Year 6 English 4/5/20 Day 1 Writing challenge

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Year 6 English 4/5/20

Day 1 Writing challenge

This is a story starter. Can you carry on the story? It could be a humorous story, or a

scary story. Maybe it is a science fiction adventure. Be as creative as you can.

The Executioner’s Office

Standing outside the deputy headmaster’s office seemed to last forever. Ross was already inside. I stared

glumly at the turquoise carpet, purposely avoiding the desperate gaze of Carl. So this is how it was going to

end. Stories of Mr Burton’s cruelty were legendary, even to lowly Year Seven pupils like us. Every pupil who

passed us on the corridor shot us sympathetic glances. Even the Year Elevens, who rarely acknowledged the

existence of the ‘little ones’, offered compassionate looks. Eventually, the door of the executioner’s office

opened and revealed the wide frame of Mr Burton. He advanced upon us slowly, to make the torture all the

worse, revealing his savage face. He had deep lines on his forehead and around his mouth (no doubt earned

from years of frowning at disobedient child), a pointed nose with enormous flared nostrils and a thick neck

leading to a gaping mouth, designed purely for bellowing. “Inside,” he gestured with a long, fat finger.

Forlornly, we trudged into Mr Burton’s lair...

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Day 2 Reading activity

Extract from Evil Star

There was something wrong about the house in Eastfield Terrace. Something unpleasant. All the

houses in the street were more or less identical: redbrick, Victorian, with two bedrooms on the

first floor and a bay window on either the left or the right of the front door.

Some had satellite dishes. Some had window boxes filled with brightly coloured flowers. But

looking down from the top of the hill at the terrace curving round St Patrick’s church on its way

to the Esso garage and All-Nite store, one house stood out immediately. Number twenty-seven no

longer belonged there. It was as if it had caught some sort of disease and needed to be taken

away.

The front garden was full of junk, and as usual the wheelie bin beside the gate was overflowing,

surrounded by black garbage bags that the owners had been unable to stuff inside. This wasn’t

uncommon in Eastfield Terrace. Nor was it particularly strange that the curtains were

permanently drawn across the front windows and, as far as anyone could tell, the lights were never

turned on. But the house smelled. For weeks now there had been a rotten, sewagey smell that had

seemed at first to be coming from a blocked pipe but that had rapidly got worse until people had

begun to cross the street to avoid it. And whatever was causing it seemed to be affecting the

entire place. The grass on the front lawn was beginning to die. The flowers had wilted and then

been choked up by weeds. The colour seemed to be draining out of the very bricks.

The neighbours had tried to complain. They had knocked on the front door, but nobody had come.

They had telephoned, but nobody had answered. Finally, they had called the borough council at

the Ipswich Civic Centre but of course it would be weeks before any action was taken. The house

wasn’t empty. That much they knew. They had occasionally seen the owner, Gwenda Davis, pacing

back and forth behind the net curtains. Once – more than a week ago – she had been seen scurrying

home from the shops. And there was one other piece of evidence that there was still life at

number twenty-seven: every evening the television was turned on. Gwenda Davis was well known in

the street.

Highlight/ find the following words in the passage above:

Lawn telephoned rotten curtains

Satellite disease occasionally rapidly

Now answer the questions below:

Literal questions

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1) What was the name of the street in the story?

2) Who owns the dilapidated house?

3) Why did people start to cross the street to avoid number twenty-seven?

Inferential questions

4) Do you think the houses on the street are generally well looked after? Why do you think

this?

5) What do you think the author means when it says ‘it was as if it had caught some sort of

disease’?

Evaluative questions

6) What do you think the neighbours thought of the owner of the house? Why do you think

that?

7) Do you think the borough council are effective in sorting out problems? Why do you think

this?

3 marks

2 marks

2 marks

1 mark

1 mark

1 mark

3 marks

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Day 3 Grammar Questions

Remember: a synonym is a word that means the same; an antonym is a

word that means the opposite.

If there are words that you do not know, look them up in a dictionary – you

can do this on a phone or tablet.

Q1.

(a) Write an explanation of the word antonym.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

1 mark

(b) Write one word that is an antonym of fierce.

______________________________________________________________

1 mark

Q2.

