Look carefully at the images below... 'Huge, deadly. Stand your ground, stand your ground...'
Write a diary entry as Varjak the day he got run over by the 'monsters'. Remember to use the text and find words and phrases of how Varjak sees the cars, use language like Varjak would...tarmac, dug my claws...
'Far away, but closing in, something shrieked. Something roared. Varjak's heart thudded in his chest as he turned to face it. The shrieking, roaring noise grew louder. It was a pack of dogs, live ones, and they were coming down the road towards him...'
Write the next part of the story, in third person, as the author S.F. Said.
Draw a map of the story so far with the Contessa’s house, the wall, the park and the city. This will help you form a clearer picture of Varjak’s experience and the contrast between his secluded life with his family and life in the city. When you have done it I will post it underneath.
Before you write on the blog, print off this picture and draw your own version of what Varjak sees when he finally gets to the top of the wall.
Here is your final piece...
Afterwards, write a description as if you are Varjak. Describe what he sees. Remember, he has never left the house/garden before so he may not know what things are or what they are called.
Varjak has to make an important decision in Chapter 3. Should the family of cats stay in the house or should they consider leaving?
Write a letter to Varjak from an anonymous friend advising what he should do. Remember to include persuasive language, logical connectives and powerful adjectives. You may also want to use short sentences for emphasis.
Heart racing, Varjak bent back his head [...] it was a man Varjak had never seen before.
Write a diary entry in first person as Varjak Paw as he settles to sleep that night. Remember to include interesting details, personal thoughts, reactions and emotions.
Now, look carefully at the front cover. Use all of the information you see to make predictions about the story...
Think about:
- Where is the story set? How do you know?
- Who might the main character be? What is he/she like?
- What adventures might happen in the story? (I think Varjak Paw will..., This story will be about...)
- What do you think ‘This cat must learn to fight’ means?
He was looking into a great, glittering cavern. The floor was blue ice
and enormous icicles hung in thousands from the roof. Hard blue light
glowed and flickered like cold fire and the wind from the passage moaned
around the walls.
In the centre of the cavern, its back towards the boy,
stood a hideous figure. It was stooped and crooked, and its white robe
hung in folds from a body frame.
Ivan could see a streak of blood at its mouth from the cruel hook.
Using the images and the text imagine that you are Ivan. Draw what you picture and annotate it using some of the key words like glittering cavern, icicles, hideous figure, stooped and crooked, cruel.
'The line of children circled, forming a ring with the fiddlers in the middle. Round and round they whirled, the firelight dancing in their eyes.'
Listen to the first minute of the video below and close your eyes. Imagine Ivan as he watched the children dancing around the fire.
Key questions to think about:
- What was he thinking as he watched them?
- How did he feel?
- How did his mood change seeing and hearing the music and dancing compared to the journey he had just been on?
Write one of his thoughts as a comment below. Remember to write in first person (I, we, me, our, ours, my)
On his treacherous journey, Ivan experienced many dangers and creatures...
A pack of wolves at his heels
A lunging bear
A snowy-owl leaping from it's perch with a scream
Your job is to create a story map from when 'Ivan slipped out of bed...' to 'The snowy-owl circled the snowdrift once and was gone'. Remember to include labels of what he encountered and his experiences, thoughts and feelings along the way.
'He glanced all about and ploughed through the snow, the wolves at his heels. He leapt; his hands closed around the lowest branch and he swung his legs clear of the ground as the first wolf lunged in a flurry of snow.
The wolves milled, snarling, around the foot of the tree. Their slavering jaws were upturned and their breath rose in plumes around him...'
Write a diary entry as Ivan as he gazed down at the wolves...
'Ivan slipped out of bed and pulled on his boots. Then he took his fur parka and moved quietly to the door. Moments later he was across the warm, dark kitchen and out into the freezing cold.'
Write a letter as Ivan to your Mum and Dad. Explain where you have gone and why. Remember to try and persuade them that you will keep safe and return soon.
Include all of the important features of a letter: Your address, date under address, begin with dear/hello/hi, chatty friendly style, paragraphs, ask questions, end with a friendly statement, finish with – bye for now, see
you soon, lots of love and finally your name at the bottom.
'One night when an icy wind whined through the black trees, and powdery snow sifted under everybody's doors, Starjik came to Ivan's house, and when Ivan awoke in the morning his little brother was gone.'
1. Where do you think his little brother had gone?
2. How do you think Ivan and his family felt? 3. Who or what had taken him?
Now, look carefully at the image and the title. Use these to make predictions about the story...
Think about:
- Who might the main character be? What is he/she like?
- Where is the story set? How do you know?
- When did this story happen?
- What adventures might happen in the story?
