KS3 Comprehension

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 KS3 Comprehension

Contents
Introduction.................................................................................... 3

Extract 1 – Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt............................................. 5

Comprehension questions - Five Children and It ........................... 7

Answers - Five Children and It ................................................. 9

Extract 2 – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum............................. 11

Comprehension questions – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ................. 13

Answers - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ....................................... 16

Extract 3 – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll ........................ 18

Comprehension questions – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland .......... 20

Answers - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ................................ 22

Extract 4 – Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings ................ 24

Comprehension questions - Odin’s Reward .................................. 27

Answers - Odin’s Reward ........................................................ 29

Extract 5 – The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde ....................................... 31

Comprehension questions – The Canterville Ghost ......................... 34

Answers – The Canterville Ghost ............................................... 37

Extract 6 – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens ...................................... 39

Comprehension questions – Great Expectations ............................ 42

Answers – Great Expectations .................................................. 44

Additional resources to support reading comprehension ............................. 46

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 Introduction – KS3 Comprehension

Introduction
This collection of extracts, questions and answers, aims to provide reading passages and
related comprehension questions for younger KS3 students. It can be used for
independent work, either individually or in groups. This is not a ‘teaching’ pack in that
teaching notes are not embedded, although it could form the core of a series of lessons
and assessments.

The emphasis in this KS3 pack is on developing pupils’ inferential reading skills, and
making connections and comparisons within and between texts. It is adapted from
Teachit Primary’s Reading (upper KS2) Comprehension teaching pack. Texts 1-4 are the
same but the questions and activities have been edited to be more appropriate for KS3
students. Texts 5 and 6, and associated questions, are new and contain a level of
challenge which will help prepare students for KS4.

Our thanks go to the original writer of this pack, Gabrielle Chant and to Julie Hopkins for
her thoughtful revisions.

KS3 National Curriculum relevance: Reading

‘Pupils should be taught to:

understand increasingly challenging texts through:

• learning new vocabulary, relating it explicitly to known vocabulary and understanding

it with the help of context and dictionaries

• making inferences and referring to evidence in the text

• knowing the purpose, audience for and context of the writing and drawing on this
knowledge to support comprehension

• checking their understanding to make sure that what they have read makes sense.

read critically through:

• knowing how language, including figurative language, vocabulary choice, grammar,

text structure and organisational features, presents meaning

• studying setting, plot, and characterisation, and the effects of these

• making critical comparisons across texts.’

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 Introduction – KS3 Comprehension

List of text extracts used within the pack

Extract 1 – Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt

Extract 2 – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

Extract 3 – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Extract 4 – Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings

Extract 5 – The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Extract 6 – Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

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 Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt

Extract 1
Five Children and It

Five Children and It – extract

The children have been playing in an old I—it sounds silly, but it said something. It
gravel-pit, trying to dig a hole to Australia. really and truly did”—
Some of the children have grown bored and
“What?”
have drifted off to explore an old cave
instead, but Anthea has remained behind, “It said, ‘You let me alone.’”
digging the hole. But Cyril merely observed that his sister
Anthea suddenly screamed: must have gone off her head, and he and
Robert dug with spades while Anthea sat on
“Cyril! Come here! Oh, come quick—It’s
the edge of the hole, jumping up and down
alive! It’ll get away! Quick!”
with hotness and anxiety. They dug
They all hurried back. carefully, and presently everyone could see
that there really was something moving in
“It’s a rat, I shouldn’t wonder,” said
the bottom of the Australian hole.
Robert. “Father says they infest old
places—and this must be pretty old if the Then Anthea cried out, “I’m not afraid. Let
sea was here thousands of years ago”— me dig,” and fell on her knees and began to
scratch like a dog does when he has
“Perhaps it is a snake,” said Jane,
suddenly remembered where it was that he
shuddering.
buried his bone.
“Let’s look,” said Cyril, jumping into the
“Oh, I felt fur,” she cried, half laughing and
hole. “I’m not afraid of snakes. I like them.
half crying. “I did indeed! I did!” when
If it is a snake I’ll tame it, and it will follow
suddenly a dry husky voice in the sand
me everywhere, and I’ll let it sleep round
made them all jump back, and their hearts
my neck at night.”
jumped nearly as fast as they did.
“No, you won’t,” said Robert firmly. He
“Let me alone,” it said. And now everyone
shared Cyril’s bedroom. “But you may if it’s
heard the voice and looked at the others to
a rat.”
see if they had heard it too.
“Oh, don’t be silly!” said Anthea; “it’s not
“But we want to see you,” said Robert
a rat, it’s much bigger. And it’s not a
bravely.
snake. It’s got feet; I saw them; and fur!
No—not the spade. You’ll hurt it! Dig with “I wish you’d come out,” said Anthea, also
your hands.” taking courage.
“And let it hurt me instead! That’s so “Oh, well—if that’s your wish,” the voice
likely, isn’t it?” said Cyril, seizing a spade. said, and the sand stirred and spun and
scattered, and something brown and furry
“Oh, don’t!” said Anthea. “Squirrel, don’t.
and fat came rolling out into the hole, and

