Ready Steady Read Together
Fia and the Last Snow Deer: Poetry Lesson 5
Quiz Time
Start
Questions about the book so far...
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘perch’?
Tick Me
How does being on the frozen river help Fia and the other characters?
Tick one:
A) The ice helps them to move faster.
B) The Shadows cannot cross water.
Check
C) They feel better when the river widens.
Click if correct
D) They feel better when the river narrows.
Link Me
Link each character with the correct description:
A) a protective being who celebrates the winter solstice with a feast and the return of the sun
1) Fia
B) a caring companion who tries to keep others safe, even when it causes conflict
2) Mish
Check
Click if correct
C) a respected elder and leader who communicates with spirits
3) Gerd
D) a determined person who protects Solas and is torn between trust and resentment
4) Deer Mother
Sequence Me
Put these events in the correct order:
A) The hunters return, unsuccessful in finding the great herds.
B) Gerd puts on the stag skull and reminds the villagers of the prophecy.
C) The Shadows drain energy from Fia and Mish.
D) Mish warns Fia that Solas is in danger.
Click if correct
Check
Speaking Spotlight
Conscience Alley
Explore
Conscience Alley
Should Fia sacrifice Solas to provide food for her village?
Yes
No
Encourage
Convince
Persuade
Coax
Warn
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
sacrifice
thrive on despair
eternal
barren
inevitable
bargain
Explore
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Let me read today's text
Explore
The Deer Mother takes a spoon,stirs the pot.
Ah, child, therein lies the problem.
I have no snow deer, you see.
Everything else is here,
all the other ingredients are in the pot.
She sighs,
but horror begins to blossom within my chest.
Mish has made his sacrifice,
but I haven’t,
not yet.
The Deer Mother continues.
Three years ago the Shadows grew,
made bolder by so many small deaths,
an early frost,
the bees dying in their hive,
the berries on the bush rotten and thick.
So much imbalance.
They thrive on despair,
existing only in dark places.
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
They long for eternal winter,
sunless, barren,
hopeless.
By the time the winter solstice arrived,
they had pushed the herds away,
through fear and starvation.
My own snow deer,
a wise, old, snow-white cow,
born under a solstice moon, left with the herds, fearful of the Shadows.
Without my snow deer,
I had no way to leave this place.
The Shadows were too strong.
She holds up the wooden spoon,
dripping with golden liquid.
I had nothing left but this.
The last promise of the earth and sun,
small enough to hold in one pot.
She shrugs.
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
But it’s not enough.
Whatever magic it might hold,
it will not bring back the sun without a snow deer.
The final ingredient.
All I can do,
all I must do,
is keep stirring,
keep the magic alive.
I close my eyes,
take a deep breath.
I hear Gerd in my head again,
reminding me that it was inevitable,
that we would always arrive at this moment,
one way or another.
I had wanted to bargain,
plead,
even trick
the Deer Mother into leaving with us,
ignoring the prophecy.
But I should have realised,
the prophecy was always more powerful
than my dreams.
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
Teach
Your turn
Practise & Apply
Use your text
Practise & Apply
1) Horror begins to blossom within my chest…
Circle the word which is closest in meaning to ‘blossom’.
fade
disappear
develop
spread
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
2) Name two things that led to the Shadows growing stronger and bolder.
Acceptable Answers:
- so many small deaths
- an early frost
- bees dying in their hive
- the berries on the bush rotten and thick
- imbalance
- despair
- darkness/dark places
Reveal Answer
3) 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
The missing ingredient that the Deer Mother needs is the snow deer.
The Deer Mother’s snow deer was born under a solstice moon.
The Deer Mother never had a snow deer of her own.
The Deer Mother wants a winter which never ends.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
4) How would an eternal winter benefit the Shadows? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Text Mark Evidence they pushed the herds away, through fear and starvation
Text Mark Evidence - they (Shadows) thrive on despair - hopeless
hunger and starvation weakening people and animals
causes people to lose hope / Shadows feeding on despair
Text Mark Evidence - my own deer…left with the herds, fearful of the Shadows…without my snow deer, I had no way to leave this place - it (golden liquid) will not bring back the sun without a snow deer
Text Mark Evidence - (Shadows) existing only in dark places - they long for eternal winter, sunless
preventing the return of the sun / weakening the Deer Mother
Shadows preferring darkness / only living in the darkness
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
RevealEvidence & Answers
5) How I had wanted to bargain, plead, even trick the Deer Mother into leaving with us, ignoring the prophecy. But I should have realised, the prophecy was always more powerful than my dreams. What is most likely to happen next based on the above text?
Tick one:
Fia and Mish will find a different snow deer to sacrifice.
Fia will agree to sacrifice Solas to end winter.
Wolf will attack the Deer Mother to protect Solas.
Fia and Mish will return to the village with Solas.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
explore audiobooks.
Reveal
Listen to books during walks or while relaxing.
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: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.
RSRT Y5 L5 Fia and the Last Snow Deer
Literacy Counts
Created on February 7, 2026
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Essential Business Proposal
View
Project Roadmap Timeline
View
Step-by-Step Timeline: How to Develop an Idea
View
Artificial Intelligence History Timeline
View
Mind Map: The 4 Pillars of Success
View
Big Data: The Data That Drives the World
View
Momentum: Onboarding Presentation
Explore all templates
Transcript
Ready Steady Read Together
Fia and the Last Snow Deer: Poetry Lesson 5
Quiz Time
Start
Questions about the book so far...
