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.
  • 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 the 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, punctuation.

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

  1. Alinna A.

    Bronze
    Vivid means a deep or some kind of bright colour.
    Spate there is a flood .
    Morosely means you are not happy or you are annoy.
    Drenched mean you are wet
    Silver
    The phrase shooting thought the air was like missiles means a weapon you can shot in the air the reader imagine that his is in the book and he is shooting the missile in the air harry is miserable gloomy, annoy and angry.
    The server is not working

  2. Hussein H.

    Bronze
    1. producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.2. a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.3. having a sullen and gloomy disposition.4.Being wet and soaked.silver: 1.The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggests that Harry is riding his broomstick as fast as lightning.2. unhappy,sad and drepessed.

  3. Arifa H.

    Bronze
    Vivid- powerful feelings
    Strong
    Shining
    True to life
    Spate- a large number of similar things coming in quick succession
    Wave
    Flood
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ means the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves was moving really fast.
    2. Words or phrases that helps the reader understand Harry Potter’s upset is gloomy, and unhappy

  4. Anaya R.

    Bronze:
    vivid – producing powerful or strong feelings in the mind, synonyms are bright, vibrant, colourful
    spate – a large number of similar things coming in quick successions, synonyms are series, cluster, torrent.
    morosely – solemn and bad-tempered, synonyms are gloomy, miserable, moody
    drenched – soaked or completely wet, synonyms are soak, submerge, drowned

    Silver:
    1)It suggests that the Nimbus is going very fast.
    2)’Squelched along’ , ‘drenched to the skin and splattered with mud’ , ‘as preoccupied as he was’

    Gold:
    I cant do gold because the link isn’t working.

  5. Aqsaa F.

    BRONZE
    VIVID-Powerful feeling
    Then write 3 synonyms for them.
    bright, brilliant, colorful.
    Spate- means a sudden flood in a river.
    Niagara, avalanche, barrage.
    MOROSELY-Annoyed Way
    cheerlessly, joylessly, sorrowfully.
    DRENCHED-Some thing is extremely wet.
    Impregnate, saturate, soak.

  6. Muhammad Y.

    Bronze
    Vivid means powerful feeling or strong,clear images in the mind.
    Spate means a sudden flood in a river.
    Morosely means in a unhappy or a annoyed way.
    Drenched means when your soaking wet.

  7. Ammar W.

    Bronze
    vivid-Having a clear sense of something.3 synonyms for vivid are clear,true to life and dynamic.
    spate- A large number of bad things happening. 3 synonyms for spate are domino affect,chain reaction and pattern.
    morosely-in a sullen gloomy ill-humered way.3 Synonyms for morosely are miserably,glumly and moody.
    drenched- To soak or cover thoroughly with liquid that falls or is participated.

  8. Muhammad I.

    Vivid means powerful feelings
    Spate means something happens quickly
    Morosely means a sullen and gloomy disposition
    Drenched means someone gets extremely wet

  9. Mohammed K.

    Bronze
    1.The definition of vivid is producing powerful feelings or strong ,clear images in the mind.The synonyms of vivid are bright, realistic and faithful.
    2.The definition of spate is a large number os similar things, coming in quick succession.The synonyms of spate are run, cluster and series.
    3.The definition is morosely is having a sullen and gloomy disposition.The synonyms os morosely are wistfully ,dismally and cheerlessly.
    4.The definition of drenched is wet throughly; soak.The synonyms of drenched are wet ,drown and permeate.
    Silver
    The phrase Shooting trough the air like missiles suggests that the broom stick is going fast like a shooting star.
    Silver
    Words and phrases that suggest Harry is miserable are, drenched to the teeth, splattered with mud and preoccupied.

  10. Amina J.

    Bronze:
    Vivid means deep or bright colours.3 synonyms for vivid is dull , jazzy and glowing.
    Spate means a sudden flood in a river. 3 synonyms for spate are wave, flurry and rush
    morosely means having a sullen and gloomy disposition 3 synonyms for morosely are wistfully, cheerlessly and dejectedly.
    Drenched means wet thoroughly; soak. 3 synonyms for drenched are soaked, saturate and wash

    Silver:
    the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air like lighting and it is really fast.
    just as preoccupied as he was
    it hadn’t been a happy practice session drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.
    I can’t complete gold as the link isn’t working

  11. Alzahra R.

    English:
    Bronze: vivid means producing strong mental images a vivid description 2.
    spate means a larger number similar things.
    morosely means bad temputer.
    de

    1. Alzahra R.

      I accident post it but I haven’t finshed and I am sorry about that.
      drenched means wet throughly oak.
      Sliver: it mean very fast
      2. unhappy or sad and drepessed.
      Gold:
      quote:” of course it would be diffcult and be dangerous and very dangerous and we’d breaking about fifty school rule. I expect. I like this quote because Harry Potter would be doing something bit interesting the trick used-breaking school rules and it not nice.

