to read and understand a text. today we will be reading a ... · night terrors in cairo the night...
TRANSCRIPT
Year 5 Week 7Monday 18th May 2020
To read and understand a text.
Today we will be reading a text.
Night Terrors in Cairo
The night hung like a curtain. The hot and sticky air was almost
impossible to force into your lungs. There were no lights,
everything was black, deathly black. The gritty sand swept
across black mambas. Scorpions lurked in the night shadows.
The darkness was unbearable, the night seeping in through
the cacti and submerging the desert in its pity. There was no
sound, nothing dared to move. If fear looked like anything, it
would be this.
The petrifying tranquillity was suddenly shattered as a jeep came
ploughing over the sand dunes, headlights flickering like fireflies.
Two men sat bolt upright in its tattered seats. The driver was
extremely tall and wiry. His face was a horrible sight, red scars
etching his thin face all over. The man next to him was quite the
perfect criminal, a bristly crew-cut skimming his shiny head. He
wore a pair of designer sunglasses, even though it was pitch
black, which rested on his repulsive nose - a large chunk of
flesh, bone and cartilage had been lost during an earlier run in. A
grim and steely expression showed that nothing would stop him
raiding the Pyramids on this sweltering night.
On the back seat lay a dazed museum curator, his crinkled face covered
in plum coloured bruises. This unfortunate man had been kidnapped at
exactly midday whilst busily filing papers at his museum. He was grabbed
by the scruff of his veiny neck and bundled into the jeep. Before any
passers-by could take note, his screams were hastily muffled by a
chloroform-soaked gag. He was the only man who knew the secret
entrance to the Pyramids of Cairo.
Hours later, he came to his senses to find two grimacing men watching
his every move in the back of a stuffy jeep. A thousand thoughts were
rushing through the man's tortured mind. How could he stop these brutal
men from raiding his beloved Pyramids? His musings were abruptly
interrupted by the lanky man's grating voice accompanied by a sharp prod
of his skeletal finger, "Get out of the car and show us the entrance.
Move!"
The curator stumbled out, petrified by what was happening and
distraughtly staggered across the rough sand, his sandals
sinking with every step he took. "THUD!" the entrance boulder,
concealed in the face of the pyramid, caved in with a heave.
"Take us to the King's Chamber, NOW!" Without warning the
curator shuffled on, winding his way down a particularly twisted
passage with the horror that he was allowing them to make their
way to the King's resting place. To rip open the sarcophagus and
plunder a mighty pharaoh's history. He had to stop this. Now.
Swiftly he broke free of the crew-cut man, snarling like a lion. He
had no time to see their faces, just to sprint exhaustedly along
passages, twisting through this maze using memory alone.
Breaking through the entrance he didn't hesitate, just heaved the
boulder over the entrance and disappeared into the black curtain
of the night...
The end
Tuesday 19th May 2020
To answer questions based on the text.
Today we will be answering questions based on the text we
read yesterday.
1. Where is the short story set?
2. How many characters are in the story?
3. How does the writer describe the driver? Use evidence from
the text.
4. Find and copy a word that tells you what the weather was like
the night of the raid. (clue slide 2)
5. Why was the ‘kidnapped’ man so important to the mission?
Answers1. Where is the short story set? The short story is set in Cairo,
Egypt.
2. How many characters are in the story? There are three
characters in the story.
3. How does the writer describe the driver? Use evidence from
the text. The writer describes the driver as tall and wiry. His
face was a horrible sight and he had red scars on his face.
4. Find and copy a word that tells you what the weather was like
the night of the raid. (clue slide 2)
The weather was hot. I know this because in the text it says
‘nothing would stop him raiding the Pyramids on this sweltering
night’.
5. Why was the ‘kidnapped’ man so important to the mission?
The kidnapped man was so important to the mission because he
was the only person who knew where to find the pyramids. I
know this because in the text it says ‘He was the only man who
knew the secret entrance to the Pyramids of Cairo’.
Answers
Wednesday 20th May 2020
To understand words and phrases used in the text.
Today we will be looking at words and phrases from the
text.
Here are 6 words from the text. Your task is to highlight the words/definitions that have the
closest meaning.
Answers
Thursday 21st May 2020
To analyse a character.
Today we will be thinking closely about the characters in the
story.
TASK: Pick one character from the story. Use the text
to build your character.
What does he look like? How does he react to a
situation? Does he speak?
Friday 22nd May 2020
To make a prediction.
Today we will be making a prediction on what could happen
next.
TASK: Write a short description of a prediction as to what might happen next in the story.
Did they all survive?
Did they find what they were looking for?
Did the museum creator escape?
How do they get out?
Is someone else there?
EXTRA / OPTIONAL tasks:• Create a front cover for the story.
• Re-write the story and change the setting. What if the pyramids were your school?
• Re-Write the story as a play script.
We are excited to see how you get on. Use the emails below if you would like to show us: