Develop Brilliant Reading Teacher Pack by Collins

• Show students how to read for meaning with twelve structured tests that carefully model the reading process.

• Provide targeted support with mark schemes, feedback sheets, and ten fully resourced re-teach reading skills lessons. Download the resources in PDF and editable Word and PowerPoint formats that can be used alongside existing units of work: collins.co.uk/DevelopBrilliantReading/downloads Chris Curtis has been an English teacher for over fourteen years and a head of department for the last five years. As an avid reader and blogger, he is always reflecting on what works for students and sharing practical, evidence-based solutions to difficult problems in the classroom.

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978-0-00-838030-4

978-0-00-853080-8

Chris Curtis

978-0-00-831588-7

12 tests and 10 lessons to assess and improve reading at KS3

• Explore and interact with texts from a diverse range of genres, styles and time periods.

DEVELOP BRILLIANT READING

Assess reading progress and improve reading skills in Key Stage 3 English with ready-made and photocopiable reading tests to spot problem areas, direct teaching and gain insights into reading patterns.

12 tests and 10 lessons to assess and improve reading at KS3

Chris Curtis 14/07/2022 10:26

Contents Introduction

Assessments Test 1: Dracula by Bram Stoker

Test 2: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Test 3: My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Test 4: ‘My journey around India in 80 trains’ by Monisha Rajesh

Test 5: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Test 6: ‘The Story-Teller’ by Saki

Test 7: More William by Richmal Crompton

Test 8: Three Years in Europe by William Wells Brown

Test 9: Cane Warriors by Alex Wheatle

105

Test 10: Mohinder’s War by Bali Rai

117

Test 11: The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny

129

Test 12: ‘Why terms like “fully accessible” don’t help disabled people’ by Carrie-Ann Lightley 142 Follow-up lesson plans and worksheets Lesson 1: Making inferences and providing evidence (1)

154

Lesson 2: Making inferences and providing evidence (2)

156

Lesson 3: Word meaning: Context

158

Lesson 4: Word meaning: Connotation and denotation

160

Lesson 5: Understanding effect

162

Lesson 6: Identifying effect

164

Lesson 7: Identifying techniques

166

Lesson 8: Linking techniques to meaning

169

Lesson 9: Supporting an opinion

172

Lesson 10: Justifying an opinion

174

Acknowledgements © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2022

177 iii

Introduction

Welcome to the Develop Brilliant Reading teacher pack. We appreciate how busy teaching is and we hope this resource will support you to develop reading across the department, while also saving you some time. All the resources within the pack can be downloaded from the Collins website for you to print and adapt: www.collins.co.uk/DevelopBrilliantReading/downloads Chris Curtis Why reading matters Reading underpins everything we do. A student who can read is a student who succeeds in life. They have the skills that will enable them to continue learning and improving throughout their lives. When he saw Oliver, he pushed the book away from him, and told him to come near the table, and sit down. Oliver complied; marvelling where the people could be found to read such a great number of books as seemed to be written to make the world wiser. Which is still a marvel to more experienced people than Oliver Twist, every day of their lives. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens Our role as teachers and educators is not just to help our students derive joy and pleasure from reading, but also to guide them and model how to read. Although reading is an internalised process, it is still a process we can support, advise on and help students to improve. A teacher’s main focus is to make the complex understandable. Too long have we neglected reading in secondary schools. Telling students to read more or read harder books will not address some fundamental flaws in their internalised processing of a text. More is needed. Alex Quigley wrote in his book Closing the Reading Gap that ‘training every teacher to be an expert in reading should be our aim, so that they can make the informed, expert decisions that should define our professionalism. Crucially then, transforming that professional knowledge into improved teaching and learning gifts power to our pupils in countless profound ways.’ 1 The problems with reading Reading is a complex element of English teaching and when developing confident readers in the classroom there are no quick fixes or easy answers. However, the exam system has largely governed the strategies for reading in the secondary classroom, forcing teachers to replicate exam questions, and exam-style reading, throughout Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. Instead of exploring the multiple elements of a text, students are often focusing on narrow aspects governed by exam rubric. My department noticed with our own students a preference for ‘skimming and scanning’ a text rather than reading purposefully for meaning. Students would read very quickly to find an answer and, therefore, miss out subtle meanings, the subtext and important inferences in the story or extract. The question would drive the reading process. A process that was, and is, fast but largely superficial. Anne Kispal’s ‘Effective Teaching of Inference Skills for Reading’ (2008) was the inspiration for changing our attitude towards reading. 2 Collecting many years of research around reading, Kispal’s overview provided us with an insight into how inferences are formed and into the metalanguage surrounding reading. In secondary schools, the knowledge around how children learn to read can be quite limited, because there is a general assumption that most students will be competent and fluent readers by the time they reach secondary school. That for us, as for others, wasn’t the case. Issues around decoding and reading accuracy still apply in secondary school.

