The Legend of Podkin One Ear

The Legend of Podkin One Ear

We have created this comprehension pack to reduce your planning time and to help your class get this most out of ‘The Legend of Podkin One Ear’ book. Perfect for in class, as part of a carousel or as homework.

With 192 questions, fully differentiated, varying in style and covering a range of curriculum areas, your class will deepen their understanding, not only of story concepts, but their spelling skills, punctuation knowledge and recognition, understanding of vocabulary and usage, understanding of grammar, tenses, inference, similes, metaphors and much more.

With appropriate questions from each chapter in Podkin One Ear, our resource is a perfect tool to accompany your planning, reduce your workload, increase efficiency and assess the understanding of your children as you progress with your whole class reading text.

Chapter 1

Our first question set begins with a range of retrieval questions about ‘the bard’. Our next four questions focus on identifying a spelling error, punctuation error and synonym and working out the correct tense of the missing word. The last four questions for the chapter 1 comprehension include, inference, extending vocabulary and sequencing the main events in Chapter 1 of The Legend of Podkin One-Ear book.

Summary

Chapter One, ‘A Bard for Bramblemas’, begins with the solitary journey of a rabbit bard through the snowy landscape of the Razorback Downs. The rabbit, heavily cloaked and marked with blue patterns, trudges determinedly through the knee-deep snow towards the woods below. His destination is Thornwood Warren, a large and sophisticated underground community where rabbits live in comfort and safety. As he arrives at the imposing wooden doors of the warren, he knocks forcefully with his staff, seeking entrance on the eve of Bramblemas, a festive night celebrated with stories and merriment. Despite a brief confrontation with the guard, the bard is welcomed inside, where he shakes off the snow and heads towards the warm, bustling heart of the warren.

Within Thornwood Warren, the bard is greeted by Hubert the Broad, the jovial and robust chieftain, who sits at the head of the feasting table adorned with a bramble crown. Amidst the laughter and songs of the other rabbits, the bard is offered food and a place by the fireside, where he begins to share his tales. The young rabbits eagerly gather around, clamouring for stories of legendary figures like Podkin One-Ear. The bard promises to tell them the true tales, stripped of exaggerated heroics and filled with the authentic adventures of Podkin. As he settles into his storytelling, the chapter closes with the promise of rich and enthralling narratives, bringing warmth and wonder to the warren on this festive night.

Chapter 2

In Chapter 2, we have created the bulk of the questions on ‘The Gorm’. Your Year 4 / Year 5 class will explore descriptions and key features of them, as well as their origins, whilst extending vocabulary, making inferences, evaluating true or false and more. The final questions are linked to Lopkin, Podkin’s character, reflecting on information and evidence and making inferences.

Summary

In Chapter Two of ‘The Worst Bramblemas Ever’, we are introduced to the Gorm, terrifying creatures that were once peaceful Sandywell rabbits. These rabbits became corrupted, possibly by a cursed substance, transforming into metal-clad monsters known as the Gorm. They terrorized other rabbit tribes, including Podkin One-Ear’s tribe. Podkin, at eight years old, was a lazy and reluctant heir to his father, Lopkin, chieftain of the Munbury warren. On Bramblemas Eve, while Podkin daydreams, a Gorm rider approaches the warren. Lopkin tries to calm the frightened rabbits and confronts the Gorm, led by Scramashank. As the Gorm invade, Lopkin fights bravely, but the warren falls into chaos. Auntie Olwyn helps Podkin and his siblings escape through a secret tunnel, giving Podkin a copper dagger and instructions to seek help.

Chapter 3

The questions in this chapter include 8 multiple choice questions, 3 single answer and 1 linked to sequencing the main events. We cover a range of events in the chapter with our questions being linked to Ogham, Starclaw, the escape and more. We have included questions linked to homophones, identifying missing punctuation, word class and a range of other questions.

Summary

Chapter Three, titled ‘Starclaw’ recounts the harrowing escape of three young rabbits—Podkin, Paz, and Pook—from a dark tunnel into a snowy forest. Overwhelmed with grief for their lost family and friends, they stumble through the blizzard until they find rest at dawn under an oak tree. Lost and scared, they argue about their location when Podkin notices a crow with metal spikes, hinting it might be a servant of their enemy, the Gorm. The children realise they must keep moving but are halted when Podkin discovers a message from their mother wrapped around the magical dagger, Starclaw. The letter reveals the dagger’s importance and their new mission to protect it from the Gorm. Despite their doubts about the dagger’s usefulness, they resolve to head toward Redwater. As they prepare to leave, they hear ominous sounds of a horn and clanking iron, indicating their pursuers are close.

Chapter 4

Our first four retrieval questions for your class explore the relationship between Pook and Paz and their interactions during their escape. Our next four questions focus on identifying vocabulary, choosing the appropriate tense of word, part of speech and connectives. The final four questions in this chapter focus on using the text the come to a conclusion, summarising, Podkin’s plan and identifying emotions using evidence.

Summary

Rabbits are excellent at running, a survival trait from being prey. Podkin and Paz, exhausted from fleeing all night, stumbled through the snow carrying Pook. The Gorm’s terrifying approach forced them into a cranny hidden by snow. Trapped, Podkin despaired, but Paz devised a desperate plan using a magical copper dagger. Podkin hid with the dagger while Paz, holding Pook, acted as bait. The Gorm riders, transformed into monstrous iron beasts, demanded Podkin’s location. As the Gorm closed in, Podkin, doubting the dagger’s power, cut through a tree. The oak fell, crushing the Gorm and leaving only silence and a splash of blood in the snow.

