Year 5 English: Legend-style stories and recommending a book
Part of the Year 5 English reading fiction: summarising and comparing chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Legend-style stories and recommending a book
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.
Key ideas
- A legend is a traditional kind of story that often explains why something is as it is.
- Many legends include a magical helper or a special place.
- To recommend a book, say what it is about, why you enjoyed it, and who might like it.
- Use evidence from the text: quote a short line or name a detail.
Method. Find the sentence that gives the answer.
- Find the sentence. The text says Oona was ten and the youngest shepherd.Oona
- Write the answer. The youngest shepherd is Oona.Oona
- Write the answer. Oona
Check. Oona. ✓
Method. Find what the fox says the lamp needs.
- Find the sentence. The fox says the lamp needs a song sung from the heart.a song
- Write the answer. The fox asks for a song sung from the heart.a song sung from the heart
- Write the answer. a song sung from the heart
Check. A song sung from the heart. ✓
Method. Find the reason in the first paragraph.
- Find the reason. The lamp went out, so the village had no light after dark.no light
- Write the reason. The children stayed close to their fires because there was no light.no light after dark
- Write the answer. there was no light after dark
Check. There was no light after dark. ✓
Exercise 8A Practice: retrieving from the legend
Method. Find the sentence about her decision.
- Find the sentence. Oona decided she would climb the hill and find out why.find out why
- Write the answer. She wanted to find out why the lamp had gone out.to find out why the lamp went out
- Write the answer. to find out why the lamp went out
Check. To find out why the lamp went out. ✓
Method. Find the sentence describing the house.
- Find the sentence. Inside, a silver fox sat beside a lamp that had gone dark.beside a lamp
- Write the answer. The fox sat beside a lamp that had gone dark.beside a lamp that had gone dark
- Write the answer. beside a lamp that had gone dark
Check. Beside a lamp that had gone dark. ✓
Method. Find the colour in the last part of the story.
- Find the sentence. She kept singing until the lamp glowed gold.gold
- Write the answer. The lamp glowed gold.gold
- Write the answer. gold
Check. Gold. ✓
Method. Find the list of things she sang about.
- Find the list. She sang about the sheep, the snow and the grandmother who taught her to count the stars.the sheep, the snow
- Write two. Any two of these are correct.the sheep and the snow
- Write the answer. Accept any two of: the sheep, the snow, her grandmother, the stars
Check. Any two of the listed things. ✓
Method. Find the word that shows how often.
- Find the word. The story says every winter.every winter
- Write the answer. Every winter.Every winter
- Write the answer. Every winter
Check. Every winter. ✓
Method. Use the sentence to work out the meaning.
- Read the sentence. The path was hard to climb, and the wind pulled at her cloak.hard to climb
- Write the meaning. Steep means going up very sharply.very sloping
- Write the answer. very sloping, so hard to climb
Check. Steep means very sloping. ✓
Method. Think about what the author means by grand.
- Read the sentence. Oona had no grand song, so she sang about what she knew.what she knew
- Write the meaning. Grand means splendid or impressive.impressive
- Write the answer. a fine or impressive song
Check. Grand means splendid. ✓
Method. Find the sentence with never broken.
- Find the sentence. The fox says the lamp was never broken.never broken
- Write the answer. The lamp was never broken.The lamp was never broken.
- Write the answer. The lamp was never broken.
Check. The lamp was never broken. ✓
Method. Find the sentence about the walk home.
- Find the sentence. When Oona walked home, the village was bright below her.When Oona walked home
- Write the answer. The sentence begins When Oona walked home.When Oona walked home
- Write the answer. When Oona walked home
Check. When Oona walked home. ✓
Method. Say what the story is about and why you liked it.
- Say what it is about. It is about a girl who brings light back to a village.a girl who brings light back
- Give a reason. A friend who likes magic would enjoy the fox and the lamp.the fox and the lamp
- Write the answer. It is a magical story about a brave girl, so a friend who likes adventures would enjoy it.
Check. The recommendation uses the story. ✓
Method. Think about the features of a legend.
- Look for features. A legend explains and has magic.explains and has magic
- Use a detail. The fox explains that the lamp was waiting for someone to ask.the fox explains
- Write the answer. Yes; it explains why the lamp was dark and has a magical fox, which are features of a legend
Check. The story has features of a legend. ✓