Quigley, A. Closing the Reading Gap. Routledge, 2020. Kispal, A. ‘Effective Teaching of Inference Skills for Reading’. National Foundation for Educational Research, 2008. https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/EDR01/EDR01.pdf

1 2

Introduction

In our context, we were noticing that students were not forming inferences naturally or they were making largely incorrect inferences about the text. Kispal’s work highlighted how under-skilled secondary English teachers can be in terms of teaching inference. While we might know a novel, poem or play really well, a key aspect of reading was missing in our approaches. Simply giving students more reading doesn’t make them fluent readers. We started to have a better understanding of where the problem stems from. We began by asking questions around our students’ reading. What words cause problems with forming inferences? What knowledge do students need to form a specific inference? What parts of a text do students need to link together to make an inference? What different synonyms do students need to connect to reach an inference? Do students know that the ‘it’ in the sentence refers back to the dog and not the table? Through our investigation of inferences, we were learning the value of vocabulary, background knowledge, connecting nouns and pronouns across a sentence or paragraph, and how students interacted with a text. We created a test designed to help us understand the problems, the patterns and the strengths of students in our school, which would then inform our teaching of reading and, in turn, support students to become better readers. But we also wanted an assessment system that would help students to see and learn from their mistakes. Otherwise, as Kate Cain and Jane Oakhill state in their work on comprehension skill and inference making, students ‘do not see reading as an active, constructive process: It is only when their incorrect answer and therefore inadequate understanding is brought to their attention and they are required to search for some information, that these children make such links.’ 3 Reading tests often sit in one of two categories: those designed to generate a reading age; and those designed for comprehension. We wanted to create a test that allowed students to become conscious of their mistakes, but also allowed us to understand patterns in some of the key skills needed at GCSE and beyond. We wanted to know: Are students selecting the right information? Are students reading the question carefully? Are students making inferences? Or are they just making things up? Therefore, we created a test that would give us a diagnostic understanding of what students can do and cannot do with reading, and of what they know and don’t know that supports their understanding of a text. A test that would draw attention to specific reading processes and model them to students. The testing process We have created this resource to sit alongside other reading strategies, such as modelling the reading process and vocabulary work, to help understand the reading processes of students in a year group or class. We have designed the assessments to be used as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Students complete the test in silence. Teacher marks the test and identifies patterns or trends. Teacher shares their marking with students. Teacher identifies three areas for students to work on and re-teaches elements if necessary. Students each complete a feedback sheet identifying areas they need to work on.

This resource contains twelve tests in total, covering a range of topics, writing forms and writers, which can be administered to a whole class or year group. The tests have been created with Key Stage 3 in mind. They can be used alongside existing units of work or they can stand on their own without any prior work needing to be done. For example, if students are studying Gothic fiction, then we have texts in that genre such as Dracula and The Wolves of Willoughby Chase which can support the teaching of the topic. For that reason, we have chosen a range of styles and genres. We have included texts from different time periods, too, so that students can build their familiarity with modern and older literature and with the language associated with each period. We do, however, advise that teachers read the tests beforehand so they are familiar with what the students will read and can avoid any possible issues. We, in our department, tend to set two tests a year for a whole year group: one at the start of the school year, so we can see what areas students need to work on; and one in the middle of the year, so we can see if there has been any improvement in the areas previously highlighted. Our department will set the same test for Years 7, 8 and 9 at the same time so that we are able to compare how year groups fare with the text and

Cain, Kate and Oakhill, Jane. ‘Comprehension skill and inference-making ability: Issues of causality’. Reading and spelling: Development and disorders, edited by C. Hulme and R. M. Joshi, pp. 329–342. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998.