Chapter 5

Sample Retrieval Question:
Q: What had the fleeing rabbits just done to the Gorm riders? P56

Sample Spelling Question:
Q: A word has been spelt incorrectly in the sentence below. Write the correct spelling below.

‘His ears drooped, his eyes were shadowd and bloodshot.’ P60

Sample Prediction Question
Time to make a prediction. The portcullis had speared through Podkin’s ear. Q: What do you think is most likely to happen?

A. Paz will use the dagger to cut off Podkin’s ear.
B. Paz will use the dagger to cut through the portcullis.
C. Podkin will be taken by the Gorm.
D. The portcullis will be lifted up and Podkin will be free.

Summary

In this chapter, Paz, Podkin, and Pook continue their escape, fleeing into the snowy forest. They follow the sun eastward, eventually finding a frozen river that Paz identifies as the Red River, leading to Redwater warren. Cold and exhausted, they reach the warren and are initially relieved to find it. However, they are met by a gloomy guard and notice the once lively warren is now desolate and eerie. Lady Russet, the chieftain’s wife, welcomes them, but her appearance and demeanor reveal something is terribly wrong. While warming up and eating, Podkin and Paz notice unsettling changes in the warren, such as strange sculptures and the absence of other rabbits. They realize Redwater has been overtaken by the Gorm. As they attempt to escape, a portcullis falls, trapping Podkin by his ear. Despite their desperate efforts, they remain caught in the Gorm’s trap.

Chapter 6

Sample Retrieval Question
Q: What did Paz hear behind her when she turned around? P72

A. The sound of running water.
B. The caw of a crow.
C. The Gorm.
D. The clang of the portcullis.

Sample Tenses Question
Q: Choose the correct word to complete the sentence taken from page 75.
‘Paz gritted her teeth and ______ the portcullis bars.’

A. shake
B. shaked
C. shook
D. shaking
E. shakes

Sample Punctuation Question
Q: Which piece of punctuation is missing from the sentence below?
“Please don’t,” he said. “Just leave me for the Gorm.

A. Capital letter
B. Full stop
C. Apostrophe
D. Speech marks

Summary

In Chapter Six, “One-Ear,” Paz finds Podkin trapped by a portcullis that has speared his ear to the ground. As they face imminent danger from the Redwater rabbits and the approaching Gorm, Lady Russet appears, revealing her betrayal due to the Gorm holding her children hostage. Despite her pleas, Lady Russet refuses to help them escape. Paz, desperate to save her brother, initially tries to use the magic dagger Starclaw to cut through the iron gate, but it fails. Finally, Paz decides to cut off Podkin’s ear to free him. Podkin reluctantly agrees, and Paz uses spider webs to staunch the wound. They flee into the woods, with Podkin experiencing the phantom pain of his lost ear. This chapter emphasizes themes of sacrifice, desperation, and the harsh choices forced by survival.

Chapter 7

This is a large chapter so we have broken our questions sets into two parts.

Sample Sequencing Question
Place the events in chronological order. (Correct order shown)

A. Paz dragged Podkin along by the arm, but his ear was still oozing blood.
B. The rabbits came across the cawing Gorm crow who was sitting on a tree stomp.
C. Suddenly, the crow exploded and a voice said, “I hate those pesky birds.”
D. They met a she-rabbit who killed the Gorm crow and led them to a hidden door.
E. Once inside the little house, they found the she-rabbit was called Brigid.
F. After a rest, Paz found out Brigid had a magic copper sickle and that she was a princess of Redwater.

Summary
In this chapter, Podkin and his siblings, Paz and Pook, struggle through a harsh winter journey as they flee Redwater Warren. Podkin, weakened from his injuries, dreams of family memories while Paz and Pook labor to keep moving. They encounter a metal crow, which explodes but does no harm, heightening their fears.

Soon after, the mysterious she-rabbit Brigid appears, claiming she has been expecting them. She uses a pine sapling to hide their trail and takes them to a hidden burrow where she tends to Podkin’s wound. As they warm by the fire, Brigid reveals her past as a princess and explains the looming threat of the dark entity Gormalech, who seeks to disrupt the balance of life and death.

Brigid tells the rabbits they must reach Boneroot, a safe haven from the Gorm’s influence. With new winter gear and guidance from Brigid, the siblings prepare for the next stage of their journey, filled with a mix of hope and uncertainty.

Overview

Chapters Overview
In Podkin One-Ear we have created 16 question sets.

Each set consists of:
– 4 Retrieval questions
– 4 SPAG questions
– 4 Deeper questions (authorial technique, inference, sequencing, summarising, similes, metaphors etc.)

How does our website work?

1. You will assign each child in your class the questions of a particular chapter.
2. They will login and complete the questions online.
3. You will view the ‘Results’ section and see how each child did.

Results
Green means that the child got the question right first time.

Orange means that the child got it right but it took a few attempts – a number will be displayed inside to show how many attempts.

Red means that the child didn’t get the question correct – a number will be inside the red box to show how many failed attempts.

Interpreting the Results
Select a range of chapter question sets in the results section and choose a child. Next you will be able to see all completed activities and look for patterns, areas of strength and areas for improvement.