Old text Read ths extract carefully, then answer, n complete sentences, the questons that follow. For some mnutes Alce stood wthout speakng, lookng out n all drectons over the country and a most curous country t was. There were a number of tny lttle brooks runnng straght across t from sde to sde, and the ground between was dvded up nto squares by a number of lttle green hedges, that reached from brook to brook. I declare t s marked out just lke a large chess-board! Alce sad at last. There ought to be some men movng about somewhere and so there are! she added n a tone of delght, and her heart began to beat quck wth exctement as she went on. It s a great huge game of chess that s beng played all over the world f ths s the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun t s! How I wsh I was one of them! I wouldn t mnd beng a Pawn, f only I mght jon though of course I should lke to be a Queen, best. She glanced rather shyly at the real Queen as she sad ths, but her companon only smled pleasantly, and sad That s easly managed. You can be the Whte Queen s Pawn, f you lke, as Lly s too young to play; and you re n the Second Square to begn wth: when you get to the Eghth Square you ll be a Queen Just at ths moment, somehow or other, they began to run. From Through the Lookng Glass by Lews Carroll Who s the man character n ths story? Does Alce expect to enjoy ths part of her adventure or not? How can you tell? Why would Alce rather be a queen than a pawn? Whch sde s Alce about to play for? Can you fnd any words or phrases to suggest that ths was wrtten a long tme ago?
New text Read ths extract carefully, then answer n complete sentences, the questons that follow. They followed, runnng agan. Once nsde the house, wth ts maze of corrdors, they could lose her. But there she was they heard her frst, those draggng footsteps. Then, hurryng, they saw her blue cloak, far head. She pushed a huge panelled door and passed through, leavng t open behnd her. They reached t and peered n just n tme to see Sarah passng through yet another door on the far sde of a room that was evdently part of the man house. There was heavy, gleamng furnture, walls lned wth glt-framed pctures, rchly draped wndows. Mnty set off across t They were through the second door now, and nto an amazng crmson. Cor! Tom was awestruck. Red Drawng Room, ths s! Heard about t! Cor! An t t just red? It was. Carpet, walls, hangngs smouldered, blazed. The very ar breathed red. Sarah had vanshed. Mnty crossed the room and came nto a vast lght entrance hall. There, on the great black and whte damonds of the floor, was that small blue fgure, a chess pece. At that moment there came other footsteps, a clatter and rattle. Sarah stopped n her tracks, Mnty and Tom stffened. From Moondal by Helen Cresswell Name the three characters n ths part of the story. Why do you thnk Sarah s descrbed as a chess pece? Have you heard the sayng a pawn n the game? What does t mean? D Is the next part of ths story lkely to be funny or threatenng? How can you tell? Is ths extract more modern than the older extract? Gve reasons for your answer.
Comparng texts Use the followng questons to help you plan a comparson of both the extracts from the prevous exercses. Underlne the words of the narrator n both extracts. Wrte a sentence comparng them. Draw a crcle around the conversatons n both extracts. What dfferences can you see? Compare the styles of the two authors (ther partcular way of wrtng). Whch of these terms could be used for the stores: tradtonal, fantasy, novel, adventure, autobography, romance, hstorcal? Would you lke to read more of ether of these books? Whch one and why? Now wrte a summary of your vews on these two extracts. Make sure you base your arguments on the words n the text. Remember to use paragraphs. Begn here, and contnue on a separate sheet of paper. Comparng the styles of two wrters
h Old text p N z f Read ths extract carefully, then answer, n complete sentences, the questons that follow. For some mnutes Alce stood wthout speakng, lookng out n all drectons over the country - and a most curous country t was. There were a number of tny lttle brooks runnng straght across t from sde to sde, and the ground between was dvded up nto squares by a number of lttle green hedges, that reached from brook to brook. I declare t s marked out just lke a large chess-board! Alce sad at last. There ought to be some men movng about somewhere - and so there are! she added n a tone of delght, and her heart began to beat quck wth exctement as she went on. It s a great huge game of chess that s beng played - all over the world - f ths s the world at all, you know. Oh, what fun t s! How I wsh I was one of them! I wouldn t mnd beng a Pawn, f only I mght jon - though of course I should lke to be a Queen, best. She glanced rather shyly at the real Queen as she sad ths, but her companon only smled pleasantly, and sad That s easly managed. You can be the Whte Queen s Pawn, f you lke, as Lly s too young to play; and you re n the Second Square to begn wth: when you get to the Eghth Square you ll be a Queen - Just at ths moment, somehow or other, they began to run. From Through the Lookng Glass by Lews Carroll Who s the man character n ths story? The man character n ths story s Alce. The settng s n a strange country wth streams and hedges formng squares lke those on a chessboard. Does Alce expect to enjoy ths part of her adventure or not? How can you tell? Yes. Alce sounds delghted and s very excted about jonng n the game. s Why would Alce rather be a queen than a pawn? The queen s far more mportant and powerful than a pawn. l Whch sde s Alce about to play for? Alce s about to play for the whte team. Can you fnd any words or phrases to suggest that ths was wrtten a long tme ago? Phrases that suggest ths was wrtten a long tme ago nclude: a most curous country t was; I declare; Oh what fun t s!; How I wsh I was one of them. B T k L In these exercses, your chld compares two extracts from chldren s books. They are from dfferent perods n tme, but share a smlar theme. Check that your chld wrtes hs or her answers n complete sentences.