Tick the words that mean the opposite of:

scarce

Tick one.

in short supply, rare

plentiful, easy to find

difficult, tricky

generous, kind

1 mark

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Q3.

Tick the word that is similar in meaning to:

abrupt

Tick one.

slow

seldom

often

sudden

1 mark

Q4.

Add a prefix to the beginning of each word to form its antonym.

______________agree

______________legal

______________regular 1 mark

Q5.

Complete the table by writing a suitable antonym (opposite) in the box below.

One has been done for you.

Word Antonym

cautious reckless

drowsy

1 mark

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Q6.

Replace the underlined word with a word that has a similar meaning.

Write the new word in the box.

When they returned, all the others had disappeared.

1 mark

Q7.

Draw a line to match each word with its synonym.

Word Synonym

vast dull

swift busy

drab huge

bustling fast

1 mark

Q8.

Draw a line to match each word to its correct antonym.

Word Antonym

meandering confront

sympathetic unfeeling

evade unbelievable

plausible straight

1 mark

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Q9.

Circle the two words in the sentence below that are synonyms of each other.

He was lucky to win first prize – he knew it was

fortunate that his closest rival had decided not to take

part. 1 mark

Q10.

Circle the two words that are synonyms in the passage below.

The café serves delicious snacks and cakes

until noon.

After midday, you can also order hot lunches,

sandwiches or soup. 1 mark

Q11.

Circle two words in the passage below that are synonyms of each other.

Having queued for over an hour, Sanjit found that his tolerance

was being severely tested. Most of the other children had lost

patience and gone elsewhere. 1 mark

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Q12.

Which one prefix can be added to all three words below to make their antonyms? Write the prefix in the box.

secure

active

complete

1 mark

Q13.

Circle the two words that are antonyms in the sentence below.

What looked like a worthless collection of rusty

metal turned out to include ancient coins and

valuable jewellery. 1 mark

Q14.

Which verb is a synonym of the verb produce?

Tick one.

make

buy

sell

trade

1 mark

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Q15.

Which word is an antonym of difficult?

The problem was difficult to solve.

Tick one.

hard

easy

impossible

challenging

1 mark

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Day 4 Writing Challenge

This is based on the true story of a ship that was found drifting in the ocean,

with no sign of the crew. Why not do some research and see if you can find

out some of the details to include in your story. Remember that the story is

set in 1872 – make sure that the details of your story are appropriate to the

time.

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Day 5 Reading Activity

Ajay has just arrived at Joe’s house before school. Joe’s mother is the warden who looks after the local park.

The Park

Ajay was just about to tuck into his tea and toast dripping in sour rhubarb jam when there was a loud clatter from the letterbox as an important-looking brown envelope landed on the mat. ‘Bit early for the post isn’t it?’ Mum said. ‘Ooh, it says Special Delivery.’ Mum opened it, and unfolded the letter.

Joe knew instantly that something was wrong. He could see it on Mum’s face. ‘What is it, Mum?’ Joe asked.

‘Yeah, Mrs P, what’s happened?’ Ajay asked too.

‘It’s the park… they’ve shut it down.’

For a second no one said a word. Joe and Ajay looked at each other, then back at Joe’s mum. Her face was pale, her jaw dropped open. She stared at the letter, her eyes watery and ready to spill over with tears.

‘Shut the park!’ Joe said furiously. ‘They can’t do that, it’s… it’s the park!!’

‘Yeah, everyone loves that place!’ Ajay joined in.

‘You boys best get to school, or you’ll be late,’ said Mum, her voice all shaky.

‘But what about…?’ Joe started to say.

‘You leave that to me, I don’t want you worrying.’ Mum tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. If she was trying to reassure Joe, it wasn’t working. He knew his mum needed that job – how else was she supposed to put sweet-and-sour spaghetti on the table?

‘Don’t worry, Mum, I’ll… I’ll think of something.’

Joe’s mum just nodded, turning away to wipe her eyes.

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Joe and Ajay grabbed their bags and reluctantly headed out of the door. Neither of them said anything for what seemed like ages.

‘You all right, man?’ Ajay asked, breaking the silence.

‘I don’t know… I can’t believe they’ve closed the park. I mean, why?!’ Joe said in disbelief.

