They’d passed the graveyard on the edge of the village by the light of a full moon, and the hoot of an owl signalled their passage. They spent the next few hours trudging through the gloom of the forest on their way back to Nottingham. Mist hung about the ground at knee height, giving the forest an ethereal feel. Robin’s friend, Will, turned to him and confessed quietly he wasn’t happy about the uncomfortable silence which enveloped the woods. Usually, even at such an early hour, the woods were filled with noises, but tonight all was deathly silent.

Robin Hood and Little John (Monday)

They reached the river crossing just after dawn had broken and found a sun-dappled space to sit, eat and rest a while before crossing the water into the part of the forest inhabited by outlaws. Robin stood and stretched before retrieving his pack, his quiver and his bow. “Come on!” he said to Will, who lay napping on the heather and he nudged him with the toe of his boot. “How much longer is it?” said Will screwing up his face and shielding his eyes from the low hanging sun, “we’ve been walking all night!”

“Not much further,” said Robin, “but keep your wits about you now…you never know who is lurking in the woods on the Wester’ side.”

1. Use a dictionary to find the word ‘ethereal’ can you write a definition for it in your own words?

2. What do you think the word ‘enveloped’ means?

3. Which word in the text tells you that outlaws lived in the forest?

4. Outlaw is a compound word made of two smaller words. What do you think it means?

5. What does the word trudging tell us about the way the two of them move through the forest?

6. Which word in the second paragraph means someone is ‘lying in wait?’

Robin Hood and Little John

Robin had only taken a few steps onto the bridge when there was a flurry of movement at the other end. Either side of the bridge, men with bows erupted from the foliage; their arrows aimed at Robin and Will. One of the men started to cross the bridge towards them. The man was one of the tallest that they had ever seen. He was a whole head taller than Robin. He carried a long staff as thick as a man’s wrist and he was grinning from ear to ear - flashing his teeth at the two weary travellers. “Look sharp!” Robin hissed at Will.

“Bridge tax!” the tall man bellowed, “stand where you are!” The two of them continued to edge further forwards until Robin was standing face to face with the brigand. “You cannot come across this bridge without paying the fee!”

With unnatural speed, Robin had pulled an arrow from his quiver, nocked it and was now stood with his drawn bow pointing in the giant’s bearded face. “Now, now…” said the Giant taking a step backwards, “there is no need for that.” Robin took half a step towards the bandit who suddenly swung his staff violently, knocking Robin’s bow into the river; sending his arrow flying off to embed itself into the trunk of a nearby by tree.

The outlaw laughed, “if you want to fight rather than pay, then it needs to be a fair fight.” he said as he handed Robin another staff. “If you can knock me, Little John, from the bridge then I will waive the fee.”

Robin let out a deep sigh as he hefted the staff. ‘Little John?’ he thought to himself, ‘the man is as big as a bull and twice as fierce!

RHow far onto the bridge was Robin when John appeared?

V Which words show that the men appeared quickly?

EExplain how you know that this story is set in the past.

IWhat is Robin thinking/feeling when he ‘let out a ‘deep sigh?’

SHow does Little John earn money?

Monday Answers:

Vocabulary Focus

1. delicate and light in a way that seems to be otherworldly.

2. to wrap up, cover or surround completely.

3. inhabited

4. Outside of the law – someone who has broken the law, especially one who has escaped.

5. That they are walking slowly because they are tired.

6. lurking

R – a few steps

V – flurry, erupted

E – They are carrying bows, they are walking long distances, they fight with a staff, there is a bridge tax

I – he is resigned to his fate – he feels like he will have to fight him now.

S – He stops people crossing the bridge unless they pay him. If they do not pay then he robs them.

The Little Mermaid - Skim and Scan Challenge (Tuesday)

The Sea King had been a widower for many years, and his aged mother kept house for him. She was a very wise woman, and exceedingly proud of her high birth; on that account she wore twelve oysters on her tail; while others, also of high rank, were only allowed to wear six. She was, however, deserving of very great praise, especially for her care of the little sea-princesses, her grand-daughters. They were six beautiful children; but the youngest was the prettiest of them all; her skin was as clear and delicate as a rose-leaf, and her eyes as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the others, she had no feet, and her body ended in a fish’s tail.