Introduction

questions. Although there is a student and class diagnostic element to the process, the tests also help us understand whole-school issues related to reading. Testing at the same time with the same test allows you to see if Year 7s are stronger or weaker than another year group, which in turn will allow you to see if the curriculum or teaching needs changing to target a weakness. Reading skills tested We have structured the reading test to help model the reading process. Students read a short extract and then explore the text through a series of questions. Then, they read a further extract and answer further questions based on the second extract. Finally, students will look at the whole text and work on building connections across the text, using higher-order thinking. Comprehension tests by their nature tend to be largely structureless. They allow the text to dictate the questioning. We have favoured a more structured approach instead, so that students become familiar with the question types and therefore in time become familiar with the skills behind the question. Skills

Example question

Finding information

Find three quotations relating to the sound of the aeroplane.

Word meaning

What does the word ‘liberty’ mean in the following line?

Inference

What can we infer about Maman’s attitude towards the Germans when she describes them as ‘dogs’?

Symbolism

Everything Count Dracula wears is black. What do you think the colour black could symbolise?

Identifying methods

Looking at both extracts, find an example of each of the following techniques used by the writer.

Effect

Why do you think the writer ends the extract with a short sentence?

Supporting an interpretation / opinion

A teacher read both extracts and said the following: ‘I don’t really think Joelle fully understands the danger she is in. The writer creates a real sense of how life is different now, but I think Joelle doesn’t see how bad the situation is.’ Pick one of the statements and explain why you agree or disagree with the teacher. Tick the statement you agree or disagree with. I don’t really think Joelle fully understands the danger she is in. The writer creates a real sense of how life is different now. I think Joelle doesn’t see how bad the situation is.

We have focused on these skill elements because they were the elements that we felt would guide our teaching. If we spot that students are struggling with symbolism, then it allows us to adapt our teaching and draw attention to it when reading, or to spend time teaching students the knowledge needed to understand symbolism in texts. Mark schemes For each test, we have included a mark scheme to help you assess a student’s response. The list of responses is not exhaustive, and you may have your own suggestions to add, using the editable Word files in the digital download. The nature of English means that there could be many permutations for an answer. Marking is an important part of the assessment process, and we would advise that teachers either mark together or share their findings after marking with colleagues. It is at this stage that departments and leaders © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2022

Introduction

can look at the patterns in the results. Often, as we have noticed in our school, there is a common pattern within a year group, and it takes a collective approach within a department to address this. Feedback and re-teach Feedback sheets for each test are included as part of the digital download that supports this pack, so you can print them for a class and use them as part of the feedback process. We ask students to fill in their sheets and stick them in their book so they can be revisited before the next assessment. There are three parts to our feedback. Part 1 – Teacher reads through the questions and explains what they were looking for with each. Students write corrections on their papers. Part 2 – Teacher gives three areas for the class to work on. Example: 1. Annotating the extracts 2. Making sure all questions are answered 3. Looking at the rest of the text when thinking about an inference At this stage, teachers will model processes or write an example for the class to copy. They might even give students another question to see if they can demonstrate improvement in that skill or knowledge. Part 3 – Students complete the ‘My feedback’ section of the sheet to identify the areas in which they are struggling. As part of the feedback process, we have included an opportunity for students to reflect on their own performance, to identify areas they want to work on and to think of ways they can address them. The feedback sheet can then be stuck in a student’s exercise book or collected, so they can look at them before the next test. Lessons To support the re-teaching of aspects of reading, we have created ten lessons with supporting worksheets and PowerPoints (available as part of the download) to help start the discussion. Most aspects of reading cannot be covered simply in one or two lessons as they are often complex in nature, so these lessons are intended to work as a starting point for developing an awareness of a particular skill, rather than a simple fix. Lesson

