Ready Steady Read Together
Digging for Victory: Poetry Lesson 5
Quiz Time
Start
Questions about the book so far...
Find Me
Find the word which means‘stop yourself or avoid’:
You’re to offer him food before you take yours
and accept if it means having less.
You’re to keep your belongings up in your room
and refrain from making a mess.
Discuss then check
refrain
Which One's Right?
Like a cuckoo,
he’s taken over the nest
that Ralph has only just flown.
And like put-upon birds,
we are expected to feed him
and show him kindness
so that he can get on
with whatever it is that he does.
Which is closest in meaning to ‘put-upon’?
A demanding
B burdened
D responsible
C dutiful
Sequence Me
Put the events from the unit in the order they occurred:
A) Ralph got his papers to join an RAF squadron.
B) Mr Fisher arrived and Bonnie’s life changed.
C) Bonnie found Grandfather’s zoetrope.
D) Bonnie wished a kind girl or a land girl would be billeted with them.
E) Ralph taught Bonnie to spot the differences between the planes.
Click if correct
Check
Link Me
Link each text from this unit with its main theme:
A duty and sacrifice
1 Text 1: Ralph is goingoff to be a hero...
B hope and imagination
2 Text 2: Can you help me carry Ralph’s things down to the cellar? Mother says...
C sibling relationships and identity
Check
3 Text 3: I hope it’s someone nice like Barbara Robinson...
4 Text 4: But when I open the door the very next morning and see the scrawny RAF officer...
Click if correct
D growing upand change
Speaking Spotlight
Step Inside
Explore
Step Inside: Bring your scene to life
How can you show how they feel?
What might they say?
What is around them?
How might they say it?
Bring the scene of Mr Fisher arrivingat Bonnie’s house to life. In groups of three, assume the roles of Mr Fisher, Bonnie and Bonnie’s mother.
How might they react?
How will their body move?
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
brown hats, coats and breeches and badges of gold and green
grudgingly
ration books
entitled
bloomin' townies
jangles
Explore
From: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Let me read today's text
Explore
Saturday 4th January 1941
DIG FOR VICTORY
the poster says.
I’m not sure why Mother is showing me this. She already grows our own vegetables. She’s been doing it ever since I can remember.
And then I realise just what she means.
I dig my mittened hands into my pocket
and dig my heels in.
I don’t want to dig for victory,
I want to fight for it
Standing at Mrs Barker’s counter there are four girls
I’ve not seen before,
but their brown hats, coats and breeches
and badges of gold and green
tell me that they must be the new land girls
come to help out on Mr Brown’s farm.
From: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Mrs Barker examines their ration books,
grudgingly stamps each one
then takes off her glasses
and folds her arms tightly over her enormous chest.
Just because you’re entitled to extra food,
doesn’t mean it’ll always be available,
she grumbles.
There’s enough mouths to feed
in this ’ere village as it is.
Huh!
They’d do it far better in a factory
or working the telephones –
they’ll never replace our boys.
Mrs Barker is still grumbling to herself
as she disappears into the dark, dusty storeroom out the back
to find mother some seed potatoes.
Three weeks, I’ll give ’em –
you mark my words.
Three weeks.
Bloomin’ townies,
she mutters under her breath
as the land girls step out into the snow
and the bell above the door jangles
Fat lot of good they’ll be on a farm –
not an ounce of muscle between ’em.
Just trying to do their bit, I suppose,
Mother replies politely.
From: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
Teach
Your turn
Practise & Apply
Use your text
Practise & Apply
1) Just because you’re entitled to extra food, doesn’t mean it’ll always be available…
Circle the word which has the closest meaning to entitled:
forbidden
expected
promised
eligible
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
3) How does Mrs Barker feel about the land girls? Why does she feel that way? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Text Mark Evidence - Mrs Barker examines their ration books, grudgingly stamps each one - just because your entitled to extra food, doesn’t mean it’ll always be available - she grumbles, there’s enough mouths to feed in this ’ere village as it is
resents sharing the villages food with them
Text Mark Evidence - bloomin’ townies she mutters under her breath - fat lot of good they’ll be on a farm – not an ounce of muscle between ’em
she’s doubtful of their usefulness/physical ability
Text Mark Evidence they’d do it far better in a factory or working the telephones – they’ll never replace our boys
Text Mark Evidence three weeks, I’ll give ’em – you mark my words…three weeks
she prefers traditional roles for women/resents them doing the men’s jobs
she doesn’t think they’ll stick it out/last working on a farm
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
RevealEvidence & Answers
3) Match the expression on the left with the correct meaning on the right:
thing is not helpful or useful
dig my heels in
stubbornly refuse to something or change your mind
fat lot of good
a warning to remember you predicted something
do their bit
Reveal Answer
help out or contribute to a shared job or task
mark my words
Practise & Apply
4) Using information from the text, place a tick (✓) in one box in each row to show whether each statement is true or false:
True
False
Bonnie is excited about gardening and digging for victory.
