf’s house sound especially bad because the reader contrasts it with the description of Justice Strauss’ house, which is much nicer.

Read the sentence and highlight the key words used to describe each house. Discuss how the description of Count Olaf’s house seems so much more terrible after you’ve pictured Justice Strauss and her house. Model writing an answer that reflects these ideas.

Word choice questions mark scheme

See page 188

Answer

Guidance

1

the prettiest house on the block OR the bricks had been cleaned very well OR an assortment of well-groomed plants OR shiny brass doorknob

The groups of words must match the text, as this is a ‘find and copy’ question. Do not accept phrases describing Justice Strauss’ appearance. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

2

It makes you think that Count Olaf’s house is a horrible place because calling it a crooked tooth makes it sound like it is falling down and rotten.

Some children might only offer ideas about the physical state of the house. If so, point out the word ‘effect’ in the question and encourage them to expand their answers to include their impressions of the house as a bad or unpleasant place. Award 1 mark for any reference to a plausible effect. Award 2 marks for any reference to a plausible effect plus an appropriate explanation using evidence from the text.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

She was very polite, even when she was very sad.

If the children only make one observation about Violet based on the sentence (e.g. ‘She was polite’), encourage them to expand their answer. If they make two separate observations (e.g.

‘She was polite and she was sad’), encourage them to make a connection between the two. Award 1 mark for one observation about Violet based on the sentence. Award 2 marks for a reference to Violet behaving well despite her disappointment.

4

To make Count Olaf’s house seem even more terrible. OR To keep the contrast in mind.

Remind the children that the author is trying to create an effect.

If they give a basic answer (e.g. ‘To remind you that there is a nice house next door’), encourage them to think about the effect this has. Award 1 mark for an answer that explains there is a contrast between the two houses/emphasises how bad Count Olaf’s house is in comparison.

5

nervous

Unit 19

Answer

Encourage the children to think about how the target sentence makes them feel. You could discuss how the use of ‘pause’ and ‘creaked’ slows the action in the sentence down and adds suspense and then ask the children to tick the feeling that best matches this effect. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

See page 189

?

Answer

Guidance

1

automobile and (horse-drawn) carriages

As this is an inference question, the words and phrases do not need to be copied exactly from the text. However, do not accept any other forms of transport (e.g. motorcycles) and do not accept ‘car’ in place of ‘automobile’, as this does not suggest an oldfashioned setting. Award 1 mark for both correct answers.

Skill: Inference.

2

Doldrum Drive OR the Fickle Fountain OR (an enormous) pile of dirt where the Royal Gardens once stood

The children must copy the group of words written in the text exactly. Do not accept ‘Royal Gardens’, as this has been replaced by a pile of dirt; prompt the children to expand the noun phrase.

Do not accept ‘motorcycles’ or ‘horse-drawn carriages’ as these are not places. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

3

She thought they were going to be living with Justice Strauss.

Some children may say ‘she was being polite’. As this is an inference question, they must think more deeply about the reasons behind Violet’s action. Award 1 mark for an answer that explains Violet believes she is going to live with Justice Strauss. Skill: Inference.

4

Finding out that Justice Strauss won’t be their guardian. OR Seeing Count Olaf’s house for the first time.

Either answer is acceptable. If necessary, encourage children to skim-read for words showing Violet’s emotions and to read around them. Award 1 mark for a correct answer. Skill: Relationship.

5

Going to Meet Count Olaf

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Some children may select the strong distractor ‘The Nice Neighbour’s Nice House’. If so, remind them that they are looking for the sentence that best summarises the whole extract. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Summarising.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

185

Unit 19

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning,

by Lemony Snicket In this extract, Mr Poe takes the Baudelaire orphans to their new home where they will live with their new guardian, Count Olaf. The author builds tension and creates a dark atmosphere through his choice of words and use of contrast.

The Baudelaire children left the house. Mr. Poe’s automobile rumbled along the cobblestone streets of the city toward the neighborhood where Count Olaf lived.

7KH\ SDVVHG KRUVH GUDZQ FDUULDJHV DQG PRWRUF\FOHV DORQJ 'ROGUXP 'ULYH 7KH\ passed the Fickle Fountain, an elaborately carved monument that occasionally spat out water in which young children played. They passed an enormous pile of dirt where the Royal Gardens once stood. Before too long, Mr. Poe drove his car down a narrow alley lined with houses made of pale brick and stopped halfway down the block.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

“Here we are,” Mr. Poe said, in a voice undoubtedly meant to be cheerful. “Your new home.”

The Baudelaire children looked out and saw the prettiest house on the block.

The bricks had been cleaned very well, and through the wide and open windows RQH FRXOG VHH DQ DVVRUWPHQW RI ZHOO JURRPHG SODQWV 6WDQGLQJ LQ WKH GRRUZD\ with her hand on the shiny brass doorknob, was an older woman, smartly dressed, who was smiling at the children. In one hand she carried a flowerpot.

“Hello there!” she called out. “You must be the children Count Olaf is adopting.”

Violet opened the door of the automobile and got out to shake the woman’s hand. It felt firm and warm, and for the first time in a long while Violet felt as if her life and the lives of her siblings might turn out well after all. “Yes,” she said.

“Yes, we are. I am Violet Baudelaire, and this is my brother Klaus and my sister Sunny. And this is Mr. Poe, who has been arranging things for us since the death of our parents.”

“Yes, I heard about the accident,” the woman said, as everyone said how do you do. “I am Justice Strauss.”

“That’s an unusual first name,” Klaus remarked.

“It is my title,” she explained, “not my first name. I serve as a judge on the High Court.”

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

“Goodness me no,” Justice Strauss said. “I don’t actually know him that well. +H LV P\ QH[W GRRU QHLJKERXU §

Unit 19

“How fascinating,” Violet said. “And are you married to Count Olaf?”

7KH FKLOGUHQ ORRNHG IURP WKH ZHOO VFUXEEHG KRXVH RI -XVWLFH 6WUDXVV WR WKH dilapidated one next door. The bricks were stained with soot and grime. There were only two small windows, which were closed with the shades drawn even though it was a nice day. Rising above the windows was a tall and dirty tower that tilted slightly to the left. The front door needed to be repainted, and carved in the middle of it was an image of an eye. The entire building sagged to the side, like a crooked tooth.

“Oh!” said Sunny, and everyone knew what she meant. She meant, “What a terrible place! I don’t want to live there at all!”

“Well, it was nice to meet you,” Violet said to Justice Strauss.

“That would be very pleasant,” Violet said, very sadly. It would, of course, be very pleasant to help Justice Strauss with her gardening, but Violet could not help thinking it would be far more pleasant to live in Justice Strauss’s house, instead of Count Olaf’s. What kind of a man, Violet wondered, would carve an image of an eye into his front door?

Mr. Poe tipped his hat to Justice Strauss, who smiled at the children and disappeared into her lovely house. Klaus stepped forward and knocked on Count Olaf’s door, his knuckles rapping right in the middle of the carved eye.

There was a pause, and then the door creaked open and the children saw Count Olaf for the first time.

“Hello hello hello,” Count Olaf said in a wheezy whisper. He was very tall and very thin, dressed in a grey suit that had many dark stains on it. His face was unshaven, and rather than two eyebrows, like most human beings have, he had just one long one. His eyes were very, very shiny, which made him look both hungry and angry. “Hello, my children. Please step into your new home, and wipe your feet outside so no mud gets indoors.”