All day long they played in the great halls of the castle, or among the living flowers that grew out of the walls. The large amber windows were open, and the fish swam in, just as the swallows fly into our houses when we open the windows, excepting that the fishes swam up to the princesses, ate out of their hands, and allowed themselves to be stroked. Outside the castle there was a beautiful garden, in which grew bright red and dark blue flowers, and blossoms like flames of fire; the fruit glittered like gold, and the leaves and stems waved to and fro continually. The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of burning sulphur. Over everything lay a peculiar blue radiance, as if it were surrounded by the air from above, through which the blue sky shone, instead of the dark depths of the sea. In calm weather the sun could be seen, looking like a purple flower, with the light streaming from the calyx.

Each of the young princesses had a little plot of ground in the garden, where she might dig and plant as she pleased. One arranged her flower-bed into the form of a whale; another thought it better to make hers like the figure of a little mermaid; but that of the youngest was round like the sun, and contained flowers as red as his rays at sunset.

She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful; and while her sisters would be delighted with the wonderful things which they obtained from the wrecks of vessels, she cared for nothing but her pretty red flowers, like the sun, excepting a beautiful marble statue. It was the representation of a handsome boy, carved out of pure white stone, which had fallen to the bottom of the sea from a wreck. She planted by the statue a rose-colored weeping willow. It grew splendidly, and very soon hung its fresh branches over the statue, almost down to the blue sands. The shadow had a violet tint, and waved to and fro like the branches; it seemed as if the crown of the tree and the root were at play, and trying to kiss each other. Nothing gave her so much pleasure as to hear about the world above the sea.

She made her old grandmother tell her all she knew of the ships and of the towns, the people and the animals. To her it seemed most wonderful and beautiful to hear that the flowers of the land should have fragrance, and not those below the sea; that the trees of the forest should be green; and that the fishes among the trees could sing so sweetly, that it was quite a pleasure to hear them. Her grandmother called the little birds fishes, or she would not have understood her; for she had never seen birds.

Skim and Scan these words

Prettiest

Surrounded

Play

Radiance

Amber

Flowers

Fishes

Swallows

Castle

oysters

Find the antonym (opposite) of:

Find the synonym (same/similar) of:

light

Orange

Find and copy a phrase that suggests that the youngest sea-princess was a mermaid.

How do you know the young sea –princess was inquisitive. Use evidence from the text to support your answers (2 marks)

War Horse – Skim and Scan Challenge |(Wednesday)

THROUGH THE LONG hard winters and hazy summers that followed, Albert and I grew up together. A yearling colt and a young lad have more in common than awkward gawkishness. Whenever he was not at school in the village, or out at work with his father on the farm, he would lead me out over the fields and down to the flat, thistly marsh by the Torridge river. Here on the only level ground on the farm he began my training, just walking and trotting me up and down, and later on lunging me first one way and then the other. On the way back to the farm he would allow me to follow on at my own speed, and I learnt to come at his whistle, not out of obedience but because I always wanted to be with him. His whistle imitated the stuttering call of an owl – it was a call I never refused and I would never forget.

Old Zoey, my only other companion, was often away all day ploughing and harrowing, cutting and turning out on the farm and so I was left on my own much of the time. Out in the fields in the summer time this was bearable because I could always hear her working and call out to her from time to time, but shut in the loneliness of the stable in the winter, all day could pass without seeing or hearing a soul, unless Albert came for me.

As Albert had promised, it was he who cared for me, and protected me all he could from his father; and his father did not turn out to be the monster I had expected. Most of the time he ignored me and if he did look me over, it was always from a distance. From time to time he could even be quite friendly, but I was never quite able to trust him, not after our first encounter. I would never let him come too close, and would always back off and shy away to the other end of the field and put old Zoey between us. On every Tuesday however, Albert’s father could still be relied upon to get drunk, and on his return Albert would often find some pretext to be with me to ensure that he never came near me.

On one such autumn evening about two years after I came to the farm Albert was up in the village church ringing the bells. As a precaution he had put me in the stable with old Zoey as he always did on Tuesday evenings. ‘You’ll be safer together. Father won’t come in and bother you, not if you’re together,’ he’d say, and then he’d lean over the stable door and lecture us about the intricacies of bell ringing and how he had been given the big tenor bell because they thought he was man enough already to handle it and that in no time he’d be the biggest lad in the village. My Albert was proud of his bell ringing prowess and as Zoey and I stood head to tail in the darkening stable, lulled by the six bells ringing out over the dusky fields from the church, we knew he had every right to be proud. It is the noblest of music for everyone can share it – they have only to listen.