Focus

Making inferences and providing evidence 1

Making inferences and providing evidence 2

Word meaning: Context

Word meaning: Connotation and denotation

Understanding effect

Identifying effect

Identifying techniques

Linking techniques to meaning

Supporting an opinion

Justifying an opinion

Finally, we hope this book works alongside other strategies within your school to support reading across the whole school, at various levels, and within your department. Reading isn’t improved by one strategy alone, but by a continuous focus over the year and a strong reading culture within a school. We hope your team and students will develop a stronger understanding of reading and, as a result, students will develop a conscious understanding of the skills they use when reading a text. © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2022

vii

Introduction

English Reading Assessment

Test 1 – Dracula

Name: Teacher:

This extract is from the novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Jonathan Harker is a lawyer from England who travels to Transylvania to see his client, Count Dracula. He is there to help Count Dracula with arrangements to purchase property. In this extract, Jonathan Harker is meeting Count Dracula for the first time.

1. Dracula

An extract from Dracula by Bram Stoker Read Part 1.

Just as I had come to this conclusion I heard a heavy step approaching behind the great door, and saw through the chinks the gleam of a coming light. Then there was the sound of rattling chains and the clanking of massive bolts drawn back. A key was turned with the loud grating noise of long issue, and the great door swung back.

‘Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own free will!’ He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone. The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed cold as ice – more like the hand of a dead than a living man. Again he said:–

‘Count Dracula?’ He bowed in a courtly way as he replied:–

Within stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere. He held in his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without a chimney or globe of any kind, throwing long quivering shadows as it flickered in the draught of the open door. The old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent English, but with a strange intonation:–

‘Welcome to my house! Enter freely. Go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring!’ The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speaking. So to make sure, I said interrogatively:–

‘I am Dracula; and I bid you welcome, Mr. Harker, to my house. Come in; the night air is chill, and you must need to eat and rest.’ As he was speaking, he put the lamp on a bracket on the wall, and stepping out, took my luggage. He had carried it in before I could forestall him. I protested, but he insisted:–

Glossary intonation tone of voice threshold an entrance impulsively moving without thought – a natural instinct akin similar forestall delay

Now answer the questions on the next page.

1. Dracula

[1]

Find three quotations that tell us something about Dracula. [Paragraph 1] 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 3 ........................................................................................................................................

[2]

Find a quotation that shows the size of Count Dracula’s castle. [Paragraphs 1 and 2] ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................................

[3]

What does the word ‘quivering’ mean in this extract? [Paragraph 2] It means ............................................................................................................................ ...........................................................................................................................................

[4]

What can we infer from the phrase highlighted in this sentence? [Paragraph 3]

He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone.

We can infer that ............................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... [5]

Everything Count Dracula wears is black. What do you think the colour black could symbolise? It could be a symbol of ...................................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................................

[6]

What clues does the writer give the reader that something is not quite right in the extract? You can use quotations or refer to techniques in your answer. ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................

1. Dracula

Read Part 2.

‘Nay, sir, you are my guest. It is late, and my people are not available. Let me see to your comfort myself.’ He insisted on carrying my traps along the passage, and then up a great winding stair, and along another great passage, on whose stone floor our steps rang heavily. At the end of this he threw open a heavy door, and I rejoiced to see within a well-lit room in which a table was spread for supper, and on whose mighty hearth a great fire of logs, freshly replenished, flamed and flared.

‘You will need, after your journey, to refresh yourself by making your toilet. I trust you will find all you wish. When you are ready, come into the other room, where you will find your supper prepared.’

I found supper already laid out. My host, who stood on one side of the great fireplace, leaning against the stonework, made a graceful wave of his hand to the table, and said:–

The Count halted, putting down my bags, closed the door, and crossing the room, opened another door, which led into a small octagonal room lit by a single lamp, and seemingly without a window of any sort. Passing through this, he opened another door, and motioned me to enter. It was a welcome sight; for here was a great bedroom well lighted and warmed with another log fire – also added to but lately, for the top logs were fresh – which sent a hollow roar up the wide chimney. The Count himself left my luggage inside and withdrew, saying, before he closed the door:–

The light and warmth and the Count's courteous welcome seemed to have dissipated all my doubts and fears. Having then reached my normal state, I discovered that I was half famished with hunger; so making a hasty toilet, I went into the other room.