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 Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt

the sand fell off it, and it sat there yawning “You don’t know?” it said. “Well, I knew
and rubbing the ends of its eyes with its the world had changed—but—well, really—
hands. Do you mean to tell me seriously you don’t
know a Psammead when you see one?”
“I believe I must have dropped asleep,” it
said, stretching itself. “A Sammyadd? That’s Greek to me.”
The children stood round the hole in a ring, “So it is to everyone,” said the creature
looking at the creature they had found. It sharply. “Well, in plain English, then, a
was worth looking at. Its eyes were on long Sand-fairy. Don’t you know a Sand-fairy
horns like a snail’s eyes, and it could move when you see one?”
them in and out like telescopes; it had ears
It looked so grieved and hurt that Jane
like a bat’s ears, and its tubby body was
hastened to say, “Of course I see you are,
shaped like a spider’s and covered with
now. It’s quite plain now one comes to look
thick soft fur; its legs and arms were furry
at you.”
too, and it had hands and feet like a
monkey’s. “You came to look at me, several sentences
ago,” it said crossly, beginning to curl up
“What on earth is it?” Jane said. “Shall we
again in the sand.
take it home?”
“Oh—don’t go away again! Do talk some
The thing turned its long eyes to look at
more,” Robert cried. “I didn’t know you
her, and said—
were a Sand-fairy, but I knew directly I saw
“Does she always talk nonsense, or is it only you that you were much the wonderfullest
the rubbish on her head that makes her thing I’d ever seen.”
silly?” It looked scornfully at Jane’s hat as
The Sand-fairy seemed a shade less
it spoke.
disagreeable after this.
“She doesn’t mean to be silly,” Anthea said
gently; “we none of us do, whatever you
may think! Don’t be frightened; we don’t
want to hurt you, you know.”
“Hurt me!” it said. “Me frightened? Upon
my word! Why, you talk as if I were nobody
in particular.” All its fur stood out like a
cat’s when it is going to fight.
“Well,” said Anthea, still kindly, “perhaps
if we knew who you are in particular we
could think of something to say that
wouldn’t make you angry. Everything we’ve
said so far seems to have done so. Who are
you? And don’t get angry! Because really we
don’t know.”

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 Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt

Comprehension questions

Name: .............................................. Date: ................................................

1. Which word best describes Jane’s feelings about snakes?

Afraid/Excited/Curious

Pick a detail out of the extract that gives you this impression.

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

2. Why does Robert not want Cyril to sleep with a snake around his neck?

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3. Why does Anthea try to stop the other children from using the spade to dig?

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4. What does this (not wanting to dig with a spade) suggest about the kind of person she is?

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

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5. Anthea ‘began to scratch like a dog does when he has suddenly remembered where it was
that he buried his bone.’

What do you think the author is showing us about Anthea’s feelings with this simile?

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

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

6. Read the following line from the extract:

‘… suddenly a dry husky voice in the sand made them all jump back, and their hearts jumped
nearly as fast as they did.’

What do the words ‘their hearts jumped’ tell you about how the children were feeling when
they heard the voice?

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

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

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 Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt
7. The Sand-fairy seems to think he is an important or special creature. What details can you
pick out of the text that show this is what he believes?

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

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8. How does Robert persuade the Psammead to be ‘a shade less disagreeable’?

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9. Compare how Jane and Cyril react to the possibility that that Anthea has found a snake. In
what way are their reactions different, and what does this tell us about them?

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

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10. Choose one of the characters who does something brave. Describe what they do that is
brave, and explain why this shows courage.

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Extension task

Re-read the description of the Sand-fairy and highlight or underline key words/phrases.

Now, draw your impression of the Sand-fairy and annotate it with quotes chosen from the
description.

Is it typical of other fairies you have come across in books or films? If so, how? If not, how does it
differ?

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 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

Extract 2
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – extract

All this time Dorothy and her companions of his paw he sent the Scarecrow spinning
had been walking through the thick woods. over and over to the edge of the road, and
The road was still paved with yellow brick, then he struck at the Tin Woodman with his
but these were much covered by dried sharp claws. But, to the Lion’s surprise, he
branches and dead leaves from the trees, could make no impression on the tin,
and the walking was not at all good. although the Woodman fell over in the road
There were few birds in this part of the and lay still.
forest, for birds love the open country where Little Toto, now that he had an enemy to
there is plenty of sunshine. But now and face, ran barking toward the Lion, and the
then there came a deep growl from some great beast had opened his mouth to bite
wild animal hidden among the trees. These the dog, when Dorothy, fearing Toto would
sounds made the little girl’s heart beat fast, be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed
for she did not know what made them; but forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose
Toto knew, and he walked close to Dorothy’s as hard as she could, while she cried out:
side, and did not even bark in return. “Don’t you dare to bite Toto! You ought to
“How long will it be,” the child asked of the be ashamed of yourself, a big beast like you,
Tin Woodman, “before we are out of the to bite a poor little dog!”
forest?” “I didn’t bite him,” said the Lion, as he
“I cannot tell,” was the answer, “for I have rubbed his nose with his paw where Dorothy
never been to the Emerald City. But my had hit it.
father went there once, when I was a boy, “No, but you tried to,” she retorted. “You
and he said it was a long journey through a are nothing but a big coward.”
dangerous country, although nearer to the
city where Oz dwells the country is
beautiful. But I am not afraid so long as I
have my oil-can, and nothing can hurt the
Scarecrow, while you bear upon your
forehead the mark of the Good Witch's kiss,
and that will protect you from harm.”
“But Toto!” said the girl anxiously. “What
will protect him?”
“We must protect him ourselves if he is in
danger,” replied the Tin Woodman.
Just as he spoke there came from the forest
a terrible roar, and the next moment a great
Lion bounded into the road. With one blow

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 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

“I know it,” said the Lion, hanging his head him, and he has always run away as fast as
in shame. “I’ve always known it. But how he could go. If the elephants and the tigers
can I help it?” and the bears had ever tried to fight me, I
“I don’t know, I’m sure. To think of your should have run myself – I’m such a coward;
striking a stuffed man, like the poor but just as soon as they hear me roar they
Scarecrow!” all try to get away from me, and of course I
let them go.”
“Is he stuffed?” asked the Lion in surprise, as
he watched her pick up the Scarecrow and “But that isn’t right. The King of Beasts
set him upon his feet, while she patted him shouldn’t be a coward,” said the Scarecrow.
into shape again. “I know it,” returned the Lion, wiping a tear
“Of course he’s stuffed,” replied Dorothy, from his eye with the tip of his tail. “It is my
who was still angry. great sorrow, and makes my life very
unhappy. But whenever there is danger, my
“That’s why he went over so easily,”
heart begins to beat fast.”
remarked the Lion. “It astonished me to see
him whirl around so. Is the other one stuffed “Perhaps you have heart disease,” said the
also?” Tin Woodman.