Extract from A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. Text copyright © 1999 Lemony Snicket.

Published by Egmont UK Limited and used with permission.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

“Yes,” said Justice Strauss, gesturing to her flowerpot. “Perhaps one day you could come over and help me with my gardening.”

Unit 19

Word choice 1

Name:

Look at the paragraph beginning The Baudelaire children looked out … . Find and copy two groups of words that show that Justice Strauss’ house was very attractive.

1 2

2

2 marks

The entire building sagged to the side, like a crooked tooth.

What effect does this choice of words have on the reader? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

3

“That would be very pleasant,” Violet said, very sadly.

What do the words pleasant and sadly suggest about Violet? Use the rest of the paragraph to help you.

2 marks

4

Mr. Poe tipped his hat to Justice Strauss, who smiled at the children and disappeared into her lovely house.

Why do you think the author chooses to tell us again about the lovely house next door?

1 mark

5

There was a pause, and then the door creaked open and the children saw Count Olaf for the first time.

How does the author’s use of the words pause and creaked make the reader feel about the character of Count Olaf? Tick one. angry

happy

bored

nervous

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Name:

Look at the first paragraph. Which two modes of transport suggest that this text could be set a long time ago? and

2

Unit 19

Mix it up!

1 mark

Find and copy two places that the children pass on their way to Count Olaf’s house.

1 2

Look at the paragraph beginning Violet opened the door of the automobile … . Why did Violet introduce herself and her siblings to Justice Strauss when she got out of the car?

1 mark

4

Read from Violet opened the door … to the end of the text. Which event changed Violet’s mood from hopeful to disappointed?

1 mark

5

Which of the following options would be the most effective title for this extract?

Tick one.

Finding a Loving New Family for the Orphans The Nice Neighbour’s Nice House Going to Meet Count Olaf Going to Live with Justice Strauss

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1 mark

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket

3

2 marks

Unit 20 Word meaning

?

Little Women

by Louisa May Alcott Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 194 to 197

Based on the author’s life growing up in New England during the American Civil War, this hugely popular novel tells the story of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. Alcott’s portrayal of the March sisters as ambitious and spirited was momentous at a time when women were seen as subordinate to men. In this extract, Jo decides to befriend the grandson of her wealthy neighbour, Mr Laurence. The contrasting descriptions of their two houses is interesting to consider alongside the Unit 19 text.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 194 to 195) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 Look at the text’s title. What do you think it might be about? What issues do you think it might cover?

Answers will vary. Although the children should understand that the text is likely to be about female characters, some may assume that this refers to the physical size of the characters, others might guess that ‘little’ refers to the characters’ ages. You could ask them whether they would want to be referred to as ‘little’; many will not. Use this opportunity to explain that men and women were not considered equal at this point in history.

Fiction

2 The four sisters in Little Women have very different personalities. What other female characters have you come across in books?

What sort of qualities do they have?

Answers will vary. However, most children should be able to contribute some ideas. You could review key characters from texts in this book (e.g.

Flossie in Unit 12; Lily in Unit 13; Violet in Unit 19).

190

3 In the story it is cold and snowy outside, so one character sits near the fire to keep warm. What sort of atmosphere do you think this creates?

If the children do not know what it feels like to sit by a fire, explain that 19th-century families used fires to keep warm before central heating existed.

The children might suggest that the fire creates a warm, cosy, or welcoming atmosphere.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary behold

betokening

doze

fancy

frolicked

invalid

mischievous

shabby

splendors

stately

suburb

wistfully

Vocabulary discussion questions O

Are you more likely to doze by a fire or at a football match? Why?

O

What stately homes do you know of? What makes them stately?

O

When you are ill you might look wistfully at children who are out playing. How would you be feeling?

O

Would you rather live in the middle of a city or in a suburb? Why?

O

When might you wear shabby clothes?

Vocabulary activities O

Mischievous follows the ‘i before e rule’.

Challenge the children to tell you the version of the ‘i before e rule’ they know and to think of examples that conform to the rule. Can they also think of some exception words? For example, ‘seize’ and ‘protein’ are exceptions to most versions of the rule.

O

As this extract uses US English, some words are spelt differently (e.g. ‘neighbour’ becomes ‘neighbor’; ‘splendours’ becomes splendors).

Can the children think of any other words that are spelt differently in US English (e.g. ‘colour’/‘color’; ‘theatre’/‘theater’), or any words that are entirely different (e.g. ‘rubbish’/‘garbage’; ‘torch’/‘flashlight’)?

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

2 Why did Jo sweep a path outside?

So that Beth could have a walk later in the day.

Ensure that the children understand that Beth is another of Meg and Jo’s sisters.

3 Who lives next door to the March family? What is their house like?

The Laurence family/the Laurence boy and his grandpa. Their house is large, well-kept, full of riches.

The children may need help to understand that the Marches’ house is the shabbier of the two described.

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of word meaning.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 20 Modelling slides and the Modelling word meaning guidance on page 192.

2 The children can then attempt the Word meaning questions on page 196.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 197 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 192 to 193.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: Split the class into pairs and ask each pair to discuss whether it is better to have lots of money or a big family. Each pair could prepare five bullet points to share with the class, or to help them debate the issue in larger groups.

O

Writing task: Ask the children to write a character profile for a protagonist from a favourite story or from their recent reading. They should include details about the character’s appearance and their main traits. Do they have any unusual hobbies, experiences or talents? They could also include a rating out of ten for how realistic they think the character is.

3 Explore O

O

O

Discuss what we learn about the March sisters in this extract. Encourage the children to look for evidence of how Jo looks and acts, and then contrast this with what we learn about Meg (e.g. Jo is bold and always looking for fun; Meg is sensible and likes to be comfortable). You could also discuss what we can infer about Beth. Make predictions about the relationships between the sisters: do they get on well or drive each other mad because they are so different? You might refer to Meg ‘advising’ Jo, and Jo sweeping a path for Beth’s walk.

Talk about the portrayals of female characters in fairy tales (e.g. ‘Cinderella’; ‘Sleeping Beauty’). Point out that these heroines can be quite passive and idealised – they are very beautiful and they often need to be rescued by a prince. Compare these characters with that of Jo, who is a very different type of heroine (e.g. her looks aren’t mentioned; she is ‘mischievous’, energetic and adventurous; she plans to go and tell Mr Laurence what his grandson needs). Discuss which portrayals of female characters the children prefer. Which are the most realistic?

Little Women was written just after the American Civil War (1861–1865). Discuss the war with the class (see the Reading list for resources). As the war was primarily about slavery, you could use this opportunity to talk about the wrongs of slavery and the impact it still has on people today.

?

Reading list Fiction Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning

by Lemony Snicket (Linked text: Unit 19) What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge Class reads Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren Non-fiction Civil War (Eyewitness) by DK Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World

by Kate Pankhurst The USA by Terry Deary Poetry Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome Films Little Women (Columbia Pictures, 1994) Little Women (Columbia Pictures, 2019)

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Unit 20

1 What does Meg want her sister Jo to do?

Stay in by the fire instead of going out in the snow.

If the children only refer to what Meg does/does not want Jo to do, you could prompt them to expand their answers.

See pages 192 to 193

Word meaning

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

4 Skills focus

Fiction

2 First steps

191

Unit 20

Modelling word meaning

?