Mrs Barker says a cheery goodbye to the land girls.
Bonnie’s mother wants to buy seed potatoes.
It takes three weeks for the seed potatoes to grow.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
4) The author has used different formats in the verse novel. Pick two from the examples below and explain how the text has been arranged to support the reader’s understanding:
Click each box to reveal acceptable answers
B)
C)
Ralph,
who told me the difference
between Spitfires and Hurricanes,
Wellingtons and Halifaxes,
but missed the very first actual Spitfire the village
(and then claimed he was the first to see it).
Ralph, who, until not so long ago, and would sometimes play hide seek.
A)
I place it in the middle of my windowsill.
Rising from its polished wooden base,
the round metal drum looks almost
lamp-like, but upside-down with
slits cut round the side.
I spin it really hard,
looking
through
one
of
the
gaps
and wonder (as I’ve always done) exactly how the drawings on the inside seem to merge into one moving picture.
accept reference to the words ‘flying over’ being above the line like a plane would arc in the sky
accept reference to the reader having to look around or ‘seek’ the words just like in a game of hide and seek
accept reference to the words creating the shape of a zoetrope
D)
E)
F)
Mr Fisher’s cold expression doesn’t thaw as he stands
s
t i f f l y by the fire.
Yes, by the time Ralph’s room is empty,
the memories boxed up
and the dust swept away,
And when he does,
his crotchety voice
seems to speak from
miles away.
accept reference to Bonnie’s thoughts or mood about a stranger living with them improved; she was happier about it
accept reference to the words ‘miles away’ representing how Mr Fisher appeared to be distant or with his mind elsewhere
accept reference to the word ‘stiffly’ being straight and upright, like how Mr Fisher was standing
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
collect your favourites.
Reveal
Keep a notebook of poems you love or that inspire you.
If you like this book, you might like...
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y6 L5 Digging for Victory
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Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
Digging for Victory: Poetry Lesson 5
Quiz Time
Start
Questions about the book so far...
Find Me
Find the word which means‘stop yourself or avoid’:
You’re to offer him food before you take yours and accept if it means having less. You’re to keep your belongings up in your room and refrain from making a mess.
Discuss then check
refrain
Which One's Right?
Like a cuckoo, he’s taken over the nest that Ralph has only just flown. And like put-upon birds, we are expected to feed him and show him kindness so that he can get on with whatever it is that he does.
Which is closest in meaning to ‘put-upon’?
A demanding
B burdened
D responsible
C dutiful
Sequence Me
Put the events from the unit in the order they occurred:
A) Ralph got his papers to join an RAF squadron.
B) Mr Fisher arrived and Bonnie’s life changed.
C) Bonnie found Grandfather’s zoetrope.
D) Bonnie wished a kind girl or a land girl would be billeted with them.
E) Ralph taught Bonnie to spot the differences between the planes.
Click if correct
Check
Link Me
Link each text from this unit with its main theme:
A duty and sacrifice
1 Text 1: Ralph is goingoff to be a hero...
B hope and imagination
2 Text 2: Can you help me carry Ralph’s things down to the cellar? Mother says...
C sibling relationships and identity
Check
3 Text 3: I hope it’s someone nice like Barbara Robinson...
4 Text 4: But when I open the door the very next morning and see the scrawny RAF officer...
Click if correct
D growing upand change
Speaking Spotlight
Step Inside
Explore
Step Inside: Bring your scene to life
How can you show how they feel?
What might they say?
What is around them?
How might they say it?
Bring the scene of Mr Fisher arrivingat Bonnie’s house to life. In groups of three, assume the roles of Mr Fisher, Bonnie and Bonnie’s mother.
How might they react?
How will their body move?
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
brown hats, coats and breeches and badges of gold and green
grudgingly
ration books
entitled
bloomin' townies
jangles
Explore
From: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Let me read today's text
Explore
Saturday 4th January 1941
DIG FOR VICTORY
the poster says.
I’m not sure why Mother is showing me this. She already grows our own vegetables. She’s been doing it ever since I can remember.
And then I realise just what she means.
I dig my mittened hands into my pocket and dig my heels in.
