Deepening Understanding YR6 Historical Fiction The …...The Titanic was called ‘the unsinkable ship’ implying the ship was not capable of sinking. Despite this, the ship does

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Deepening Understanding YR6 Historical Fiction The Titanic by Vicky Birch

The noise was something I will never forget. That unearthly screech will ring in my ears forevermore. It was then that I instantly became aware – something awful was happening. Instantaneously, Jasper and I frantically jumped out of bed, flung on our dressing gowns and dashed outside onto the terrace to see what all the commotion was about. The sight we were greeted with was mesmerising; there before us towered a gloriously giant iceberg, crisp and glimmering in the moonlight. I know it seems bizarre but to this day I still consider that to be the most

magnificent sight I’ve ever seen. Time seemed to stand still as the astonishing ice-kingdom glided by, almost serenely, and there was a calm air of tranquillity as if nothing had happened. As I stared in awe – captivated by the icy white glow before me – I was suddenly brought back to reality upon noticing the deafening cries and screams of others on board. I leant over the railing to get a better look, desperately trying to decipher the bellows and caterwauls from nearby passengers.



“IT’S HIT!” cried the child in the room next to us, as his mother cradled him in her arms willing him to remain calm. Could it be true, I wondered? Could that ghastly noise really have

been an iceberg slicing along the side of our boat? It seemed like such an absurd suggestion. This was The Titanic after all - the unsinkable ship! Catastrophically, it was true…this nightmare was a reality. We frantically foraged around the upper deck, searching almost to the point of exhaustion in an attempt to try and locate a lifeboat…but we stood no chance: we were too late. Looking down at Jasper’s despondent face, which appeared as if he had already resigned himself to his fate, I realised I had to remain strong for him. I wouldn’t let him see that I was full of dread. It was in that instant that I made the decision to jump. Although it sounds ridiculous, it was as if I just knew it was the right thing to do.

I grabbed Jasper’s hand. It was only when he winced that I realised how tightly I was clutching onto him in my total state of panic. “This is it,” I whispered as I stared directly into his teary, terrified eyes. “It’s our only hope.” Jasper drew a deep breath and nodded as he reluctantly crept towards the edge of the ship. “I can’t Jenny, I just can’t!” he exclaimed as he turned and reached for the railing. His tiny hands clutched onto the sides of the railing whilst he fought with all his strength, desperate not to let even a finger slip and loosen his grip around the metal. However, now was no time for hesitation: we had to jump. “Three…” Our toes hung over the edge. “Two…” My heartbeat vaulted in my chest.

“One…” A sudden intake of breath. “JUMP!” Down and down we fell, for what seemed like an eternity, before we crashed into the ice-cold water below us. To those far off in the distance, our boat must have looked miniscule and insignificant, slowly slipping away into the depths



of the abyss but in reality there was no greater scene than this. Not that it was likely there was anyone in the distance. Amidst the chaos, I’d overheard a crew member saying that the nearest lifeboats were a deplorable four hours away. I wondered if they’d

even be able to see us, let alone find us before it was too late… Back in the water, pandemonium surrounded us as passengers hysterically thrashed around, everyone urgently trying to save themselves. I had never been a religious person, yet somehow in that moment the idea of an omnipotent God seemed so comforting when faced with such peril. I glanced up at the ship, which now towered menacingly above us; its bow rose into the air with the same majesty as the ice-kingdom that had so tragically brought about its doom. As water had poured inside the perforated steel hull, it became too great of a force for the ship to compete with. With a thunderous crescendo the bow raised up, before plummeting itself into the water sucking under anything within its immediate

radius. The ship was gone. All too soon, the once resounding cries from those in the water were no more. In contrast, a painful absence of sound swept across the water. I had almost given up hope as we had been floating in the painfully cold water for hours. I could no longer feel any part of my body and I could see that my hair was beginning to freeze and turn to ice. I felt dizzy and euphoric – a strange, bewildering sensation - but I suppose in the midst of all the chaos my mind took me somewhere where I felt happy. All of a sudden, far away in the distance, I saw a flash of light scanning across the water.

“We’re coming for you! Is there anyone alive?” echoed the eight most reassuring words I had ever heard. Yes, I thought. Yes... We are alive and we are going to be saved.



Deepening Understanding YR6 Historical Fiction Text

This set of questions is based upon the text ‘The Titanic’ written by Vicky Birch

Explain the sentence:

‘It was true…this nightmare was a reality’. Q2

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1 Mark

Explain why Jenny referring to the Titanic as ‘the

unsinkable ship’ is ironic. Q3

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1 Mark

In paragraph 1, what indicates to Jenny that something

awful is happening? Q1

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1 Mark



In paragraph 3, a mother is ‘willing’ her child to remain

calm. Explain the effect of this on the reader.