See Unit 20 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 14 to 15) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 “Going out for exercise,” answered Jo with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. What does the word mischievous mean in this sentence? playful/naughty Read the question together. Model locating the target word in the text and reading around it for context. Point out that Jo has been out for two walks, so she doesn’t really need exercise. She is also carrying a broom and shovel, which she wouldn’t need for a walk. This suggests she is up to something, as does the phrase ‘twinkle in her eyes’, which shows that Jo is excited or feeling playful, because her eyes are shining. You could also remind the children of your discussion of the target word in the Key vocabulary. Finally, model writing an appropriate synonym as your answer.

2 Read the first two sentences of the paragraph beginning Meg went back to toast her feet and read Ivanhoe … . Find and copy one word that means ‘weak because of illness’. invalid Draw attention to the unusual locator and highlight the relevant sentences in the text. Encourage the children to help you eliminate the words and phrases that cannot be correct. Think aloud: Beth is going to take the dolls for a walk around the garden to give them fresh air. I think she is playing at being a nurse. Encourage the children to help you find the best word in these two sentences, referring to your discussion of ‘invalid’ as part of the Key vocabulary if necessary.

3 Meg went back to toast her feet and read Ivanhoe … . What does the word toast mean here? Tick one. burn

cool

brown

warm

Locate the target word in the text and underline it. After the key word, the sentence quickly moves on to talk about what Jo was doing, so model concentrating on the part about Meg. Model how to eliminate the options until you are left with one answer. Think aloud: As Meg is sitting by a cosy fire, she won’t be cooling her feet, and burning or browning her feet in the fire would be painful – she’d be cooking them! You sit by a fire to keep warm, and ‘warm’ makes sense in the sentence, so that must be the answer.

4 Both stood in a suburb of the city, which was still country-like, with groves and lawns, large gardens, and quiet streets. Which group of words tells you that Jo’s neighbourhood had lots of trees and grass?

Tick one. suburb of the city

groves and lawns

large gardens

quiet streets

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Read the locator quotation and the question aloud. Point out that, as all the answer options are included in the text, you will need to think very carefully about the meaning of each one. Discuss which matches the question most closely, recapping your discussion of ‘suburb’ from the Key vocabulary if desired. If the children suggest ‘large gardens’, explain that ‘groves and lawns’ is an even better match for the key words in the question, as the words are synonyms for ‘trees and grass’. Finally, model ticking the answer.

192

Word meaning questions mark scheme

?

See page 196

Answer

Guidance

1

advise

Some children may need help to locate the start and end of the sisters’ conversation. If so, point out the speech marks and draw attention to the reporting clauses that mark both of Meg’s speeches. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

2

played

If necessary, remind the children to try substituting each of the answer options into the target sentence to see if they make sense. Your discussion of the Key vocabulary should help them understand that ‘frolicked’ involves moving about rather than sitting still. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

fancy

Some children may choose words connected with imaginative play (e.g. ‘enchanted’; ‘splendors’; delights’; ‘behold’). If so, remind them to look for a closer synonym for ‘imagination’, and to look for places where ‘imagination’ could be substituted into the sentence.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer underlined.

4

impatient/enthusiastic/keen

Some children may use longer phrases or a whole sentence instead of single words to explain the meaning (e.g. ‘Jo really wants to get to know the Laurence boy’). This is acceptable. Award 1 mark for a plausible synonym/explanation.

5

longingly

This question contains some strong distractors. If the children tick an incorrect option, recap your discussions of ‘wistfully’ from the Key vocabulary. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

?

See page 197

Answer

Guidance

1

big coach house OR well-kept grounds OR conservatory OR lovely things OR rich curtains

Remind the children that, as this is a ‘find and copy’ question, they must use the exact words from the text in their answers. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks.

Skill: Retrieval.

2

She has never been into the house.

If the children tick the second option, remind them to read around the locator quotation to check their answer. Point out that the word ‘betokening’, as well as the following paragraph, make it clear that Jo has not been into the house. If they tick the last option, explain that although Jo does think the house is grand, this does not relate to the meaning of ‘glimpses’. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Word choice.

3

The Laurence house is bigger/grander/ richer/more luxurious than Jo’s house, because it has a lot of land/lovely things inside, while Jo’s house is shabby/old.

Evidence can be given in the form of direct quotes, paraphrasing or summaries. Some children may not realise that the words ‘old’, ‘brown’ and ‘bare’ refer to Jo’s house. You could explain that Jo’s house is next door to the Laurence house, which they know from previous questions is the ‘stately stone mansion’. Award 1 mark for a plausible comparison that mentions both houses. Award 2 marks for a plausible comparison that mentions both houses supported by evidence from the text. Skill: Comparison.

4

Impression: friendly/nosy

The children are likely to think of a range of adjectives to describe Jo (e.g. ‘energetic’; ‘cheeky’; ‘bold’). If they select adjectives lifted from or very close to those in the text (e.g. ‘mischievous’; ‘adventurous’) and do not provide evidence, encourage them to justify their answers verbally to check their understanding. Award 1 mark for a plausible impression. Award 2 marks for a plausible impression with appropriate evidence from the text. Skill: Inference.

Evidence: She plans a way to introduce herself to the lonely Laurence boy/ wants to see inside his house.

Jo will tell the boy’s grandfather to let the boy play with her, because she says he needs ‘somebody young and lively’ to play with.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

If necessary, remind the children that they need to provide evidence from the text. This could be in the form of a quotation or a summary in their own words. Award 1 mark for a plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

5

Unit 20

Answer

193

Unit 20

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott Little Women is about four sisters, called Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy March. The story is set in the United States in the 1860s, shortly after the American Civil War. In this extract, Jo imagines what life must be like for her lonely neighbour, whom she calls ‘the Laurence boy’.

“What in the world are you going to do now, Jo?” asked Meg one snowy afternoon, as her sister came tramping through the hall, in rubber boots, old sack, and hood, with a broom in one hand and a shovel in the other.

“Going out for exercise,” answered Jo with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“I should think two long walks this morning would have been enough!

It’s cold and dull out, and I advise you to stay warm and dry by the fire, as I do,” said Meg with a shiver.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

“Never take advice! Can’t keep still all day, and not being a pussycat, I don’t like to doze by the fire. I like adventures, and I’m going to find some.”

Meg went back to toast her feet and read Ivanhoe, and Jo began to dig paths with great energy. The snow was light, and with her broom she soon swept a path all round the garden, for Beth to walk in when the sun came out and the invalid dolls needed air. Now, the garden separated the Marches’ house from that of Mr. Laurence. Both stood in a suburb of the FLW\ ZKLFK ZDV VWLOO FRXQWU\ OLNH ZLWK JURYHV DQG ODZQV ODUJH JDUGHQV and quiet streets. A low hedge parted the two estates. On one side was an old, brown house, looking rather bare and shabby, robbed of the vines that in summer covered its walls and the flowers, which then surrounded it. On the other side was a stately stone mansion, plainly betokening HYHU\ VRUW RI FRPIRUW DQG OX[XU\ IURP WKH ELJ FRDFK KRXVH DQG ZHOO NHSW grounds to the conservatory and the glimpses of lovely things one caught between the rich curtains.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Unit 20

Yet it seemed a lonely, lifeless sort of house, for no children frolicked on the lawn, no motherly face ever smiled at the windows, and few people went in and out, except the old gentleman and his grandson.

To Jo’s lively fancy, this fine house seemed a kind of enchanted palace, full of splendors and delights which no one enjoyed. She had long wanted to behold these hidden glories, and to know the Laurence boy, who looked as if he would like to be known, if he only knew how to begin.

