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Year 4 Reading Challenge- Autumn 1

Mr Mashford

Extract from Harry Potter

October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire.

Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Oliver Wood’s enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry was to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.

Even aside from the rain and wind it hadn’t been a happy practice session. Fred and George, who had been spying on the Slytherin team, had seen for themselves the speed of those new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. They reported that the Slytherin team was no more than seven greenish blurs, shooting through the air like missiles.

As Harry squelched along the deserted corridor he came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as he was. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, “. . . don’t fulfill their requirements . . .half an inch, if that . . .”

“Hello, Nick,” said Harry.

“Hello, hello,” said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking round. He wore a dashing, plumed hat on his long curly hair, and a tunic with a ruff, which concealed the fact that his neck was almost completely severed. He was pale as smoke, and Harry could see right through him to the dark sky and torrential rain outside.

Bronze

Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the following words. Then write 3 synonyms for them.

*vivid

*spate

*morosely

*Drenched

Silver

  • What does the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air. Give 2 suggestions
  • What words and phrases help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable? E.g. Squelched along. List 3 more.

Gold

Find a quote on the Harry Potter quote finder or in the text above. Copy quote into the blog and then explain why you like the quote, what language tricks/techniques have been used and why is it effective.

http://www.harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/fun-stuff/quotes/

Key vocabulary: openers, similes, metaphors, adverbial phrases, adjectival phrases, personification, figurative language, adjectives, sentence types, multiclause sentences, coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, types of punctuation

59 responses to “Year 4 Reading Challenge- Autumn 1”

  1. Nuha I.

    ‘Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Oliver Wood’s enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry was to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.’

    I have chosen the quote above because of the variety of descriptive language and techniques used by the author. An example of a great simile is ‘Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end.’

    I also noticed alliteration such as ‘stormy Saturday’ and the adjectives; muddy, stormy and regular.

    The author has also used a perfect metaphor ‘swelled to the size of garden sheds’.

  2. Xlexben F.

    Bronze
    Vivid – producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
    Spate – a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.
    Morosely – in a sullen, gloomy, or ill-humored way:
    Drench – wet thoroughly or soak.
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air very fast.
    It also hits a target.
    The words and phrases that helped the reader to understand Harry is miserable are :
    He was preoccupied like he was.
    Muttering under his breath.
    Along the Deserted corridor’.
    Gold
    Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end.- I like this quote because it describes how it rained continuously for days without stopping.

  3. Yaseen E.

    Bronze
    Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the following words. Then write 3 synonyms for them.
    1. vivid, bright, shining, strong.
    2. spate, flood, overflow, abundance, spate, flow, affluence
    3. morosely, badly, sadly, grimly.
    4. Drenched, drenched, soaked, steeped, saturated
    Silver
    What does the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air. Give 2 suggestions
    It means that the Nimbus Two Thousand and one are speedy.
    It means that they can easliy fly in the air.
    What words and phrases help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable? E.g. Squelched along. List 3 more.
    who had been looking pale.

  4. Mohammed W.

    Bronze:
    Vivid means something that is bright.
    Spate means A sudden or heavy rainstorm.
    Morosely means in a sullen, gloomy way.
    Drenched means too wet through.

  5. Yaseen E.

    Bronze
    vivid: live, alive, vivid, lively, lifelike, animate

  6. Abul-Qasim H.

    Bronze
    vivid – an object is deep and bright.
    Synonyms – glowing, bold, flaming

    spate – a large number of similar things.
    Synonyms – series, run, rush

    morosely – a bad temper or gloomy mood
    Synonyms – dejectedly, gloomily, cheerlessly

    Drenched – soak or wet
    Synonyms – swamp, saturate, bathe

  7. Kanishka P.

    Bronze:
    Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the following words. Then write 3 synonyms for them.
    vivid means:
    producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.

    spate means:
    a large number of similar things coming in quick succession

    morosely means:
    Someone who is morose is miserable, bad-tempered, and not willing to talk very much to other people

    Drenched means:
    wet thoroughly and soak.