“No,” said Dorothy, “he’s made of tin.” And “It may be,” said the Lion.
she helped the Woodman up again. “If you have,” continued the Tin Woodman,
“That’s why he nearly blunted my claws,” “you ought to be glad, for it proves you have
said the Lion. “When they scratched against a heart. For my part, I have no heart; so I
the tin it made a cold shiver run down my cannot have heart disease.”
back. What is that little animal you are so “Perhaps,” said the Lion thoughtfully, “if I
tender of?” had no heart I should not be a coward.”
“He is my dog, Toto,” answered Dorothy. “Have you brains?” asked the Scarecrow.
“Is he made of tin, or stuffed?” asked the “I suppose so. I’ve never looked to see,”
Lion. replied the Lion.
“Neither. He’s a – a – a meat dog,” said the “I am going to the Great Oz to ask him to
girl. give me some,” remarked the Scarecrow,
“Oh! He’s a curious animal and seems “for my head is stuffed with straw.”
remarkably small, now that I look at him. No “And I am going to ask him to give me a
one would think of biting such a little thing, heart,” said the Woodman.
except a coward like me,” continued the “And I am going to ask him to send Toto and
Lion sadly. me back to Kansas,” added Dorothy.
“What makes you a coward?” asked Dorothy, “Do you think Oz could give me courage?”
looking at the great beast in wonder, for he asked the Cowardly Lion.
was as big as a small horse.
“Just as easily as he could give me brains,”
“It’s a mystery,” replied the Lion. “I suppose said the Scarecrow.
I was born that way. All the other animals in
“Or give me a heart,” said the Tin
the forest naturally expect me to be brave,
Woodman.
for the Lion is everywhere thought to be the
King of Beasts. I learned that if I roared very “Or send me back to Kansas,” said Dorothy.
loudly every living thing was frightened and “Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll go with you,”
got out of my way. Whenever I’ve met a man said the Lion, “for my life is simply
I’ve been awfully scared; but I just roared at unbearable without a bit of courage.”

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 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

Comprehension questions
Name: .............................................. Date: ................................................

1. Look at the paragraph which begins: ‘There were few birds …’ How can you tell that Toto is
scared? Give two reasons.

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

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

2. ‘… there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the next moment a great lion bounded
into the road.’

What are your first impressions of the lion?

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

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

What word or words give you this idea?

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

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

3. Compare Toto’s reaction here to his behaviour at the start of the passage (refer back to Q1).
How is it similar or different?

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

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4. Choose one or two short quotations that show the readers that Dorothy is brave.

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

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5. The Lion asks Dorothy: “What is that little animal you are so tender of?”

What do you think it means to be ‘tender of’ something?

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

6. Find one other piece of evidence from the extract that shows how Dorothy feels about Toto.

Feeling: .......................................................................................................

Evidence: .....................................................................................................

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 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
7. Dorothy accuses the lion of being “nothing but a big coward”. Why?

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

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8. Look at the following line from the extract:

‘“What makes you a coward?” asked Dorothy, looking at the great beast in wonder, for he
was as big as a small horse.’

Does Dorothy seem (a) surprised, or (b) amused, or (c) shocked that the Lion is a coward?

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

Select one detail from the text to support your answer.

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9. Rank the characters (Scarecrow, Lion, Dorothy, Toto, Tin Woodman) in order from most
brave to most cowardly, and explain your answer.

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

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10. What similarities are there between the character of Dorothy and that of Anthea in the
extract from Five Children and It?

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Extension task

Create a table or list of characters in the extract. Next to each character’s name, detail what
we learn about each one using quotations where appropriate, e.g.:

Character What we learn about him or her …

Protective (‘rushed forward and slapped the lion upon his nose …’)
Dorothy Has a dog called Toto
Is lost? (Wants to go to Kansas.)

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 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

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 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Extract 3
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – extract

After following a talking rabbit, Alice has There were doors all round the hall, but
tumbled down a hole into a strange they were all locked; and when Alice had
underground world. been all the way down one side and up the
other, trying every door, she walked sadly
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up
down the middle, wondering how she was
on to her feet in a moment: she looked up,
ever to get out again.
but it was all dark overhead: before her
was another long passage, and the White Suddenly she came upon a little three-
Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. legged table, all made of solid glass: there
There was not a moment to be lost: away was nothing on it but a tiny golden key, and
went Alice like the wind, and was just in Alice’s first idea was that this might belong
time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas!
“Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s either the locks were too large, or the key
getting!” She was close behind it when she was too small, but at any rate it would not
turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no open any of them. However, on the second
longer to be seen: she found herself in a time round, she came upon a low curtain
long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of she had not noticed before, and behind it
lamps hanging from the roof. was a little door about fifteen inches high:
she tried the little golden key in the lock,
and to her great delight it fitted!
Alice opened the door and found that it led
into a small passage, not much larger than
a rat-hole: she knelt down and looked along
the passage into the loveliest garden you
ever saw. How she longed to get out of that
dark hall, and wander about among those
beds of bright flowers and those cool
fountains, but she could not even get her
head through the doorway; “and even if my
head would go through,” thought poor
Alice, “it would be of very little use
without my shoulders. Oh, how I wish I
could shut up like a telescope! I think I
could, if I only knew how to begin.” For,
you see, so many out-of-the-way things had
happened lately, that Alice had begun to
think that very few things indeed were
really impossible.

