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. Ahmed O.

    *vivid means producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
    3 synonyms are graphic, faithful and realistic.

    *spate means a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.
    3 synonyms are series, succession and rash.

    *morosely means having a sullen and gloomy disposition.
    3 synonyms are black chill cold.

    *drenched means to soak or cover thoroughly with liquid.
    the three synonyms are drown, douse and soak.

  2. Amirah T.

    Bronze:

    1. vivid = Radiant, bright, colourful.

    2. spate = torrent, wave, cluster.

    3. morosely = gloomily, cheerlessly, wistfully.

    4. drenched = wet, submerged, flood.

    Silver:

    The phrase ‘ shooting through the air like missiles ‘ means that something or someone is going speedily or is very fast.

    1. Drenched to the skin and splattered with mud.
    2. It hadn’t been a very good practice session.
    3. Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle window.

    Gold:
    My favourite quote is ‘ raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle window’. This is because it builds an image in my head and I can tell how big the raindrops were, and what speed they travelling at. It also tells me that it was a gloomy day.

  3. Mohammed D.

    vivid – producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.

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

    morosely – in a very unhappy or annoyed way

    drenched- wet

    Silver

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

    It means moving very quick and fast

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

    He was pale as smoke

  4. Yahya K.

    vivid = bright = colourful ,bright ,brilliant.
    spate = large number of events = flood ,succesion ,string.
    morosoly = ill humored = gloomily ,joylessly ,sorrowfully.
    drench = soaked = submerge ,drown ,impregnate.
    silver
    *Shooting through the air like missiles means flying fast.
    *Preoccupied, morosoly and torrental.

  5. Ianis-Andrei D.

    Bronze

    vivid=light
    spate=almost
    morosely=gloomy
    drenched=drench

  6. Anish B.

    Bronze
    Vivid – producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
    Realistic, faithful, graphic
    Spate – a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.
    run, cluster, string
    Morosely – in a very unhappy or annoyed way
    wistfully, dismally, joylessly
    Drenched – wet thoroughly; soak.
    Soak, Saturate, drown

    Silver
    What does the phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air.
    Playing very good
    What words and phrases help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable? E.g. Squelched along. List 3 more.
    He was pale, severed

  7. Yoshita P.

    Vivid is a strong clear image colour of deep or bright .
    Synonyms:deep rich and warm.
    Spate is a large number of Similar things coming one after another .
    Synonyms: rash wave and flurry.
    Morosely is a sullen and gloomy disposition .
    Synonyms: wistfully gloomy and dismally.
    Drenched is something is soaked throughly a sponge .
    Synonyms: wet steep and flood.

  8. Delilah R.

    vivid_bright

    *spate_flood

    *morosely_gloomy

    *drenched_soaked

    The phrase shooting through the air like misiles suggests that it was so fast like a bullet that you can not even see it clear with your eyes its to fast.

    It was stormy , he was drenched and splattered in mud

    1. Delilah R.

      It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” ― Albus Dumbledore

      I like this because it reminds you to think about wjat u have and appreciate what you have ,don’t always think about what u don’t have or want .
      Because if you spend to much time thinking what you don’t have you might miss enjoying what you do have around you .

      I think they made it short so you can remember it .
      They also used dwell and well rhyming, it also makes you think

  9. Vaneza S.

    Bronze:

    Vivid:Strong and powerful images in the mind.
    Synonyms:Rich,crystal clear, graphic.

    Spate:A number of similar things happening in all one quick succsession.
    Synonyms:Cluster, Outbreak, String.

    Morosely:Sullen and gloomy disposition.
    Synonyms:Cranky, Dour, Glum.

    Drenched:Wet and thoroughly soaked.
    Synonyms:Covered, Absorbed, Saturate.

    Silver:
    1)It moves super fast in quick succession.
    2)”Preoccupied” because he already has enough problems.

  10. Muhammed K.

    Bronze

    1)vivid- light colours
    2) spate-flood
    3)morosely- gloomy
    4) drenched – wet

    Silver

    1) it is really fast
    2)drenched to the skin, splattered with mud, Even aside from the rain and wind it hadn’t been a happy practice session.