‘Dunno,’ Ajay shrugged. ‘But I know a man who might,’ he said, pointing down the road.

As they turned the corner at the top of Joe’s street they saw a man in the distance. He had a ladder and toolbox and was busy hammering a sign into the park gates. This made Joe’s blood boil. If Mum had been there she would have given him what for – no one hammers anything into anything without her say-so first.

‘Oi!’ Ajay yelled, ‘what are you doing?’

Joe read the sign: ‘Under development.’

‘What’s going on?’ Joe asked. ‘Why have you closed the park?’

The man stopped what he was doing and shrugged. ‘They don’t tell me anything, I’m just the bloke who hammers things.’

Joe read the rest of the sign:

Underneath the notice was a drawing of a posh building, tall and made of glass. It had pictures of smiling people chatting and drinking coffee outside. Joe and Ajay looked through the park gates and could already see diggers moving in, ready to tear the playground apart.

‘This can’t be happening,’ Joe muttered, blinking back the tears. This was the place where he and Ajay hung out. Where they used to plot how they were going to become mega rich, and plan what to do if the world got taken over by zombies. This was the place where Joe and Ajay used to play football – or rather where Ajay would kick the ball and Joe would try to get out of the way of it before it hit him in the face. And now it was going to be turned into flats! Why wasn’t anyone stopping this?

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1. What is Ajay doing when the post arrives?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

2. How does Joe know that the letter contains bad news before his mum tells him what it says?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

3. What does the letter in the brown envelope tell Joe’s mother?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

4. Look at page 1.

Find and copy one word which shows that Joe is angry.

____________________________________ 1 mark

5. Look at page 1.

In Ajay’s opinion, how do people feel about the park?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

6. Look at the paragraph beginning: ‘You boys best get to school...’ to the end of page 1.

‘But what about...?’ Joe started to say.

Which words would best complete Joe’s question?

Tick one.

your breakfast

our games

your job

our homework

1 mark

7. What is Joe’s mother thinking after she reads the letter?

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Tick one thought.

1 mark

8. If she was trying to reassure Joe, it wasn’t working.

What does reassure mean in this sentence?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

9. Look at the paragraph at the top of page 2.

Find and copy one word that shows the boys do not want to leave the house.

____________________________________ 1 mark

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10. Oi!’ Ajay yelled, ‘what are you doing?’

Joe read the sign: ‘Under development.’

‘What’s going on?’ Joe asked. ‘Why have you closed the park?’

Joe and Ajay react differently to seeing the man hammering in the sign.

How does Joe react?

Tick one.

He is calmer.

He is ruder.

He is less interested.

He is less worried.

1 mark

11. Look at the sign from the story.

Who has produced the sign?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

12. Look at the paragraph beginning: Underneath the notice was a… to the end of page 2.

What is happening inside the park straight after Joe and Ajay have read the sign?

______________________________________________________________ 1 mark

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13. Using information from the text, tick one box in each row to show whether each statement is true or false.

True False

The park has been looked after by a park warden.

The park is going to be replaced with a shopping centre.

Building work in the park will start at the end of July.

The warden had two weeks’ notice of the park’s closure.

2 marks

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Day 6 Grammar Activity

Remember to look up the meaning of words you do not know.

Q1.

What does the root struct mean in the word family below?

destruction structure reconstruct

Tick one.

break

build

carry

touch

1 mark

Q2.

Add a prefix to the beginning of each word to form its antonym.

______________agree

______________legal

______________regular 1 mark

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Q3.

What does the prefix ‘bi’ mean in this group of words?

bilingual biannual bisect binoculars

Tick one.

two or twice

outside or external

under or below

through or across

1 mark

Q4.

Draw a line to match each prefix to the correct word so that it makes a new word.

Prefix Word

re mature

de understood

mis legible

im frost

il do

1 mark

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Q5.

Explain how the different prefixes change the meanings of the two sentences below.

The chef said the pasta was uncooked.

This means that the pasta ______________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

The chef said the pasta was undercooked.

This means that the pasta ______________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

1 mark

Q6.

Which one prefix can be added to all three words below to make their antonyms? Write the prefix in the box.

secure

active

complete

1 mark

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Q7.