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 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

There seemed to be no use in waiting by buttered toast), she very soon finished it
the little door, so she went back to the off.
table, half hoping she might find another
“What a curious feeling!” said Alice. “I
key on it, or at any rate a book of rules for
must be shutting up like a telescope.”
shutting people up like telescopes: this
time she found a little bottle on it (“which And so it was indeed: she was now only ten
certainly was not here before,” said Alice), inches high, and her face brightened up at
and tied round the neck of the bottle was a the thought that she was now the right size
paper label, with the words “DRINK ME” for going through that little door into that
beautifully printed on it in large letters. lovely garden. First, however, she waited
for a few minutes to see if she was going to
It was all very well to say “Drink me,” but
shrink any further: she felt a little nervous
the wise little Alice was not going to do
about this: “for it might end, you know,”
that in a hurry. “No, I’ll look first,” she
said Alice to herself, “in my going out
said, “and see whether it’s marked ‘poison’
altogether, like a candle. I wonder what I
or not;” for she had read several nice little
should be like then?” And she tried to fancy
stories about children who had got burnt,
what the flame of a candle looks like after
and eaten up by wild beasts, and other
the candle is blown out, for she could not
unpleasant things, all because they would
remember ever having seen such a thing.
not remember the simple rules their friends
had taught them: such as, that a red-hot After a while, finding that nothing more
poker will burn you if you hold it too long; happened, she decided on going into the
and that, if you cut your finger very deeply garden at once; but, alas for poor Alice!
with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had when she got to the door, she found she
never forgotten that, if you drink much had forgotten the little golden key, and
from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost when she went back to the table for it, she
certain to disagree with you, sooner or found she could not possibly reach it: she
later. could see it quite plainly through the glass,
and she tried her best to climb up one of
However, this bottle was not marked
the legs of the table, but it was too
“poison,” so Alice ventured to taste it, and
slippery; and when she had tired herself out
finding it very nice (it had, in fact, a sort of
with trying, the poor little thing sat down
mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard,
and cried.
pineapple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot

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 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Comprehension questions

Name: .............................................. Date: ................................................

1. Why is there not a moment to be lost?

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2. ‘… away went Alice like the wind ...’ What does the simile ‘like the wind’ tell you?

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3. Look at the paragraph which begins: ‘There were doors all round the hall …’

Why is Alice walking ‘sadly’ in this paragraph?

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4. ‘... but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small’

Which of the following is closest in meaning to ‘alas’?

Interestingly! Oh dear! Amazing! Surprise!

5. What does the author’s use of this word ‘alas’ suggest to us about how Alice feels?

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

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

6. In the next sentence beginning ‘However …’ Alice’s feelings change. Explain what this
change is, and how you know (try to use a quotation).

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

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

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7. In the next line ‘… even if my head would go through,” thought poor Alice …’ the author
calls her ‘poor’. Why?

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 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

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8. How do we know that Alice feels more cheerful after drinking the contents of the bottle?

Is it because the author tells us:

a. she found the taste of the drink ‘very nice’ so she ‘finished it off’,
b. she has a ‘curious feeling’ or
c. ‘her face brightened’.

9. What clues are there that Alice is someone who doesn’t give up easily?

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

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10. At the end, why does Alice ‘sit down and cry’?

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Extension task

Write the next two paragraphs of the story. In your writing, you need to ensure that the
following questions are answered:

a. Does Alice get the key?

b. Does Alice open the door to the garden?
c. Does the White Rabbit / another character appear?

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 Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings

Extract 4
Odin’s Reward
Odin’s Reward – extract
This is a story from Norse mythology about
Odin, the chief of the Aesir (the gods of
Asgard).
One night when all was quiet in Asgard and
the Aesir had gone to rest, Odin, the
Allfather, sat awake on his high throne,
troubled with many thoughts. At his feet
crouched his two faithful wolves, and upon
his shoulders perched the two ravens of
thought and memory, who flew far abroad
every day, through the nine worlds, as
Odin’s messengers.
The Allfather had need of great wisdom in
ruling the worlds; after thinking a long time
on the matters which needed his care, he “It is indeed a most important errand, and I
suddenly started up, and went forth with must hasten on,” replied Odin. “It is well
long strides from his palace of Gladsheim for us that we have such a faithful guardian
into the night. He soon returned, leading of the ‘trembling bridge’; if it were not for
his beautiful, eight-footed steed, Sleipnir, you, Heimdall, our enemies might long ago
and it was plain that Odin was going on a have taken Asgard by storm. You are so
journey. He quickly mounted Sleipnir, and watchful, you can hear the grass grow in
rode swiftly away toward Bifröst, the the fields, and the wool gather on the
rainbow bridge, which reached from backs of the sheep, and you need less sleep
Asgard, the city of the gods, down through than a bird. I myself stand in great need of
the air to the lower worlds. wisdom, in order to take care of such
faithful servants, and to drive back such
When Sleipnir stepped upon the bridge it wicked enemies!”
trembled, and seemed hardly strong enough
to bear the horse and his rider; but they They hurried over the bridge until they
had no fear of its giving way, and Sleipnir came to Heimdall’s far-shining castle, at
galloped swiftly onward. the farther end of it. This was a lofty tower
which was placed so as to guard the bridge,
Soon Odin saw Heimdall, the watchman of and it sent forth into the land of the giant
the bridge, riding toward him on a fine
enemies such a wonderful, clear light, that
horse, with a golden mane that reflected Heimdall could see, even in the darkest
light upon the noble face of his rider.
night, any one who came toward the
“You must be bound on some important bridge. Here Odin stopped a few moments
errand, Father Odin, to be riding forth from to drink the mead which the good Heimdall
Asgard so late at night,” said Heimdall. offered him.

