Pictures of merpeople - Mermaids and Mermen!
Week 1 Monday Comprehension 1/ Spoken Language 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Think about the story ‘Can you Catch
A Mermaid?’ by Jane Ray.
First, talk through your ideas with a
partner, and then answer these
questions.
1) Name and describe the main characters in the story.
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2) What do you most like (or dislike!) about the story, and why? Give reasons
with as much detail as you can.
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3) Why do you think Eliza decided to return the mirror to Freya? What were
her feelings at this point in the story?
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4) How did Eliza change as the story progressed? Why did she change, do you
think?
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Week 1 Tuesday Comprehension 2
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Can you catch a Mermaid? By Jane Ray
But that day. Tom came back with
nets full of fish.
And from that day on, the village
fishing nets were always full, and
Tom’s was the fullest of all.
And that day, Eliza made new friends. Now she loves playing with
the other children. They collect shells and Eliza shows them how to
build mermaids out of sand.
When she puts the beautiful pink and gold shell to her ear she still
hears Freya’s sweet voice singing to her, and the songs she sings are
of her ocean home and the silver fishes that play there.
And sometimes, in still
rock pools or in the deep
green ocean, when Eliza
is out in Tom’s boat, she
thinks she sees Freya
smiling up at her through
the water.
Or maybe it’s her own
reflection.
Week 1 Wednesday Grammar 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
The present perfect: how to form it, and how it is used!
The structure of the present perfect form of the verb is:
subject +
auxiliary verb
have
+
main verb
past participle
Here are some examples of the present perfect:
subject auxiliary verb
main verb
+
I
have
seen
the Ice Age.
+
You
have
eaten
my apple.
-
She
has
not been
to France.
-
We
have
not taken
your ball.
?
Have
you
finished?
?
Have
they
done
it?
Contractions with the present perfect
When we use the present perfect in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We
also sometimes do this when we write.
I have
I've
You have
You've
Examples: when hot-seating Eliza, you could ask
questions such as:
Have you seen Freya recently?
He has
She has
It has
Alison has
The dog has
He's
She's
It's
Alison's
The dog's
We have
We've
They have
They've
Have you ever been out fishing with your Dad?
Have you ever found any other interesting things on
the beach?
Since you met Freya, how many other friends have
you made?
Do you think Freya has gone back to her mother?
For a detailed explanation of how the present perfect is used, look at
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/present-tense/present-perfect
Week 1 Wednesday Grammar 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
What would you ask them?
Write some questions in the speech bubbles that you would ask the
characters in the story. Remember to include at least one ‘Have you
ever....?’ question for each character!
Freya, have you ever...
Eliza, ...
Tom,
Week 1 Wednesday Grammar 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
The possessive apostrophe
Read and look closely at these sentences. Do you think they show the
apostrophe used correctly? Re-write the sentence with apostrophe used
properly if you think it needs to be put right!
1) Eliza liked collecting pebble’s and shell’s from the beach near her house.
2) Eliza was standing waiting for her fathers boat to return when she first saw Freya.
3) The two girl’s played by the seashore all day, and became firm friends.
4) Because she didn’t want to lose her friend, Eliza kept Freya’s mirror hidden away and did
not return it.
The possessive apostrophe in plurals. Draw and write another example!
The shell belonging to the
girl
The girl’s shell
The bone belonging to
the dog
The dog’s bone
The ball belonging to the
boy.
The shell belonging to the
girls
The girls’ shell
The bones belonging
to the dogs
The dogs’ bones
The ball belonging to the
boys.
Week 1 Thursday Transcription 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
A Village by the Sea – the setting for ‘The Seal Children’ by Jackie Morris
Maes y Mynydd is the setting for the village in The Seal Children. This ruined village lies behind a
high ridge of rock to the north of St David’s in west Wales.
Once it was a small but busy community, with upwards of thirteen cottages. The people who lived
there were fishermen and farmers, the cottages tied to the rich farms over the hill. In the later years
of the life of the village the people who lived there were thought to be Quakers, escaping from
religious intolerance on the other side of the hill. Old maps of the area show the road to the village
to be named as either the road to Pennsylvania, or the road to New York.