Since the party, she had been more eager than ever, and had planned many ways of making friends with him, but he had not been seen lately, and Jo began to think he had gone away, when she one day spied a brown face at an upper window, looking wistfully down into their garden, ZKHUH %HWK DQG $P\ ZHUH VQRZ EDOOLQJ RQH DQRWKHU

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

“That boy is suffering for society and fun,” she said to herself. “His grandpa does not know what’s good for him, and keeps him shut up all alone. He needs a party of jolly boys to play with, or somebody young and lively. I’ve a great mind to go over and tell the old gentleman so!”

From Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

Unit 20

?

1

Word meaning

Name:

Look at the conversation between Meg and Jo at the beginning of the text. Find and copy one word that shows that Meg is making a suggestion to Jo. 1 mark

2

Yet it seemed a lonely, lifeless sort of house, for no children frolicked on the lawn, no motherly face ever smiled at the windows, and few people went in and out, except the old gentleman and his grandson.

What does the word frolicked mean in this sentence? Tick one. went

3

played

liked

sat

1 mark

Look at the sentences below. Underline one word that means ‘imagination’.

To Jo’s lively fancy, this fine house seemed a kind of enchanted palace, full of splendors and delights which no one enjoyed. She had long wanted to behold these hidden glories, and to know the Laurence boy, who looked as if he would like to be known, if he only knew how to begin.

1 mark

4

Look at the paragraph beginning To Jo’s lively fancy, … . What does the word eager mean here?

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

1 mark

5

… Jo began to think he had gone away, when she one day spied a brown face at an upper window, looking wistfully down into their garden, where Beth and Amy were snow-balling one another.

Which word could replace wistfully here? Tick one. happily playfully longingly enviously

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Name:

On the other side was a stately stone mansion, plainly betokening every sort of comfort and luxury, from the big coach house and well-kept grounds to the conservatory and the glimpses of lovely things one caught between the rich curtains.

Find and copy two examples of comforts and luxuries found at Mr Laurence’s mansion.

Unit 20

Mix it up!

1 2

2

3

2 marks

… the glimpses of lovely things one caught between the rich curtains.

What does the word glimpses tell you about Jo’s experience of the Laurence house?

Tick one.

She is a frequent visitor.

She has never been into the house.

She visits occasionally.

She thinks the house is very grand.

1 mark

How is Jo’s house different from the Laurence house? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

Look at the whole text. What impression do you get of Jo’s personality? Give one impression and one piece of evidence from the text.

Impression

Evidence

2 marks

5

What do you think Jo will do next? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

4

Unit 21 Comparison

Everything Castles

by Crispin Boyer Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 202 to 205

Castles are fascinating buildings that reveal a lot about how life has changed since the Middle Ages. This nonfiction text offers many opportunities for comparison as it outlines how castles have developed over time, starting out as simple wooden structures to keep people safe and developing into complex military fortresses before becoming the decorative palace castles we are familiar with today. The structure of the text is unusual for non-fiction as direct speech is used to portray the views of different people in the past and bring the text to life.

This text would be interesting to compare with that of Progress check 3, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

1 Get ready Discuss the Key vocabulary identified in the Language toolkit and then complete the vocabulary activities as desired. Please note that the selected vocabulary is a guide. Depending on the needs of your cohort, additional vocabulary discussion may be beneficial before, during and after reading. Next, display the text (pages 202 to 203) so the children can see the title and any illustrations, and encourage the children to discuss the following questions before reading.

1 Look at the text. What type of text is this?

How do you know?

The text is a non-fiction or information text. The children should be able to use the subheadings to identify the genre of this text. However, the speech marks in the first section may cause some confusion and you may need to encourage them to read on before they answer. You might want to spend some time discussing this unusual use of direct speech at the beginning of a non-fiction text and the effect it creates.

Non-fiction

2 This text is a non-fiction text about castles.

What information do you think it will include?

How castles are made/what they were for/who lived there. Answers will vary but the children should all be able to come up with some suggestions (e.g. features such as moats and drawbridges).

198

3 Castles have been very important in history.

Have you ever visited a castle or seen a picture of one? What were these castles like?

Some children will have visited castles with their families or on a school trip. Others will have seen castles in pictures, films or on television.

Descriptions will vary depending on whether the castles are ruins or still occupied, and whether they are real or fictional. You could show some images of famous castles (e.g. Cardiff; Carrickfergus; Edinburgh; Windsor) to support this discussion.

Language toolkit Key vocabulary arsenals

feudal society

havens

keep

loomed

noble

peasant

pioneer

rank

realm

squat

sturdy

Vocabulary discussion questions O

What is a pioneer? Can you name any?

O

If something is described as squat, what would it look like?

O

What rank did a peasant have in feudal society? What about a noble lord or a king?

O

What is the relationship between a ruler and their realm?

Vocabulary activities O

If the word ‘strong’ was at one end of a scale and ‘weak’ at the other, where would the children put sturdy? Can they think of some other words to fill in the gaps?

O

Discuss the different meanings of keep when it is a noun and when it is a verb (e.g. ‘The castle’s keep was destroyed’; ‘I keep my books near my bed’). Challenge the children to think of some other nouns and verbs that are spelt the same.

O

Use your choice of the vocabulary activities on page 15 to investigate some of the key words above.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

2 Where and when were the first castles built?

Europe in the Middle Ages/ninth-century France.

The children may draw their answer either from the section What is a castle? or from the section The evolution of castles.

2 The children can then attempt the Comparison questions on page 204.

3 Finally, the Mix it up! questions on page 205 offer practice in a range of comprehension skills.

Answers and marking guidance for all questions are included on pages 200 to 201.

5 Where next?

O

Speaking and listening task: In pairs, the children could role-play a conversation between the lord/lady who owns the castle and a servant/lowly soldier who lives in the castle, using the first part of the extract as inspiration. Encourage them to think about where these characters would have lived before the castle was built and how they would feel about the castle when they lived there. What would their life be like if the castle didn’t exist? See whether these characters end up having anything in common.

O

Writing task: Ask the children to pick one type of castle and one type of perspective on it (e.g. a motte-and-bailey castle from a lord’s perspective).

Encourage them to use the text to note some key words about that castle type and the character’s perspective (e.g. ‘wooden keep’; ‘courtyard’; ‘quick to build’; ‘our home’). They could then use these words in a description of the castle for the opening paragraph of a story.

3 What are the four types of castle in the text?

Motte-and-bailey, stone keep, concentric and palace.

4 What can break through castle walls?

Gunpowder and cannon. Some children may also mention that fire burns down wooden walls, or refer to sieges and the work of archers/crossbowmen.

3 Explore O

As a class, research the nearest castle to your school.

Find out about its history (e.g. when and why it was built; notable inhabitants) and about how it is used today (e.g. Does someone still live there? Can people visit it?). If possible, look at photos or watch a virtual tour of the site online.

O

Show the children pictures or diagrams of different types of castle, including those described in the text. Compare the features of each using a graphic organiser (see page 29). Discuss the similarities and differences between them. Draw some conclusions about what makes a building a castle (e.g. has a defensive geographical position; built to protect local area; has defensive architecture, such as walls, moats, towers and ‘murder holes’). Resources from the Reading list may be useful here.

O

As a class, collate descriptions of castles in stories from books the children are familiar with. These might include modern novels (see Reading list) or fairy tales. Compare these fictional castles with real castles (e.g. they are often used in magical settings; they don’t often play a role in sieges; they are normally made of stone and have tall towers).

