Tuesday

Tuesday 30th September

30.09.25

LC: To identify common multiples

Tuesday 30th September

LC: To write a setting description using a toolkit.

The stadium roared as Mia rounded the final bend. Her legs burned, her lungs screamed, but she didn’t slow down. Just ahead, the runner in the red jersey was gaining ground—and fast.

Not today, she thought, gritting her teeth.

She pushed harder. The finish line glinted in the afternoon sun, just fifty metres away. The crowd's cheers blurred into one constant wave of sound.

Mia's foot struck the ground—once, twice, three times more—and then she threw herself forward, chest first, over the white line.

Silence.

Then: applause. Loud. Deafening.

She had done it. Just.

R - How far was Mia from the finish line when she made her final push?

I - Why do you think there was silence just after Mia crossed the line?

C - Why do you think the author used short sentences in the final few lines of the extract?

Tuesday 30th September

LC: To use skimming, scanning and close reading to answer retrieval, inference and choice questions.

Hagrid meanwhile was counting bricks in the wall above the dustbin. “Three up, two across,” he muttered. “Right, stand back, Harry.” He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.

“Welcome,” said Hagrid, “to Diagon Alley.” He grinned at Harry’s amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-stirring - Collapsible said a sign hanging over them. “Yeah, you’ll be needin’ one,” said Hagrid, but first we gotta get yer money.” Harry wished he had about eight eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary’s was shaking her head as they passed, saying, “Dragon liver, seventeen sickles an ounce, they’re mad!”

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry’s age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. “Look,” Harry heard one of them say, “the new Nimbus Two Thousand - fastest ever -“ There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels’ eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...

“Gringotts,” said Hagrid. They had reached a snowy-white building, which towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was –

“Yeah, that’s a goblin,” said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps towards him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these.

Questions:

1. What object did Hagrid use to tap the bricks in the wall?

2. What appeared after the bricks began to move?

3. Name two materials mentioned in the sign above the cauldrons.

4. What was the woman outside the apothecary complaining about

5. What colour were the goblins’ uniforms at Gringotts?

6. What types of owls are listed on the sign for Eeylops Owl Emporium

7. What can we infer about Harry’s feelings as he enters Diagon Alley for the first time?

8. Why do you think Hagrid tells Harry to "stand back" before tapping the wall?

9. Why does the author describe the brick wall as "quivering" and "wriggling"? What effect does this create?

10. How does the author show that Diagon Alley is a magical and unusual place? Give two examples.