Ghosts and Ghouls - Stage 5 Comp - A Quick Bite - Comprehension Pack.pdf

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Ghosts And Ghouls Text focus: Narrative A Quick Bite It started with a bite. It wasn’t a serious bite, and Tommy managed to stop the blood a er only a few m...

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Ghosts And Ghouls Text focus: Narrative A Quick Bite It started with a bite. It wasn’t a serious bite, and Tommy managed to stop the blood a er only a few minutes. He didn’t think anything of it for the rest of the day; in fact, he was more curious that he’d seen a bat during the day. He’d heard that they were nocturnal. That night, he’d gone to bed and ignored the strange itching and burning that had begun to spread around the wound. In the morning, something wasn’t right. He’d managed to scratch his leg so much during the night that it had bled again. There wasn’t much blood, though. At least, there wasn’t until he caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror and saw the smeared red patch around his mouth. He’d washed it off quickly and rushed down for breakfast. There was something about his cereal that didn’t hit the spot today. He asked his mum for a few slices of toast, well-done and crispy. Having something to bite down on made him feel better for a while, but he soon had the strangest urge to nibble on his dad’s neck. He shook his head and set off for school. That’s where things really started to get strange. He started to hear a steady drumbeat, almost out of hearing but loud enough to annoy him. The more people he was around, the louder the beat. It was slow and steady, about one beat per second. Occasionally, he’d hear a faster beat as somebody ran past on a jog. Heartbeats, his internal voice whispered to him. You can hear their heartbeats. He pressed his hand to his chest, but there was nothing there. No beat, no pulse, no nothing. He was overcome with a sense of thirst, and he licked his lips. His tongue brushed against something sharp, and he was shocked to realise it was his teeth. They’d grown in the night. He hadn’t noticed that morning because he hadn’t bothered to brush his teeth, like most children if they were allowed not to. Tommy’s school wasn’t very far from his house, but his journey took A ding ro Rea und all resources ©2024 Literacy Shed e um C u r r ic ul Th http://www.literacyshedplus.com him through the village centre and past shops with broad windows. Each one reflected the world around him, but none of them showed his own reflection. That was the final nail in the coffin. The coffin that he now worried he’d have to sleep in. There was something he needed to check, so he raced into the supermarket and grabbed a white bulb from the vegetable counter. He bit into it and recoiled. It tasted terrible and burned his mouth. Then, he also remembered that he hated garlic when he was a human. It wasn’t the best test, but with all of the other evidence, Tommy had to accept it; he was turning into a vampire. This could be a problem. How would he avoid biting his teacher or snacking on the lunch ladies? How would he stop himself from attacking his sister whenever she annoyed him? He’d been worried enough about puberty and getting spots, but this was going to be a whole new set of problems. As he wandered away to school, contemplating his fate, Tommy bit down on a raw steak. Perhaps, just maybe, that would be enough. VOCABULARY FOCUS 1. Which word describes an animal that is active at night? 2. Find and copy a phrase that means “saw a bit”. 3. Which word describes a small bite or taste? 4. Which word gives you the impression that the windows on the main street were wide? 5. If you “recoil” from something, what does it mean? VIPERS QUESTIONS S How had Tommy’s worries changed? R Which food did Tommy try? S What was the first sign that something was happening to him? S How did toast help him at breakfast? I Why might it be taking Tommy a while to come to terms with what happened? all resources ©2024 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com