  11. Muhammed G.

    1 vivid means to have a strong image in your mind Three synonyms for face it is brilliant vibrant and amazing
    2 Spate means a large number of things coming in a quick succession three synonyms for spate are Oh wave flood or flurry
    3 morosely means to have a solemn moody deposition Three synonyms for morosely are cheerless ill humoured and sullen
    4 drenched means to get covered in something a lot three synonyms for drenched is soaked covered or saturated
    Silver
    The phrase shooting through the air like a missal means that it’s going very fast through the air as if it was a bullet
    Align in the text that says he’s very miserable is he scratched along and another one is that even the session did not make him happy.
    Gold
    The ghost of Gryffindor tower was staring mostly out of the towers window and said don’t fulfil their requirements if it’s that an inch this makes me interested because they didn’t finish the sentence and makes it sound like it’s a very important line in the story.

  12. Nihal P.

    Bronze
    Vivid – very brightly coloured.
    Synonyms – bright, brilliant, intense

    Spate – a larger number of events than usual.
    Synonyms – wave, flood, string.

    Morosely – in a very unhappy or annoyed way.
    Synonyms- gloomily, cheerlessly, joylessly.

    Drenched – something that is extremely wet.
    Synonyms – dirty, muddied, messy.

    Silver
    ‘Shooting through the air like missiles’ suggests that the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves very fast like a rocket through the air.

    Words that help the reader to imagine that Harry is miserable –
    preoccupied.
    hadn’t been a happy practice session.
    splattered with mud.

    Gold
    I like the quote ‘Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end’.
    I like this because it has fun describing words. It makes me think that the raindrops are big and it has been raining for a long time. The quote has used metaphor as it describes the rain like bullets.

  13. Hudayfa A.

    Bronze

    Vivid – memories synonyms bright colour.
    Spate – sudden flooding synonyms heavy flowing.
    Morosely – Unhappy, annoyed synonyms joyless.
    Drenched – soaked synonyms wet.

    Sliver.

    It means cutting through the air like a bullet.
    Slouching, gloomy, tragic, depressed.

  14. Amelia A.

    Bronze

    Vivid- light colours
    Spate-lots of water, pond
    Morosely-pitch black
    Drenched-watery

    Silver

    1) fast,quick
    2)stormy Saturday, drenched to the skin, splattered with mud

  15. Janelle O.

    Bronze
    1. It means like powerful meanings hurtful,delighted.
    2. A large number of simular things come in quick succession.
    3.Having a gloomy sad dispotion.
    4.When something is soaked into water.
    Silver
    Shooting through the air like missles means that the nimbus shoots like air.
    The phrases that he needs is the aside from the rain,shows that he was miserable.
    Gold
    I like the quote, aside from the rain and wind it haven’t been a happy practice session, because there is adjective which is good.

  16. Ramandeep K.

    Bronze
    Vivid- Vivid means a very dark, intence bright colour.
    Spate- Spate means a sudden flood in a river.
    morosely- morosely means having a sullen and gloomy disposition. 
    Drenched- drenched means when your all wet and covered with water.
    Silver
    ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ suggest about how the Nimbus Two Thousand and One moves through the air.
    The readers will imagine the words unhappy,gloomy and downhearted.
    Gold
    I could not do gold because it said file has not been found.

  17. Welat M.

    Bronze:
    vivid – producing powerful feelings synonym – bright, colourful and light

    spate – larger quantity of things coming in succession synonym – epidemic , rash and flood

    morosely – having a sullen and gloomy disposition synonym – sorrow, gloomy and dismally

    drenched – wet thoroughly synonym – soak, drown and permeate

    Silver:
    this suggests that it is going at a very rapid speed in a short amount of time as missiles are very fast

    three words: malicious, horrible and cruel

    Gold:

    “As Harry squelched along the deserted corridor ” suggests that Harry was doing it in a sneaky way in a corridor that is haunted.

  18. Sara K.

    Bronze
    1. Vivid:an intensely deep or bright manner.synonyms:colourful, light
    2. Spate: a flood or rush of water in a river.synonyms rush of water, tsunami
    3. Morosely: having a sullen and gloomy disposition.synoyms: unhappy, annoyed, grumpy
    4. Drenched: something or someone is wet thoroughly.synonyms: soaking,wet
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ shows that the Nimbus 2001 goes through the air really quickly.
    The phrase ‘ raindrops the size of bullets’ shows that the raindrops are larger than usual.
    Gold
    The gold didn’t work.