4 Skills focus

See pages 200 to 201

Use the information from the Skills guide and the relevant Skills graphic to introduce the skill of comparison.

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Unit 21

1 How do the people at the beginning of the text describe the castle?

As a symbol of power, a home, a fortress and ‘a big pain in my neck’. You could explain why the peasant might describe the castle in this way (e.g. the lord of the castle took a share of the peasant’s crop and could demand some of his labour).

Comparison

Read the text together and then encourage the children to discuss the following questions.

1 Model the skill using the Unit 21 Modelling slides and the Modelling comparison guidance on page 200.

Reading list Fiction The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Cornelia Funke (ed) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling Mortimer and the Sword Excalibur by Joan Aiken Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Michael Morpurgo (Linked text: Progress check 3) The Sleeping Sword by Michael Morpurgo The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy Class reads The King Arthur Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliff Non-fiction Castles by DK Crackin’ Castles by Terry Deary See Inside Castles by Katie Daynes A Year in a Castle by Rachel Coombs

Non-fiction

2 First steps

199

Unit 21

Modelling comparison

See Unit 21 Modelling slides

Use the Skills guide (see pages 28 to 29) and the downloadable Skills graphic to support your modelling.

1 Look at the section ‘What is a castle’? What was different about how the lord and the knight thought about the castle?

The lord saw the castle as his home but the knight saw it as a fortress where fighting happened.

Model using the locator to find the relevant section. Next, identify the question’s key words and use these to focus on the sentences spoken by the ‘noble lord’ and the knight. Establish that the lord sees the castle as his home, while the knight sees it as a ‘fortress’ used in war and highlight both words. Model writing a complete comparison that acknowledges both views.

2 Look at the section ‘What isn’t a castle?’. Compare castles and fortresses. Give one similarity and one difference.

Similarity: Fortresses and castles look similar.

Difference: Fortresses are only built for defence/don’t have living quarters like castles do.

Encourage the children to help you find the right section and then locate the relevant sentence. Read through it together and go through any vocabulary they are not sure of (e.g. ‘solely’). Point out that the word ‘but’ separates the similarity from the differences because it signals a contrast. Remind them that even though the text gives more than one difference, you should choose only one for your answer.

3 Look at the section ‘The evolution of castles’. What did motte-and-bailey castles and concentric castles have in common? Tick two.

They both had a keep.

They were both made of wood.

They both had a courtyard.

They both had stone walls.

Model using the locator and identifying the key words. Explain that you will focus on the paragraphs about motte-and-bailey and concentric castles. Model comparing the two paragraphs by reading them one after the other and then going through them again and comparing each sentence with the other section. The children should be able to use the key words ‘courtyard’ and ‘keep’ to choose the correct options.

4 Compare motte-and-bailey castles and concentric castles. Which castle would be the safest to live in?

Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer

A concentric castle because they were difficult to capture/the most well defended/they wouldn’t burn down.

Although there is no locator, the children should recognise that this question is about the same section as Modelling question 3. Model scanning the whole section for useful information and noting that the text says the concentric castle is ‘the ultimate in defensive design’, and that this type of castle was very difficult to capture. You could also support the children to understand that the sentence ‘Timber castles had one major flaw: attackers could burn them to the ground.’ refers to motte-and-bailey castles. You could use a graphic organiser (see page 29) to model organising your thoughts about each castle type.

Comparison questions mark scheme Answer

Guidance

1

They all liked/approved of/had an important connection to castles.

Encourage the children to look at the conversation at the beginning of the section and think about how the three target characters’ opinions differ from the peasant’s opinion. Which characters think castles are good/bad? How can you tell?

Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

2

Castles were less comfortable/luxurious than palaces.

If the children struggle, remind them of the steps you followed to work through Modelling question 4. Award 1 mark for one difference. Award 2 marks for any two differences.

They were more sturdy/easier to defend.

200

See page 204

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Guidance

3

They were both extremely powerful.

OR Church leaders were as powerful as kings.

Some children may need a locator to help them answer this (the section What isn’t a castle?). Some might refer to both being leaders or both creating elaborate buildings. These answers are also acceptable. Award 1 mark for a correct answer.

4

They were made of wood.

5

It was quicker to build than other types of castle because it was made of wood and other castles were made of stone.

To compare the castles, the children need to have an overall idea of the other options, so encourage them to scan each castle type in turn, underlining key words, before they tick their answer.

Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Some children may need a locator (the last section). If their answers refer to being made of wood, point out that although this is a difference it is not ‘a good thing’, as it made them less safe. If necessary, direct them to the sentence ‘Lords could build motte-and-bailey castles quickly to take control of new lands’ and ask them why this is a good thing compared to the other castles – were they quick too? Remind them that their answer must be a complete comparison that refers to both parts of the question. Award 1 mark for a reference to motte-and-bailey castles being quicker to build than stone castles.

See page 205

?

Answer

Guidance

1

Yes, because they are a way for him to show people how powerful he is. OR No, because they are only symbols to him/he can’t live in all of them!

To answer this question, the children need to understand this meaning of ‘might’. If necessary, discuss this first. Accept both positive and negative responses, provided that the explanation is clearly linked to the text. Award 1 mark for a plausible explanation linked to the text. Skill: Inference.

2

land

Some children may struggle to identify the correct part of the text as this question has no locator. If so, you could provide one (the first section). Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Skill: Retrieval.

3

community

4

by building cathedrals

5

to help bring the past to life for the reader

to show that castles were important to different people in different ways

If children are struggling, remind them of strategies used to answer other word meaning questions, substituting each word in place of ‘society’ and then selecting the word which is the best fit. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked.

Skill: Word meaning.

This is not a ‘find and copy’ question, so answers with additional words can be accepted. Award 1 mark for the correct answer.

Skill: Retrieval.

Some children may need support to think about how the first two sections are different. Point out the use of direct speech.

Discuss whether this is something you usually see in information texts, as well as what the author tells us in this section. Award 1 mark for each correct answer ticked, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Relationship.

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer

Mix it up! questions mark scheme

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

Unit 21

Answer

201

Unit 21

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer This text is about how castles have changed over the years. It starts by imagining what it would be like if we could travel 800 years back in time to hear what different people in the Middle Ages would have said about castles.

WHAT IS A CASTLE? “It’s a symbol of my might,” the king says as he sweeps his hand across a map of his realm – a map dotted with many castles.

“Maybe it’s just a symbol to His Majesty,” says a noble lord, while his lady shows you around their castle’s feasting hall, gardens, and sleeping chambers, “but it’s our home!”

“A home, sirrah? Well, it’s a fortress, too,” says one of the lord’s knights as he points out the castle’s many defences – its towers, its moat, and its ‘murder holes’ for raining arrows on enemies.

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer

“Humph,” snorts a peasant in the field.

“A castle is just a big pain in my neck.”

A home, a fortress, a symbol – a castle was all these things in Europe during the Middle Ages, also known as the medieval period. It was a time when land was more precious than gold, and kings rewarded their supporters with pieces of the realm and noble titles. These nobles built castles and hired their own supporters, from noble knights for defence down to lowly servants who did the dirty work. No matter your rank in this ‘feudal’ society, the castle loomed large in your life.

WHAT ISN’T A CASTLE? It isn’t just a fortress: Fortresses might look like castles, but they’re built solely for defence and lack fancy living quarters fit for lords and ladies.