‘I pray you, be seated and sup how you please. You will I trust, excuse me that I do not join you; but I have dined already, and I do not sup.’

Glossary replenished refilled sup to have a small amount of food or drink

Now answer the questions on the next page.

1. Dracula

[7]

What can we infer from the following line when the Count refuses to let Mr Harker carry his own bags?

Nay, sir, you are my guest.

How does the writer make us think that the place is safe? Think of two ways the writer does this. 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 2 ........................................................................................................................................

[9]

What does the word ‘dissipated’ mean in paragraph 4? It means ............................................................................................................................ ...........................................................................................................................................

[10] Find three phrases that show how polite and friendly the Count is in his dialogue. 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 3 ........................................................................................................................................ [11] What do you think Mr Harker is feeling at the end of the extract? ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... [12] Why do you think the writer shows Dracula not eating with Mr Harker? ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................................

1. Dracula

Looking at both extracts, find an example of each of the following techniques used by the writer. [13] colours ............................................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... [14] light and darkness imagery ............................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... [15] sound effects ..................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... [16] simile ............................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... [17] A teacher read both extracts and said the following:

‘There’s a real sense of slowly building up the atmosphere or tension. There are no sudden shocks or scares, but there is a general feeling that something bad is going to happen. There’s a real strangeness to events.’

Pick one of the statements and explain why you agree or disagree with the teacher. Tick the statement you agree or disagree with. There’s a real sense of slowly building up the atmosphere or tension. There are no sudden shocks or scares, but there is a general sense that something bad is going to happen. There’s a real strangeness to events. Why do you agree / disagree? Explain why you agree or disagree with the statement. In your answer, refer to one technique used / one choice made by the writer.

I agree / disagree because ............................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................

1. Dracula

English Reading Assessment

Dracula Mark scheme Skills overview Question

[1]

Reading skill / focus

Marks available

Finding information

Word meaning

Inference

Symbolism

Effect / finding information

Inference

Effect / finding information

Word meaning

Inference / finding information

Character’s feelings

Exploring meanings behind choices

Identifying methods

Supporting an interpretation / opinion

TOTAL

Mark allocation

Find three quotations that tell us something about Dracula. [Paragraph 1] Accept

• • • • • •

Don’t accept

‘heavy step’ ‘a tall old man’ ‘clean shaven’ ‘long white moustache’ ‘clad in black from head to foot’ ‘without a single speck of colour about him anywhere’

• ‘He held in his hand an antique silver lamp’ • ‘saying in excellent English’ • ‘with a strange intonation’ 1 mark for each correct answer – maximum of 3 marks © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2022

1. Dracula Mark scheme

[2]

Find a quotation that shows the size of Count Dracula’s castle. [Paragraph 1] Accept

Don’t accept

• ‘the great door’ • ‘sound of rattling chains’ • ‘the clanking of massive bolts drawn back’ 1 mark for a correct answer [3]

What does the word ‘quivering’ mean in this extract? [Paragraph 2] Accept

Don’t accept

• • • • •

• the man is scared or nervous • spreading

moving quickly shaking trembling shuddering moving ever so slightly

1 mark for a correct answer [4]

What can we infer from the phrase highlighted in this sentence? [Paragraph 3]

He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone.

Don’t accept

• He wants to keep his distance. • He is not used to seeing people. • He doesn’t know how to behave around people –

Don’t reward anything that is a literal meaning of the phrase. Cannot be a rewording of the line.

• • • •

not used to it.

He is hiding something.

• He didn’t move • He stood still

He is fearful or cautious of Mr Harker. He isn’t a friendly person. He sees their relationship as a business one. 2 marks for a correct answer

[5]

Everything Count Dracula wears is black. What do you think the colour black could symbolise? Accept

• • • • • • •

Don’t accept

death lifelessness hiding something darkness a funeral a widower evil 2 marks for a correct answer

1. Dracula Mark scheme

[6]

What clues does the writer give the reader that something is not quite right in the extract? You can use quotations or refer to techniques in your answer. Accept

Don’t accept

• The door has chains, bolts and a lock. • The man has a heavy step but nothing about him suggests he’d be heavy.

