Hello everyone and welcome to your lesson on solving "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" mystery.

I'm Miss Sutherland and I'll be teaching you today.

Our learning outcome for today is to be able to summarise the ending of "The Speckled Band." So we are going to be finding out, finally what happened to Julia Stoner.

We have four keywords today and they are, vigil.

A vigil is a period of staying awake at night to keep watch.

Ventilator, a ventilator is a grate, usually on the ceiling, that provides air into a room.

Fatal, if something is fatal, it can cause death.

And sombre, if there is a sombre atmosphere, there is a gloomy, sad atmosphere.

I'll give you a second to pause the video and make a note of any words you wish to.

Great! Let's get started.

Today we have two learning cycles.

In the first learning cycle, we'll be reading a little bit of the story and we'll be finding out just what Holmes and Watson go through in their dreadful vigil when they have to stay up, keeping watch in Helen's room to see what type of danger the sisters could have been in.

And in the second learning cycle, we will make sure we've understood how Sherlock Holmes solved this crime.

So let's get started with "The dreadful vigil." "As part of the ongoing investigation into Julia Stoner's death, Holmes and Watson have sent Helen Stoner to the village inn.

They instead will stay in her bedroom at Stoke Moran for the night, to avoid her being in danger." So in the section we are about to read, Holmes and Watson are waiting for Helen Stoner to give a signal for them to come to her room and begin keeping watch.

I want you to think about this.

What do you think they will find in Helen Stoner's room? What do you think will happen whilst they're in there? Pause the video and discuss that question.

I heard a range of really interesting predictions.

Now it's time to see if you are right.

Let's continue the reading.

"'Do you know Watson,' said Holmes, as we sat together in the gathering darkness, 'I have really some scruples as to taking you tonight.

There is a distinct element of danger.

' 'Can I be of assistance?' 'Your presence might be invaluable.

' 'Then I shall certainly come.

' 'It is very kind of you.

' 'You speak of danger.

You have evidently seen more in these rooms than was visible to me.

' 'No, but I fancy that I may have deduced a little more.

I imagine that you saw all that I did.

' 'I saw nothing remarkable save the bell-rope and what purpose that could answer I confess is more than I can imagine.

' 'You saw the ventilator too?' 'Yes, but I do not think that it is such a very unusual thing to have a small opening between two rooms. It was so small that a rat could hardly pass through.

' 'I knew that we should find a ventilator before ever we came to Stoke Moran.

' 'My dear Holmes!' 'Oh, yes, I did.

You remember in her statement, she said that her sister could smell Dr.

Roylott's cigar.

Now, of course that suggested at once that there must be a communication between the two rooms. It could only be a small one or it would've been remarked upon at the coroner's inquiry.

I deduced a ventilator.

' 'But what harm can there be in that?' 'Well, there is at least a curious coincidence of dates.

A ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who sleeps in the bed dies.

Does that not strike you?' 'I cannot as yet see any connection.

' 'Did you observe anything very peculiar about that bed?' 'No.

' 'It was clamped to the floor.

Did you ever see a bed fastened like that before?' 'I cannot say I have.

' 'The lady could not move her bed.

It must always be in the same relative position to the ventilator and to the rope or so we may call it, since it was clearly never meant for a bell-pull.

'" Let's check your understanding of the section we've just read.

What is peculiar about Helen Stoner's bed? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said, "Helen Stoner's bed is clamped to the floor," that means, it's stuck in its position and that's peculiar because it means she can't move it and it has to always be beneath the ventilator and the bell-rope.

Holmes takes this as a very interesting clue.

"'Holmes,' I cried, 'I seem to see dimly what you were hinting at.

We are only just in time to prevent some subtle and horrible crime.

' 'Subtle enough and horrible enough.

When a doctor goes wrong, he's the first of criminals.

He has nerve and he has knowledge.

Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession.

This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we should be able to strike deeper still, but we shall have horrors enough before the night is over.

For goodness' sake, let us have a quiet pipe and turn our minds for a few hours to something more cheerful.

' About nine o'clock, the light among the trees was extinguished and all was dark in the direction of the Manor House.

Two hours passed slowly away and then, suddenly, just at the stroke of 11, a single bright light shone out right in front of us.

'That is our signal,' said Holmes, springing to his feet.

'It comes from the middle window.

' As we passed out, he exchanged a few words with the landlord, expending that we were going on a late visit to an acquaintance and that it was possible that we might spend the night there.

A moment later, we were out on the dark road, a chill wind blowing in our faces and one yellow light twinkling in front of us through the gloom to guide us on our sombre errand.

There was little difficulty in entering the grounds, for unrepaired breaches gaped in the old park wall.

Making our way among the trees, we reached the lawn, crossed it, and we were about to enter through the window when out of a clump of laurel bushes, there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child, who threw itself upon the grass with writhing limbs and then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness.

'My God!' I whispered, 'did you see it?' Holmes was for the moment as startled his I.

His hand closed like a vice upon my wrist in his agitation.

Then he broke into a low laugh and put his lips to my ear.

"It is a nice household," he murmured, 'that is the baboon.

' I had forgotten the strange pets which the doctor affected.

There was a cheetah too.

Perhaps we might find it upon our shoulders at any moment." Check your understanding of the text so far.

What do Holmes and Watson see running across the lawn? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, if you said, "Holmes and Watson see a baboon running across the lawn." At first they think it is a child, but upon closer inspection, they realise it is just the baboon, which is a pet of Dr.

Roylott.

"I confess that I felt easier in my mind when, after following Holmes's example and slipping off my shoes, I found myself inside the bedroom.

