beechwoodteachingschool.co.uk€¦ · web viewyear 6 poetry bank2018-2019. this poetry bank of...

Year 6 Poetry Bank2018-2019

This poetry bank of resources has been created with a Year 6 focus, with particular emphasis on inference and vocabulary domains following on

from the previous 2 years of SATs focus in this areas. The aim is not that these are used in isolation as independent test practice, but that they can be used as a teaching tool to provide your Year 6s with exposure to high-

quality, challenging poetry. Appropriate time should be given to high-level text talk prior to attempting any written responses, with discussion over unfamiliar and complex vocabulary and figurative language choices,

themes and conventions within the poems and summarising the narratives they tell. By regularly exploring such poetry through whole-

class discussion, your Year 6s should be able to build up to more independent analysis and written responses. The bank includes

resourcing in different formats to suit teacher preferences, beginning with single page poems with annotated suggested questions for teacher use, followed by more ‘SATs style’ structured question formats of the same

questions for children to respond to. Some poems have context and key vocabulary included, although you may choose to add to or omit / delay sharing this depending on your class needs. Lots of these poems also

lend themselves to some fantastic writing opportunities.

Poems included:

The Last Mountain – Debjani ChatterjeeThe Day the Sun Got Stuck – Judith GreenThe Ascent of Vinicombe – Dave Calder

The Gresford Disaster - AnonThe Dragons Are Hiding – Brian Moses

The Dreadful Menace - AnonBulb – Alison Chisholm

Reminiscence – Robert Laurence BinyonNod – Walter de la Mare

SINGLE PAGE POEMS WITH QUESTIONING STEMS AND

SUGGESTIONS

The Last Mountain

Once we mountains sported wings,soared proud above the heavens,frolicked among fleecy cloudsand slid up and down the rainbowsthat groaned with our mighty weight.Rushing wind was our element;we played the music of the spheres.The sky gifted us a giddy lightnessthat stole the breath away.

Meanings of words in context

The smallest mountain “escaped the wrath of the gods”. What does the poet mean by this?

“Once we mountains sported wings.” The word ‘sported’ could be replaced with… played with / had / wished for.

The poet describes how the mountains “frolicked among fleecy clouds”. Which of these words could be used as a synonym for ‘frolicked’? played / tasted / glided / stood

“The sky gifted us a giddy lightness”. What does the poet mean by this?The sky made them feel happy and carefree.The sky gave them a present. The sky made them feel dizzy.

The mountain explains, “I bide my time”. What does this tell you?

Inference / prediction

Context: According to Indian myths, mountains once had wings.

But we took our freedom for grantedand jealous gods have clipped our wings.Now distant thunder growls our grumblesas my brothers and sisters tower in dreamsof how we were once monarchs of the air.But I, the smallest of the mountains,escaped the wrath of the gods.I hide in the frothing ocean and, sleeplessI bide my time with folded wings.The sea soil rumbles my secret songsas I call to my family to take heart.Their trust will strengthen meand lift me up to strike a blow for our kind, to fly up to the sun itself if need beto dance in our remembered freedom;for faith, they say, moves mountains.

Debjani Chatterjee.


Retrieval

Who removed the wings from the mountains? Where has the smallest mountain concealed himself? How has the smallest mountain hidden his wings away?

Summarising

What story does the poem tell us regarding what has happened to the mountains?


The writer describes how the sun “prised apart the seam between the earth and sky”. What does the phrase “prised apart” mean?

“A cockerel raised his brown wings, paused, subsided”. The word subsided means: crowed / sank down / continued / flew

“The chill of the night went rushing round hunched hill tops”. What does the word ‘hunched’ mean in this context?


The poet describes how the sun trying to get through the dark was “like opening a walnut”.


In the title of the poem, the word ‘ascent’ means…

“It was hard going”. What does this mean? The poet describes how there was “only

one lamppost strong enough to bear our weight”. What could you replace “bear our weight” with?

The wind is described as “bitter”. Circle the correct synonym for this in this context: sour / harsh / light / pleasant

Find and copy a word or phrase which shows that the journey was challenging.

What does the word ‘crevasses’ mean? The poet describes how the characters

“hauled each other…across the glacier”. A synonym for the word ‘hauled’ could be…


“We fought our way up the ice-cliff”. What does this suggest about the journey?

At the beginning of the poem, where does the poet imply that the two people are travelling to?

Find and copy the word or phrase which first makes you believe that the setting of the poem might be different to what was originally suggested.

What age do you think the characters in the poem are and why?

The Gresford Disaster

You’ve heard of the Gresford disaster,The terrible price that was paid,Two hundred and forty-two colliers were lostAnd three men of a rescue brigade.