It isn’t a palace: As the popularity of castles declined in the 15th century, nobles moved into luxurious palaces that were more comfortable but not as sturdy.

It isn’t a cathedral: Church leaders were powerful in the Middle Ages – as powerful as kings – and they built elaborate cathedrals made for worship, not warfare.

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

/LIH ZDV QR IDLU\ WDOH LQ QLQWK FHQWXU\ )UDQFH ,QYDGHUV WHUURUL]HG WKH FRXQWU\VLGH Vikings sailed swift longboats up rivers to pillage villages. Fed up with these raiders, warlords built wooden forts to surround their homes and serve as havens for the local farmers. These first castles spread across Europe and evolved into the towering stone VWUXFWXUHV ZH NQRZ WRGD\ +HUH©V KRZ FDVWOHV FKDQJHG RYHU WKHLU ILYH KXQGUHG \HDU reign …

Unit 21

THE EVOLUTION OF CASTLES

1. 7KH 0RWWH DQG %DLOH\ &DVWOH This early castle type looked more like a pioneer fort. A moat and timber fence enclosed a bailey – or courtyard – in which a ZRRGHQ NHHS VDW DWRS DQ DUWLILFLDO KLOO FDOOHG D ¨PRWWH© /RUGV FRXOG EXLOG PRWWH DQG EDLOH\ FDVWOHV TXLFNO\ WR WDNH FRQWURO RI QHZ ODQGV 2. The Stone Keep Timber castles had one major flaw: attackers could burn them to the ground. In the tenth and eleventh centuries, lords constructed massive keeps with thick stone walls. Keeps took years to build and were expensive, but they were towering symbols of a lord’s power.

3. 7KH &RQFHQWULF &DVWOH Considered the ultimate in defensive design, a concentric castle consisted of a courtyard ringed by several stone walls, with the keep and living areas built into the towers of the inner walls. Archers and crossbowmen on these inner walls could shoot over the heads of defenders on the outer walls, doubling the castle’s firepower. The only way to capture such castles was to wage long, bloody battles called sieges – or through trickery.

keep bailey

From Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer. Copyright © National Geographic Creative.

motte

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer

4. 7KH 3DODFH &DVWOH Once armies added gunpowder and cannon to their arsenals in the 14th century, castle walls didn’t stand a chance. Kings moved into grand SDODFHV DQG OHIW WKH GHIHQFH RI WKHLU UHDOPV WR VTXDW WKLFN ZDOOHG IRUWUHVVHV Palaces still featured classic castle features – but only out of a sense of tradition and as a sign of noble wealth.

Unit 21

Comparison 1

Name:

Look at the section What is a castle?. What did the king, lord and knight have in common?

1 mark

2

Look at the section What isn’t a castle?. How were castles different from palaces?

Give two differences.

1 2

3

2 marks

What did Church leaders and kings have in common in the Middle Ages?

1 mark

4

Look at the section The evolution of castles. What was the main difference between motte-and-bailey castles and the other types of castle? Tick one.

They were made of wood.

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer

They were more luxurious.

They had stronger defences.

They had thicker walls.

5

1 mark

According to the text, what was the good thing about a motte-and-bailey castle compared to the other types of castle?

1 mark

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

1

Unit 21

Mix it up!

Name:

“It’s a symbol of my might,” the king says as he sweeps his hand across a map of his realm – a map dotted with many castles.

Are the castles important to the king? Explain your answer.

1 mark

2

In the Middle Ages, what was more precious than gold?

1 mark

3

No matter your rank in this ‘feudal’ society, the castle loomed large in your life.

Which word best describes the meaning of society in this sentence? Tick one. place community haven family

4

1 mark

Look at the section What isn’t a castle?. How did Church leaders show their power in the Middle Ages?

5

Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer

1 mark

The author uses two different writing styles in the first section and the second section. Why do you think he does this? Tick two. to help bring the past to life for the reader to confuse the reader to show that castles were important to different people in different ways to show that peasants thought castles were unimportant

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

2 marks

Progress check 3

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

by Michael Morpurgo Printable text • Modelling slides

Photocopiable text and questions • pages 207 to 209

This text allows the children to build on their knowledge of medieval castles and the feudal system gained in Unit 21 and experience one of the greatest legends of all time: that of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. One Christmas night, King Arthur is challenged to a game by the mysterious and gigantic Green Knight.

Arthur’s nephew Sir Gawain accepts the challenge in Arthur’s place, and promises to withstand the blow of the Green Knight’s axe in a year’s time if the Green Knight will first allow Gawain to cut off his head. The court is stunned when the Green Knight then rides off with his head under his arm, leaving Gawain to await his fate.

For guidance on running this task, see page 11.

Progress check questions mark scheme

?

Answer

Guidance

1

He doesn’t want to leave/doesn’t want the day to come when he has to go.

Some children may struggle with the word ‘willing’ in this context. If so, discuss close synonyms of the word (e.g. ‘wishing’; ‘wanting’; ‘hoping’) and substitute these into the sentence, rephrasing where necessary (e.g. ‘he wishes time would slow down’). Encourage them to make an inference about Gawain’s feeling from this statement, thinking about how they would be feeling if they wanted time to slow down. Award 1 mark for an explanation stating that he is reluctant to leave Camelot.

Skill: Inference.

2

in appreciation of him/to celebrate him

If necessary, prompt the children to use the surrounding text to give clues (e.g. ‘great feast’; ‘did all they could to keep him merry’). Encourage them to think about why the court would do these things for Gawain. Award 1 mark for an appropriate explanation. Skill: Word meaning.

3

doublet OR (fur-lined) cape OR armour OR (scarlet) surcoat OR swordbelt

If the children answer ‘clothes’, encourage them to return to the text and find two specific items that the servant put on Gawain.

If they answer ‘spurs’, ‘sword’ or ‘sheath’, encourage them to check whether these items were put on Gawain by the servants, as specified in the question. Award 1 mark for each correct answer, up to a maximum of 2 marks. Skill: Retrieval.

4

Gawain leaves to protect his honour.

5

Gawain is going to fight someone because he is getting his armour on and his sword ready, and I think he is going to die because everyone thinks they are not going to see him again.

If the children struggle, remind them to start by eliminating any answer options they know are incorrect. Award 1 mark for the correct answer ticked. Skill: Summarising.

If the children do not provide enough detail in their predictions, draw their attention to the number of marks available and allow them to expand their answers. Award 1 mark for any plausible prediction. Award 2 marks for a plausible prediction plus an explanation linked to the text. Skill: Prediction.

Fiction

206

Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension 4

1

Name:

Many a long night he lay awake, willing time to slow down: but time neither waits nor hurries on for any man.

What does this tell you about how Gawain feels about leaving Camelot?

1 mark

2

Progress check 3

Progress check 3

The last night before he was to leave they held a great feast in his honour …

In your own words, explain what in his honour means in this sentence.

1 mark

3

Look at the paragraph beginning The next morning, … . Name two things the servants put on Gawain.

1

4

2 marks

Which sentence best summarises the content of this extract? Tick one.

Gawain wishes time would speed up.

Gawain leaves to protect his honour.

The court wishes Gawain would leave.

The servants help Gawain to escape his duty.

5

1 mark

What do you think will happen to Sir Gawain? Explain your answer using evidence from the text.