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 Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings

Then said Odin, “As I am journeying into the Mimir’s well of wisdom was in the midst of
land of our enemies, I shall leave my good a wonderful valley, filled with rare plants
horse with you; there are not many with and bright flowers, and among the groves of
whom I would trust him, but I know that beautiful trees were strange creatures,
you, my faithful Heimdall, will take good sleeping dragons, harmless serpents, and
care of him. I can best hide myself from the lizards, while birds with gay plumage flew
giants by going on as a wanderer.” and sang among the branches. Over all this
quiet valley shone a lovely soft light,
With these words the Allfather quitted
different from sunlight, and in the centre
Heimdall’s castle, and started off toward
grew one of the roots of the great world
the north, through the land of the fierce
tree. Here the wise giant Mimir sat gazing
giants.
down into his well.
During all the first day there was nothing to
Odin greeted the kind old giant, and said,
be seen but ice and snow; several times
“Oh, Mimir, I have come from far-away
Odin was nearly crushed as the frost giants
Asgard to ask a great boon!”
hurled huge blocks of ice after him.
“Gladly will I help you if it is in my power,”
The second day he came to mountains and
said Mimir.
broad rivers. Often when he had just
crossed over a stream, the mountain giants “You know,” replied Odin, “that as father
would come after him to the other bank, of gods and men I need great wisdom, and I
and when they found that Odin had escaped have come to beg for one drink of your
them, they would send forth such a fierce precious water of knowledge. Trouble
yell, that the echoes sounded from hill to threatens us, even from one of the Æsir, for
hill. Loki, the fire-god, has lately been visiting
the giants, and I fear he has been learning
At the end of the third day, Odin came to a
evil ways from them. The frost giants and
land where trees were green and flowers
the storm giants are always at work, trying
blooming. Here was one of the three
to overthrow both gods and men; great is
fountains which watered the world tree,
my need of wisdom, and even though no
Yggdrasil, and near by sat the wise giant,
one ever before has dared ask so great a
Mimir, guarding the waters of this
gift, I hope that since you know how deep is
wonderful fountain, for whoever drank of it
my trouble, you will grant my request.”
would have the gift of great wisdom.
Mimir sat silently, thinking for several
Mimir was a giant in size, but he was not
moments, and then said, “You ask a great
one of the fierce giant enemies of the gods,
thing, indeed, Father Odin; are you ready to
for he was kind, and wiser than the wisest.
pay the price which I must demand?”
“Yes,” said Odin, cheerfully, “I will give you
all the gold and silver of Asgard, and all the
jewelled shields and swords of the Æsir.
More than all, I will give up my eight-footed
horse Sleipnir, if that is needed to win the
reward.”
“And do you suppose that these things will
buy wisdom?” said Mimir. “That can be
gained only by bearing bravely, and giving
up to others. Are you willing to give me a

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 Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings

part of yourself? Will you give up one of We cannot know all that Odin bravely
your own eyes?” suffered in that strange, bright valley,
before he was rewarded with a drink from
At this Odin looked very sad; but after a
that wonderful fountain; but we may be
few moments of deep thought, he looked
quite sure that never once was the good
up with a bright smile, and answered, “Yes,
Allfather sorry for anything he had given
I will even give you one of my eyes, and I
up, or any suffering he had borne, for the
will suffer whatever else is asked, in order
sake of others.
to gain the wisdom that I need!”

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 Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings

Comprehension questions

Name: .............................................. Date: ................................................

1. ‘Odin … sat awake on his high throne, troubled with many thoughts’. What does ‘troubled’
mean in this context?

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

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

2. a. Which one of these is the odd one out, and why?

• ‘thinking a long time’

• ‘quickly mounted’
• ‘rode swiftly’.

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

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

b. What do the two related quotations show us about Odin, and can you find any more
details that achieve the same effect?

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

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

3. Why does the bridge need to be guarded?

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

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

4. What skills or qualities make Heimdall a good guardian of the bridge?

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

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

5. Why does Odin leave his horse behind?

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

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

6. Why does the well need to be guarded?

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

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 Odin’s Reward by Mary H. Foster and Mabel H. Cummings
.................................................................................................................

7. Compare the two guardians, Heimdall and Mimir. Are there any ways in which they are
similar? And what differences are there between them?

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

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

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

8. “Oh, Mimir, I have come from far-away Asgard to ask a great boon!”

Which word most closely matches the meaning of the word ‘boon’?

question curse reward favour

9. Read the description of Mimir’s valley carefully.

a. List three adjectives the storyteller uses to describe the things that grow there.

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

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

b. How does the storyteller make the animals sound unthreatening?

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

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

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

10. Why did Odin not regret the suffering he experienced in the ‘strange, bright valley’?

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

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

Extension task

Create a map of Odin’s journey and label it with the key places that he passes through.

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 The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Extract 5
The Canterville Ghost
The Canterville Ghost – extract
The American Mr Hiram B Otis has bought Canterville Chase, a country estate in England
which is said to be haunted. Here, Mr and Mrs Otis and their four children, Washington,
Virginia and young twins nicknamed Stars and Stripes, arrive at their new home.

Extract 1 (Day 1)

Standing on the steps to receive them was blood of Lady Eleanore de Canterville, who
an old woman, neatly dressed in black silk, was murdered on that very spot by her own
with a white cap and apron. This was Mrs husband, Sir Simon de Canterville, in 1575.
Umney, the housekeeper, whom Mrs Otis, Sir Simon survived her nine years, and
at Lady Canterville’s earnest request, had disappeared suddenly under very
consented to keep on in her mysterious circumstances. His body has
former position. She made them each a low never been discovered, but his guilty spirit
curtsey as they alighted, and said in a still haunts the Chase. The blood-stain has
quaint, old-fashioned manner, ‘I bid you been much admired by tourists and others,
welcome to Canterville Chase.’ Following and cannot be removed.’
her, they passed through the fine Tudor
‘That is all nonsense,’ cried Washington
hall into the library, a long, low room,
Otis; ‘Pinkerton’s Champion Stain Remover
panelled in black oak, at the end of which
and Paragon Detergent will clean it up in no
was a large stained-glass window. Here
time,’ and before the terrified housekeeper
they found tea laid out for them, and, after
could interfere he had fallen upon his
taking off their wraps, they sat down and
knees, and was rapidly scouring the floor
began to look round, while Mrs Umney
with a small stick of what looked like a
waited on them.
black cosmetic. In a few moments no trace
Suddenly Mrs Otis caught sight of a dull red of the blood-stain could be seen.
stain on the floor just by the fireplace and,
quite unconscious of what it really
signified, said to Mrs Umney, ‘I am afraid
something has been spilt there.’
‘Yes, madam,’ replied the old housekeeper
in a low voice, ‘blood has been spilt on that
spot.’
‘How horrid,’ cried Mrs Otis; ‘I don’t at all
care for blood-stains in a sitting-room. It
must be removed at once.’
The old woman smiled, and answered in the
same low, mysterious voice, ‘It is the