Q5

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1 Mark

She was apprehensive of the impact that the iceberg would have.

She wanted discover the circumstances of the collision.

She was considering how to reduce the dangers to Jasper.

She had an overwhelming sense of reverence.

Why might Jenny ‘stare in awe’ at the iceberg? Q4

1 Mark



Match the words to the quote to show Jenny’s feelings

throughout the text. Q6

1 Mark

desperation

peaceful

realisation

optimistic

‘the astonishing ice-kingdom glided by’

‘trying to decipher the bellows and

caterwauls from nearby passengers’

‘We are alive and we are going to be

saved.’

‘Catastrophically, it was true… this

nightmare was a reality.’

Explain why Jenny may have experienced this feeling

when she was in the ice-cold water. Q7

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_______________________________________________

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2 Marks

‘I felt dizzy and euphoric – a strange, bewildering sensation, but I

suppose in the midst of all the chaos my mind took me somewhere

where I felt happy.’



1 Mark

exhausted relieved confident weak

Which word best describes how Jenny is feeling in the

final sentence of the text. Q9

In the final paragraph, why had Jenny ‘almost given up

hope’ ? Q8

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1 Mark



Using the numbers 1-5, sequence the order of events. Q10

0

1 Mark

Jenny doubts if what she had seen was true.

Jenny begins to feel confident they will be saved.

They heard an unfamiliar sound.

They realise they are too late for a lifeboat.

Jenny witnessed a beautiful sight.



Question One (1 Mark)

1 mark for showing an understanding that the noise alerted the author that

something terrible was happening

E.g. The noise because the text says it was something the author would

‘never forget’.

E.g. The awful noise as the text says the ‘unearthly screech’.

Question Two (1 Mark)

1 mark for showing an understanding that the reality of life was so bad it was

like a nightmare had come true.

Initially they thought what was happening was like a bad dream, but the

reality was that the awful situation was actually happening in real life.

Question Three (1 Mark)

1 mark for showing an understanding that the massive ship, which was built to

be unsinkable, was tragically now sinking. The word irony in this literary sense

means that the actually reality of the situation differed radically from what

was initially believed.

The Titanic was called ‘the unsinkable ship’ implying the ship was not

capable of sinking. Despite this, the ship does begin to sink and therefore this

contrasts hugely from what Jenny had been led to believe.

Question Four (1 Mark)

1 mark

She had an overwhelming sense of reverence.

DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING ANSWER SHEET

THE TITANIC READING COMPREHENSION – STANDARD Qs



Question Five (1 mark)

1 mark for reference to any of the following:

The reader feels sympathy for the mother who is trying to comfort her child

and encourage them to remain calm amidst the chaos.

The reader understands the desire that the mother has to want her child to

feel calmer in such a terrible situation.

Question Six (1 mark)

1 mark for correctly matching quotes to feelings

desperation – trying to decipher the bellows and caterwauls from nearby

passengers

peaceful – the astonishing ice-kingdom glided by

realisation – Catastrophically, it was true…this nightmare was a reality.

optimistic – We are alive and we are going to be saved.

Question Seven (2 Marks)

1 mark for a simple response

E.g. She felt so scared she took her mind off elsewhere.

E.g. She had been in icy-water for so long her mind/body began to feel

strange.

2 marks for more developed answer with an explanation using evidence from

the text

E.g. She had experienced something so terrible that she was trying to find

happiness once all the chaos was over – her mind took her ‘somewhere’ she

felt happy.

E.g. Jenny has been through a traumatic experience therefore she feels

confused but elated that she was survived - ‘dizzy and euphoric’. This is

strange to her because she feels maybe she should be feeling sad. Her

situation is so devastating that to cope her mind takes her away to

somewhere ‘happy’.



Question Eight (1 Mark)

1 mark for showing an understanding of how she was feeling and the reason

why.

They had been floating in the freezing water for hours.

Question Nine (1 Mark)

1 mark for identifying the correct word

relieved

Question Ten (1 Mark)

1 mark for correctly ordering events 1-5

Jenny doubts if what she had seen was true - 3

Jenny begins to feel confident they will be saved - 5

They heard an unfamiliar sound – 1

They realise they are too late for a lifeboat - 4

Jenny witnessed a beautiful sight - 2

Documents

Deepening Understanding YR6 Historical Fiction The …...The Titanic was called ‘the unsinkable ship’ implying the ship was not capable of sinking. Despite this, the ship does