    Silver:
    What does the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air. Give 2 suggestions

    Sleek and Shiny It also shows that nimbus 2001 is very fast like a missile. It also looks like a shooting star.

    What words and phrases help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable? E.g. Squelched along. List 3 more.
    Morosely, Muttering and squelched along.

    Gold:-
    Find a quote on the Harry Potter quote finder or in the text above. Copy quote into the blog and then explain why you like the quote, what language tricks/techniques have been used and why is it effective.

  8. Isah C.

    Vivid mean? Power full
    And it mean clear images in mind
    And it means feeling strong

    What dose sprate mean ?
    It means strike whith a firm blow
    And a heavy blow or stroke with a wepon or the hand

    What dose morosely meam?
    It means haveing a in sullen and gloory or himeord

    What dose drenched mean ? It means take something drengoy

  9. Tipian I.

    Bronze :
    Vivid
    Is a bright , colourful colour
    Light , rainbow colour
    Spate
    Is a large or huge amount of number.
    Humongous amount of number
    Morosely
    Is a ill temperature and gloomy.
    Dark , black or brown and even grey
    Drenched
    Is a wet object or a soaking wet .
    Liquid on it
    Silver:
    I think it mean when you go fast speed .

  10. Zahraa Y.

    Bronze
    Vivid

    Producing powerful feelings of strong,clear images in the mind

    Spate
    A large number of similar things coming in quick succession.

    Morosely.
    Having a sullen and gloomy disposition.

    Drenched
    Wet thoroughly ;soak.

    Silver
    It could mean it’s fast like a missile
    Or it also can mean It shoots like a shooting star.

  11. Meharunisa A.

    Bronze
    *vivid- producing powerful feelings or strong

    *spate- a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.

    *morosely- in a bad mood

    *Drenched- wet thoroughly

    Silver:
    What does the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air. Give 2 suggestions
    It means Nimbus Two Thousand and one is very fast.
    It means it is very lightweight as it shoots through the air.

    What words and phrases help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable?
    Morosely, muttering

  12. Abdul Y.

    Bronze
    Vivid:Strong and clear
    Spate:A large number of something
    Moresely:Sullen or gloomy
    Drenched:Soaked

  13. Sarah A.

    Bronze
    Vivi means strong and clear.
    Spate means a large number of similar things coming in .
    Moresly means having a sullen or gloomy.
    Drenched means wet ,cold , soaked and
    Horrible.

  14. Ibrahim M.

    Gold:
    This is the quote I like.
    Oliver Wood’s enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry was to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.
    I like this quote as they are using phrases like ‘ drenched to the skin ‘ which makes it an amazing text/book to read.
    I also like it because they are expressing what has happened in the text and that they are using descriptive language, multiclause sentences and synonyms.
    This is an effective piece of the text because, I can create a picture in my mind, and I can understand how Harry was feeling at that specific time in the book.

  15. Tana I.

    Vivi
    Bright or very dark colour
    Spate
    Big number
    Moresely
    Having gloomy disposition
    Drenched
    Very soaked wet

  16. Hasbia D.

    Bronze
    Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the following words. Then write 3 synonyms for them.
    Vivid – Vivid means when something is bright and strong.
    Synonyms for Vivid: Animated, expressive, eloquent
    Spate – Spate means a large number of things coming quickly.
    Synonyms for Spate: epidemic, deluge, cluster
    Morosely – Morosely means having a sullen or gloomy disposition.
    Synonyms for Morosely: Wistfully, dismally, sorrowfully
    Drenched – Drenched means to soak or wet completely.
    Synonyms for Drenched: saturate, inundate, swamp
    Silver
    What does the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air. Give 2 suggestions
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ tells us that the Nimbus Two thousand and one moves quickly through the air.
    It suggests that the Nimbus Two Thousand and One has the speed of a missile.
    What words and phrases help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable? E.g. Squelched along. List 3 more.
    Three phrases that describe Harry Potter as miserable is ‘Muttering under his breath’, ‘preoccupied like he was’ and ‘Along the Deserted corridor’.
    Gold
    Find a quote on the Harry Potter quote finder or in the text above. Copy quote into the blog and then explain why you like the quote, what language tricks/techniques have been used and why is it effective.