It occurred in the month of September, At three in the morning, that pitWas racked by a violent explosionIn the Dennis where gas lay so thick.

The gas in the Dennis deep sectionWas packed there like snow in a drift,And many a man had to leave the coal-faceBefore he had worked out his shift.

A fortnight before the explosion,To the shot-firer Tomlinson cried‘If you fire that shot we’ll be all blown to hell!’And no one can say that he lied.

The fireman’s reports they are missing,The records of forty-two days;The colliery manager had them destroyedTo cover his criminal ways.

Down there in the dark they are lying,They died for nine shillings a day.They worked out their shift and now they must lieIn the darkness until judgement day.

The Lord Mayor of London’s collectingTo help both our children and wives, The owners have sent some white lilies


The poet describes how the sun trying to get through the dark was “like opening a walnut”.



“It was hard going”. What does this mean? The poet describes how there was “only

one lamppost strong enough to bear our weight”. What could you replace “bear our weight” with?

The wind is described as “bitter”. Circle the correct synonym for this in this context: sour / harsh / light / pleasant

Find and copy a word or phrase which shows that the journey was challenging.

What does the word ‘crevasses’ mean? The poet describes how the characters

“hauled each other…across the glacier”. A synonym for the word ‘hauled’ could be…

Context: The Gresford Disaster was one of the worst coal mine disasters in British history and took place in 1934 in a

coal mine in Wales. This is an anonymously written folk song written around the time to tell the story of the

disaster. collier – coal mine worker

Dennis – one of the parts of the coal mineshotfirer – a coal mine worker who positions and sets off

small explosives to dislodge rock or soil


Find and copy the word which means ‘friends’. The author describes how the pit was “racked

by a violent explosion”. What does this phrase mean?

In the Dennis area of the pit, “gas lay so thick”. What does this mean?

“Don’t send your sons down the dark dreary pit”. List two alternative adjectives which could have been used here for a similar effect.

The author describes how “many a man had to leave the coal-face before he had worked out his shift”. What does this mean?

Retrieval

How many coal mine workers died in the disaster?

How many rescue workers died in the disaster?

What did Tomlinson warn the shot firer? How much did the coal mine workers get

paid?


The author describes how the gas “was packed in like snow in a drift”. What impression does this give you of the environment in the pit at that time?

Why do you think “many a man had to leave the coalface before he had worked out his shift”?

What impressions do you get of the colliery manager and what evidence is there of this?

What was done to support the families of the victims?

“They worked out their shift and now they must lie in the darkness until judgement day”. What does this tell you about the victims?

Summarising

Imagine you are a journalist writing a newspaper article at the time of the Gresford disaster. What are the key facts about the incident which you would need to include in your report?

To pay for the poor colliers’ lives.

Farewell, our dear wives and our children,Farewell, our old comrades as well.Don’t send your sons down the dark dreary pit.They’ll be damned like sinners in hell.

The Dragons are Hiding

To be born a dragon hunteris somehow to know, that once, a very long time ago, dragonswere not just the stuff of dreams.It was a way for young mento fulfill their destinies, to ride offon horseback, seeking treasure,It was, first and foremost,a measure of their courage,the best sort of quest.

It was a solitary pursuit, one to one,hunter and hunted, the odds even.Sharp eyes, cunning and surpriseall counted, for a lick of flamewould be all it took to paralyse.Dragons knew they were young men's’quarry, they became elusive, ledsecluded lives, slept by day, fedat night, easily fled when challenged.

Then down the years, dragonsdisappeared. there were talesof course, a mountain in Scotland,a labyrinth in Wales, but the trailsproved cold; no smoke-blackenedcaves, no burnt out villages,no graves of would -be dragonhunters.

Yet recently there were rumours again:The whisper of wing-beats in darkness,distant thunder from mountains,a tumult beneath a waterfall where roaringcould easily be disguised.

Any young warrior out seeking dragonsshould look again, in slate cavernsand abandoned mine shafts.They should travel to the hidden sidesof mountains, look beneath Devils’bridges and dig down to discover the silent secret spaceswhere dragons might be waking.

For in a darkening Welsh landscape


“It was a way for young mean to fulfil their destinies”. Circle the word which is closest in meaning to ‘fulfil’… learn about / change / attempt / complete

“It was a solitary pursuit”. What does this tell you about the men who set off to find dragons?

Look at the second verse. Find and copy the word in this verse which could be replaced with the synonym ‘cleverness’.

What does the phrase, “the trails proved cold” tell you about dragons? Tick one:

o They hid in cold places.o No-one could find them.o No-one tried to find them.o There was proof they existed.

