ENGLISH Week 3
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English
Week 3
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The following passage is about some children, Dill, Jem and the narrator, who are all exploring a house in their neighbourhood. Dill stopped and let Jem go ahead. When Jem put his foot on the bottom step, the step squeaked. He stood still, then tried his weight by degrees. The step was silent. Jem skipped two steps, put his foot on the porch, heaved himself to it, and teetered a long moment. He regained his balance and dropped to his knees. He crawled to the window, raised his head and looked in. Then I saw the shadow. It was the shadow of a man with a hat on. At first I thought it was a tree, but there was no wind blowing, and tree-trunks never walked. The black porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch towards Jem. Dill saw it next. He put his hands to his face. When it crossed Jem, Jem saw it. He put his arms over his head and went rigid. The shadow stopped about a foot beyond Jem. Its arm came out from its side, dropped, and was still. Then it turned and moved back across Jem, walked along the porch and off the side of the house, returning as it had come. Jem leaped off the porch and galloped toward us. He flung open the gate, danced Dill and me through, and shooed us between two rows of swishing collards. Halfway through the collards I tripped; as I tripped the roar of a shotgun shattered the neighbourhood.
From, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1. What time of day is it? [1 mark]
2. Copy out a word or phrase that proves the answer to question. [1 mark]
3. Why does Jem ‘put his arms over his head’? [2 marks]
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4. Define the following words: [6 marks] a) heave
_________________________________________________________________
b) teeter
_________________________________________________________________
c) rigid
_________________________________________________________________
d) gallop
_________________________________________________________________
e) shoo
_________________________________________________________________
f) collard
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5. ‘the step squeaked’ In this phrase the step is made to sound like a human. What is the name of this technique? [1 mark]
6. Find another example of this technique in the passage and copy it out: [1 mark]
7. ‘crisp as toast’ What is the name of the technique used in this description? [1 mark]
8. Explain how this description is effective. [1 mark]
9. ‘tried his weight by degrees’ Explain what this phrase means. [2 marks]
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10. ‘danced Dill and me through’. Explain what this phrase means. [2 marks]
11. Explain how the author creates tension and suspense in this passage. Refer to the text in your answer. [3 marks]
Complete the sentences below by choosing the most appropriate preposition. Each preposition from the list can only be used once. [10 marks] on
in
for
about
at
to
with
by
as
of
1. He commented ____________________ the strange weather that day. 2. The children laughed mercilessly ____________________ the new girl. 3. I object ____________________ people smoking in my car. 4. The inspector asked the head teacher if she was aware ____________________ any bullying in the school. 5. New York is famous ____________________ its yellow taxis. 6. ‘Would you be interested ____________________ sponsoring a child today, sir?’ the lady asked the passerby in the street. 7. Tom didn’t join his friends in the park that day; he was too worried ____________________ the exam the next morning.
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8. The man told the head chef that he was not satisfied ____________________ the quality of the food he had been served. 9. When I went on holiday I was surprised ____________________ the intense heat, even though my travel agent had warned me! 10. Take a pair of sunglasses with you this weekend, as well ____________________ a scarf and gloves; you never know what British weather will do!
Circle and mark where capital letters are needed in this passage. [6 marks] “Look! In the distance!” sarina shouted wildly. The boggy moor, that had seemed so innocuous moments ago, now appeared in a new, sinister light to the children. Something was moving in the low-lying, thick, squelchy mud of what used to be the river mole. Sarina’s cousin, wilfie stopped and turned around. “what is it?” he whispered, frozen to the spot. Sarina answered, but this time the wind whipped the words out of her mouth. A few yards back their dog, rollo, had also stopped and was now trotting back and forth on the spot, something he did when he was anxious.
Below are some common parts of speech. For each word underlined in the sentence below, label which part of speech it is. [8 marks] noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
article
Lucy knew there was no chance of a brisk walk that day; she looked sadly across the fields and all she could see was drizzle and greyness on the Broadmoor Downs. The beauty of yesterday and its sunshine had disappeared. She sighed loudly and returned to her book.