Life for the villagers was little more than slavery, with even small children working hard in the fields.
The villagers kept their fishing boats in a sheltered cove called The Gessel, and as late as the 1940's it
was possible to descend a steep path to the cove where iron rings that the boats would have been
fastened to could still be seen rusting in the rock face. The path has long since fallen away and now
only seals and oystercatchers are seen on the beach.
In the 1890's there were only 6 people left in the village, all over the age of 60. All the other people had
left for what they believed would be a better life in the towns, working in the coal mines. These six old
people lived in a place with no roads, no electricity, they drew their water from a well and the nearest
small town was 3 miles away. By the turn of the century the village was empty and after that the houses
were occasionally used by travelling workers. Stones were taken away, roofs fell in, and now all that
remains are the echoes of past lives carried on the wind and the bones of a few cottages.
The fields worked by the people are still farmed, and the walls surrounding the small gardens of the
houses can still be seen. Stonecrop and moss grow on the walls and birds and mice wander the ruins. In
one of the cottages the chimney fawr can still be seen, with the chimney held up by a rotten piece of
wood for a lintel, a piece of wood that may well have come ashore as driftwood centuries ago. When this
breaks the chimney will fall.
A hawthorn tree grows from a window. In spring it is covered with white blossom like sea spray before
the wind catches it and blows the tree bare. Buzzards call a mournful mew, and if you listen carefully you
can catch the song of the seal on the wind.
Week 2 Monday Comprehension 3
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
‘The Seal Children’: write a paragraph describing the scene from the illustration.
Try to use powerful imagery, and make your writing sound like the language in the
book! Can you use some of the words or phrases you magpie-d? How would you
describe the sea? The Moon? And the feelings of the children at this point?
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Week 2 Tuesday Spoken Language 3/ Composition 1
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Read the paragraph from the story, and re-write it from Beowolf’s
point of view. Remember to change the pronouns from third person
to first person!
First person pronouns (singular) I me my
(plural)
we
our
us
Third person pronouns
(singular) he she it his her
(plural)
they
their them
So Beowolf went to his bed, and his men too,
but in truth they slept only fitfully, for there was
not one of them, not Beowolf himself even,
who could be certain of how the night would
end, whether any of them would ever again see
the light of dawn. They all knew well enough
how many brave Danes this Grendel creature
had dragged lifeless and bleeding from Heorot,
how unlikely it was that some, or all of them,
would ever see their hearth and home. In silent
prayer, each of them placed his life in the hands
of his Almighty Maker who had from the very
beginning ruled supreme in all the affairs of
men.
Week 2 Wednesday Grammar 3/ Transcription 2
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Beowulf: A Viking legend
Most legends contain all or most of the features listed below.
Can you identify the characters, events and themes in
Beowulf that make it a legend? Complete the table below!
Remember to include as much detail as
you can from the Beowulf story.
Feature
Y/
N
In Beowulf - give details and
description.
Story has a possible basis in
truth
Includes brave or heroic
characters
Story includes magical creatures
or monsters.
Characters may have magical or
superhuman powers
The story features battles,
journeys or struggles
Good usually triumphs over evil
There is a traditional opening
and ending
Week 2 Thursday Comprehension 4
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.
Write the opening passage of a legend of your own. Use the
structure of the opening of ‘The Seal Children’ to write your
own opening paragraph.
Remember to:
- Use the ‘rule of three’ in your descriptions
- Use a combination of longer and shorter sentences for effect
- Use old fashioned sounding vocabulary. It may be useful to use
a thesaurus for this!
Begin: There is a place.....where...........
Describe the landscape where your legend takes place,
remembering to use commas to separate clauses.
Describe what can be seen, heard, even smelled on the air!
In your last sentence, hint at something relating to the mythical
creature that you have created to star in your story!
When you have finished, ask a partner to read your passage
and comment on whether you have used the tips above in your
opening passage!
Week 3 Monday Composition 3/ Spoken Language 4
© Original plan copyright Hamilton Trust, who give permission for it to be adapted as wished by individual users.