Find and copy a word or phrase which suggests dragons lived alone.

Retrieval

Years ago, how did most dragon hunters travel on their quests? What three qualities does the poet suggest a dragon hunter

needed to be successful? What did dragons do in day and at night? Where is it suggested that dragon hunters should look to find them

now?


The poet describes how the dragons “easily fled when challenged”. What does this suggest about the dragons?

Why might a dragon hide beneath a waterfall? Look at the verse beginning, “It was a solitary pursuit…”. Give 2

examples of evidence which shows dragons could be dangerous. Based on the poem, do you think dragons could be found again?

Use evidence to explain your answer.

Summarising

Below are summaries of some verses from the poem. Put them in the order in which they appear:

o The narrator gives advice to young dragon hunters ____o The countryside makes the narrator think about dragons

____ o The narrator introduces the idea of dragon hunters ____ o Signs of dragons have been reported again ____ o The narrator describes what it was like to hunt dragons

_____

with evening purpling the hills,it is easy, so easy to believehow those of us who would bedragon hunters, could one dayfind them again.

Brian Moses

The Dreadful Menace

I am the dreadful menace.The one whose will is done.The haunting chill upon your neck.I am the conundrum.

I will summon armies.Of wind and rain and snow.I made the black cloud overhead.The ice, like glass below.

Not you, nor any other.Can fathom what is nigh.I will tell you when to jump.And I’ll dictate how high.

The ones that came before you.Stood strong and tall and brave. But I stole those dreams away.Those dreams could not be saved.

But now you stand before me.Devoid of all dismay.Could it be? Just maybe.I’ll let you have your day.

Anon – BBC Winter Olympics 2014 advert

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b9Ji7DvsjU – this can be a useful addition but will narrow the thinking if used initially.


What could an alternative title for the poem be using synonyms?

Find and copy a word of phrase which is a synonym for the word ‘puzzle’.

The narrator of the poem explains, ‘I will summon armies’. The word ‘summon’ could best be replaced with: join / send for / fight / recruit.

Re-read the third verse of the poem. What other phrase could the author have used instead of ‘Not you, nor any other, can fathom what is nigh’?

Which of these phrases best describes the line, ‘devoid of all dismay’?

o Without having any concerns / full of fear / feeling anxious / full of excitement.


Who do you think is the narrator of the poem and why? What impression do you get of the narrator of the poem? The narrator refers to, ‘the ones that came before you.’

o Who do you think they might have been and why?o What do you think might have happened to them

and why? How does the narrator show a change in attitude towards the

end of the poem?

Retrieval

What does the narrator say he will tell the listener? What did the narrator do to ‘the ones that came before you’? Who will the narrator call to help him? What does the narrator claim he created?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b9Ji7DvsjU

Bulb(Loam: soil)

Smooth fingers touch my papery skin, place me in soilin a shallow hole, cover me.

Loam and grains soothe,and trickling water comforts.

I rest; seem dead, but only sleep.I wait.

And all at once, a tingle urgesslender threads to slip from me,roots to feed me,roots to anchor me.

And then my head surgesand a shoot, green as a frog,forces up through earth, reaches the light.

I shall burst with brilliance,a blazing trumpet of daffodilblaring at the sun.

When my yellow fadesto crisp parchment, I shall stay in my secret cavern, know worm and beetle,feel my strength returnfor next year’s flowering.

Alison Chisholm


Look at the first line of the poem. The word ‘papery’ in this context means:

o crunchyo delicateo flato rustling

Find and copy the word or phrase which means ‘to hold in place’.

“And then my head surges”. The word ‘surges’ could be replaced with ____________.

Find and copy the phrasing in the poem which describes the flower dying.

Retrieval

Who is the narrator in the poem? What type of flower is the bulb? When will the plant return again?


Who might the smooth fingers belong to? The narrator describes how “trickling water comforts”.

Why does it find the water comforting? What is the bulb waiting for? “A shoot, green as a frog, forces up through the earth”.

What does this suggest? The narrator explains at the end of the poem, “I will stay in

my secret cavern, know worm and beetle”. Where will they be located?

What do you predict will happen the next year and why?

Summarising

Below are summaries of the events in the poem. Place them in the correct order:

o The plant begins to grow upwards towards the sunlight.

o The gardener buries the bulb.o The daffodil head dies.o The bulb prepares to flower the next year. o The bulb is watered.o Roots begin to grow from the bulb.

Reminiscence

The rain was ending, and lightLifting the leaden skies. It shone upon ceiling and floorAnd dazzled a child's eyes.