1. brisk _______________
2. walk _______________
3. looked _______________
4. sadly _______________
5. across _______________
6. and _________________
7. she ________________
8. the _________________
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Now, using the same sentence, can you find these, more advanced, parts of speech? Match them to the words underlined. Some words can be labelled as more than one of these terms. [4 marks] abstract noun
concrete noun
proper noun
common noun
Lucy knew there was no chance of a brisk walk that day; she looked sadly across the fields and all she could see was drizzle and greyness on the Broadmoor Downs. The beauty of yesterday and its sunshine had disappeared. She sighed loudly and returned to her book.
1. fields ________________________
2. Broadmoor Downs ________________________
3. beauty ________________________
4. book ________________________
Extension task: [1 mark] What part of speech is the word ‘was’?
Find seven punctuation mistakes in the passage below and circle them. Then, write out the correction for each mistake you have circled using the lines below. [7 marks] The recipe below is one of my favourites. Its known as grandmother’s surprise and all my friends think it’s delicious. When I serve this at a party, I usually get comments such as ‘Delicious!’ or ‘How did you get it so crispy on the outside but gooey on the inside’. Of course, I never tell them (it’s a family secret!) Well, just this once I’m going to share it with you starting with the filling, I will outline how to make the dessert in several easy steps. Don’t be nervous; everybody, even great chefs had to start somewhere. Before you know it, you’ll be able to make it bake it and take it to your next party too!
1. ____________________
2. ____________________
3. ____________________
4. ____________________
5. ____________________
6. ____________________
7. ____________________
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English
Week 3
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Read this passage and answer the questions. Hooves thundering on sand, across the wide sweep of the sun-washed bay. Salt-spray splashing up, stinging our eyes, matting our hair. The taste of the ocean on our tongues and the cry of gulls in our ears. Faces forward, almost nestling in warm manes. Knees gripping leather, feet taut in stirrups, bodies carried by an energy surge, like surfers balancing on boards, rushing at breakneck speed to shore. We’re riding into the warm July wind and my cheeks are streaming with tears, whipped up by the whoosh of air against lashes. I’m breathing in blue sky mixed with the muskiness of horse sweat. My heart feels like it’s dancing to the deep dada da dum rhythm beneath my feet. Laughter hiccups from my throat. I’m looking at Dad, who is focusing straight ahead, brow furrowed in concentration. Now he’s glancing at me and a massive smile is radiating from his mouth, causing creases to fan from the edges of his blue eyes. ‘Yeeha!’ he calls. ‘Last one to the rock is a bandit. . .’ He’s lengthening his reins and urging Kaloo, a retired racehorse who is the fastest mount at the stables, to gallop to victory. ‘In your dreams!’ I yell back, asking Rambo, my favourite chestnut, to pick up the pace. He responds willingly, eager to please. I curl down further on his neck, jockey style, trying to make us more aerodynamic. Kaloo has taken off like a rocket, with Dad almost clinging to the curve of his arched neck. Dad usually rides like a cowboy, laid back in the saddle, but now, slumped forwards, he looks more like a highwayman, fleeing for his life. ‘Hey, tough guy, what are you waiting for?’ I whisper into Rambo’s ears, which flick back and forth like furry antennae. And as my calves brush his belly gently, we push forwards in pursuit of Kaloo’s impressive black tail, which is flying behind him regally. Lumps of wet sand splatter onto my nose and eyelids as our competitors veer a little to the left, directly ahead of us. Rambo grunts and instinctively changes course, his feet following a deeper gully where the tide is oozing its way back in. His hooves smash down on the water like marbles clattering on to glass. From Samphire Song by Jill Hucklesby 1. In this passage, the author uses lots of sensory description to help us imagine the events. Find an example of how each sense is described and copy it out below. [5 marks] sense
Example
sound sight touch taste smell
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2. The author describes the horses as moving quickly. Find two examples of this: [2 marks] a)
b)
3. Find one example of onomatopoeia and copy it out: [1 mark]
4. Choose one word to describe each character and then find a quotation to prove your answer. [4 marks] Character :
Word to describe them :
Evidence :
Narrator
Narrator’s father
5. In your own words, explain what the author means by the following phrases and what they are trying to describe. [6 marks] Phrase :
Explanation :
‘my heart feels like it’s dancing’ ‘taken off like a rocket’ ‘like marbles clattering on to glass’
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Extension task: [1 mark] what is the name of the technique used in these phrases?