    ‘The door behind the large boy flew open with such force it knocked him into the wall opposite. And out of it came something that made Harry let out a long, piercing scream no one but he seemed to hear.’
    I like this quote because it describes everything thoroughly.
    The type of vocabulary they have used is descriptive language such as powerful verbs.
    You can make this quote more better by adding more expanded noun phrases and more colours to describe how it actually looks like. You even want the reader to imagine how it actually looks and that you’re there doing everything the character is doing.

  17. Najma O.

    Bronze
    Vivid The definition is characters feelings or a type of colours .
    Spate The definition is a large number
    Morosley the definition is when you are in a bad awful mood .

  18. Elham S.

    Bronze
    vivid means bright and clear.
    spate means a big number.
    morosely means gloomy or a disposition.
    drenched means wet.
    silver
    It might mean it is zoomy and it is rapid.
    It is because his friend got bullied or that he turned pale and iron.

  19. Estera V.

    Vivid means bright an clear .
    Spate means a big number.
    Morosely means have a gloomy disposition
    Drenched means wet.
    Synonyms for vivid are bright ,colourful and striking .
    Synonyms for spate are series ,run and our break .
    Synonyms for morosely black , dark and dismally.
    Synonyms for drenched are soak ,saturate and permeate.
    Silver
    It might mean it is zoomy and it is rapid.
    It is because his friend got bullied or that he turned pale and

  20. Sania K.

    Vivid means bright an clear .
    Spate means a big number.
    Morosely means have a gloomy disposition
    Drenched means wet.
    Synonyms for vivid are bright ,colourful and striking .
    Synonyms for spate are series ,run and our break .
    Synonyms for morosely black , dark and dismally.
    Synonyms for drenched are soak ,saturate and permeate.
    Silver
    It might mean it is zoomy and it is rapid.
    It is because his friend got bullied or that he turned pale and

  21. Elyas A.

    Bronze:
    vivid: producing powerful feelings or strong clear images in the mind
    graphic, bright, colourful
    spate: A large number of similar things coming in quick succession. series, succession , run
    morosely: In a sullen , gloomy, or ill; humoured wag: falling silent.
    sadly , dejectedly, forlornly
    Drenched : wet thoroughly ; soak.
    permeate, saturate , wet thorough.
    Silver:
    1. I think it means that it goes as fast as a rocket in the sky.
    2. squelched, preoccupied, morosely, Headless Nick

  22. Sumaya S.

    vivid bright color
    sprite malicious and natured
    morosely scard gloomy
    wet sogey gloomy

  23. Miski M.

    Bronze
    Vivid
    A powerful feeling or strong clear images in mind.
    Spate
    A large number of things coming in quickly.
    Morosely
    Sullen and ill-tempered.
    Silver
    It’s travelling at turbo speed.
    The nimbus is a fast-flying missile like a canon
    Gold
    Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds, turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds.
    I liked this is effective and I like when the pumpkins swell to the size of garden sheds.

  24. Saffa M.

    vivid
    means bright blond hair
    spate
    means a large number
    morosely
    having a gloomy disposition
    drenched
    wet and sogy
    silver
    it saying it goes the air like lightning or zooming in the air

  25. Rafay K.

    Vivid means a powerful feeling
    A large numbers of things
    Sullen and gloomy
    Wet through soak

  26. Lusardo M.

    October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire.

    Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Oliver Wood’s enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Harry was to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.

    Even aside from the rain and wind it hadn’t been a happy practice session. Fred and George, who had been spying on the Slytherin team, had seen for themselves the speed of those new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. They reported that the Slytherin team was no more than seven greenish blurs, shooting through the air like missiles.

    As Harry squelched along the deserted corridor he came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as he was. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, “. . . don’t fulfill their requirements . . .half an inch, if that . . .”

    “Hello, Nick,” said Harry.

    “Hello, hello,” said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking round. He wore a dashing, plumed hat on his long curly hair, and a tunic with a ruff, which concealed the fact that his neck was almost completely severed. He was pale as smoke, and Harry could see right through him to the dark sky and torrential rain outside.