Pale after fever, a captiveApart from his schoolfellows,He stood at the high room's windowWith face to the pane pressed close,

And beheld an immense gloryFlooding with fire the dropsSpilled on miraculous leavesOf the fresh green lime--tree tops.

Washed gravel glittered redTo a wall, and beyond it nineTall limes in the old inn yardRose over the tall inn sign.

And voices arose from beneathOf boys from school set free,Racing and chasing each otherWith laughter and games and glee.

To the boy at the high room--window,Gazing alone and apart,There came a wish without reason,A thought that shone through his heart.

I'll choose this moment and keep it,He said to himself, for a vow,To remember for ever and everAs if it were always now.

Robert Laurence Binyon

Context: ‘Reminiscence’ means ‘enjoyable memories

of a past event’.


The author uses the word ‘captive’ to describe the child. In this context, the word closest in meaning to ‘captive’ is: amazed / trapped / captain / unwell

‘And beheld an immense glory’. This means the child: held an amazing object / saw something wonderful / won a prize.

The word ‘glee’ could be replaced with ______________.

Summarising

Place these events in the order in which they take place:

o The poet sets the scene by describing the weather ___

o The boy tries to capture the memory to remember it always ____

o The boy sees raindrops falling on the trees. ___

o School children are released from school,, laughing and chasing each other____


The poet describes how the child was ‘pale after fever’. What does this suggest has happened to the child?

Why do you think the child had his ‘face to the pane pressed closed’?

Select true, false or unknown for the following statements:

o The boy didn’t want to join his friends

o The boy had been unwello The poem is set in wintero The boy wished he could join in

At what time of day do you think the poem is set and why?

Retrieval

What was the weather like at the beginning of the poem?

Where was the boy standing? Who did the child hear? What were the other children doing?

Nod

Softly along the road of evening,In a twilight dim with rose,Wrinkled with age, and drenched with dew,Old Nod the shepherd goes.

His drowsy flock streams on before him,Their fleeces charged with gold,To where the sun's last beam leans lowOn Nod the the shepherds fold.

The hedge is quick and green with brier,From their sand the conies creep;And all the birds that fly in heavenFlock singing home to sleep.

His lambs outnumber a noon's roses,Yet, when night shadows fall,His blind old sheep-dog, Slumber-soon,Misses not one of all.

His are the quiet steps of dreamland,The waters of no more pain, His ram's bell rings 'neath an arch of stars, "Rest, Rest, and rest again."

Walter de la Mare (1873-1956)

Key vocabulary:

brier: a prickly plant or shrubconies: rabbitsslumber: sleep

fold: a slight hill


The poet refers to Nod’s ‘drowsy flock’. What synonym could be used instead of ‘drowsy’?

The flock ‘streams on before him’. In this context, the word ‘streams’ most closely matches:

o travelso gets weto runs

Give the meaning of the word ‘drenched’ in the line ‘drenched with dew’.

The word ‘flock’ is used in the poem in two different contexts: His drowsy flock streams on before him / All the birds that fly in heaven flock singing home to sleep. What different meanings do these have?

Find and copy a word or phrase which denotes that it is now dark.


What age do you infer Nod to be and why? What impression do you get of Nod’s sheepdog and

why? How do you think Nod feels about his job and why? Why might the flock be drowsy? Why do you think Nod might be ‘in the waters of no

more pain’? What evidence is there throughout the poem that Nod

may no longer be alive?

Retrieval

What job does Nod have? Where do the birds travel to? At what time of day is the poem set? What evidence can

you find for this?

Summarising

How could you summarise what is happening in each verse of the poem?

Which verse number matches each summary?o Rabbits appear out of their burrows and birds fly

home ____o Nod is walking along the road _____o We wonder whether Nod is dreaming or no longer

living ____The sheepdog keeps track of all the sheep even in the dark ____

o The sheep travel ahead as the sun disappears ___

SINGLE PAGE POEMS AND FORMATTED QUESTIONS FOR

WRITTEN RESPONSES

The Last Mountain

Once we mountains sported wings,soared proud above the heavens,

frolicked among fleecy cloudsand slid up and down the rainbows

that groaned with our mighty weight.

Rushing wind was our element;we played the music of the spheres.The sky gifted us a giddy lightness

that stole the breath away.

But we took our freedom for grantedand jealous gods have clipped our wings.Now distant thunder growls our grumbles

as my brothers and sisters tower in dreamsof how we were once monarchs of the air.

But I, the smallest of the mountains,escaped the wrath of the gods.

I hide in the frothing ocean and, sleeplessI bide my time with folded wings.

The sea soil rumbles my secret songsas I call to my family to take heart.