The prefix mis- can be added to the word read to make the word misread.

What does the word misread mean?

Tick one.

to read quickly

to read incorrectly

to read again

to read before

1 mark

Q8.

Draw a line to match each prefix to the correct word to make a different word. Use each prefix only once.

1 mark

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Q9.

What does the prefix multi- mean in the words multicultural, multipurpose and multicoloured?

Tick one.

some

few

all

many

1 mark

Q10.

The prefix re- can be added to the root word play to make the word replay.

Tick the meaning of the word replay.

Tick one.

to play together

to play later

to play again

to play badly

1 mark

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Q11.

Draw a line to match each prefix to a word to make four different words. Use each prefix only once.

1 mark

Q12.

Add a suffix to the words in the boxes to complete the sentences.

Our school believes in _____________________ for all pupils.

We took _____________________ clothing in case it turned

cold.

1 mark

Q13.

Complete the sentence below with a noun formed from the verb invent.

The engineer thought her latest ______________________

would solve the problem. 1 mark

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Q14.

Complete the sentence by writing a word formed from the root word music on each line.

Every member of the Jones family was ____________________,

but only Mr Jones was a professional ____________________. 1 mark

Q15.

What does the root graph mean in the word family below?

graphics autograph photography paragraph

Tick one.

moving pictures

writing or drawing

colourful or bright

in a group

1 mark

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Day 7 Writing Challenge

Let your imagination run wild. Why is the person in the attic? Are

they looking for the person whose hand they see? Has the person

fallen and hurt themselves, or have they been trapped in the attic?

Remember to use all of your descriptive devices to build up the

atmosphere. Make sure that your characters are strong; use their

words and actions to show their personalities.

In The Attic… The attic door creaked open. Something rustled in the darkness. I stared, but could see nothing beyond the vague shapes of old suitcases and trunks piled high. I struggled up into the attic and wedged the door open. Light poured into darkness. I balanced carefully upon the floor beams. I knew that if I stepped onto plaster I could fall straight through into the room below. A cobweb brushed my face and I felt a spider crawl across my cheek. As I made my way forwards, it grew darker and colder. I was blocking the light from the attic door. There were piles of old newspapers, brown bags tied with string cardboard boxes and ancient, moth eaten rugs. Thick dust powdered every surface. I kept thinking that I could slip and put my foot through the floor. Underneath a pile of camping equipment, I saw a hand. It was quite still and white, like a marble. But then it moved!

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Day 8 Reading activity

Giants How would you like it – Supposing that you were a snail, And your eyes grew out on threads, Gentle, and small, and frail – If an enormous creature, Reaching almost up to the distant skies, Leaned down, and with his great finger touched Your eyes Just for the fun Of seeing you snatch them suddenly in And cower, quivering back Into your pitiful shell, so brittle and thin? Would you think it was fun then? Would you think it was fun?

And how would you like it, Supposing you were a frog, An emerald scrap with a pale, trembling throat In a cool and shadowed bog, If a tremendous monster, Tall, tall, so that his head seemed lost in the mist, Leaned over, and clutched you up in his great fist Just for the joy Of watching you jump, scramble, tumble, fall, In graceless, shivering dread, Back into the trampled reeds that were grown so tall? Would you think it a joy then? Would you think it a joy?

Lydia Pender

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1. (a) What does the ‘giant’ do to frighten the snail?

_______________________________________________________ 1 mark

(b) What does the ‘giant’ do to frighten the frog?

_______________________________________________________ 1 mark

2. Gentle, and small, and frail

Which part of the snail do these words describe?

Circle the part of the snail in the picture below.

1 mark

3. Gentle, and small, and frail.

How do these words make the reader feel about the snail?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ 1 mark

4. How does the snail behave when it is afraid?

Give two ways.

1. ___________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________

1 mark

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5. Into your pitiful shell, so brittle and thin

In this line, the word brittle is closest in meaning to…

Tick one.

shiny.

soft.

delicate.

rough.

1 mark

6. Explain two things that the words emerald scrap suggest about the frog.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ 2 marks

7. What is the tremendous monster?

___________________________________________________________ 1 mark

8. Just for the joy Of watching you jump, scramble, tumble, fall

Find and copy two more words from the poem that show that the frog was frightened.

