Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme took place during the First World War in France by the
River Somme. It began on 1st July 1916 and ended on 18th November 1916. The
French army had lost many soldiers to the German army at Verdun. The British
Army were ordered to help the French army defend themselves against the Germans.

Trenches
During the First World War, huge trenches were dug into the ground wherever there
was a battle. The soldiers would live in the trenches and, when ordered to, had to
climb up out of the trenches and run towards the enemy troops.

This was called “going over the top”. Trenches were muddy, narrow and damp.

The British Plan

The plan was to fire at the German lines and then advance towards them on foot
and fight face to face.

Many British commanders did not think this was

a very good strategy, but others like the British
General, Douglas Haig, thought it was the best
thing to do.

On that first day, the British Army fired

1 738 000 shells at the German trenches. Then
they advanced towards them. It was catastrophic.

The Germans were hardly affected as they hid deep in their trenches. The British
soldiers were mown down by German machine gunfire.

The British Army suffered 20 000 casualties on that first day!

It has been reported that the Germans were so horrified at the vast number
of British soldiers who were killed that day that some of them refused to keep
firing.

Did you know?

The British Army had soldiers from other countries fighting with them. The
men came from Ireland, Newfoundland, South Africa and India.

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 Battle of the Somme

Many people in Britain were angry at the huge loss of so many young
men, and called it The Lost Generation.

Back in Britain, people began to build simple war shrines in honour of

the fallen soldiers.

These were simple, wooden handmade tablets with the names of the
men carved into them.

No Man’s Land
The area between the British trenches and German trenches was called
No Man’s Land.

On 14th July 1916, the British Army soldiers gathered here at night,
ready to launch a massive dawn attack.

At 3.20am the British pounded the enemy lines and the Germans were
taken by surprise.

On 13th November 1916, the British attacked the German defences and captured
7,000 German prisoners.

The End of the War

Winter was closing in. The terrible weather meant men were trying to fight in
muddy, boggy fields. Fighting was suspended. The plan was to carry on fighting in
February, but the Germans decided to retreat. The battle was officially over on 18th
November 1916.

Battle of the Somme Facts

• It had been a terrible battle, with 420 000 casualties for the British Army.

• The French lost 200 000 men.

• The Germans lost 500 000 men.

• In 141 days, the British had only advanced 7 miles.

• Many men from Britain had been grouped together in battalions

from the same town. The groups were called British Pals.

Journalists were given misinformation about the battle, and reported that,
“German prisoners are surrendering freely and a good many have already
fallen into our hands.” This was not true.

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 Battle of the Somme

Questions
1. Why did the British Army become involved in the Battle of the Somme?

2. How long did the battle last?

3. Explain what you think the trenches were for.

4. Explain, in your own words, what the British plan was.

5. What does ‘catastrophic’ mean in this context?

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 Beowulf: An Epic Poem

A translation of part of the poem

Grendel the Murderer

{Grendel attacks the sleeping heroes}

When the sun was sunken, he set out to visit

The lofty hall-building, how the Ring-Danes had used it

For beds and benches when the banquet was over.

Then he found there reposing many a noble

Asleep after supper; sorrow the heroes,

Misery knew not. The monster of evil

Greedy and cruel tarried but little.

{Grendel drags off thirty of them, and devours them}

Fell and frantic, and forced from their slumbers

Thirty of thanemen; thence he departed

Leaping and laughing, his lair to return to,

With surfeit of slaughter sallying homeward.

In the dusk of the dawning, as the day was just breaking,

Was Grendel’s prowess revealed to the warriors.

When was the poem composed and written down?

In Anglo-Saxon times, poems and stories were told by a travelling minstrel
or scop as most people could not read or write. The poem must have been
passed down through the generations, being modified by each storyteller, until
the existing copy was written down by two scribes somewhere in Anglo-Saxon
England over 1000 years ago.

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 Beowulf: An Epic Poem

Questions
1. Which country and group of people was Beowulf prince of?