Writing Skills Look again at the first paragraph from the passage above and highlight or circle the first word of each sentence. [5 marks] Hooves thundering on sand, across the wide sweep of the sun-washed bay. Salt-spray splashing up, stinging our eyes, matting our hair. The taste of the ocean on our tongues and the cry of gulls in our ears. Faces forward, almost nestling in warm manes. Knees gripping leather, feet taut in stirrups, bodies carried by an energy surge, like surfers balancing on boards, rushing at breakneck speed to shore.
Notice how only one sentence starts with ‘the’. When writing to describe, it is good to vary how you start your sentences. Imagine you are writing a story and you open it by describing a race with a friend; you are each racing in a go-cart. Use the example above to help you write the first paragraph, including lots of sensory description. Try starting your sentences with nouns and avoid starting with ‘the’ or a pronoun.
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Now let’s read part of the opening to last week’s story. Highlight or circle how these sentences begin:
As the well-dressed old woman left the restaurant, she didn’t notice that she was being watched from the dark alley across the street. …As she [the girl] drew closer she gave a small flick of the wrist and a knife appeared in her hand, as if from thin air. …In the split second that it took for the woman to realise what had happened the thief was already twenty metres away.
‘Hey, stop her! She’s got my bag!’ the woman yelled helplessly. Notice how these sentences start with prepositions and the last sentence is dramatic dialogue Now try writing an opening to a story about an undercover policeman who is taking a bus journey and following a suspect. Describe him or her getting on the bus and watching a man. Start many of your sentences with prepositions and end your passage with a piece of dramatic dialogue. [5 marks]
Other prepositions: across, below, aboard, among, beside, amid, outside, above…
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Now read this opening and circle or highlight the first words: [5 marks] Walking through the dense, dark forest, Phillip knew he must have taken a wrong turn ages ago. Nevertheless, he continued along the path. Swiping away the hanging leaves and scratching bracken, he told himself it wasn’t that bad. But the truth was, he was lost. Lost in Gravesend Forest. It was that bad. Notice how the author starts some lines with an ‘-ing’ word. They also use some connectives (‘nevertheless’, ‘but’). This time, start your story by describing the narrator walking into an exam hall and sitting down. They haven’t revised or prepared at all! Try writing your own opening that copies the style above and uses similar sentence openers.
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Now read this opening and circle or highlight the first words: [5 marks] Marble stairways spiralled upwards and Mariya craned her neck back to look. Gigantic skeletons of dinosaurs, their bones a chalky white, hung impressively from the ceiling. Glistening glass cabinets surrounded her. So this was what her teacher had meant by a ‘museum’! These sentences begin with adjectives. Write the opening to a story called ‘The School Trip’. In the opening above, the trip is to a museum. You can choose another place, for example a zoo, and use adjectives to start some of your sentences too.
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Homework Adventure Story (A Day I Drove a Bus) Write an interesting and possibly humorous story about your first day as a bus driver. Think about: • Making it an unbearably exciting story for reader • Having a main character lead a story to overcome unexpected or dangerous situations • Creating tension to build up the story (Climax) • A happy ending Make your own bullet points about your story. • •
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Week 3
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This material is the property of OxBridge Centre (UK).Ltd. Any use of the content other than for the enrolled student is a violation of our copyright and proprietary rights. Any incident of this kind will be faced with prosecution.
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