1. ___________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________

1 mark

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9. What is the main message of the poem?

Tick one.

People can learn a lot from holding small creatures.

People should think about how their actions affect others.

People are much bigger than frogs and snails.

People should overcome their fear of nature.

1 mark

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Day 9 Grammar activity

Q1.

There is an error in the sentence below. Write the correction in the box.

The confused cyclist weren’t sure where to go.

1 mark

Q2.

Some words have been underlined in the sentence below.

My mum promised she would help me with my homework.

Use a contraction to replace the underlined words.

My mum promised ________________________________ help me

with my homework. 1 mark

Q3.

Complete the sentence below with a contraction that makes sense.

I don’t think _________________________ going to come. 1 mark

Q4.

An error is underlined in the sentence below.

I have told you before, I hasn’t got any money!

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Write the correction in the box.

1 mark

Q5.

There is an apostrophe missing from the sentence below.

I havent finished my project yet but I will do it by Monday.

Write the correct contraction in the box.

1 mark

Q6.

Complete the sentence below with a contraction that makes sense.

I can’t believe what _______________________ been up to all this

time! 1 mark

Q7.

Which sentence is the most formal?

Tick one.

Your presence is requested at the wedding of our daughter.

You would like to come to our daughter’s wedding, wouldn’t you?

We’d love you to join us for our daughter’s wedding.

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Our daughter’s getting married – please come!

1 mark

Q8.

Which sentence is the most formal?

Tick one.

Watching too much television should be avoided.

You shouldn’t watch too much TV.

Watching lots of TV isn’t a good idea.

You really should try not to watch loads of telly.

1 mark

Q9.

Underline the sentence that is the most formal in the passage below.

Hope you can make it to my birthday party next week! It’s

going to be great! The venue is yet to be confirmed. I’m still

checking out a couple of places. 1 mark

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Q10.

Circle the most formal option in each box below to complete the invitation.

We would like to invite you to a

catch-up

celebration

get-together

to mark this

fab

really cool

momentous occasion.

It will

start up

commence

kick off at 5pm.

1 mark

Q11.

Which sentence is the most formal?

Tick one.

The way they played was terrible, wasn’t it?

I wish they’d put a little more effort in today!

If only they’d tried a bit harder, they would’ve won.

The team were defeated due to mistakes that they made.

1 mark

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Q12.

Circle the correct word in each box to complete the sentences in Standard English.

Pass me them

those cartons, please.

You sang that song very good.

well.

We always did

done our homework on time.

1 mark

Q13.

Circle the correct form of the verb in each set of brackets.

(creeps / creep)

The cheetah _____________________ after its prey.

(produces / produce)

Skunks ________________ a very smelly spray that repels most

predators.

(protects / protect)

The mother bear _____________________ her young. 1 mark

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Q14.

Complete each sentence below with is or are.

The good news ________________ that the trip can still go

ahead.

The fishermen ________________ repairing the boat.

The number of books available ________________ increasing. 1 mark

Q15.

Circle one verb in each underlined pair to complete the sentences using Standard English.

We was / were planning to hold a cake sale at school.

I was / were chosen to design the posters. 1 mark

Q16.

Circle the correct verb form in each underlined pair to complete the sentences below.

The last place I saw Jack and Gwen was / were in the

playground.

At the museum, there was / were many interesting

exhibits.

The bikes was / were lined up for the start of the race. 1 mark

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Q17.

Which sentence is written in Standard English?

Tick one.

I went to the library and done my homework.

They seen their friends at the cinema.

I been to the circus with my aunt and uncle.

I sang with the school choir in the concert.

1 mark

Q18.

Which sentence is written in Standard English?

Tick one.

Two sports teams come to our school yesterday.

My friend was tidying the classroom.

Today the children done their school play.

The teachers was going to send a letter next week.

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Day 10 Spelling activity

These are the next spellings from the Year 5/6 list that we have been

working on in class. Use the spelling in a sentence, and write it in

your best handwriting with correct punctuation. Go back and check

that you spelled the word properly.

1. determined

2. develop

3. dictionary

4. disastrous

5. embarrass

6. environment

7. equipped

8. equipment

9. especially

10. exaggerate

11. excellent

12. existence