New text Read ths extract carefully, then answer n complete sentences, the questons that follow. They followed, runnng agan. Once nsde the house, wth ts maze of corrdors, they could lose her. But there she was - they heard her frst, those draggng footsteps. Then, hurryng, they saw her blue cloak, far head. She pushed a huge panelled door and passed through, leavng t open behnd her. They reached t and peered n just n tme to see Sarah passng through yet another door on the far sde of a room that was evdently part of the man house. There was heavy, gleamng furnture, walls lned wth glt-framed pctures, rchly draped wndows. Mnty set off across t... They were through the second door now, and nto an amazng crmson. Cor! Tom was awestruck. Red Drawng Room, ths s! Heard about t! Cor! Ant t just red? It was. Carpet, walls, hangngs smouldered, blazed. The very ar breathed red. Sarah had vanshed. Mnty crossed the room and came nto a vast lght entrance hall. There, on the great black and whte damonds of the floor, was that small blue fgure, a chess pece. At that moment there came other footsteps, a clatter and rattle. Sarah stopped n her tracks, Mnty and Tom stffened. a A A From Moondal by Helen Cresswell The settng s nsde a bg old house. Most of t takes place nsde a red drawng room. Name the three characters n ths part of the story. The three characters n ths part of the story are Sarah, Mnty and Tom. Why do you thnk Sarah s descrbed as a chess pece? Sarah s descrbed as a chess pece because she s standng on a floor that looks lke a chessboard. Have you heard the sayng a pawn n the game? What does t mean? D If someone s descrbed as beng a pawn n the game, t means that he or she has very lttle control over what happens. Is the next part of ths story lkely to be funny or threatenng? How can you tell? The next part of the story s lkely to be threatenng. The noses are omnous, and the characters seem tense. Is ths extract more modern than the older extract? Gve reasons for your answer. Ths extract s more modern than the earler one. Although the character Tom uses old-fashoned phrases, the descrptve language s modern. y n L Ths page features a modern extract that shares a smlar theme to the older extract gven n the prevous exercse. Talk about the text together before your chld answers the questons. Check your chld s handwrtng, and pont out areas that need further practce. s k
h Comparng texts p N z Use the followng questons to help you plan a comparson of both the extracts from the prevous exercses. Underlne the words of the narrator n both extracts. Wrte a sentence comparng them. Draw a crcle around the conversatons n both extracts. What dfferences can you see? Compare the styles of the two authors (ther partcular way of wrtng). f Whch of these terms could be used for the stores: tradtonal, fantasy, novel, adventure, autobography, romance, hstorcal? fantasy, novel, adventure Would you lke to read more of ether of these books? Whch one and why? s Now wrte a summary of your vews on these two extracts. Make sure you base your arguments on the words n the text. Remember to use paragraphs. Begn here, and contnue on a separate sheet of paper. Comparng the styles of two wrters l B y T Ths page enables your chld to wrte n detal about hs or her response to the texts from the prevous exercses. It may be helpful to talk about the questons wth your chld: ths wll help provoke the sort of dscusson that takes place n a classroom. k L