• The man doesn’t have any colour on his clothes – he is all in black.

• Long quivering shadows • The man speaks in excellent English but with a • • • •

strange intonation.

Lack of movement – the man stood like a statue ‘a strength which made me wince’ ‘cold as ice’ Confusion over the identity of the man: ‘the driver, whose face I had not seen’ 2 marks for a correct answer To support their answer, students can either give a quotation from the text or make a reference to a method or technique used. The marks relate to the quality of the supporting evidence rather than the number of points made.

[7]

What can we infer from the following line when the Count refuses to let Mr Harker carry his own bags?

Nay, sir, you are my guest.

Don’t accept

• He wants to show Harker that he is a good man /

A literal reading of the line

host.

• He is being polite and respectful. • Harker has travelled far so will need to rest.

• he is the guest 2 marks for a correct answer

[8]

How does the writer make us think that the place is safe? Think of two ways the writer does this. Accept

Don’t accept

• • • • • •

Anything taken from the first extract. It must be from the second extract. Must be two separate points – cannot have two comments referring to the same thing

strength of Dracula heavy door well-lit room great fire of logs supper already laid out

stonework Accept quotations on their own. 1 mark for each correct answer – maximum 2 [9]

What does the word ‘dissipated’ mean in paragraph 4? Accept

Don’t accept

• vanished • reduced • disappeared © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2022

1. Dracula Mark scheme

• faded • lessened 2 marks for a correct answer [10]

Find three phrases that show how polite and friendly the Count is in his dialogue. Accept

Don’t accept

• • • • •

Anything in Part 1. All the lines must be from Part 2.

‘sir’ ‘you are my guest’ ‘I trust you will find all you wish’ ‘be seated and sup how you please’ ‘excuse me’

1 mark for each correct answer – maximum 3 [11]

What do you think Mr Harker is feeling at the end of the extract? Accept

Don’t accept

• Pleased to be somewhere nice and warm • Tired after his journey • Relaxed after realising that his initial anxiety was

• Worried about the place • Scared Dracula is going to kill him • Any negative emotions

unnecessary and unfounded

2 marks for a correct answer [12]

Why do you think the writer shows Dracula not eating with Mr Harker? Accept

Don’t accept

• To create a sense of mystery • To suggest that Dracula’s eating habits are different • To suggest how different the two men are

• He has already eaten

Accept an alternative. 2 marks for a correct answer [13]–[16] Looking at both extracts, find an example of each of the following techniques used by the writer. 13 – colours

14 – light and darkness imagery

15 – sound effects

16 – simile

• ‘long white

• ‘the gleam of a

• ‘a heavy step

• ‘clad in black’ • ‘without a single

• ‘the flame burned’ • ‘long quivering

• ‘the sound of

• ‘stood like a statue’ • ‘seemed as cold as

• ‘an antique silver

• • • •

moustache’

speck of colour’ lamp’

coming light’

shadows’

approaching’

rattling chains’

• ‘clanking of

massive bolts’

‘well-lit room’ ‘flamed and flared’ ‘lit by a single lamp’ ‘great bedroom well lighted’

• ‘the loud grating

ice’

• ‘more like the hand of a dead than living man’

noise’

• ‘our steps rang heavily’

• ‘sent a hollow roar up the wide chimney’

1. Dracula Mark scheme

Accept suitable alternatives to the answers here. 1 mark for each correct answer – maximum of 4 marks [17]

Use the following as a guide to the marks. Students will be rewarded a mark for attempting the task. Mark

Analysis

5 marks

a perceptive and detailed response – only a handful of students would be at this level

4 marks

a response where the student is rationalising choices

3 marks

a response where the student is linking choices to the impact on the reader

2 marks

a response with a reference to a technique or choice but no development or explanation

1 mark

simple response and no direct example of a technique

Suggested examples. Marks

Features

Example

Perceptive and detailed

I agree that there’s a real strangeness to events, but this is under the surface and hinted at rather than made explicit. The writer fools us into thinking that Dracula is harmless but gives us little clues as to how dangerous he is. There is the fact that he has strength, even though his age might suggest his weakness. Furthermore, the fact that he doesn’t eat with Mr Harker, when he has just arrived, highlights how Dracula doesn’t behave in the way we would expect a host would to a guest. There’s a real sense that Dracula is putting on an act to lull Mr Harker and us into thinking he is quite safe and harmless.

