Writing
★ Activity 6: Comprehension
Read this extract from The Snow-Walker’s Son by Catherine Fisher. You can
listen to the extract here:
https://soundcloud.com/talkforwriting/doors
The door was the last one in the corridor.
As the flames flickered over it, they showed it was barred; a hefty iron
chain hung across it, and the mud floor beneath was red with rust that had
flaked off in the long years of locking and unlocking.
The keeper hung his lantern on a nail, took the key from a dirty string around
his neck, and fitted it into the keyhole. Then he looked behind him.
‘Get on with it!’ the big man growled. ‘Let me see what she keeps in there!’
The keeper grinned; he knew fear when he heard it. With both hands he turned
the key, then tugged out the red chain in a shower of rust and pushed the door.
It opened, just a fraction. Darkness and a damp smell oozed through the black
slit.
He stepped well back, handed the stranger the lantern, and jerked his head. He
had no tongue to speak with; she’d made sure he kept her secrets.
The stranger hesitated; a draught moved his hair and he gazed back up the stone
passageway as if he longed suddenly for warmth and light. And from what I’ve
heard, the keeper thought, you won’t be seeing much of those ever again.
Then the man held up the lantern and pushed the door. The keeper watched his
face intently in the red glow, and his great hand, as it clutched a luck-stone that
swung at his neck. The man went in, slowly. The door closed.
© Catherine Fisher 2011 from The Snow Walker’s Son, published by Red Fox, by permission of the author.
1. The door was the last one in the corridor.
(a)What is the significance of the word last?
(b)Can you think of another context
where the word last has a significant meaning? e.g. the last chance.
2. (a)How do the opening lines (in bold italics above) set the mood of the story?
(b)What are your immediate impressions?
3. Having spent a great deal of time reflecting on the significance of doors
and their appearance, what does this description suggest to you?
4. (a)Why has Fisher described the iron chain as being ‘hefty’?
(b)What could the significance of this word be in the context of the story?
5. Darkness and a damp smell oozed through the black slit.
(a) How does this make you feel as a reader?
(b) What is the relevance of both darkness and a damp smell?
(c) Do either of these surprise you; if so, why?
Arithmetic
Answers to quiz 6:6. Don’t forget to update your graph with your score!
https://www.math-salamanders.com/image-files/printable-mental-maths-worksheets-year-6-6ans.gif
Mental Maths Quiz 6:7 First nine questions.
https://www.math-salamanders.com/image-files/printable-mental-maths-year-6-7.gif
Maths No problem
Chapter 12 Lesson 12. Complete Guided Practice section on pages 156/157 of textbook and then complete Workbook page 123. Note: Both square pyramids on page 123 do have square bases!
St George’s Day
Today’s tasks are a little shorter than normal in order to give you the chance to devote some time to St George’s Day. Use the link below, which contains some great ideas of things to do, to discover more about St George. I especially liked the idea of designing my own heraldic coat of arms!
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/st-georges-day/