Year 5 English: Comparing characters, settings and plots
Part of the Year 5 English reading fiction: summarising and comparing chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Comparing characters, settings and plots
The Lamp of Cold Hill
Every winter, the lamp on Cold Hill went out. The village below had no light after dark, and the children stayed close to their fires. Oona, who was ten and the youngest shepherd in the valley, decided that she would climb the hill and find out why.
The path was steep, and the wind pulled at her cloak. At the top she found a small stone house with no door, only a round window. Inside, a silver fox sat beside a lamp that had gone dark.
‘You may climb here only once a year,’ said the fox. ‘The lamp needs a song sung from the heart. Sing one, and it will burn again.’
Oona had no grand song. She sang about the sheep, the snow and the grandmother who taught her to count the stars. Her voice shook at first, but she kept singing until the lamp glowed gold.
The fox smiled. ‘The lamp was never broken. It was waiting for someone to ask.’
When Oona walked home, the village was bright below her, and every window was lit.
The Tailor and the Button
Mr Pell was the finest tailor in Ashford, and he knew it. One autumn he began a coat so grand that it would have a thousand buttons. He sewed each button with great pride, but he was in such a hurry to be famous that he stitched them quickly and did not check them.
Soon the buttons began to talk. ‘We are too small to matter,’ said the brass button on the sleeve. ‘Nobody will look at us.’
‘Then we will fall off,’ said the button on the collar, and it did.
Mr Pell heard the whispering and frowned. He was too proud to listen. He sewed faster and faster, until his fingers were sore.
One morning, a sparrow landed on the window ledge and watched him work. ‘A coat is only as strong as its smallest stitch,’ she said.
Mr Pell laughed at her. But when the coat was finished, not one of its buttons stayed on. Mr Pell sat down, unpicked the coat, and sewed each button again, slowly this time. It took him a whole winter, and he never again called any job too small.
Key ideas
- Compare characters: what they do, how they feel and what they learn.
- Compare settings: where and when the story happens.
- Compare plots: the problem, the events, and the ending.
- Use a table to organise the comparison.
Method. Find the place in the first paragraph.
- Find the place. The lamp is on Cold Hill and the village is below.Cold Hill
- Write the setting. The setting is a village on a hill.a village on a hill
- Write the answer. a village on a hill
Check. A village on a hill. ✓
Method. Look for the season words.
- Find the words. One autumn he began a coat; it took a whole winter.autumn, winter
- Write the setting. The setting is autumn, and then the winter.autumn and winter
- Write the answer. in autumn, and then over a winter
Check. Autumn and winter. ✓
Method. Find the helper in each story.
- Find Oona's helper. The silver fox helps Oona.the fox
- Find Mr Pell's helper. The sparrow tells Mr Pell what he needs to know.the sparrow
- Write the answer. the fox; the sparrow
Check. The fox and the sparrow. ✓
Exercise 8C Practice: comparing two stories
Method. Find the character who helps the village.
- Find the character. Oona climbs the hill and sings for the lamp.Oona
- Write the answer. Oona.Oona
- Write the answer. Oona
Check. Oona. ✓
Method. Find the character who does not listen.
- Find the sentence. He was too proud to listen.too proud
- Write the answer. Mr Pell.Mr Pell
- Write the answer. Mr Pell
Check. Mr Pell. ✓
Method. Find the place name.
- Find the place. The lamp is on Cold Hill.Cold Hill
- Write the answer. On Cold Hill.on Cold Hill
- Write the answer. on Cold Hill
Check. On Cold Hill. ✓
Method. Find the town name.
- Find the town. Mr Pell was the finest tailor in Ashford.Ashford
- Write the answer. Ashford.Ashford
- Write the answer. Ashford
Check. Ashford. ✓
Method. Find the problem at the start of the legend.
- Find the problem. The lamp on Cold Hill went out every winter.went out
- Write the answer. The village has no light after dark.no light
- Write the answer. the lamp has gone out, so the village has no light
Check. No light after dark. ✓
Method. Find the problem in the fable.
- Find the problem. The buttons fall off when the coat is finished.fall off
- Write the answer. Mr Pell is too hurried and proud, so the buttons come off.hurried and proud
- Write the answer. his stitches are careless, and the buttons fall off
Check. Careless stitches and buttons falling off. ✓
Method. Find the last sentence of the legend.
- Find the sentence. Every window in the village was lit.every window
- Write the answer. The village is bright, and every window is lit.bright
- Write the answer. every window is lit
Check. Every window is lit. ✓
Method. Find the end of the fable.
- Find the sentence. He unpicked the coat and sewed each button again, slowly.sewed each button again
- Write the answer. He sews each button again, slowly.sews again
- Write the answer. he sews each button again, slowly
Check. He sews each button again, slowly. ✓
Method. Compare the two characters.
- Oona. Oona is brave and kind.brave and kind
- Mr Pell. Mr Pell is proud and hurried.proud and hurried
- Write the answer. Accept any difference, such as Oona is kind and Mr Pell is proud
Check. Brave and kind against proud and hurried. ✓
Method. Compare the fox and the sparrow.
- The fox. The fox tells Oona what the lamp needs.tells Oona
- The sparrow. The sparrow tells Mr Pell what matters.tells Mr Pell
- Write the answer. Accept any similarity, such as both are animals who give an important message
Check. Both give a message. ✓
Method. Look at how each problem ends.
- Oona. She sings, and the lamp glows.sings
- Mr Pell. He unpicks the coat and sews the buttons again.sews again
- Write the answer. Oona solves the problem by singing; Mr Pell solves his by sewing the buttons again
Check. Both problems are solved by action. ✓
Method. Use one word or phrase for each cell.
- Characters. Oona is a brave shepherd.Oona
- Setting. Cold Hill, in winter.Cold Hill
- Write the answer. Characters: Oona, a brave shepherd. Setting: Cold Hill, a village in winter.
Check. The table has two rows. ✓