  19. Haarun M.

    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 unhapp

  20. Adam D.

    I finished bronze and silver in literacy but gold did not work

  21. Osas O.

    Bronze
    1. Vivid:an intensely deep or bright manner.synonyms:colourful, light
    2. Spate: a flood or rush of water in a river.synonyms rush of water, tsunami
    3. Morosley: having a sullen and gloomy disposition.synoyms: unhappy, annoyed, grumpy
    4. Drenched: something or someone is wet thoroughly.synonyms: soaking,wet
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ shows that the Nimbus 2001 goes through the air really quickly.
    The phrase ‘ raindrops the size of bullets’ shows that the raindrops are larger than usual.
    Gold
    I like the quote ‘ Harry squelched along the desert corridor’ as it describes he did it miserably and he was gloomy when he did it

  22. Osas O.

    Bronze
    1. Vivid:an intensely deep or bright manner.synonyms:colourful, light
    2. Spate: a flood or rush of water in a river.synonyms rush of water, tsunami
    3. Morosley: having a sullen and gloomy disposition.synoyms: unhappy, annoyed, grumpy
    4. Drenched: something or someone is wet thoroughly.synonyms: soaking,wet
    Silver
    The phrase ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ shows that the Nimbus 2001 goes through the air really quickly.
    The phrase ‘ raindrops the size of bullets’ shows that the raindrops are larger than usual.
    Gold
    I like the quote ‘ Harry squelched along the desert corridor’ as it describes he did it miserably and he was gloomy when he did it.

  23. Sayda A.

    Bronze
    Vivid-deep or bright colour.Bright,colourful and deep.
    Spate-A number of similar things coming one after the other.Run,string,epidemic.
    Morosely-Gloomy. Miserable,sad,sorrowly.
    Drenched -soaks in water.Wet,soak,moist.

  24. Sayda A.

    Bronze
    Vivid-deep or bright colour.Bright,colourful and deep.
    Spate-A number of similar things coming one after the other.Run,string,epidemic.
    Morosely-Gloomy. Miserable,sad,sorrow.
    Drenched -soaks in water.Wet,soak,moist..

  25. Khadijah M.

    B͟r͟o͟n͟z͟e͟
    𝗩𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱: Producing Powerful Feelings Or Strong, Clear Images In The Mind
    𝗦𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲: A Large Number Of Similar Things Coming In Quick Succession
    𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆: A Sullen And Gloomy Disposition
    𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱: When Something Gets Covered In A Great Quantity Of Water
    S͟i͟l͟v͟e͟r͟
    The Phrase ’𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙞𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨’ Means When Something Gets Shot In The Air Like Rockets (Really Quickly)

    Words That Make The Reader Imagine That Harry Is Unhappy Are Disadvantageous, Despondent And Sorrowful
    G͟o͟l͟d͟
    I Am Unable To Complete Gold Because It Says File Not Found

  26. Lawan R.

    vivid- powerful minded
    Spate-similar things

  27. Myiesha S.

    Bronze:
    Vivid=producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
    Spate=a large number of similar things coming in quick succession.
    Morosely=sullen and ill-tempered.
    drenched=wet thoroughly soak.
    Silver
    ‘shooting through the air like missiles’ means that the Nimbus Two Thousand is going very fast.

  28. Irfa M.

    Silver
    1.shooting through the air like missles suggest 5 thousands moves in the air.
    2.Harry Potter was unhappy, gloomy and sad.

  29. Irfa M.

    Bronze:
    Vivid: producing powerful feeling or strong, realistic images.
    Spate: A large number of things coming quick succession.
    Morose: Sulky, gloomy and bad-tempered.
    Drench: You was or something wet thoroughly.

    1. Irfa M.

      1.synonym realistic, true to life and faithful.
      2.synonym rash, run and rush.
      3.synonym sulky, gloomy and bad-tempered.
      4.synonym drown, flood and swamp.

  30. Irfa M.

    Bronze:
    Vivid: producing powerful feeling or strong, realistic images.
    Spate: A large number of things coming quick succession.
    Morose: Sulky, gloomy and bad-tempered.
    Drench: You was or something wet throughly.

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