English
English Home Learning
Week Commencing 08/06/20
Read or listen to chapter 7 of The Firework Maker’s Daughter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRxE2HbjPVM
We have come to the end of our work on The Firework Maker’s Daughter. Take a look back over your thoughts and feelings as you have read the book. Did it end the way you thought it might? Why did you think it was going to end that way? What clues were there earlier in the book that helped you make that conclusion?
Below there are a selection of activities for you to choose from. Choose one to complete each day. You do not need to complete all of the activities.
Comprehension:
- What is the ship called that brings the Firework Makers?
- How do you think Lila feels when the festival day arrives?
- How does Pullman use language to paint a picture of The Fireworks?
- Hamlet stands ‘disconsolately’. What does this mean?
- After Lila’s display comes silence. What is the effect of this?
- What kind of story do you think The Firework Maker’s Daughter is and why?
Sensory Sensation:
The final firework displays are described in colourful, noisy detail. Collect words and phrases that tickle your senses eg:
Pink, frizzing, ghastly, green
Three Gifts
Lalchand finally explains to Lila the mystery of The Three Gifts. Can you think of Three Gifts that help you in your life and explain how they help you?
Name That Firework Maker
The Firework Makers have got some pretty interesting names, that describe their firework-making abilities. For instance there is Dr Puffenflasch, Signor Scorchini and Colonel Sam Sparkington. You may notice that most of their names involve alliteration. Can you think of some Firework Maker names for members of your family or friends? For instance we might have:
Mrs McCormick Match-lighter
Mrs Razzledazzle Robinson
Emma ‘The Explosion’ O’Brien
Tricky Words
Here are some tricky words from Chapter 7. Look them up in a dictionary and find out what they mean:
Scrupulous
Representation
Pyrotechnics
Swathed
Disconsolately
Gesticulating
Read All About It!
Can you write a newspaper report about the Firework Competition? You will find a Newspaper Report checklist attached below. Don’t forget to draw a picture to go alongside your report.
Comic Strip
Choose your favourite part of the story and create a comic strip to retell it. There is a comic strip template attached to the page to support you.
Beat The Author
Phillip Pullman has some fantastic ideas when it comes to describing Lila’s fireworks. Here, though, we have included a section of the book which is not as exciting as it could perhaps be. Can you edit the section, making suggestions for other vocabulary he could use instead to make it as interesting as possible for the reader?
The day passed quickly. All the Firework Makers were very curious about one another’s displays, and kept wandering over to have a look, with the excuse of borrowing a handful of red fire powder or a length of slow fuse. They came to look at Lalchand and Lila’s, and they were very polite, but it was plain that they didn’t think much of it.
And all of them were desperate to look under Dr Puffenflasch’s tarpaulin, but he kept it tightly tied down.
Promptly at seven o’clock the sun went down, and ten minutes later it was dark. People were beginning to arrive already, with rugs to sit on and picnic baskets, and from the Palace nearby came the sound of bells and gongs and cymbals. All the Firework Makers were busy in the dark, putting the finishing touches to their displays, and they all wished one another good luck.