2. Do you think ancient Scandinavian countries had only one king or many rulers? Find
evidence from the text to support your answer.

3. In the text, what are the sub-headings for? How does this help the reader?

4. Look at the poem in the text box; what are the unusual shaped brackets { } for? Where
might you have seen them before?

5. Look at the poem in the text box. Can you find and record words which tell you when the
monster arrived at the King’s hall to begin his attack and when he returned to his
lair (home)?

6. Using clues from the text, what do you think the words ‘reposing’ and ‘tarried’ and
‘surfeit’ mean?

7. Why does each new line of the poem begin with a capital letter?

8. If the poem was not written down for many years after it was made up, how do you think
minstrels remembered it? How do you think ancient people communicated with each other
if there were no phones, newspapers or television?

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 Beowulf: An Epic Poem
9. How can historians tell how old something is by looking at the words? Hint – think about
the vocabulary that is written down.

10. How do historians know there were two people who wrote the poem?

11. Can you find six present tense verbs under the heading ‘The poem’ and record them in a
table. Can you change them to past tense and record them too? Think about how you will
set your table out.

12. Some scholars believe Beowulf was an ancient day ‘superhero’? Can you explain why they
might think that?

Extension task:
Do you think neighbouring countries should help each other out in battle, like Beowulf did
for his Danish friends? What could happen if they did not want to? Explain your opinion.

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 Father’s Day
While it’s now seen around the world as a day of celebration, Father’s Day has
its roots in a calamity. On 5th July 1908, a memorial event was held to honour
the lives of 362 men, who had perished in a devastating blast at the Fairmont
Coal Company mines in West Virginia, USA. Many of the men who died were
father figures in their communities.

Less than 12 months later, a young woman named Sonora

Smart Dodd witnessed a church sermon about Mother’s Day,
which sparked her imagination. Sonora’s mother had passed
away when she was 10 years old and she was one of six
children who had been raised by her father. She appreciated
the complexities of the job her father had in raising her.
She decided to try to garner support to start an official
national day to honour fathers.

Did You Know?

• In the UK, Father’s Day is celebrated each year

on the third Sunday of June.

• Sonora Dodd originally wanted Father’s Day to be

celebrated on the 5th of May, which was her father’s
birthday.

Sonora Dodd successfully petitioned a number of groups,

including churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers, and the
government. Finally, 19th June 1910 was chosen by
Washington State to be the first official Father’s Day in
the world. Since then, countries around the world have
chosen their own official days to celebrate Fathers’ Day. Australia
celebrates Father’s Day annually on the first Sunday of September.

There are no hard-and-fast traditions on how people celebrate Father’s Day

in Australia because no two people are identical. People have diverse ways of
showing their appreciation, not only to their biological fathers, but to any man
who plays the role of a father in their lives. The most common ways to do this
would be to spend quality time with that person, to give a thoughtful gift that
suits him, or to perform a thoughtful gesture that will brighten up his day.

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 Father’s Day

Questions
1. What does ‘calamity’ mean?

2. What happened on 5th July 1908 in West Virginia?

3. Why do you think Sonora Dodd was so determined to have a national day just for fathers?

4. What does the word ‘garner’ mean?

5. How could you work out the date of Father’s Day next year?

6. Other than biological fathers, who else might be celebrated on this day?

7. What does ‘hard-and-fast’ mean?

8. How will you celebrate Father’s Day?

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 Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was born between 1820 and 1825 in Dorchester County,
Maryland in the United States. She was born into slavery as her mother was
already a slave and owned by Mary Pattison Brodess. Harriet’s father was also
a slave, but was freed at the age of 45 due to his owner’s wishes after his death.
However, her father Ben had to continue to work for his owner’s family as he
could not afford to leave.

Harriet’s Early Life

Harriet’s real name was Araminta Harriet Ross. Her early life was always hard.
She was a field hand slave, so had to work out in the plantation fields every day,
in the burning sun. She was often whipped and beaten. Once, a lead weight was
thrown at her and it hit her head. As a result, she suffered terrible headaches
and narcolepsy.