I must have been standing asleep for I do not recall hearing him approach, but quite suddenly there was the dancing light of a lantern at the stable door and the bolts were pulled back. I thought at first it might be Albert, but the bells were still ringing, and then I heard the voice that was unmistakably that of Albert’s father on a Tuesday night after market. He hung the lantern up above the door and came towards me. There was a whippy stick in his hand and he was staggering around the stable towards me.

Precaution

Whip

Tuesday

Village

Soul

Dusky

lantern

Father

Drunk

bells

Find and copy a phrase that suggests that the Albert’s bell ringing was satisfying to his audience.

…then I heard the voice that was unmistakably that of Albert’s father on a Tuesday night after market.

Suggest a reason as to why the voice of Albert’s father is indifferent on a Tuesday.

Find and copy a phrase that suggests the narrator is a horse.

Find and copy a synonym of tolerable within the extract.

The Garden of Doom (Thursday)

And so it began. A scream welled up in Sam’s throat, but nothing broke the silence. Scrambling away from the glass, the brothers grabbed hold of each other like long lost friends. They stared at each other in disbelief. Questions raced through their minds, yet they did not speak. Beneath his jacket, Tom felt his brother begin to tremble. There was something in his eyes, his gaze fixed in the distance, mouth slightly ajar as his breathing became jaggedly and heavy. Tom tilted his head quizzically, trying to read his brother’s eyes. Unable to speak, he squeezed his brother lightly on the arms as if in that movement he was asking him a question, or looking for reassurance. But there was no response. Tom’s heart raced inside his chest: He felt the warm blood rush around his body, almost losing his footing as his head became light and fuzzy. Deep in the pit of stomach he felt a dull ache, his dry mouth cracked as he tried to talk and a gargling noise escaped from his lips. The more he tried to communicate with Sam, the more he realised his body would not respond.

It was in that moment that he heard it. Only faintly at first, as if it was meaning to be concealed, just a whisper on the wind. There it was again, a rumour, not even a whisper. Had his brother noticed? He couldn’t tell; his eyes were as blank as a lifeless TV screen, a deep, bottomless, empty pit of blackness. Wide and round they stared, unblinking, into the distance, where Tom could not see. Unless he turned around. Unless he glanced over his shoulder. Tom did not dare. He knew it was there, watching; waiting; ready to pounce. Pulling Sam closer to him, Tom felt his brother’s body tense, stiff like a statue and cold against his body.

Suddenly, Sam took a sharp breath in, as if he’d just been given the kiss of life and the oxygen started hurtling through his veins, sending blood rushing through his body. He breathed the air deeply, snatching it in large gulps like he was drinking water. Choking and stumbling, coughing and spluttering, Sam grasped onto Tom’s jacket as he slipped to his knees. Tom caught him just in time. Whatever had held Sam in the trance had let him go, and now he could barely stand....

“Boys?” the words echoed down the hall. There was no reply. Slowly, the bedroom door creaked as it opened, the bunk beds looked like they had two occupants all curled up on each level. Two duvets and pillows made distinct body shapes, curving over like a dome with pillows trapped underneath them. A shadow moved across the TV screen, briefly blocking out the fuzzy glow as the figure moved stealthily around the room. Curtains were drawn; controllers picked up from off the bedroom floor and, without a sound, the invisible button at the bottom of the screen was pressed. The gentle glow flickered and went out, sucking the whole picture into blackness. On the opposite side of the screen, a tiny blinking light turned from green to red. Underneath, a whirring sound went unheard. A soft pad of footsteps crept across the carpet and the door creaked shut.

Darkness shrouded them. One moment the bright lights of the game shone down onto their skin like the burning sun; the next split second the Garden of Doom, where they stood clinging to each other, was plunged into blackness. Instantly, they both regained the ability to talk. Their throats were dry and scratched from the silent screaming, their muscles ached from holding onto each other so tightly and their heads pounded from the quick change from light to dark.

“W..w..what’s going on?” Sam whimpered. Tears were rolling down his face, burning his flushed cheeks as they navigated into the empty void of blackness beneath the edge of his chin.

“I don’t know,” Tom croaked. He cleared his throat as quietly as he could and pulled Sam down to the floor, where they sat together blinking into the pitch black air around them.

Tom knew that it would come, he could feel its eyes on them, even in the darkness. It was all a matter of time.