Their trust will strengthen meand lift me up to strike a blow for our kind,

to fly up to the sun itself if need beto dance in our remembered freedom;for faith, they say, moves mountains.

Debjani Chatterjee.

Context: According to Indian myths, mountains once had wings.

The Last MountainVOCABULARY FOCUS

The smallest mountain “escaped the wrath of the gods”. What does the poet mean by this?

__________________________________________________________________________________

“Once we mountains sported wings.” The word ‘sported’ could be replaced with…

played with

had

wished for

The poet describes how the mountains “frolicked among fleecy clouds”. Which of these words could be used as a synonym for ‘frolicked’?

played

tasted

glided

stood

“The sky gifted us a giddy lightness”. What does the poet mean by this?

The sky made them feel happy and carefree.

The sky gave them a present.

The sky made them feel dizzy.

The mountain explains, “I bide my time”. What does this tell you?

__________________________________________________________________________________

The Last MountainINFERENCE FOCUS

In what ways is the mountain who is narrating the poem different to the other mountains?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The mountains “soared proud above the heavens”. What does the poet mean by this?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The poet describes how they were “once monarchs of the air”. What does this suggest?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What do you believe the smallest mountain plans to do?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The poet describes how ‘faith moves mountains’. What does she mean by this and how does it link to the story of the poem?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Last Mountain

SUMMARISING / RETRIEVAL FOCUS

What story does the poem tell us regarding what has happened to the mountains?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who removed the wings from the mountains?

________________________________________________________________

Where has the smallest mountain concealed himself?

________________________________________________________________

How has the smallest mountain hidden his wings away?

________________________________________________________________

The day the sun got stuckVOCABULARY FOCUS

The writer describes how the sun “prised apart the seam between the earth and sky”. What does the phrase “prised apart” mean?________________________________________________________________________________

“A cockerel raised his brown wings, paused, subsided”. The word subsided in this context means:

crowed sank downcontinuedflew off

“The chill of the night went rushing round hunched hill tops”. What does the word ‘hunched’ mean in this context?________________________________________________________________________________

The day the sun got stuck

INFERENCE FOCUS

The poet describes how the sun trying to get through the dark was “like opening a walnut”. What does this tell you?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the third verse, the poet writes, “Eyes still shut, earth yawned”. What does this tell you?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How were the cats feeling? Explain your reasoning.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Look at the fifth verse. What time of day is it here and how do you know?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The day the sun got stuckRETRIEVAL FOCUS

Where did the chill of the night travel? Circle all that apply: over hills into the sea in bee hives through a lake through pieces of rubbish past a cat flap across a farm

Where did the bees remain?

________________________________________________________________________________

Who was awake when the sun got stuck?

________________________________________________________________________________

The Ascent of VinicombeVOCABULARY FOCUS


“It was hard going”. What does this mean?

________________________________________________________________________________

The poet describes how there was “only one lamppost strong enough to bear our weight”. What could you replace “bear our weight” with?

________________________________________________________________________________

The wind is described as “bitter”. Circle the correct synonym for this in this context:

sour harsh light pleasant

Find and copy a word or phrase which shows that the journey was challenging. ________________________________________________________________________________

What does the word ‘crevasses’ mean?________________________________________________________________________________

The poet describes how the characters “hauled each other…across the glacier”. A synonym for the word ‘hauled’ could be…

________________________________________________________________________________

The Ascent of VinicombeINFERENCE FOCUS

“We fought our way up the ice-cliff”. What does this suggest about the journey?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At the beginning of the poem, where does the poet imply that the two people are travelling to?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Find and copy the word or phrase which first makes you believe that the setting of the poem might be different to what was originally suggested.

________________________________________________________________

What age do you think the characters in the poem are and why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“He led, of course, shouting warnings and encouragement”. What do the words ‘of course’ suggest about this character?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Ascent of VinicombeRETRIEVAL FOCUS

What did they imagine might be inside the pavement?

________________________________________________________________

In the poem, where does it turn out the characters are actually travelling to?

________________________________________________________________

What does the poet compare Kersland Street to?

________________________________________________________________

What happens to one of the characters at the end of the poem?

________________________________________________________________

List four words which reveal the true setting of the poem.

________________________________________________________________

List four words which suggest the setting of the poem is different to the one you first imagine.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Gresford Disaster

Context: The Gresford Disaster was one of the worst coal mine disasters in British history and took place in 1934 in a coal mine in Wales. This is an anonymously written folk song written around the

time to tell the story of the disaster. collier – coal mine worker

Dennis – one of the parts of the coal mineshotfirer – a coal mine worker who positions and sets off small explosives to dislodge rock or soil

You’ve heard of the Gresford disaster,The terrible price that was paid,

Two hundred and forty-two colliers were lostAnd three men of a rescue brigade.

