A BIOGRAPHY
Today we are going to
find out about the early
life of Roald Dahl.
We are also going to
look at words which
have ph in them.
The Life And Work Of
Roald Dahl
Contents Page:
CHAPTER ONE: EARLY LIFE
CHAPTER TWO: THE WAR EFFORT
CHAPTER THREE: THE WRITER
CHAPTER FOUR: THE LATER YEARS
A BIOGRAPHY
Roald Dahl was born in
Cardiff 13 September
1916. His father was a
rich ship-broker who died
when Dahl was only three
years old. Dahl went to
school in Cardiff until he
was nine, then he went to
a boarding school in
Weston-super-Mare in
England for four years.
A BIOGRAPHY
In September 1934, Dahl joined the Shell Oil
Company. It had offices all over the world and
Dahl hoped he would be sent to work in one.
Every day after lunch he would eat a chocolate
bar, using the silver wrappings to make a bigger
and bigger ball which he kept on his desk.
In autumn 1938, Dahl was finally sent abroad –
to Tanzania. He wrote to his mother,
“There were giraffes, elephants, zebras, lions,
antelopes all over the place.”
ph
Activity One:
Copy out the following sentences adding the
correct spelling.
1: The (photographer/fotographer) found the camera lying on the
floor.
2: (The phearless/fearless) hero leapt onto the villain’s back.
3: The disc jockey held the (microphone/microfone) and started
speaking to the audience.
4: The (pheasant/feasant) ran out of the farmhouse door.
5: The (phantom/fantom) flew through the air in the haunted house.
6: Roald Dahl has had many (biographies/biografies) written about him.
7: Victoria answered the (telefone/telephone) while chewing a sticky
(tophee/toffee).
Think of some sentences using ph words.
This week’s spellings:
pharaoh
stiff
photographer
cuff
biography
gruff
phobia
scoff
microphone
fluff
telephone
stuff
cellophane
stuffed
pharmacy
stuffing
pheasant
bluff
photogenic
bluffing
phantom
griffin
phoney
puffin
physical
staff
phrase
giraffe
phase
toffee
A BIOGRAPHY
Today we are going to
find out about Roald
Dahl’s ambition to
travel the world.
We will use the
information to make
notes of his journeys.
We will make use of the
notes to make a map.
The Life And Work Of
Roald Dahl
A BIOGRAPHY
The Outbreak Of War
When World War II
broke out in September
1939, Dahl joined the
Royal Air Force. Since
he was so tall, his fellow
pilots called him ‘lofty’.
He had to cram himself
inside the cockpit of his
fighter plane.
A BIOGRAPHY
In September 1940, he was ordered to join
80 squadron for action, in western Egypt near
the border of Libya. Dahl had been given the
wrong position for 80 Squadron. His plane’s
fuel ran out! He tried to land, hit a boulder,
the plane caught fire, and Dahl rolled out of
the cockpit.
He had been terribly wounded. Luckily some
British soldiers were patrolling nearby. They
picked him up and rushed him to Alexandria in
Egypt. After several months he recovered
and returned to the war as a hero.
A BIOGRAPHY
After the war, Dahl had many girlfriends, but
in New York on 20 October 1952, he met his
future wife, Patricia Neal.
Dahl married Pat in July 1953. After a
honeymoon tour of Europe, including
France, he took her home to meet his
family.
For a short while they lived in
America, where Pat became a famous
actress. She starred in the film Hud
with Paul Newman.
Where in the
world?
Why?
Where in the
world?
Why?
Make notes on all the different places in the
world where Roald Dahl travelled.
Using the information write a sentence about what
happened to him in each of these countries. Use
the Mapstart books to help you locate each of the
countries
Roald Dahl joined a squadron
of fighters.
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A BIOGRAPHY
Today we are going to
read and discuss
information about Roald
Dahl’s first published
work.
We will look at the
format of this
biography to plan one
of our own.
The Life And Work Of
Roald Dahl
A BIOGRAPHY
Roald Dahl -The Writer
Roald Dahl turned his
adventures in the war
into a story for adults.
He called it “Shot Down
Over Libya”.
He began to write many
famous novels and
short stories.
A BIOGRAPHY
Dahl sometimes found it difficult to write
stories for adults and began sending his
publishers stories written for children. The
first one was ‘James and the Giant Peach’. It
was published in 1961. It received a mixture of
positive and negative reviews. One reviewer
compared it with Alice in Wonderland. He
followed this novel with ‘Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory’. Within a month, it had sold
10,000 copies.
A BIOGRAPHY
Disaster Strikes
Dahl’s family home in England
During this time, Dahl’s
seven year old daughter
died of measles. He
found it very hard to
talk about his feelings
and for a while seemed
to lose the will to live.
What makes a
good
question?
Why?
A BIOGRAPHY
Today we are going to
read and discuss
information about Roald
Dahl’s first published
work.
We are going to think
of a number of
questions to ask our
interviewee.
The Life And Work Of
Roald Dahl
A BIOGRAPHY
In later life, Dahl
described in detail how
he wrote his books, and
also where he wrote
them. He seemed
fascinated by the
process of writing. In
his writing shed in the
grounds of his home, he
would sit in a faded
armchair, his legs in a
sleeping bag for warmth.
A BIOGRAPHY
During the 1980’s, Dahl turned 70 and became a
famous legend. One new book after another
achieved success.
In 1984 and 1986, Dahl decided to write two
autobiographies about his early life called “Boy”
and “Going Solo”.
His last full length book, “Matilda” (1988) was
about a girl who overcomes her bullying parents.
In six months, Matilda sold half a million copies.
Dahl died in 1990. Two books, The Minpins
and The Vicar of Nibbleswicke were published
after his death.