Crib Sheets, Language Techniques, Model Answers, Sentence Starters

1. Crib Sheet – Skellig
Remind yourself of the questions
 How do we know Michael is the main character? (Think of narrative voice)
 Describe the garage, using quotes to support your answer. (Chapter 2)
 Describe the garden, using quotes to support your answer. (Chapter 3)
 Why do Michael’s parents tell him not to go into the garage? Support your
answer with a quote. (Chapter 2)
 Who did Michael find in the garage? How did Michael describe him? (Chapter 3)
 What other characters are introduced on these first three chapters? (look at
all names mentioned in all chapters)
 What has happened to the previous owner? Where was he found? (Chapter 1)
 What do you think of the house after reading the first three chapters? What
impression does the reader get from the writer’s description? Use quotes to
support your answers. (try to use similes, metaphors and adjectives)

2. Language Techniques
Simple sentences contain a subject and a verb. Short sentences create tension; long
sentences create depth.
For example: Some students like to study in the mornings.
Compound sentences contain two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The
coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. In longer sentences the
coordinator is preceded by a comma.
For example: I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English
Complex sentences have an independent clause joined by one or more dependent
clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after,
although, or when.
For example: When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last
page.
Onomatopoeia is word that mimics the sound of the object or action it refers to. When
you pronounce a word, it will mimic its sound.
For example: water plops into pond; splish-splash downhill
Personification is when you give human qualities to an object or animal.
For example: The stairs groaned as we walked on them.
Metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or
phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another.
For example: Broken heart; it’s raining men; rollercoaster of emotions.
Simile is a figure of speech that compares two things that are alike in some way.
Similes use words such as “like” or “as.”
For example: They fought like cats and dogs; my love is like a red, red rose; you were as
brave as a lion.
Adjectives are words that describe, identify or define a noun or pronoun.
For example: The final exams were unbelievably difficult

3. Pathetic Fallacy is the attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate
objects or to nature.
For example: angry clouds; a cruel wind.
Adverb is a word or phrase that modifies the meaning of an adjective, verb, or other
adverb, expressing manner, place, time, or degree. Many adverbs end in ly – particularly
those that are used to express how an action is performed.
For example: gently, here, now, very. Tara walks gracefully; he runs fast.
Sensory Language is the use of details from the five senses to add colour and depth to
writing. It helps readers visualize the scene a writer is setting.
For example: She eyed him suspiciously; I glanced; He was still feeling pain;
Emotive language is the deliberate use of strong words to play on the reader’s
feelings. Such words can be used to evoke strong emotional responses in order to
pressure, even coerce, readers to agree.
For example: An innocent bystander had his face shredded by broken glass when a
drunken idiot lost control.
Sentence Starters
Explain your answer by thinking about the use of images, colour, font, title etc
The book cover that is most likely to hook me in is...
The image used makes me think of…
The colours …
The font gives the impression of…
The title is…

4. Level 6 model answer:
David Almond engages the reader through a
number of narrative hooks in the opening
chapter such as withholding information,
description of an unusual setting and raises
questions for the reader.
The description of the setting is unusual and
engages the reader through powerful
adjectives, for example; ‘It was more like a
demolition site or a rubbish dump or like one
of those ancient warehouses they keep
pulling down at the quay.’ The use of the
adjectives ‘ancient’ and ‘rubbish’ suggest
that the garage is very old but also that it
may hide lots of secrets among the rubbish.
When something is ‘ancient’ it has a lot of
history and this may be a clue to what the
narrator found in the garage. The
description intrigues the reader and makes
them want to find out what the secrets are
and who or what could be living in this
‘demolition site’.
Introduce main
points of your
findings.
Point: Introduce
the narrative
hook you are
writing about.
Evidence: Choose an
appropriate quotation
from the text.
Explanation: The
longest part of your
answer where you
explore what the
words mean and the
effect it has on the
reader.
Language feature
Close analysis of
language
Link: Comment on the effect on the
reader, consider; what will it make the
reader think or feel?