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 The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

‘I knew Pinkerton would do it,’ he night I have not closed my eyes in sleep for
exclaimed triumphantly, as he looked round the awful things that are done here.’ Mr
at his admiring family; but no sooner had Otis, however, and his wife warmly assured
he said these words than a terrible flash of the honest soul that they were not afraid of
lightning lit up the sombre room, a fearful ghosts, and, after invoking the blessings of
peal of thunder made them all start to their Providence on her new master and
feet, and Mrs Umney fainted. mistress, and making arrangements for an
increase of salary, the old housekeeper
‘What a monstrous climate!’ said the
tottered off to her own room.
American Minister calmly, as he lit a long
cheroot. ‘I guess the old country is so The storm raged fiercely all that night, but
overpopulated that they have not enough nothing of particular note occurred. The
decent weather for everybody. I have next morning, however, when they came
always been of opinion that emigration is down to breakfast, they found the terrible
the only thing for England.’ stain of blood once again on the floor. ‘I
don’t think it can be the fault of the
‘My dear Hiram,’ cried Mrs Otis, ‘what can
Paragon Detergent,’ said Washington, ‘for I
we do with a woman who faints?’
have tried it with everything. It must be the
‘Charge it to her like breakages,’ answered ghost.’ He accordingly rubbed out the stain
the Minister; ‘she won’t faint after that’; a second time, but the second morning it
and in a few moments Mrs Umney certainly appeared again. The third morning also it
came to. There was no doubt, however, was there, though the library had been
that she was extremely upset, and she locked up at night by Mr Otis himself, and
sternly warned Mr Otis to beware of some the key carried upstairs. The whole family
trouble coming to the house. were now quite interested; Mr Otis began
‘I have seen things with my own eyes, sir,’ to suspect that he had been too dogmatic
she said, ‘that would make any Christian’s in his denial of the existence of ghosts …
hair stand on end, and many and many a

Vocabulary
cheroot – similar to a cigar
Providence – God or nature as providing protective care
dogmatic – very strong expression of opinions as facts

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 The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Extract 2 (Day 3)

At eleven o’clock the family retired, and by ‘My dear sir,’ said Mr Otis, ‘I really must
half past all the lights were out. Some time insist on your oiling those chains, and have
after, Mr Otis was awakened by a curious brought you for that purpose a small bottle
noise in the corridor, outside his room. It of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. It is
sounded like the clank of metal, and said to be completely efficacious upon one
seemed to be coming nearer every application, and there are several
moment. He got up at once, struck a testimonials to that effect on the wrapper
match, and looked at the time. It was from some of our most eminent native
exactly one o’clock. He was quite calm, divines. I shall leave it here for you by the
and felt his pulse, which was not at all bedroom candles, and will be happy to
feverish. The strange noise still continued, supply you with more should you require
and with it he heard distinctly the sound it.’ With these words the United States
of footsteps. He put on his slippers, took a Minister laid the bottle down on a marble
small oblong phial out of his dressing-case, table, and, closing his door, retired to rest.
and opened the door. Right in front of him
For a moment the Canterville ghost stood
he saw, in the wan moonlight, an old man
quite motionless in natural indignation;
of terrible aspect. His eyes were as red
then, dashing the bottle violently upon the
burning coals; long grey hair fell over his
polished floor, he fled down the corridor,
shoulders in matted coils; his garments,
uttering hollow groans, and emitting a
which were of antique cut, were soiled and
ghastly green light. Just, however, as he
ragged, and from his wrists and ankles hung
reached the top of the great oak staircase,
heavy manacles and rusty gyves.
a door was flung open, two little white-
robed figures appeared, and a large pillow
whizzed past his head! There was evidently
no time to be lost, so, hastily adopting the
Fourth Dimension of Space as a means of
escape, he vanished through the
wainscoting, and the house became quite
quiet.
On reaching a small secret chamber in the
left wing, he leaned up against a
moonbeam to recover his breath, and
began to try and realize his position. Never,
in a brilliant and uninterrupted career of
three hundred years, had he been so grossly
insulted.

Vocabulary
phial – small glass bottle
manacles – handcuffs/chains
gyves – shackles/metal restraints on the legs
wainscoting - wooden panelling on the wall

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 The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Comprehension questions

Name: .............................................. Date: ................................................

1. How does Mrs Otis react to the news that there is a bloodstain on the floor of the room?

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

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

2. For what reason(s) might the family be ‘admiring’ of Washington?

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

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

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

3. In Extract 1, what details has the author included to create a ‘spooky’ atmosphere? Try to
find one thing each about:

a. the room: ...............................................................................................

b. Mrs Umney: .............................................................................................

c. the weather: ...........................................................................................

4. What causes Mr Otis to doubt his belief that ghosts don’t exist?

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

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

5. ‘… he saw, in the wan moonlight, an old man of terrible aspect’. What does ‘aspect’ mean in
this context?

• angle
• appearance
• view
• feature

6. What similarities are there between Washington’s reaction to the bloodstain in Extract 1,
and Mr Otis’s reaction to the ghost in Extract 2?

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

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

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 The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
.................................................................................................................