Her owner’s son, Edward, sold three of her sisters to another plantation, which
broke up the family. A trader from Georgia wanted to buy her brother Moses,
but her mother, Rit, did not agree to the sale and set a powerful example to her
daughter, Araminta.

Narcolepsy
Born
An illness where
Around 1820
the sufferer
Died falls asleep very
10th March, 1913 suddenly at any
time in the day,
Age
whatever they
Approximately 93 years old
are doing.

Growing up
In 1844, Araminta married a free black man called John Tubman. Not much is
known about John. It was around this time that Araminta changed her name
to Harriet, possibly in honour of her mother.

Five years later, Harriet escaped slavery with two of her brothers. She decided to
leave after her owner died. She feared for her own safety and left Maryland with
her brothers on 17th September, 1849. Her husband would not leave with her.

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However, once they had left her brothers had second thoughts, so Harriet made
sure they got safely back to the plantation and then she left again, heading for
Pennsylvania.

Escape
Harriet used the network known as the Underground Railroad to travel nearly
140km to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. She crossed to the free state of
Pennsylvania, with a great feeling of relief and awe. She said,

“I found when I crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same
person. There was such a glory over everything; the sun came like gold through
the trees, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in Heaven.”

Harriet’s Mission
Harriet made it her mission to rescue family and friends from living in slavery.
Over the following years, she returned to Maryland at night to guide her parents,
siblings and others to safety.

She was constantly risking her own life. By 1860, she had returned to the
plantation 19 times and saved 300 people from slavery. She earned the nickname
‘Moses’, as she was compared to the man in the Bible who led slaves to freedom.
John Brown was a leading slave abolitionist, which meant he worked to end
slavery, and he described Harriet as “one of the bravest persons on this continent”.

Harriet would carry a gun with her for defence and she was not afraid to show
it to enemies on her numerous trips. She was proud that she had never lost a
fugitive or allowed one to turn back.

Her biggest problem was making the black people believe that they did not have
to be slaves.

Harriet’s Achievements
Harriet saved over 1000 people. During the American Civil War, she was a nurse
and spy. She passed information onto Colonel Montgomery, passing unnoticed
through the enemy territory. She became a leader of corps of local black people.
She had very little money, so earned her living through selling pies, gingerbread
and root beer.

After the war, she returned to Auburn in New York and helped freed black people
begin new lives in freedom. She turned her home into the Home for Indigent and

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 Harriet Tubman
Aged Negroes, where her parents and many others lived their last days.

She was a poor woman and contracted pneumonia. Unable to pay for medicine,
she died in 1913, aged around 93.

She had shown such courage and care for others, and not thought for the
danger she was in herself. She had saved so many lives and changed people’s
opinions about slavery. She made them see it was wrong, and helped slaves see
themselves as people with self-worth.

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 Harriet Tubman Questions
Answer the following questions in as much detail as you can and in full sentences.

1. Why was Araminta born a slave?

2. Explain why Araminta’s father did not leave his owner’s land even though he was free after
his owner died.

3. Name two things that made Araminta’s early life so hard.

4. What do you think some of the dangers of having narcolepsy might be?

5. Araminta’s mother was a strong woman. What incident demonstrates this strength?

6. After escaping from slavery the first time, why did Harriet return?

7. What words does the author use to tell us the emotions Harriet experienced when reaching
Pennsylvania?

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8. Explain in your own words, why you think Harriet checked whether she was a different
person on being free?