    Bronze

    Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the following words. Then write 3 synonyms for them.

    *vivid The definition of vivid is Vivid is an adjective that describes a bold and bright color, an intense feeling, or an image in your mind that is so clear you can almost touch it.

    *spate The definition of spate a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.

    *morosely The definition of morosely is something done in a bad temper or gloomy mood. An example of morosely is when you reluctantly agree to do something and you are grumpy the whole time you do it. adjective. 3. In a morose or sulky manner; gloomily.

    *Drenched The definition of Drenched Is when something is wet

    Silver
    Harry stomped madly
    Harry hit the floor with his shoes angrily
    Harry hit his head hardly
    Gold
    Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose,the flower beds, turned into muddy streams,and Hagrids pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds.
    I like this quote because of how it is describing the gloomy, dark wet weather and how Hagrids pumpkins grew so big like the garden shed. It is sad how the lake flooded and got ruined by the strong, heavy thunderstorm.
    I feel this quote is effective because of how they have described every word and how sad it feels within the story.

  27. Adam J.

    Bronze:
    1. vivid
    bright , brilliant and colourful
    2. spate
    run , series and succession
    3. morosely
    wistfully ,cheerlessly and dismally
    4. drenched
    soak ,wet through ,saturate

    Silver:

    It shows that nimbus 2001 is very very fast like a missile.
    It looks like a shooting star.

    squelched along, plumped his hat on, because its raining

    Gold:

    Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds, turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid’s pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds.

    I like this quote because it shows that it is a very gloomy and sad day as the rain is falling down like bullets on the castle and the rain is a sign of sadness. Also I like how they give the pumpkins human like features such as swelling also it uses metaphors throughout the quote.

  28. Mohammed S.

    Vivid-Powerful feelings
    Spate-A large number of similar things
    Morosely-Speaking in a rude manner
    Drenched-A wet object

    It means it goes quickly through the air
    He plumped his hat on
    He squelched along the corridor

    Dashing, Plumed I like this phrase because it is an expanded noun phrase

  29. Ali A.

    Bronze
    Vivid: Very dark or bright colour.
    Synonyms: colourful, eye-catching and strong.
    Spate: A large number of different things coming in quickly.
    Synonyms: Run, rush, and outbreak.
    Morosely: Sullen and ill-tempered.
    Synonyms: Gloomy, moody, and sober.
    Drenched: soaking wet.
    Synonyms: Wet, soaking, and soaked.

    Silver
    Fly’s very fast.
    turbo speed and zooms in 2 seconds.
    Gold
    I liked the second paragraph because it tells about how gloomy and how bad the night is with the thunderstorm together.

  30. Hanfaa N.

    Bronze
    Vivi
    Bright Color intense vibrant glowing striking.
    Spite
    Malicious, I’ll I natured nasty
    Morosely
    Having a gloomy disposition
    Drenched
    Wet,soaked.
    Bad,terrible,horrible
    Cold,frosty,freezing
    Hard, difficult, tough
    Silver
    I think it might mean that it goes fast as a shooting air missle.
    It shoots like a shooting star.
    It goes like a fast rocket.
    By his friend being bullied.
    That Hagrids pumpkins were all messed up.
    Because it is raining.
    Gold
    Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose,the flower beds, turned into muddy streams,and Hagrids pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds.
    I like this quote because of how it is describing the gloomy, dark wet weather and how Hagrids pumpkins grew so big like the garden shed. It is sad how the lake flooded and got ruined by the strong, heavy thunderstorm.
    I feel this quote is effective because of how they have described every word and how sad it feels within the story.

    1. Romeesa T.

      Vivid mean clear and bright .
      Spite means big number .
      Morosely mean gloomy and disposition .
      Drenched mean wet and splash.
      Bright colourful joyful Synonyms of Vivid
      Large gigantic Synonyms of Spite
      Dark unkind rude Synonyms of Morosely
      Wet soak splash Synonyms of Drenched
      Silver
      It went fast in the air
      It went 1 second.

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