Rationalised response

I disagree that things are strange as the word strange suggests something out of the ordinary and different. Things are more odd or unusual than strange and I would say the oddness is created by a combination of elements. Firstly, the count is alone in a large house, which goes against what we’d normally expect a count to have. A count would have a butler or servant to help – especially when a guest is arriving, because you’d want to make a good impression on your guest. Then, the fact that he lifts and carries Mr Harker’s luggage highlights why a servant is needed. Count Dracula is stronger than he looks, which makes us think that the old man is far more dangerous than he looks.

Linked choices to impact on the reader

I agree that it is strange, but I think things are more odd or unusual than strange. I feel that the oddness is created by the fact that the house is so big and yet there are no other people to greet or help Mr Harker with his things. Usually rich people like a count would have servants to do their bidding and here we don’t have a single one. That would raise questions in the reader’s head.

Supported by a technique / choice

I agree that there’s a real strangeness to events. I think the writer makes things strange and odd by having this old man being really strong by carrying the luggage up to the room.

Simple response

I agree there’s a real strangeness to things because things just seem a bit odd and it is hard to put your finger on things.

1. Dracula Mark scheme

English Reading Assessment

Test 2 – The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Name: Teacher:

This extract is from the opening to the novel The Wolves of Willoughby Chase written by Joan Aiken. The story takes place in an England where wolves have not died out. Miss Bonnie lives with her family in Willoughby Chase. Miss Bonnie is expecting her cousin, Sylvia, to arrive. In this extract, the new governess, Miss Slighcarp, arrives. A governess is a woman employed by a rich family to educate a child or children in the family home.

2. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

An extract from The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken Read Part 1.

IT WAS DUSK – winter dusk. Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and icicles hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willoughby Wold, but from dawn men had been clearing it with brooms and shovels. There were hundreds of them at work, wrapped in sacking because of the bitter cold, and keeping together in groups for fear of the wolves, grown savage and reckless from hunger.

In the nursery a little girl was impatiently dancing up and down before the great window, fourteen feet high, which faced out over the park and commanded the long black expanse of road.

‘We shall hear soon enough, I dare say, Miss Bonnie,’ was the inevitable reply from her maid, who, on hands and knees in front of the fire, was folding and goffering the frills of twenty lace petticoats.

‘Give over, Miss Bonnie, do,’ said Pattern after a while. ‘Look at the dust you’re raising. I can hardly see my tongs. Come and sit by the fire. We shall hear soon enough when the train’s due.’

Snow lay thick, too, upon the roof of Willoughby Chase, the great house that stood on an open eminence in the heart of the wold. But for all that, the Chase looked an inviting home – a warm and welcoming stronghold. Its rosy herring-bone brick was bright and well-cared-for, its numerous turrets and battlements stood up sharp against the sky, and the crenellated balconies, corniced with snow, each held a golden square of window. The house was all alight within, and the joyous hubbub of its activity contrasted with the sombre sighing of the wind and the hideous howling of the wolves without.

‘Will she be here soon, Pattern? Will she?’ was her continual cry.

The little girl turned again to her impatient vigil. She had climbed up on to the window-seat, the better to survey the snowy park, and was jumping on its well-sprung cushions, covered in crimson satin. Each time she bounced, she nearly hit the ceiling.

Bonnie left her perch reluctantly enough and came to sit by the fire. She was a slender creature, small for her age, but rosy-cheeked, with a mass of tumbled black locks falling to her shoulders, and two brilliant blue eyes, equally ready to dance with laughter or flash with indignation. Her square chin also gave promise of a powerful and obstinate temper, not always perfectly controlled. But her mouth was sweet, and she could be

2. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

very thoughtful on occasion – as now, when she sat gazing into the fire, piled high on its two carved alabaster wolf-hounds. ‘I hope the train hasn’t been delayed by wolves,’ she said presently.