2 marks

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by Michael Morpurgo

2

Progress check 3

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,

by Michael Morpurgo All of King Arthur’s knights at Camelot live by a code of honour. Last Christmas, Sir Gawain promised to let the Green Knight cut off his head in a year’s time – as long as Gawain could cut the Green Knight’s head off first. But when he did, the Green Knight shocked everyone by simply picking up his head and riding away!

At this point in the story, Gawain is honour-bound to seek out the Green Knight for the second part of the challenge: he must now allow the Green Knight to attempt to cut off his head …

As each month of the year passed, and the seasons came and went, it was hard for Gawain not to think from time to time of the terrible fate he must face – and sooner now, not later. Many a long night he lay awake, willing time to slow down: but time neither waits nor hurries on for any man. It was already Michaelmas moon, and he knew he must soon leave Camelot and be on his way. His spirits uplifted by the love of the king and queen, and by his brotherhood of Knights, Gawain Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by Michael Morpurgo

stayed as long as he dared, until All Saints’ Day. The last night before he was to leave they held a great feast in his honour, and everyone at Camelot, lords and ladies, squires and servants, did all they could to keep him merry. But try as they might the jokes and the laughter seemed flat and forced, the smiles thin, for all of them realized this was likely to be the last time they would dine with brave Gawain.

1R NQLJKW LQ WKH FRXUW ZDV PRUH ZHOO ORYHG DQG KRQRXUHG WKDQ KH Bravely, but sadly, Gawain rose to his feet. “Uncle, good King, my dear friends,” he said, “the time has come for me to say goodbye.

You know where I have to go, what I have to do, and that God alone can save me and bring me home again. So pray for me. It’s all you can do. Be sure that whatever happens, I will not dishonour you.”

Photocopiable resource from Complete Comprehension 4 © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020.

Sir Bors, Sir Bedivere, every knight that was there, and Queen Guinevere too, and all the ladies of the court, many of them weeping openly at this parting. Gawain put on it as brave a face as he could.

“A man must do and dare,” he said. “No more tears. I’ll be back.”

The next morning, after a sleepless night filled with fears and doubts,

Progress check 3

One by one each said their sad farewells: Sir Lancelot, Sir Galahad,

Gawain rose early and called for his servants to fetch him his clothes DQG DUPRXU 7KH\ SXW RQ ILUVW KLV GRXEOHW DQG IXU OLQHG FDSH ZKLFK they fastened tight around his neck against the cold. They strapped on his armour, all brightly burnished until he was covered in steel – thighs, arms, even his hands. Over it all they hung a heavy scarlet surcoat, wonderfully embroidered, and around this at his waist they tied a silken swordbelt of peacock blue. With his gold spurs at his heels and his sword in its sheath he was as ready as he would ever

From his room Gawain went straight to the chapel to say Mass, and then at once to the courtyard to Gringolet, his waiting warhorse, who was as magnificently dressed and armoured as his master. Once he had settled in the saddle the servants handed him up his helmet. And what a helmet it was. Padded on the inside, it was polished and jewelled on the outside. The neckguard was strong enough to save him from even the most terrible of blows to the head. Once he had buckled on his helmet he was handed his shield, with his own coat of arms embossed XSRQ LW 7KLV ZDV D JROG SHQWDQJOH D ILYH SRLQWHG VWDU HDFK SRLQW representing a virtue to which any true knight must aspire: loving kindness, integrity, chivalry, loyalty and holiness.

Text © 2004 Michael Morpurgo. From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Michael Morpurgo. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ. www.walker.co.uk

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by Michael Morpurgo

be to face any foe.

Discover Complete Comprehension for Year 3 Unit

Target skill

Title

Author

Genre

1

Summarising

The Pebble in My Pocket

Meredith Hooper

Non-fiction

2

Retrieval

Stone Circles

Dawn Finch

Non-fiction

3

Relationship

My Brother Is a Superhero

David Solomons

Fiction

4

Inference

The Magic Finger

Roald Dahl

Fiction

5

Summarising

Sugar: The Facts

The NHS

Non-fiction

6

Retrieval

Prawn Pizza

Jane Sowerby

Non-fiction

7

Word choice

The Iron Man

Ted Hughes

Fiction

Progress check 1

Mixed skills

The Selfish Giant

Oscar Wilde

Fiction

8

Inference

The Ice Palace

Robert Swindells

Fiction

9

Retrieval

A House of Snow and Ice

Stephen Whitt

Non-fiction

10

Inference

The Heavenly River (Chinese Myths and Legends)

Shelley Fu

Fiction

11

Comparison

New Year Celebrations

Jane Sowerby

Non-fiction

12

Word meaning

Night Comes Too Soon

James Berry

Poetry

13

Inference

Tom’s Midnight Garden

Philippa Pearce

Fiction

14

Word meaning

The Story of Tutankhamun

Patricia Cleveland-Peck

Non-fiction

Progress check 2

Mixed skills

Secrets of a Sun King

Emma Carroll

Fiction

15

Word choice

The Butterfly Lion

Michael Morpurgo

Fiction

16

Retrieval

Wild Animals to Be Banned from Circuses in England by 2020, Says Government

The Independent

Non-fiction

17

Word meaning

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Fiction

18

Inference

The Madhatters

Aoife Mannix

Poetry

19

Inference

Stig of the Dump (Extract 1)

Clive King

Fiction

20

Prediction

Stig of the Dump (Extract 2)

Clive King

Fiction

21

Retrieval

Norse Mythology

Neil Gaiman

Fiction

Progress check 3

Mixed skills

Discover the Vikings: Warriors, Exploration and Trade

John C. Miles

Non-fiction

For further information and to place your order visit www.schofieldandsims.co.uk or telephone 01484 607080

Discover Complete Comprehension for Year 5 Unit

Target skill

Title

Author

Genre

1

Retrieval

Dragonology

Dugald Steer

Fiction

2

Comparison

How to Train Your Dragon

Cressida Cowell

Fiction

3

Summarising

Life in Tudor Britain

Anita Ganeri

Non-fiction

4

Word meaning

Love Letter from Mary Tudor to Her Husband, Philip of Spain

Brian Moses

Poetry

5

Inference

The House with Chicken Legs

Sophie Anderson

Fiction

6

Prediction

The Wizards of Once

Cressida Cowell

Fiction

7

Inference

The Polar Bear Explorers’ Club

Alex Bell

Fiction

Progress check 1

Mixed skills

A Boy Called Christmas

Matt Haig

Fiction

8

Retrieval

The Wolf Wilder

Katherine Rundell

Fiction

9

Word meaning

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Joan Aiken

Fiction

10

Word choice

Whale Boy

Nicola Davies

Fiction

11

Relationship

SeaWorld Decides to Stop Killer Whale Breeding Program

The Guardian

Non-fiction

12

Summarising

Beetle Boy

M.G. Leonard

Fiction

13

Word meaning

Beetle Boy: The Beetle Collector’s Handbook

M.G. Leonard

Non-fiction

14

Inference

The Boy at the Back of the Class

Onjali Q. Raúf

Fiction

Progress check 2

Mixed skills

Who are Refugees and Migrants? And Other Big Questions

Michael Rosen and Annemarie Young

Non-fiction

15

Retrieval

The Jamie Drake Equation

Christopher Edge

Fiction

16

Word meaning

Once Upon a Star

James Carter

Poetry

17

Retrieval

Harry Houdini

Laura Lodge

Non-fiction

18

Inference

The Nowhere Emporium

Ross MacKenzie

Fiction

19

Retrieval

Plague!

