Countries - Stage 5 Comp - Around The World - Comprehension Pack.pdf

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Countries Text focus: Narrative Around The World You may have heard of Phileas Fogg, that intrepid adventurer who travelled around the world in eighty days i...

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Countries Text focus: Narrative Around The World You may have heard of Phileas Fogg, that intrepid adventurer who travelled around the world in eighty days in the famous Jules Verne novel. That fictional character travelled the world as part of a bet; I decided to do it myself just to see if it could be done. Of course, I’m only twelve years old, so I couldn’t very well just purchase a hot-air balloon and float off into the big ol’ blue like Fogg had. Instead, I had to find a more cunning way to visit every corner of our wondrous globe. My solution - virtual reality! I got the new EyePatch VirtualSenso Helmet for my birthday as a gift from my wealthy uncle. I’ve mainly been using it to play shoot ‘em up and sports games, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity to see what it could do. Today is the first day of the summer holidays, so it seemed like a great time to head off on my first adventure. Li le did I know just how far I would go. I woke up in a great mood, gobbled up a hearty adventurer’s breakfast and retreated to my room. I’d spent days looking at the vast map of the world pinned to my bedroom wall, and I knew I wanted to start at the southernmost point of the world and work my way up. I could picture the look on my teacher’s face when I handed in my geography homework in the new year! I programmed the VirtualSenso Helmet on my computer, whacked in the coordinates of the geographic south pole - 90°00′S - and hit “play”. I slid the helmet onto my head and felt the familiar sucking sensation in my ears as all external noise was blocked out. The gloves slipped onto my hands with their usual ease, and the world flickered into view in front of me. It might have been my over-excitement, or perhaps the technology was just so advanced, but I was amazed by how realistic the whole thing felt. It was freezing cold, despite the sun streaming through my bedroom window. I could feel the snowflakes landing on my nose, and my hands wafted in front of my face when I waved them in real life. This was crazy! (Of course, I soon found out why it all seemed so realistic). A ding ro Rea und all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed e um C u r r ic ul Th http://www.literacyshedplus.com Like a true adventurer, I set off into the wilderness. Impressively, my in-game avatar was even dressed in appropriate clothing (I’d be thankful for that in about three minutes). Ahead of me, I could make out a rugged pile of ice that, at first, looked as tall as me. Upon closer inspection, it towered over me to a height of at least twenty feet. The wind had carved a cave into one face, so I stepped inside. I immediately heard a sickening roar, and a monstrously hairy beast raced towards me, hitting me in the chest with its enormous hands. I’d found a yeti! Then, it struck me. The strike across my chest really hurt. I didn’t like that, so I reached up to pull off the VirtualSenso Helmet, only I wasn’t wearing one! Somehow, I’d been pulled into the world through my visor. I was actually stuck in the deepest part of Antarctica. How on Earth was I going to get home? More urgently, how was I going to escape the abominable snowman in front of me? RETRIEVAL FOCUS 1. Find and copy a word from the first paragraph that means the Jules Verne character didn’t give up. 2. Which phrase does the author use to describe the sky? 3. What impression do you get of the character’s breakfast from the word “hearty”? 4. Find and copy a word that lets the reader know the character tried to wave their hands in front of their face. 5. What does the phrase “sickening roar” tell you about how the character felt when they heard it? VIPERS QUESTIONS R Who is the author trying to be like? S What was the first clue that the character had actually travelled through to Antarctica? I Why is it lucky that the author’s avatar was dressed appropriately for the game? R What coordinates did the character enter? P What do you think is likely to happen next in the story? Justify your answer with a reason. all resources ©2023 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com