It occurred in the month of September, At three in the morning, that pit

Was racked by a violent explosionIn the Dennis where gas lay so thick.The gas in the Dennis deep section

Was packed there like snow in a drift,And many a man had to leave the coal-face

Before he had worked out his shift.

A fortnight before the explosion,To the shot-firer Tomlinson cried

‘If you fire that shot we’ll be all blown to hell!’And no one can say that he lied.

The fireman’s reports they are missing,The records of forty-two days;

The colliery manager had them destroyedTo cover his criminal ways.

Down there in the dark they are lying,They died for nine shillings a day.

They worked out their shift and now they must lieIn the darkness until judgement day.The Lord Mayor of London’s collectingTo help both our children and wives,

The owners have sent some white liliesTo pay for the poor colliers’ lives.

Farewell, our dear wives and our children,Farewell, our old comrades as well.

Don’t send your sons down the dark dreary pit.They’ll be damned like sinners in hell.

The Gresford DisasterVOCABULARY FOCUS

Find and copy the word which means ‘friends’.

________________________________________________________________

The author describes how the pit was “racked by a violent explosion”. What does this phrase mean?

________________________________________________________________In the Dennis area of the pit, “gas lay so thick”. What does this mean?

________________________________________________________________“Don’t send your sons down the dark dreary pit”. List two alternative adjectives which could have been used here for a similar effect.

__________________________________________

The author describes how “many a man had to leave the coal-face before he had worked out his shift”. What does this mean?

________________________________________________________________

The Gresford DisasterINFERENCE FOCUS

The author describes how the gas “was packed in like snow in a drift”. What impression does this give you of the environment in the pit at that time?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why do you think “many a man had to leave the coalface before he had worked out his shift”?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What impressions do you get of the colliery manager and what evidence is there of this?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What was done to support the families of the victims?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“They worked out their shift and now they must lie in the darkness until judgement day”. What does this tell you about the victims?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Gresford DisasterRETRIEVAL FOCUS

How many coal mine workers died in the disaster?

________________________________________________________________

How many rescue workers died in the disaster?

________________________________________________________________

What did Tomlinson warn the shot firer?

________________________________________________________________

How much did the coal mine workers get paid?

________________________________________________________________

The Gresford DisasterRETRIEVAL FOCUS

Imagine you are a journalist writing a newspaper article at the time of the Gresford disaster. What are the key facts about the incident which you would need to include in your report?

The Dragons are Hiding

To be born a dragon hunteris somehow to know, that once,a very long time ago, dragons

were not just the stuff of dreams.It was a way for young men

to fulfill their destinies, to ride off

on horseback, seeking treasure,It was, first and foremost,

a measure of their courage,the best sort of quest.

It was a solitary pursuit, one to one,hunter and hunted, the odds even.Sharp eyes, cunning and surprise

all counted, for a lick of flamewould be all it took to paralyse.

Dragons knew they were young men's’quarry, they became elusive, ledsecluded lives, slept by day, fed

at night, easily fled when challenged.

Then down the years, dragonsdisappeared. there were tales

of course, a mountain in Scotland,a labyrinth in Wales, but the trailsproved cold; no smoke-blackened

caves, no burnt out villages,no graves of would -be dragon

hunters.

Yet recently there were rumours again:The whisper of wing-beats in darkness,

distant thunder from mountains,a tumult beneath a waterfall where roaring

could easily be disguised.

Any young warrior out seeking dragonsshould look again, in slate caverns

and abandoned mine shafts.They should travel to the hidden sides

of mountains, look beneath Devils’bridges and dig down to discover

the silent secret spaceswhere dragons might be waking.

For in a darkening Welsh landscapewith evening purpling the hills,

it is easy, so easy to believehow those of us who would bedragon hunters, could one day

find them again.Brian Moses

The dragons are hidingVOCABULARY FOCUS

“It was a way for young men to fulfil their destinies”. Circle the word which is closest in meaning to ‘fulfil’…

learn about change attempt complete

“It was a solitary pursuit”. What does this tell you about the men who set off to find dragons?

________________________________________________________________

Look at the second verse. Find and copy the word in this verse which could be replaced with the synonym ‘cleverness’.

________________________________________________________________

What does the phrase, “the trails proved cold” tell you about dragons? Tick one:

o They hid in cold places.

o No-one could find them.

o No-one tried to find them.

o There was proof they existed.

Find and copy a word or phrase which suggests dragons lived alone.

________________________________________________________________

The dragons are hidingINFERENCE FOCUS

The poet describes how the dragons “easily fled when challenged”. What does this suggest about the dragons?