John Farndon

Non-fiction

20

Inference

The Island at the End of Everything

Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Fiction

21

Inference

The London Eye Mystery

Siobhan Dowd

Fiction

Progress check 3

Mixed skills

The Last Chance Hotel

Nicki Thornton

Fiction

For further information and to place your order visit www.schofieldandsims.co.uk or telephone 01484 607080

Discover Complete Comprehension for Year 6 Unit

Target skill

Title

Author

Genre

1

Inference

Who Let the Gods Out?

Maz Evans

Fiction

2

Retrieval

To Asgard!

Rachel Piercey

Poetry

3

Summarising

Hidden Figures

Margot Lee Shetterly

Non-fiction

4

Relationship

The British (serves 60 million)

Benjamin Zephaniah

Poetry

5

Inference

War Horse

Michael Morpurgo

Fiction

6

Word meaning

For the Fallen

Laurence Binyon

Poetry

7

Prediction

Sky Song

Abi Elphinstone

Fiction

Progress check 1

Mixed skills

The Snow Queen

Hans Christian Andersen

Fiction

8

Inference

Tin

Pádraig Kenny

Fiction

9

Retrieval

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum

Fiction

10

Inference

Welcome to Nowhere

Elizabeth Laird

Fiction

11

Retrieval

Malala Yousafzai: ‘Nobel Award Is for All the Voiceless Children’

The Guardian

Non-fiction

12

Inference

The Crooked Sixpence

Jennifer Bell

Fiction

13

Word meaning

Cogheart

Peter Bunzl

Fiction

14

Comparison

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll

Fiction

Progress check 2

Mixed skills

The Hunting of the Snark

Lewis Carroll

Poetry

15

Summarising

What’s So Special about Shakespeare?

Michael Rosen

Non-fiction

16

Retrieval

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Play

17

Word meaning

Deforestation for Palm Oil

Rainforest Rescue

Non-fiction

18

Word choice

The Explorer

Katherine Rundell

Fiction

19

Inference

Pig-Heart Boy

Malorie Blackman

Fiction

20

Retrieval

Marius the Giraffe Killed at Copenhagen Zoo

The Guardian

Non-fiction

21

Word meaning

Evolution Revolution

Robert Winston

Non-fiction

Progress check 3

Mixed skills

Charles Darwin: History’s Most Famous Biologist

Kerry Lotzof

Non-fiction

For further information and to place your order visit www.schofieldandsims.co.uk or telephone 01484 607080

Published by Schofield & Sims Ltd, 7 Mariner Court, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF4 3FL, UK Telephone 01484 607080 www.schofieldandsims.co.uk This edition copyright © Schofield & Sims Ltd, 2020 First published in 2020 Second impression 2021 Author: Jane Sowerby Jane Sowerby has asserted her moral rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

Roman Britain (page 34) is from Roman Britain by Ruth Brocklehurst, copyright © 2013 Usborne Publishing Ltd. Reproduced by permission of Usborne Publishing, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, UK. www.usborne.com. The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle (page 42) is from The Time-Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle, by Julia Jarman.

Copyright © Julia Jarman, 2001. Published by Andersen Press.

Volcanoes in Action (page 50) is from Volcanoes in Action by Anita Ganeri. Reproduced by permission of Wayland, an imprint of Hachette Children’s Books, Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ. Tsunamis on the Move (page 58) is from Tsunamis on the Move by International Tsunami Information Center. (2011). www.tsunamiwave.org. Russian Doll (page 66) by Rachel Rooney is from The Language of Cat, by Rachel Rooney. Copyright © Rachel Rooney, 2011. Published

by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books. The Little Daughter of the Snow (page 74) is from Old Peter’s Russian Tales & The Battle of the Birds and the Beasts, by Arthur Ransome. Copyright © Arthur Ransom Literary Estate. The History behind Christmas Traditions (page 82) is from ‘The history behind Christmas traditions: Saint Nicholas, mistletoe and crackers’, by Isabelle Fraser, 18 December 2017. Copyright © Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2017.

A Christmas Tree (page 88) is from ‘A Christmas Tree’ by Charles Dickens. The Moomins and the Great Flood (page 94) is from The Moomins and the Great Flood, by Tove Jansson. Copyright © Tove Jansson, 1945, Moomin Characters™. For Forest (page 102)

by Grace Nichols is from A Caribbean Dozen, by Grace Nichols.

Copyright © Grace Nichols 1994. Reproduced with permissions from Curtis Brown Group Ltd on behalf of Grace Nichols. The Borrowers (page 110) is from The Borrowers, by Mary Norton.

Copyright © Mary Norton, 1953. Reproduced by kind permission of Aitken Alexander Associates Ltd. Max and the Millions (page 118) is from Max and the Millions, by Ross Montgomery.

Copyright © Ross Montgomery, 2018. Published by Faber & Faber Limited. My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright (page 126) is from My Secret War Diary by Flossie Albright by Marcia Williams.

Copyright © Marcia Williams, 1992. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE1 5HJ. www.walker.co.uk.

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (page 134) is from The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, by Michael Morpurgo. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Copyright © Michael Morpurgo, 2005. The Secret World of Polly Flint (page

142) is from The Secret World of Polly Flint by Helen Cresswell © Helen Cresswell, 2008. Published by Five Leaves Publications.

Reproduced with permission. Heatwave Raises Lost ‘Atlantis’ Village from Its Watery Grave (page 148) is from ‘Heatwave raises lost “Atlantis” village from its watery grave, 80 years after it was deliberately flooded to create a Cumbrian reservoir’ by Stewart Paterson (freelance writer). Originally published 03/07/2018.

Text copyright © MailOnline, 2018. Threats to African Elephants (page 154) is from ‘Threats to African Elephants’ by WWF: wwf. panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/elephants/ African_elephants/afelephants_threats/ Text © 2020, WWF (panda.org). Some rights reserved. The Great Elephant Chase (page 162) The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross. Text copyright © Gillian Cross, 2015. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear. Black Beauty (page 170) is from Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell. Charlotte’s Web (page 178) is from Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Text copyright © E.B. White, 1952; renewed by E.B. White, 1980. Reproduced by permission of ICM Partners, 65 R. 55th St., New York, NY 10022. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (page 186) is from A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket. Text copyright © 1999 Lemony Snicket. Published by Egmont UK Limited and used with permission. Little Women (page 194) is from Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott. Everything Castles (page 202) is from Everything Castles, by Crispin Boyer.

Copyright © National Geographic Creative. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (page 208) Text © 2004 Michael Morpurgo.

From Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Michael Morpurgo.

Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ. www.walker.co.uk.

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Design by Ledgard Jepson Ltd Front cover design by Ledgard Jepson Ltd Printed in the UK by Page Bros (Norwich) Ltd ISBN 978 07217 1648 0

Complete Comprehension Written by expert authors, Schofield & Sims Complete Comprehension equips you with everything you need to teach the comprehension skills identified in the National Curriculum.

Each teaching unit targets one comprehension skill, which is introduced through a modelling session and then practised using test-style questions.

This book includes: • a Skills guide to explain every comprehension skill • engaging text passages from a range of genres • a Lesson plan for each unit, featuring a Language toolkit to support explicit vocabulary teaching • extensive discussion and enrichment activities to build background knowledge • three informal Progress check assessments.

Comprehension skills covered in Complete Comprehension 4: ?

Word meaning

Prediction

Retrieval

Relationship

Summarising

Word choice

Inference

Comparison

ISBN 978 07217 1648 0 £70.00 (Retail price)

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