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Year 4 Reading Challenge- Spring 1

Willie froze with the branch still held high in his hand.  Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead.  Now he was for it.  He was bound to get a beating now.  Tom came towards him, took the branch firmly from his hand and lifted it up.  Willie automatically flung his arm across his face and gave a cry but the blow he was expecting never came.  Tom had merely thrown the branch to the other end of the graveyard and the dog had gone scampering after it.

‘Yer can take yer arm down now, boy,’ he said quietly. ‘I think you and I ‘ad better go inside and sort a few things out.  Come on,’ and with that he stepped aside for Willie to go in front of him along the path.

Willie walked shakily towards the cottage, his head lowered.  Through blurred eyes he saw the tufts of grass spilling up between the small flat stones.  The sweat trickled down the sides of his face and chest.  His armpits stung savagely and a sharp pain stabbed at his stomach.  He walked through the front door and stood in the hallway, feeling the perspiration turn cold and clammy.  Tom walked into the front room and stood waiting for him to enter.

‘Don’t dither out there,’ he said, ‘come on in.’

Willie did so but his body felt as if it no longer belonged to him.  It seemed to move of its own accord.  Tom’s voice grew more distant.  It reverberated as if it was being thrown back at him from the walls of a cave.  He sat down on the stool feeling numb.

Tom picked up a poker and walked across to the fire.  Now he was going the get it, he thought, and he clutched tightly onto the seat of the stool.  Tom looked down at him.

‘About Sammy,’ he heard him say.  He watched him poke the fire and then he didn’t hear any more.  He knew that Tom was speaking to him but he couldn’t take his eyes off the poker.  It sent the hot coke tumbling in all directions.  He saw Tom’s brown wrinkled hand lift it out of the fire.  The tip was red, almost white in places.  He was certain that he was going to be branded with it.  The room seemed to swim and he heard both his and Tom’s voice echoing.  He watched the tip of the poker spin and come closer to him and then the floor came towards him and it went dark.  He felt two large hands grip him from behind and push his head between his knees until the carpet came into focus and he heard himself gasping.

Tom opened the front window and lifted him through it.

‘Breathe in deep,’ Willie heard him say.  ‘Take in a good sniff.’

He took in a gulp of air. ‘I’ll be sick,’ he mumbled.

‘That’s right, go on, I’m ‘olding you.  Take in a good sniff.  Let yer throat open.’

Willie drank in some more air.  A wave of nausea swept through him and he vomited.

‘Go on,’ he heard Tom say,’ breathe in some more,’ and he was sick again and again until there was no more left inside him and he hung limply in Tom’s arms.

Tom wiped his mouth and face with the scarf.  The pain in Willie’s stomach had gone but he felt drained like a rag doll.  Tom lifted him back into the cottage and placed him in his armchair.  His small body sank comfortably into the old soft expanse of chair.  His feet barely reached the edge of the seat.  Tom tucked a blanket round him, drew up a chair by the fire and watched Willie fall asleep.

Bronze:

Find evidence in the text to suggest Willie is feeling scared. Why do you think this?

Silver:

How do you think Willie feels about Mr Tom and why?

Gold:

Write a diary entry showing Willie’s feelings.

85 responses to “Year 4 Reading Challenge- Spring 1”

  1. Rafay K.

    it says sweat broke from forehead and from his armpits. and wilie froze and the stick was high up.
    silver
    he feels scared because back in london he used to get hit by his mom

  2. Minaal A.

    Silver
    Willie feels brave now because Mr Tom is helping him.

  3. Minaal A.

    Bronze
    Willie is feeling scared because he thought mr Tom will attackhim but he was just helping.

  4. Meharunisa A.

    Bronze
    He is scared because in the text it tells me that “Willie froze with the branch still held high in his hand. Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead”.
    Silver
    I think he is scared of him because he was going to be hit be Mr Tom

  5. Eman A.

    Bronze
    He is feeling scared I know this because in the text it says “ Willie froze with the branch still held high in his hand. Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead.”
    Silver
    I don’t care of you because in the text is says “ Now he was for it. He was bound to get a beating now.“ so he might think that he is going to hit him

  6. Lucas R.

    Bronze
    Sweat gave out from his forehead he flung his arm.Willie gave out a cry.
    Silver
    I think willie fells petrified of tom because in the text, it says Willie flung his arm and gave a cry.
    Gold
    Tom always hit me with a stick so I took it.
    Sweat broke out from my arm pits and he flung his arm and tom stole the stick. Willie gave out a small cry

  7. Seher A.

    Bronze

    1 “Willie froze with the branch still held high in his hand. Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead.”

    Something or someone had scared Willie so much that he froze instantly with the branch in his hand, Willie was worried and scared that it caused him to sweat.

    2 “Willie walked shakily towards the cottage”
    Willie was shaking because he was scared to go inside.