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

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

7. How do we know the ghost is angry when Mr Otis goes back to bed?

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

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

8. By the time he gets to own ‘secret chamber’ the ghost is feeling extremely insulted. Why?

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

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

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

9. What does it take to have a career as a ghost? The Canterville ghost has had a ‘brilliant and
uninterrupted career of three hundred years’. Use the description of his appearance and
behaviour in these extracts to make a list of essential requirements for this job.

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

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

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

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

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

10. Do you think the Otis family are brave? Give reasons for your opinion.

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

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

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

11. Remind yourself of the Psammead’s reaction to the children in Five Children and It. Which of
the following words could be used to describe the feelings of both the Psammead and the
Canterville Ghost?

• offended
• angry
• flattered
• frightened

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 The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
Extension task

Imagine you are the Canterville Ghost. Write an application letter to a new employer in which
you attempt to persuade him/her that you have the skills for successfully haunting their mansion
or castle.

You may want to include the following:

• why you want to apply for the position

• your key skills or attributes (the things that set you apart from all the other ghosts)
• your history of haunting people and premises (including key achievements e.g. making
servants faint).

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 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Extract 6
Great Expectations
Great Expectations – extract

Our narrator is an orphan boy named Pip. turned me upside down, and emptied my
One cold, dark evening he is alone among pockets. There was nothing in them but a
the gravestones of the village churchyard. piece of bread. When the church came to
He is feeling miserable and starts to cry — itself — for he was so sudden and strong
suddenly a frightening figure appears. (It is that he made it go head over heels before
later revealed that this man is an escaped me, and I saw the steeple under my feet —
prisoner.) when the church came to itself, I say, I was
seated on a high tombstone, trembling,
“Hold your noise!” cried a terrible voice, as
while he ate the bread ravenously.
a man started up from among the graves at
the side of the church porch. “Keep still, “You young dog,” said the man, licking his
you little devil, or I’ll cut your throat!” lips, “what fat cheeks you ha’ got.”
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a I believe they were fat, though I was at that
great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, time undersized for my years, and not
and with broken shoes, and with an old rag strong.
tied round his head. A man who had been
“Darn me if I couldn’t eat em,” said the
soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and
man, with a threatening shake of his head,
lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and
“and if I han’t half a mind to’t!”
stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who
limped, and shivered, and glared and I earnestly expressed my hope that he
growled; and whose teeth chattered in his wouldn’t, and held tighter to the tombstone
head as he seized me by the chin. on which he had put me; partly, to keep
myself upon it; partly, to keep myself from
“O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,” I pleaded in
crying.
terror. “Pray don’t do it, sir.”
“Now lookee here!” said the man. “Where’s
“Tell us your name!” said the man. “Quick!”
your mother?”
“Pip, sir.”
“There, sir!” said I.
“Once more,” said the man, staring at me.
He started, made a short run, and stopped
“Give it mouth!”
and looked over his shoulder.
“Pip. Pip, sir.”
“There, sir!” I timidly explained. “Also
“Show us where you live,” said the man. Georgiana. That’s my mother.”
“Pint out the place!”
“Oh!” said he, coming back. “And is that
I pointed to where our village lay, on the your father alonger your mother?”
flat in-shore among the alder-trees and
“Yes, sir,” said I; “him too; late of this
pollards, a mile or more from the church.
parish.”
The man, after looking at me for a moment,

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 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I was dreadfully frightened, and so giddy

that I clung to him with both hands, and
said, “If you would kindly please to let me
keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn’t be
sick, and perhaps I could attend more.”
He gave me a most tremendous dip and
roll, so that the church jumped over its own
weather-cock. Then, he held me by the
arms, in an upright position on the top of
the stone, and went on in these fearful
terms:
“You bring me, to-morrow morning early,
that file and them wittles. You bring the lot
to me, at that old Battery over yonder. You
“Ha!” he muttered then, considering. “Who do it, and you never dare to say a word or
d’ye live with — supposin’ you’re kindly let dare to make a sign concerning your having
to live, which I han’t made up my mind seen such a person as me, or any person
about?” sumever, and you shall be let to live. You
fail, or you go from my words in any
“My sister, sir — Mrs. Joe Gargery — wife of
partickler, no matter how small it is, and
Joe Gargery, the blacksmith, sir.”
your heart and your liver shall be tore out,
“Blacksmith, eh?” said he. And looked down roasted and ate. Now, I ain’t alone, as you
at his leg. may think I am. There’s a young man hid
After darkly looking at his leg and me with me, in comparison with which young
several times, he came closer to my man I am a Angel. That young man hears
tombstone, took me by both arms, and the words I speak. That young man has a
tilted me back as far as he could hold me; secret way pecooliar to himself, of getting
so that his eyes looked most powerfully at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver.
down into mine, and mine looked most It is in wain for a boy to attempt to hide
helplessly up into his. himself from that young man. A boy may
lock his door, may be warm in bed, may
“Now lookee here,” he said, “the question tuck himself up, may draw the clothes over
being whether you’re to be let to live. You his head, may think himself comfortable
know what a file is?” and safe, but that young man will softly
“Yes, sir.” creep and creep his way to him and tear
him open. I am a-keeping that young man
“And you know what wittles is?”
from harming of you at the present
“Yes, sir.” moment, with great difficulty. I find it wery
After each question he tilted me over a hard to hold that young man off of your
little more, so as to give me a greater sense inside. Now, what do you say?”
of helplessness and danger. I said that I would get him the file, and I
“You get me a file.” He tilted me again. would get him what broken bits of food I
“And you get me wittles.” He tilted me could, and I would come to him at the
again. “You bring ‘em both to me.” He Battery, early in the morning.
tilted me again. “Or I’ll have your heart “Say Lord strike you dead if you don’t!”
and liver out.” He tilted me again. said the man.