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Why might a dragon hide beneath a waterfall?

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Look at the verse beginning, “It was a solitary pursuit…”. Give 2 examples of evidence which shows dragons could be dangerous.

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Based on the poem, do you think dragons could be found again? Use evidence to explain your answer.

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The dragons are hidingSUMMARISING FOCUS

Below are summaries of some verses from the poem. Put them in the order in which they appear:

o The narrator gives advice to young dragon hunters ____o The countryside makes the narrator think about dragons ____ o The narrator introduces the idea of dragon hunters ____ o Signs of dragons have been reported again ____ o The narrator describes what it was like to hunt dragons _____

The dragons are hidingRETRIEVAL FOCUS

Years ago, how did most dragon hunters travel on their quests?

________________________________________________________________What three qualities does the poet suggest a dragon hunter needed to be successful?

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___________________________

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What did dragons do in day and at night?

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Where is it suggested that dragon hunters should look to find them now?

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The Dreadful Menace(Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b9Ji7DvsjU)

I am the dreadful menace.The one whose will is done.

The haunting chill upon your neck.

I am the conundrum.

I will summon armiesOf wind and rain and snow.

I made the black cloud overhead.The ice, like glass below.

Not you, nor any other,Can fathom what is nigh.

I will tell you when to jump.And I’ll dictate how high.

The ones that came before youStood strong and tall and brave.But I stole those dreams away.

Those dreams could not be saved.

But now you stand before meDevoid of all dismay.

Could it be? Just maybe. I’ll let you have your day.

Anon – BBC Winter Olympics 2014 advert

The dreadful menaceVOCABULARY FOCUS

Use synonyms to create an alternative title for the poem.

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Find and copy the word or phrase which is a synonym for the word ‘puzzle’.

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The narrator of the poem explains, ‘I will summon armies’. The word ‘summon’ could best be replaced with:

o join

o send for

o fight

o recruit

Re-read the third verse of the poem. What other phrase could the author have used instead of, ‘Not you, nor any other, can fathom what is nigh’?

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Which of these phrases best describes the line, “devoid of all dismay”?

o without having any concerns

o full of fear

o feeling anxious

o full of excitement

The dreadful menaceINFERENCE FOCUS

Who do you believe is the narrator of the poem? Use evidence to support your answer.

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What impression do you get of the narrator of the poem?

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The narrator refers to ‘The ones that came before you’.

o Who do you think these people might have been and why?

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o What do you think might have happened to them and why?

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How does the narrator show a change in attitude towards the end of the poem?

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The dreadful menaceRETRIEVAL FOCUS

What does the narrator say he will tell the listener?

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What did the narrator do to ‘the ones that came before you’?

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Who will the narrator call to help him?

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What does the narrator claim he created?

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Bulb(Key vocabulary - loam: soil)

Smooth fingers touch my papery skin, place me in soil

in a shallow hole, cover me.Loam and grains soothe,

and trickling water comforts.

I rest; seem dead, but only sleep.I wait.

And all at once, a tingle urgesslender threads to slip from me,

roots to feed me,roots to anchor me.

And then my head surgesand a shoot, green as a frog,

forces up through earth, reaches the light.

I shall burst with brilliance,a blazing trumpet of daffodil

blaring at the sun.When my yellow fades

to crisp parchment, I shall stay in my secret cavern, know worm and beetle,

feel my strength returnfor next year’s flowering.

Alison Chisholm

BulbVOCABULARY FOCUS

Look at the first line of the poem. The word ‘papery’ in this context means:

o crunchy

o delicate

o flat

o rustling

Find and copy the word or phrase which means ‘to hold in place’.

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“And then my head surges”. The word ‘surges’ could be replaced with ________________________.

Find and copy the phrasing in the poem which describes the flower dying.

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BulbRETRIEVAL FOCUS

Who is the narrator in the poem?

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What type of flower is the bulb?

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When will the plant return again?

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BulbSUMMARISING FOCUS

Below are summaries of the events in the poem. Place them in the correct order:

o The plant begins to grow upwards towards the sunlight. ______

o The gardener buries the bulb. ______

o The daffodil head dies. ______

o The bulb prepares to flower the next year. _____

o The bulb is watered. _____

o Roots begin to grow from the bulb. ______

BulbINFERENCE FOCUS

Who might the smooth fingers belong to?

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The narrator describes how “trickling water comforts”. Why does it find the water comforting?

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What is the bulb waiting for?

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“A shoot, green as a frog, forces up through the earth”. What does this suggest?

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The narrator explains at the end of the poem, “I will stay in my secret cavern, know worm and beetle”. Where will they be located?