Picture Me
Which image is the best match for ‘perch’?
Tick Me
How does being on the frozen river help Fia and the other characters?
Tick one:
A) The ice helps them to move faster.
B) The Shadows cannot cross water.
Check
C) They feel better when the river widens.
Click if correct
D) They feel better when the river narrows.
Link Me
Link each character with the correct description:
A) a protective being who celebrates the winter solstice with a feast and the return of the sun
1) Fia
B) a caring companion who tries to keep others safe, even when it causes conflict
2) Mish
Check
Click if correct
C) a respected elder and leader who communicates with spirits
3) Gerd
D) a determined person who protects Solas and is torn between trust and resentment
4) Deer Mother
Sequence Me
Put these events in the correct order:
A) The hunters return, unsuccessful in finding the great herds.
B) Gerd puts on the stag skull and reminds the villagers of the prophecy.
C) The Shadows drain energy from Fia and Mish.
D) Mish warns Fia that Solas is in danger.
Click if correct
Check
Speaking Spotlight
Conscience Alley
Explore
Conscience Alley
Should Fia sacrifice Solas to provide food for her village?
Yes
No
Encourage
Convince
Persuade
Coax
Warn
Vocabulary
Explore
Hover for definitions!
sacrifice
thrive on despair
eternal
barren
inevitable
bargain
Explore
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Let me read today's text
Explore
The Deer Mother takes a spoon,stirs the pot.
Ah, child, therein lies the problem. I have no snow deer, you see. Everything else is here, all the other ingredients are in the pot.
She sighs, but horror begins to blossom within my chest. Mish has made his sacrifice, but I haven’t, not yet. The Deer Mother continues.
Three years ago the Shadows grew, made bolder by so many small deaths, an early frost, the bees dying in their hive, the berries on the bush rotten and thick. So much imbalance. They thrive on despair, existing only in dark places.
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
They long for eternal winter, sunless, barren, hopeless. By the time the winter solstice arrived, they had pushed the herds away, through fear and starvation. My own snow deer, a wise, old, snow-white cow, born under a solstice moon, left with the herds, fearful of the Shadows. Without my snow deer, I had no way to leave this place. The Shadows were too strong.
She holds up the wooden spoon, dripping with golden liquid.
I had nothing left but this. The last promise of the earth and sun, small enough to hold in one pot.
She shrugs.
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
But it’s not enough. Whatever magic it might hold, it will not bring back the sun without a snow deer. The final ingredient. All I can do, all I must do, is keep stirring, keep the magic alive.
I close my eyes, take a deep breath. I hear Gerd in my head again, reminding me that it was inevitable, that we would always arrive at this moment, one way or another. I had wanted to bargain, plead, even trick the Deer Mother into leaving with us, ignoring the prophecy. But I should have realised, the prophecy was always more powerful than my dreams.
From: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024. Licensed under CLA. Do not copy or share.
Strategy Stop
Teach
Your turn
Practise & Apply
Use your text
Practise & Apply
1) Horror begins to blossom within my chest… Circle the word which is closest in meaning to ‘blossom’.
fade
disappear
develop
spread
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
2) Name two things that led to the Shadows growing stronger and bolder.
Acceptable Answers:
Reveal Answer
3) 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
The missing ingredient that the Deer Mother needs is the snow deer.
The Deer Mother’s snow deer was born under a solstice moon.
The Deer Mother never had a snow deer of her own.
The Deer Mother wants a winter which never ends.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
4) How would an eternal winter benefit the Shadows? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
Text Mark Evidence they pushed the herds away, through fear and starvation
Text Mark Evidence - they (Shadows) thrive on despair - hopeless
hunger and starvation weakening people and animals
causes people to lose hope / Shadows feeding on despair
Text Mark Evidence - my own deer…left with the herds, fearful of the Shadows…without my snow deer, I had no way to leave this place - it (golden liquid) will not bring back the sun without a snow deer
Text Mark Evidence - (Shadows) existing only in dark places - they long for eternal winter, sunless
preventing the return of the sun / weakening the Deer Mother
Shadows preferring darkness / only living in the darkness
Click on the evidence to reveal acceptable answers
RevealEvidence & Answers
5) How I had wanted to bargain, plead, even trick the Deer Mother into leaving with us, ignoring the prophecy. But I should have realised, the prophecy was always more powerful than my dreams. What is most likely to happen next based on the above text?
Tick one:
Fia and Mish will find a different snow deer to sacrifice.
Fia will agree to sacrifice Solas to end winter.
Wolf will attack the Deer Mother to protect Solas.
Fia and Mish will return to the village with Solas.
Reveal Answer
Practise & Apply
Feedback: Who did what well?
FindRead Talk
EchoRead
ChoralRead
ReadingStrategy
Answers & Text Marks
Other...
To be a book lover, you could...
explore audiobooks.
Reveal
Listen to books during walks or while relaxing.
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: Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher © 2024 Schools must purchase the original text for full content.