‘Nonsense, Miss Bonnie dear – don’t worry your pretty head with thoughts like that,’ replied Pattern. ‘You know the porters and stationmaster have been practising with their muskets and fowling-pieces all the week.’

9. 10.

Glossary pleated folded wold a moor crenellated in a pattern of rectangular gaps corniced with a build-up of snow sticking out goffering making lots of little folds in the material alabaster white plaster

Now answer the questions on the next page.

2. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

[1]

Find three quotations that show where the snow had fallen. [Paragraphs 1 and 2] 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 3 ........................................................................................................................................

[2]

Find a quotation that shows that Willoughby Chase is a pleasant place. [Paragraph 2] ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................................

[3]

What does the word ‘commanded’ mean in the following sentence? [Paragraph 3]

In the nursery a little girl was impatiently dancing up and down before the great window, fourteen feet high, which faced out over the park and commanded the long black expanse of road.

It means ...........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................... [4]

What can we infer about Bonnie from the following sentence? [Paragraph 6]

Each time she bounced, she nearly hit the ceiling.

How do we know that Pattern is a servant? Look for two ways the writer shows us that Pattern is a servant. ........................................................................................................................................... ...........................................................................................................................................

[6]

What clues does the writer give the reader that something is dangerous in the extract? You can refer to quotations or techniques in your answer. ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ............................................................................................................................................

2. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Read Part 2.

At that moment there was a commotion from downstairs, and Bonnie turned, her face alight with expectancy. As the noise of dogs barking, men shouting, and the doorbell clanging continued, she flew recklessly along the huge expanse of nursery floor, gleaming and polished as glass, and down the main staircase to the entrance hall. Her impetuosity brought her in a heap to the feet of an immensely tall, thin lady, clad from neck to toe in a travelling dress of swathed grey twill, with a stiff collar, dark glasses, and dull green buttoned boots. Bonnie’s headlong rush nearly sent this person flying, and she recovered her balance with an exclamation of annoyance.

‘I – I beg your pardon!’ Bonnie exclaimed, picking herself up.

‘Oh,’ Bonnie stammered, ‘I didn’t know – that is, I thought you were not expected until tomorrow. I was looking for my cousin Sylvia, who is arriving this evening.’

Rather flustered, Bonie performed this formality with less than her usual grace.

James, the footman, who had been exchanging grimaces with the butler over the fact that he had received no tip, at once sprang to attention, and said:

‘Who is guilty of this unmannerly irruption?’ she said, settling her glasses once more upon her nose. ‘Can this hoydenish creature be my new pupil?’

‘So I should hope! Am I right in supposing that you are Miss Green? I am Miss Slighcarp, your new governess. I am also your fourth cousin, once removed,’ the lady added haughtily, as if she found the removal hardly sufficient.

‘I am aware of the fact,’ Miss Slighcarp replied coldly, ‘but that does not excuse bad manners. Where, pray, is your curtsy?’

‘Lessons in deportment, I see, will need priority on our time-table,’ Miss Slighcarp remarked, and she turned to look after the disposition of her luggage. ‘You, sir! Do not stand there smirking and dawdling, but see that my valises are carried at once to my apartments, and that my maid is immediately in attendance to help me.’

‘Your maid, miss? Did you bring a maid with you?’

10.

2. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

• Show students how to read for meaning with twelve structured tests that carefully model the reading process.

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Chris Curtis

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12 tests and 10 lessons to assess and improve reading at KS3

• Explore and interact with texts from a diverse range of genres, styles and time periods.

DEVELOP BRILLIANT READING

12 tests and 10 lessons to assess and improve reading at KS3

Chris Curtis 14/07/2022 10:26

sample proof - not final

Lesson 3 objectives • To explore the meaning of words • To understand how the context affects the meaning of words

Lesson 3 • Slide 1

sample proof - not final What do these words mean? plummet

slip

slide

plunge

float

flop

drop

dive

Can you work out what links all the words?

Lesson 3 • Slide 2

sample proof - not final

Which of the words below would you use in the following sentence to make someone falling over seem comical? The students laughed when they saw the teacher fall to the floor.

plummet

slip

slide

plunge

float

flop

drop

dive Lesson 3 • Slide 3