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 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

I said so, and he took me down. body in both his arms — clasping himself, as
if to hold himself together — and limped
“Now,” he pursued, “you remember what
towards the low church wall. As I saw him
you’ve undertook, and you remember that
go, picking his way among the nettles, and
young man, and you get home!”
among the brambles that bound the green
“Goo—good night, sir,” I faltered. mounds, he looked in my young eyes as if
“Much of that!” said he, glancing about him he were eluding the hands of the dead
over the cold wet flat. “I wish I was a frog. people, stretching up cautiously out of their
Or a eel!” graves, to get a twist upon his ankle and
pull him in.
At the same time, he hugged his shuddering

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 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Comprehension questions

Name: .............................................. Date: ................................................

1. How can we tell that the man is extremely hungry?

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

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

2. What shows us that he is very cold?

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

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

3. What is the misunderstanding that causes the man to start to run away when Pip points and
says his mother is ‘there’?

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

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

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

4. “Blacksmith, eh?” said he. And looked down at his leg.” Why? What is the connection he is
making between the two?

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

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

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

5. The man asks Pip if he knows what ‘wittles’ is. Can you find a phrase later in the extract
which reveals the meaning?

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

6. Put these threats against Pip in the order they are made.

• To eat his cheeks

• To cut his throat
• To tear out his heart and liver

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 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
7. The man tells Pip, “in comparison with which young man I am a Angel.” How is he using this
comparison to frighten Pip into keeping the secret and bringing what he has asked for?

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

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

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

8. What do you think is the reason the man says “I wish I was a frog. Or a eel!”?

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

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

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

9. a. Which words are connected to Pip and which to the ‘fearful man’?

Pleaded, powerfully, timidly, trembling, strong, threatening, helplessly

b. What impression of each character does this language create?

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

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

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

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

10. Re-read the descriptions of Pip’s first sight (paragraph 2) and last sight (final paragraph) of
the man. Select three details that might help to create a more sympathetic picture of this
terrifying character.

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

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

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

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

Extension task

The graveyard setting is eerie/terrifying and provides the perfect setting for encountering an
escaped prisoner. In no more than 500 words, either:

a. Create your own eerie setting for a suitably terrifying encounter or …

b. Do the opposite and create a comforting/inviting setting.

For both a. and b., make sure you use the weather and scenery to good effect.

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 Additional resources to support reading comprehension

Additional resources to
support reading
comprehension
The following resources are intended to support students in a variety of ways. All have been
adapted from original Teachit resources.

• ‘Golden rules for reading comprehensions’ is a useful pre-reading prompt sheet for
students. Use this if giving the extracts to students for homework or during cover lessons
as it provides some helpful dos and don’ts to get them off on the right track.

• Use the ‘In my reading, I’ grid after students have completed a number of the
comprehension tasks in the workbook. It’ll give you an accurate sense of the skills
students feel they have accomplished, as well as next steps or areas for improvement.

• The three ‘Connections’ sheets are designed to support students when making broad
comparisons between texts (which could then form part of a post-reading assessment or
group work task. ‘Compare the ways in which the writer creates suspense in text x, and
text y’, for example).

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 Additional resources to support reading comprehension
Golden rules for reading comprehensions

1 Always read the passage carefully at least once through, for meaning.

Read the questions through to check what you will be looking for and go
2 back to the text if you need to. It’s better to take your time than to rush
through getting the answers wrong.

3 Re-read the passage, locating where you will find the answers. Highlight
or underline relevant bits of the text.

4 When answering, always write in full sentences.

5 Use evidence from the passage to back up your points. This can take the
form of longer and shorter quotations.

6 Don’t just copy sections from the passage – write in your own words or
paraphrase where appropriate.

7 Take ten minutes after you’ve finished the questions to check that your
spelling and punctuation are correct, and that your work makes sense!

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 Additional resources to support reading comprehension

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In my reading, I: In my reading, I:

INFER and DEDUCE … INFER and DEDUCE …

see images/visualise see images/visualise

hear a voice through the text hear a voice through the text

predict what might happen predict what might happen

speculate about characters and events speculate about characters and events

summarise what is happening. summarise what is happening.

RESPOND … RESPOND …

ask questions ask questions

relate to my own experiences relate to my own experiences

give comments give comments

feel involved feel involved

empathise. empathise.

REFLECT … REFLECT …

rationalise what is happening rationalise what is happening

re-read re-read

re-interpret re-interpret

pass judgments pass judgments

interpret patterns (theme, language, interpret patterns (theme, language,

structure) structure)

relate to previous reading experiences relate to previous reading experiences

establish a relationship with the establish a relationship with the

author/narrator author/narrator

relate a text to its time and place. relate a text to its time and place.

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 Additional resources to support reading comprehension
The ability to make connections between what you read, other texts, your experiences and the
world around you is an important skill. Here are some ideas to help identify connections that
will make your links precise.

point of effect on the

view reader

meanings context

the writer’s
structure
purpose

layout empathy

text type emotions

imagery symbols

facts and language

opinions choices

complexity sentences

tone connotations

themes genre

formality audience

techniques
style
used

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 Additional resources to support reading comprehension
Useful words and phrases

Text to text

How is this text similar to other things that you have read?

A connection between the How is this text different to other things that you have read?
text and another text that Does it make you feel/react in the same way as other texts you
you have read have read? How? Why?
Is the language/presentation/content similar to other texts?

Text to self

What does this text remind you of? How?

Can you relate to its characters/messages/language? How? Why?
A connection between the
text and something in Does anything in this text remind you of your own
your own life-experience life/experiences/points of view/outlook?
Does this text make you think about something from a different
perspective?

Text to world

What does this text remind you of in the real world?

A connection between the If the text is fictional, how are events similar or different to
text and something that is events in the real world?
happening or has How does the text link to the time period in which it was written?
happened in the world
How does the text link to ideas and viewpoints in society? (e.g.
attitudes to war, views about controversial issues etc.)

however whenever until overall in contrast equally

instead despite this in fact after all the opposite because

likewise therefore similarly albeit nevertheless alternatively

comparatively different because similar because in the same way

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 Additional resources to support reading comprehension
Use the following questions to help you make links between texts.

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