9. Why was Harriet nicknamed ‘Moses’?

10. Explain what the author means in this sentence: “She had never lost a fugitive or allowed
one to turn back.”

11. What stopped Harriet saving more people from slavery?

12. How did Harriet continue to help people after the war?

13. Describe Harriet Tubman’s character.

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 J.K. Rowling
Biography
Name: J.K. Rowling is the best-selling living author in
Joanne Rowling the UK and her books are popular all over the
Born: world. Rowling has described writers such as
31st July 1965 Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis as her sources of
inspiration.
Place of birth:
Gloucestershire, UK She was born Joanne Rowling on 31st July
1965, in Gloucestershire. She enjoyed writing
Occupation: fantasy stories from an early age, reading them
Writer, Author to her younger sister. As a teenager, Rowling
began studying French and Classics at Exeter
University. Having graduated, she moved to
London to work as a researcher for Amnesty
International, an organisation which works to
protect human rights around the world. She
later moved to Manchester, where she worked
at the Chamber of Commerce.

It was in 1990, when Joanne was on a delayed

train journey from Manchester to London that
the idea for a series of books came into her head.
During the writing of the first Harry Potter
book, Joanne’s mother died, greatly affecting
her writing. Rowling decided to introduce more
detail about the loss of the main character’s
parents as she knew how it felt. Rowling used
her life as inspiration for many other ideas in the book, for example, her parents
met at Kings Cross Station, which is where Harry Potter catches the train to
school, and Joanne shares her birthday with Harry.

After living and working as an English teacher in Portugal, Rowling moved to

Edinburgh with her daughter, who is named after one of Joanne’s favourite
writers. Those early days of living in Scotland weren’t easy for Rowling - she
had no job but dedicated her time to finishing her book. When the story was
finally completed, it was sent to 12 different publishing houses, all of which
turned it down. In 1997, the book was finally published by Bloomsbury under
the name J.K. Rowling. As Joanne didn’t have a middle name, she incorporated
Photo courtesy of Sjhill (@wikimedia commons) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

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 J.K. Rowling

her grandmother’s name, ‘Kathleen’ into her initials. Her real name wasn’t used
as the publishers didn’t think that boys would want to read a book written by a
female author. Shortly after being published, the book won its first award and
proved to be hugely popular. She later released the sequel, ‘Harry Potter and the
Chamber of Secrets’, followed by ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. It
was the fourth book in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’, which
broke sales records in both the UK and America. Rowling was also named Author
of the Year at the 2000 British Book Awards and awarded an OBE for services
to children’s literature.

The final book in the series, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, was released
in 2007 and became the fastest-selling book in history, selling millions of copies
on the first day of release. The books were made into hugely successful films and
have captured the imaginations of children and adults all around the world.
Since the end of the Harry Potter stories, Rowling has written other books linked
to the series. She has also written stories for adults and continues to embark on
other projects.

Today, original copies of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ sell for
around AUD $33 000 and the series has been translated into 65 languages.

Photo courtesy of veganstraightedge (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution

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 J.K. Rowling

Questions
Answer the questions in full sentences.

1. When and where was she born?

2. Name one of Rowling’s favourite authors.

3. Which university did Joanne study at?

4. Explain why she moved to London.

5. Where did Joanne come up with the idea for the Harry Potter series?

6. Can you explain how the death of her own mother affected her writing?

7. Give two other ways in which she has used her own life experiences in the Harry Potter books.

8. What did the publishers think about Joanne’s full name being printed on her books?

9. What could one of the original copies of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ sell for?

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 My Shadow By Robert Louis Stevenson
Answer in full sentences.
1. Who is ‘he’ in the poem?

2. What do we call the device we use to give human characteristics to

something that isn’t human?
a) simile
b) metaphor
c) personification
d) ellipsis
3. How many rhyming couplets are there in the poem?

4. Use the text to help explain what a coward is.

*Clue: What does the shadow do?

5. Who does the narrator mean when using the word ‘nursie’?

6. Does the language in the poem tell us that this is an old or modern poem?
Give one example to back up your answer.

7. In the final verse, why had the shadow ‘stayed at home’?

(a) His shadow went to bed late the night before.
(b) His shadow doesn’t like buttercups.
(c) His shadow is too lazy to get up.
(d) The sun wasn’t up so the narrator
wouldn’t be able to see their shadow.

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