    Silver-

    Willie feels scared of tom because he used to get hit by his mum back in London and due to that it has scared him.

  8. Kanishka P.

    Reading challenge
    Bronze
    wille was very scared and petrified
    because he feeled something
    inside his stomach.
    Silver
    willie feels scared because
    miss tom is not taking care of
    willie.
    gold
    willie is feeling scared because
    miss tom is being rude
    and not taking care of
    willie.

  9. Raiyan K.

    Bronze
    He felt scared because he felt something funny in his tummy.
    Silver
    He feels scared because get hit back in London by his mom.
    Gold
    Dear Diary,
    I feel very scared because Mr Tom hits me with a stick.
    I feel mad because Mr Tom made me sick.

  10. Redir K.

    BRONZE. Willie is scared because in the text it it says Willie froze with the branch
    SILVER
    Worried because in the text it says Breathe in deep

  11. Noor A.

    Reading challenge
    Bronze
    willie got scared cause he thought Mr tom wi hit him like his mom used to do back in London.

    Silver
    willie still feels a little scared with tom but I think he feels much safer with him cause he used to get beaten up by his mom.

  12. Jasiah A.

    Bronze
    Willie is scared because the text says Willie froze and sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead.

  13. Sanad S.

    Bronze:
    Find evidence in the text to suggest Willie is feeling scared. Why do you think this?

    The quote “Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead.” this shows that he is very scared that he has been sweating also when it is said that he “walked shakily towards the cottage, his head lowered” this showed that he is so scared that he cant look up and he is shaking

    Silver:

    How do you think Willie feels about Mr Tom and why?

    He is very scared from mr tom to a point that he doesnt dare to look up at him in the eye and lowers his gaze. this conveys that willie is scared from tom and it could suggest that he respects him but at the same time he fears him but in the end this shows that willie is very scared from tom

    Gold:Write a diary entry showing Willie’s feelings.

    Dear diary,

    I held the branch still high in my hand.Sweat broke out from under my armpit and across my forehead.After that, I felt my heart beating as Tom came towards me and took the branch from my hands firmly.Then he raised it up.I automatically flung my arms across my face and gave a cry.The blow I was was expecting never came.

    I walked shakily towards the cottage, my head lowered.Through blurred eyes I saw the tufts of grass spilling up between the small flat stones.The sweat trickled down the sides of my face and chest.My armpits stung savagely and a sharp pain stabbed at my stomach.I walked through the front door and stood in the hallway, feeling the perspiration turn cold and clammy.Tom walked into the front room and stood waiting for me to enter…

  14. Muhammad S.

    Bronze
    He was bound to get a beating now.
    This evidence shows that he was scared because he was going to get a beating.
    Silver
    I think Wille thinks Mr Tom is strict because he gets a beating every time he is bad.
    Gold
    Dear diary
    Today I felt helpless because Mr Tom made me sick.
    I feel mad because Mr Tom never
    let’s me do anything I want to. Instead
    I have to do chores and I only get 15 minutes of break
    15.11.13

  15. Awais W.

    Bronze:
    Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead is the evidence.I think this because it says he is sweating and you normally sweat when your nervous.
    Silver:
    I think Willie felt anxiety about Mr Tom because he doesn’t really know him

  16. Lexi M.

    Bronze
    He was scared beacause he felt something in his stomach

    Silver
    he might feel scared because his mum used to hit him back in london

  17. Ahmed B.

    Bronze
    He felt scared I know because sweat came out of his armpit and head

  18. Maddox B.

    bronze
    willie felt scared because he thought he was gonna get beat with a branch. sweat trickled down the side of his face and chest.
    his armpits stung savagely and his belly was hurting.
    silver
    I think willie feels scared of Mr tom because he thought Mr tom was going to beat him with a branch/brand him with the hot metal pole.

  19. Yunus R.

    I’m sorry it’s !from!

  20. Yunus R.

    Bronze
    Willie felt sad in her heart.
    Silver
    Willie felt petrified fro Mr Tom.

  21. Mohammed I.

    Bronze
    He was scared because he felt something inside his tummy.
    Silver
    Wille feels scared beacause he used to get hit by his mom back in London
    Gold
    Dear diary,
    I feel scared of Mr Tom because he used to
    give me the beating with the stick I was terrified.Thats what my mother used to do as well, back in London.
    (Hope you like it)
    From moi

  22. Sumaya S.

    Bronze:
    “Willie froze with the branch still held high in his hand. Sweat broke out from under his armpits and across his forehead”. This tells me that he feels scared.
    Silver: He feels terrified of him and jumpy.
    Gold:
    Dear diary,
    I am feeling very scared of Mr Tom. He is a scary man and I am worried he will hurt me. When he snatched the twig from my hand, I jumped with fear. I did not know what to expect but turns out he was just trying to look out for me.

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