Questions (Thursday)

1. What different sentence types can you find? Pick out an example of at least 5 different sentence types.

2. How did Tom feel when Sam didn’t respond to him? Pick out evidence from the text to back up your answer.

3. Can you find the repetition in the paragraph ‘It was in that moment that he heard it’? What is the author trying to do here?

4. Why does the Garden of Doom suddenly plunge into darkness? How does the author use show not tell to achieve this in the paragraph before?

5. How are the boys going to get out of the game?

A Birthday to remember (Friday)

Sam gave his mum a weak smile and quickly put the book down on the floor. “What’s the matter?” mum asked, “Don’t you like it?”

“It’s got all the original graphics and characters from that game you two are always playing…what’s it called again?” Dad searched around for the Xbox game.

“Erm, Garden of Doom?” Tom suggested.

“That’s the one!” Dad exclaimed, “take a look, I was amazed when I saw how detailed they were.”

Dad reached over to pick the book up. Tom sprang up from the carpet like a ninja and grabbed the book, holding it close to his chest with the front cover firmly shut. “Let’s go and compare the pictures to the real thing, Sam,” Tom suggested, giving Sam a deliberate nudge in the back. The boys scampered up the stairs leaving their parents looking at each other bemused. Dad shrugged and switched on the TV.

Upstairs, Tom delicately put the book down on the thick, navy carpet. They backed away from it, as if it was a ticking bomb. Breathless, they stared at each other wondering what to do. Tiny droplets of sweat had formed on Tom’s furrowed brow as he nervously bit his bottom lip. Sam said, “Let’s just bury it at the bottom of the toy box. So long as it doesn’t open we’ll be alright, won’t we?” Tom nodded. A small bead of blood had formed where he’d bitten too deeply into his lip. He licked his lips, shuddering a little at the rusty taste of his own blood. Carefully, he lifted up the book whilst Sam emptied the contents of their toy box. They placed the black, leather book deep into the depths of the empty box and quickly threw toy after toy on top of it, suffocating the danger as they did so. Or so they thought.

They ran back downstairs to enjoy the rest of Sam’s birthday, knowing the book was safely locked away under action man’s watchful eye. Almost as soon as they reached the lounge, all thoughts about the book evaporated from their mind. They didn’t think about it for the rest of the day. Not during Sam’s birthday dinner at Pizza Hut, not during their popcorn fight at the cinema and not on the way home as the street lights blurred into a fuzzy line through the car window. They didn’t even think about it when they reached for the controllers and slipped Garden of Doom into the sleek, black mouth of the Xbox.

Deep in conversation, about which weapon would be the best to destroy the evil, bloodsucking worms and the flickering tongue went unnoticed. As the familiar music played incongruously in the background, the buttons were unconsciously pressed in the right order, starting the game. Two emerald eyes watched as they chatted intently. It was the silence that made them stop talking. Simultaneously their eyes were drawn to the plasma screen. The white letters blinked on and off like a broken torch. They’d seen this screen a thousand times before but they’d never noticed the emerald scales slithering around between the blades of grass.

Without thinking, Sam pressed A on the controller and the flashing letters dissolved into blackness. In their place a huge snake’s head suddenly appeared. Its eyes shone like tiny black stones in a river of green. Mesmerised the brothers stared deeper into the snakes eyes, so deep they didn’t feel themselves falling. Deeper and deeper they fell until they reached the cold, damp ground beneath them. Above them flowers loomed like giants. Huge, round daisy heads covered the sky like a roof. Stalks reached up above them as far as the eye could see.

The boys helped each other to their feet and stood as still as a stone. Suddenly, Tom let out a gasp. Sam followed his brother’s eyes and threw his hands up to his face in disbelief. Tom took a few steps forward and placed his hand on the cold, smooth glass. Beneath him, he could see the two X box controllers lying lifeless like two abandoned ships in the sea like carpet. Sam put both his hands against the glass and rested his forehead on them like he was shading the sun from his eyes. He peered out, through the glass, into his bedroom below him. It felt like a dream. How could this have happened?

Questions Friday

1. At the end of the problem paragraph it says ‘they suffocated the danger. Or so they thought.’ What does that mean?

2. Pick out any similes- why are they effective?

3. Can you find the repetition? Why do you think the author has used repetition here, what? What effect does it have on the reader?

4. Look up the word ‘simultaneously’ – what does it mean? Can you use it in a sentence?