  12. Ahmed K.

    Vivid means a deep or a bright colour there synonyms for vivid brilliant colorful and dramatic spate

  13. Zahra N.

    Bronze Challenge:
    Vivid means strong and a powerful object.Spate means a large number or amount.
    Moresly means gloomily or sullenly ill_humored,as a person or mood.Drenched means forcibly administer a drug in liquid form orally to an animal.
    Silver Challenge:Shotting means there is something going fast in the air like a plane.Gold Challenge:

  14. Yunus H.

    gold-
    Metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, simile, personification, assonance, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia, etc. These devices have a powerful impact as they work on our senses to strengthen the subject matter of the text.

  15. Yunus H.

    silver-
    The Nimbus 2000 was a broomstick produced by the Nimbus Racing Broom Company as part of their successful line of racing brooms. At the time of its release in 1991, it was the fastest broomstick in production.

  16. Yunus H.

    Bronze-
    vivid= a colour) intensely deep or bright.
    spate=a sudden flood in a river.
    moresely=sullen and gloomy disposition
    drenched=wet thoroughly; soak
    synonoms
    morosely
    wistfully.
    cheerlessly.
    joylessly.

  17. Mohammed E.

    Vivid= a strong a powerful feeling
    Spate=A number of objects
    Morosely=An expressive gloom
    Drenched=Wet thoroughly oak

    Silver:
    The nimbus 2001 was fast as a missal at top speed.Harry was

    1. Mohammed E.

      miserable because of the speed of them nimbus 2001.

  18. Simra S.

    Bronze
    ———–
    1. Vivid = Producing powerful feelings.
    Synonyms – Animated, Bright, Drmatic
    2. Spate = A large number of similar things coming in quick succession
    Synonyms – Flood, Flurry, String
    3. Morosely = In a bad mood
    Synonyms – Sorrowfully, Joylessly, Gloomily
    4. Drenched = Soak
    Wet through, Drown, Soggy

    Silver
    ———
    1. It means, very fast.
    2. Words – Unhappy, Sad, depressed

    Gold
    ———-
    Quote: “Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We’d be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect.”
    I like this quote because, Harry Potter would be doing something interesting.
    The trick used – Breaking the shool rules.

  19. Simra S.

    Bronze:
    ———–
    1. Vivid

  20. Manha S.

    BRONZE
    VIVID=POWERFUL
    SPATE=OUT BREAK
    MOROSELY=ANNOYED WAY
    DRENCHED=SOME THING EXTREAMLY WET
    SILVER
    THE PHRASE ‘SHOOTING THROUGH THE AIR LIKE MISILES’ SUGGEST REALLY FAST
    THE WORDS THAT MAKE READER IMAGINE THAT HARRY IS MISSRABLE ARE,DISSAPOINTED, UNHAPPY,SAD
    GOLD
    ” IT MATTERS NOT WHAT SOME ONE IS BORN, BUT WHAT THEY GROW TO BE ” IT MEANS, IT DOESN’T MATTER ABOUT TO BORN BUT IT MATTERS WHAT WE ARE GROWN FOR.

  21. Manha S.

    BRONZE

  22. Mopelola L.

    Bronze
    Use a dictionary to find the meaning of these three words.Then write 3 synonyms for them.
    vivid-Having a clear sense of something.3 synonyms for vivid are clear,trure to life and dynamic.
    spate- A large number of bad things happening. 3 synonyms for spate are domino affect,chain reaction and pattern.
    morosely-in a sullen gloomy ill-humered way.3 Synonyms for morosely are misarebly,glumly and moodly.
    drenched- To soak or cover throughly with liqued that falls or is pracitipated.
    Silver
    1. What does ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about the Nimbus 2001 mooving through the air?
    It means its going extremley fast.
    2.What phrases help the reader to imagine Harry is misrable?E.g sqelched along list 3 more.
    Gloomy ,sad and unhappy.