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What do you predict will happen the next year and why?

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Reminiscence

The rain was ending, and lightLifting the leaden skies.

It shone upon ceiling and floor

Context: ‘Reminiscence’ means ‘enjoyable memories of a past event’.

And dazzled a child's eyes.

Pale after fever, a captiveApart from his schoolfellows,

He stood at the high room's windowWith face to the pane pressed close,

And beheld an immense gloryFlooding with fire the dropsSpilled on miraculous leaves

Of the fresh green lime--tree tops.

Washed gravel glittered redTo a wall, and beyond it nineTall limes in the old inn yardRose over the tall inn sign.

And voices arose from beneathOf boys from school set free,

Racing and chasing each otherWith laughter and games and glee.

To the boy at the high room--window,Gazing alone and apart,

There came a wish without reason,A thought that shone through his heart.

I'll choose this moment and keep it,He said to himself, for a vow,

To remember for ever and everAs if it were always now.Robert Laurence Binyon

ReminiscenceVOCABULARY FOCUS

The author uses the word ‘captive’ to describe the child. In this context, the word closest in meaning to ‘captive’ is:

amazed trapped captain unwell

‘And beheld an immense glory’. This means the child:

o held an amazing object

o saw something wonderful

o won a prize

The word ‘glee’ could be replaced with ___________.

ReminiscenceSUMMARISING FOCUS

Place these events in the order in which they take place in the poem:

o The poet sets the scene by describing the weather ___

o The boy tries to capture the memory to remember it always ____

o The boy sees raindrops falling on the trees. ___

o School children are released from school,, laughing and chasing each other____

o A boy who is off sick from school stands watching outside from his window. ___

ReminiscenceINFERENCE FOCUS

The poet describes how the child was ‘pale after fever’. What does this suggest has happened to the child?

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Why do you think the child had his ‘face to the pane pressed close?’

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Tick true, false or unknown for the following statements:

True False UnknownThe boy didn’t want to join his friends.

The boy had been unwell.

The poem is set in winter.

The boy wished he could join in.

At what time of day do you think the poem is set and why?

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ReminiscenceRETRIEVAL FOCUS

What was the weather like at the beginning of the poem?

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Where was the boy standing?

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Who did the child hear?

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What were the other children doing?

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NodKey vocabulary:

brier: a prickly plant or shrubconies: rabbitsslumber: sleep

fold: a slight hill

Softly along the road of evening,In a twilight dim with rose,

Wrinkled with age, and drenched with dew,Old Nod the shepherd goes.

His drowsy flock streams on before him,Their fleeces charged with gold,

To where the sun's last beam leans lowOn Nod the shepherd’s fold.

The hedge is quick and green with brier,From their sand the conies creep;And all the birds that fly in heaven

Flock singing home to sleep.

His lambs outnumber a noon's roses,Yet, when night shadows fall,

His blind old sheep-dog, Slumber-soon,Misses not one of all.

His are the quiet steps of dreamland,The waters of no more pain,

His ram's bell rings 'neath an arch of stars,"Rest, Rest, and rest again."

Walter de la Mare (1873-1956)

NodVOCABULARY FOCUS

The poet refers to Nod’s ‘drowsy flock’. What synonym could be used instead of ‘drowsy’?

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The flock ‘streams on before him’. In this context the word ‘streams’ most closely matches:

o travels

o gets wet

o runs

Give the meaning of the word ‘drenched’ in the line ‘drenched with dew’.

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The word ‘flock’ is used in the poem in two different contexts: His drowsy flock streams on before him / All the birds that fly in heaven flock singing home to sleep. What different meanings do these have?

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Find and copy a word or phrase which denotes that it is now dark.

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NodINFERENCE FOCUS

How old do you infer Nod to be and why?

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What impression do you get of Nod’s sheepdog and why?

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How do you think Nod feels about his job and why?

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Why might the flock be ‘drowsy’?

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Why do you think Nod might be ‘in the waters of no more pain’?

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What evidence is there throughout the poem that Nod may no longer be alive?

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NodRETRIEVAL FOCUS

What job does Nod have?

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Where do the birds travel to?

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At what time of day is the poem set? Provide 2 pieces of evidence to support your answer.

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NodSUMMARISING FOCUS

Match the verse number to the summary of the verse:

Verse 1 Rabbits appear out of their burrows and birds fly away home.

Verse 2 Nod is walking along the road in the early evening.

Verse 3 We wonder whether Nod is dreaming or no longer living.

Verse 4 The sheepdog keeps track of all the sheep even in the dark.

Verse 5 His sheep travel ahead of him as the sun is disappearing from the hill.

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