I don’t want to dig for victory, I want to fight for it
Standing at Mrs Barker’s counter there are four girls I’ve not seen before, but their brown hats, coats and breeches and badges of gold and green tell me that they must be the new land girls come to help out on Mr Brown’s farm.
From: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Mrs Barker examines their ration books, grudgingly stamps each one then takes off her glasses and folds her arms tightly over her enormous chest. Just because you’re entitled to extra food, doesn’t mean it’ll always be available, she grumbles. There’s enough mouths to feed in this ’ere village as it is.
Huh! They’d do it far better in a factory or working the telephones – they’ll never replace our boys.
Mrs Barker is still grumbling to herself as she disappears into the dark, dusty storeroom out the back to find mother some seed potatoes. Three weeks, I’ll give ’em – you mark my words. Three weeks.
Bloomin’ townies, she mutters under her breath as the land girls step out into the snow and the bell above the door jangles
Fat lot of good they’ll be on a farm – not an ounce of muscle between ’em. Just trying to do their bit, I suppose, Mother replies politely.
From: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
Teach
Your turn
Practise & Apply
Use your text
Practise & Apply
1) Just because you’re entitled to extra food, doesn’t mean it’ll always be available…
Circle the word which has the closest meaning to entitled:
forbidden
expected
promised
eligible
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
3) How does Mrs Barker feel about the land girls? Why does she feel that way? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Text Mark Evidence - Mrs Barker examines their ration books, grudgingly stamps each one - just because your entitled to extra food, doesn’t mean it’ll always be available - she grumbles, there’s enough mouths to feed in this ’ere village as it is
resents sharing the villages food with them
Text Mark Evidence - bloomin’ townies she mutters under her breath - fat lot of good they’ll be on a farm – not an ounce of muscle between ’em
she’s doubtful of their usefulness/physical ability
Text Mark Evidence they’d do it far better in a factory or working the telephones – they’ll never replace our boys
Text Mark Evidence three weeks, I’ll give ’em – you mark my words…three weeks
she prefers traditional roles for women/resents them doing the men’s jobs
she doesn’t think they’ll stick it out/last working on a farm
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
RevealEvidence & Answers
3) Match the expression on the left with the correct meaning on the right:
thing is not helpful or useful
dig my heels in
stubbornly refuse to something or change your mind
fat lot of good
a warning to remember you predicted something
do their bit
Reveal Answer
help out or contribute to a shared job or task
mark my words
Practise & Apply
4) Using information from the text, place a tick (✓) in one box in each row to show whether each statement is true or false:
True
False
Bonnie is excited about gardening and digging for victory.
Mrs Barker says a cheery goodbye to the land girls.
Bonnie’s mother wants to buy seed potatoes.
It takes three weeks for the seed potatoes to grow.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
4) The author has used different formats in the verse novel. Pick two from the examples below and explain how the text has been arranged to support the reader’s understanding:
Click each box to reveal acceptable answers
B)
C)
Ralph, who told me the difference between Spitfires and Hurricanes, Wellingtons and Halifaxes, but missed the very first actual Spitfire the village (and then claimed he was the first to see it).
Ralph, who, until not so long ago, and would sometimes play hide seek.
A)
I place it in the middle of my windowsill. Rising from its polished wooden base, the round metal drum looks almost lamp-like, but upside-down with slits cut round the side. I spin it really hard, looking through one of the gaps and wonder (as I’ve always done) exactly how the drawings on the inside seem to merge into one moving picture.
accept reference to the words ‘flying over’ being above the line like a plane would arc in the sky
accept reference to the reader having to look around or ‘seek’ the words just like in a game of hide and seek
accept reference to the words creating the shape of a zoetrope
D)
E)
F)
Mr Fisher’s cold expression doesn’t thaw as he stands
s t i f f l y by the fire.
Yes, by the time Ralph’s room is empty, the memories boxed up and the dust swept away,
And when he does, his crotchety voice seems to speak from
miles away.
accept reference to Bonnie’s thoughts or mood about a stranger living with them improved; she was happier about it
accept reference to the words ‘miles away’ representing how Mr Fisher appeared to be distant or with his mind elsewhere
accept reference to the word ‘stiffly’ being straight and upright, like how Mr Fisher was standing
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
collect your favourites.
Reveal
Keep a notebook of poems you love or that inspire you.
If you like this book, you might like...
Copyright Notice
This document has been supplied under a CLA Licence with specific terms of use. It is protected by copyright and, save as may be permitted by law, it may not be further copied, stored, re-copied electronically or otherwise shared, even for internal purposes, without the prior further permission of the Rightsholder. Extracts sourced from: Digging for Victory by Cathy Faulkner © 2023 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.