    1. Mopelola L.

      I cant do gold because it says the file is not found.

  23. Safa S.

    Bronze
    Vivid means something that is very bright.
    Spate means a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.
    Morosely means a sullen and gloomy disposition.
    Drenched means when you or something is wet thoroughly.

  24. Nma M.

    Bronze:
    Meaning of Vivid:
    Realistic, Graphic, lifelike.

    3 Synonyms for Vivid:

    memorable

    eloquent

    theatrical

    Meaning of spate:
    Flood, run, wave.

    Synonyms of spate:
    Explosion, rush, outbreak.

    Synonyms for morosely:

    wistfully, gloomily, joylessly.

    Meaning of morosely:
    In an unhappy or annoyed way.

    Meaning of drenched:
    To make someone or something extremely wet.

    Synonyms of drenched:
    Down, swamp,steep.

    Silver:
    1.The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ means that Nimbus Two Thousand And One is going really high through the air.
    2.The words that help the readers to imagine that Harry is miserable is:
    Unhappy, sad, awful.

  25. Ahmed O.

    *vivid- lifelike

    *spate- series

    *morosely- gloomily

    *drenched- soaked

  26. Ahmad R.

    Bronze
    Vivid is clear like glass
    Spate like many .
    Morosely like gloomy.
    Drenched like soaking.

  27. Khadeeja M.

    Bronze challenge.
    1.Vivid means a deep or a bright colour. Three synonyms for vivid brilliant,colourful and dramatic.
    2.Spate means a sudden flood in a river.
    3.Maorosely means having a sullen and gloomy disposition. Three synonyms for morosely dejectedly, dismally and dolefully.
    4. drenched means when you or something is wet thoroughly. Tree synonyms for drenched drown ,immerse and impregnate.
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ means it shot up really fast.

    Words or phrases that helps the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable , gloomy and sad.

  28. Meena B.

    Bronze
    Vivid- It’s something that is very bright.
    Synonyms for vivid: Colourful, crystal clear and vibrant.
    Spate- 1) Large number of things within a period of time. 2) sudden flood.
    Synonyms for Spate: Cluster, Explosion and flurry.
    Morosely- Having a gloomy disposition.
    Synonyms for Morosely: gloomily, joylessly and cheerlessly.
    Drenched- Completely wet.
    Synonyms for drenched: soaked, wet and rinsed.

    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggests really fast.
    The words that make the reader imagine Harry as is unhappy, gloomy and sorrowful.

    Gold
    “Hello, hello,” said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking round. This tells me that Nick is looking around for something, someone or if anyone is there.

  29. Dhiyashini S.

    Bronze Challenge
    1)Vivid means intensely deep or bright. 3 synonyms for vivid is glowing,colourful and shining
    2)Spate means a large number of similar things coming in quick succession. 3 synonyms for spate is flurry,flood and torrent
    3)Morosely means bad tempered. 3 synonyms for morosely is cheerless,gloomily and joyless
    4)Drenched means completely wet. 3 synonyms for drenched is dripping,wet and sloppy
    Silver Challenge
    1) The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ means really fast
    2)The words that makes the reader imagine that Harry is miserable is gloomy,unhappy and crestfallen
    Gold Challenge
    1)The quote in the text is Hello, Nick,” said Harry .
    Hello, hello,” said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking round.

  30. Harrison S.

    Bronze
    1. Vivid means bright and deep in colour. 3 words similar to vivid are bright, glowing and brilliant.
    2. Spate means a large number of similar things coming in quick succession. 3 words similar to spate are wave, flood and outpouring.
    3. Morosely means having a sullen and gloomy disposition. 3 words similar to morosely are glum, dark and cold.
    4. Drenched means wet thoroughly. 3 similar words to drenched are wash, rinse and soak.
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggests that the Nimbus 2001 goes through the air very fast.
    words or phrases that helps the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable are preoccupied.

    1. Khadeeja M.

      Bronze challenge.
      Vivid means a deep or a bright colour. Three synonyms for vivid brilliant,
      colorful and dramatic.
      spate means a sudden flood in a river.
      *morosely

      Tyyy

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