My companion noiselessly closed the shutters, moved the lamp onto the table and cast his eyes around the room.

All was as we had seen it in the daytime.

Then creeping up to me and making a trumpet of his hand.

He whispered into my ear again, so gently that it was all that I could do to distinguish the words.

'The least sound would be fatal to our plans.

' I nodded to show that I had heard.

'We must sit without light.

He would see it through the ventilator.

' I nodded again.

'Do not go asleep, your very life may depend on it.

Have your pistol ready in case we should need it.

I'll sit on the side of the bed and you in that chair.

' I took out my revolver and laid it on the corner of the table.

Holmes had brought up a long thin cane and this he placed upon the bed beside him.

By it he laid the box of matches and the stump of a candle.

Then he turned down the lamp and we were left in darkness." True or false, both Holmes and Watson sleep a few hours when staying in Helen's room.

Pause the video and have a think.

Well done if you said false.

Holmes and Watson do not sleep a few hours when staying in Helen's room.

Now, why is that? Pause the video and justify your answer.

Well done if you said, "Holmes and Watson do not sleep a few hours when staying in Helen's room because their life depends on them keeping watch." They're purposely staying awake so that if any danger comes, they can be alert to it.

Well done if you got that right.

Why might Conan Doyle create a sense of darkness around Holmes and Watson at this point of the story? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, if you said, "Conan Doyle may create a sense of darkness around Holmes and Watson at this point of the story." First of all, to create a sense of foreboding.

In other words, to give the reader the impression that something bad might happen next.

And secondly, to build tension.

Holmes and Watson are in absolute darkness and uncertainty, as is the reader.

Both parties do not know what's about to happen.

Therefore, the darkness builds tension.

I now want you to take over the reading.

You are gonna read from, "How shall I ever forget that dreadful vigil.

." to the end of the story.

You are going to uncover the truth about Julia Stoner's death and learn how Holmes solved the case.

As you read, I want you to consider the following questions on the screen and answer them.

Pause the video, read the story, and enjoy.

I really hope you've enjoyed reading the end of "The Speckled Band." Let's go through those all important answers to those questions that we really need to understand, the ending.

Number one, Holmes sees a bright light coming from the ventilator and begins to strike it with his cane.

Dr.

Roylott then yells out in fear, pain, and anger.

Number three, the "Speckled Band" that Julia references upon her death is revealed to be a swamp adder, a snake.

And number four, Roylott dies after being bitten by the snake that he killed Julia with.

So when Holmes strikes the ventilator with his cane, he's making that snake climb back to Roylott's room and bite Roylott.

Number five, the snake passes to Roylott and Julia's room through the ventilator.

That is why Julia's bed always had to be beneath the ventilator, so that that snake could get through to her room.

Number six, the whistle and saucer of milk was to summon the snake back to Roylott's room once it had bitten the victim.

That is the reason why, when Helen came to Julia's aid on the night that she died, that she didn't find any evidence.

She didn't have any idea it was a snake because the snake had already been lured back to Roylott's room with the whistle and milk.

And lastly, the coroner's reports did not reveal the cause of Julia's death because the snake venom was not detectable on chemical tests in the UK because the swamp adder was an Indian species and that meant that the UK test couldn't verify any of the poison that had come from that snake.

Well done on those questions everyone.

Let's move on to the second part of our lesson today, "Solving the crime." We are going to have to summarise how Holmes solved this crime.

First of all, then, what is a summary? Pause the video and have a think.

A summary is a brief statement that presents the main points of a text in a concise form.

I want you to think about now, why do you think being able to write a good summary might be important? Pause the video and have a think.

Maybe you agree with Aisha.

"Writing a summary helps us to focus on the main ideas of a text." Or maybe you agree with Jacob, that, "It always helps us to remember the information." Either way, summaries are really important for both reasons and many more.

So, I'm gonna talk you through how to write a summary.

We are going to write a summary about what caused Julia stoner's death.

What I want you to do is note down the important information about what caused Julia Stoner's death in that table.

So you need to write down the guilty party, what they did, when they did it, where they did it, how they did it, and why they did it.

Pause the video and have a go at making those notes.

So, Dr.

Roylott was the guilty party.

He let a snake down the ventilator to bite Julia.

He did it two years ago, but he also tried to do it the night Holmes and Watson stayed in Helen's room.

He did it in Julia/Helen's bedroom at Stoke Moran.

How did this kill Julia? The snake bite poisoned Julia.

And why did Dr.

Roylott do that in the first place? Roylott would lose money if Julia married.

That was his motive.

And of course we know that Julia was indeed intending to marry just before she died.

Well done on making all those relevant notes.

Let's check your understanding.

How exactly did the snake cause Julia's death? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, if you said the snake caused Julia's death because it bit and poisoned her.

I now want you to use the information in the table to write a summary.

If you want to challenge yourself, include why the medical report could not determine her cause of death.

So what you need to do is take all that information and write a summary with it.

Convert that information into a short summary paragraph.

Pause the video and have a go.

Excellent writing everybody.

Let's go through an example summary.

In the case of "The Speckled Band," Dr.

Roylott is guilty of the murder of his stepdaughter, Julia Stoner.

Two years ago at Stoke Moran, in the dead of the night, he sent a snake down the ventilator to bite her while she was sleeping in her bedroom.

Julia died from the snake's poisonous bite.

Roylott had a clear motive.

If Julia got married, he would lose money.

The cause of death went undetected for such a long time because the chemical test was not able to detect the venom of a swamp adder.

You can see here that this summary includes the who, Dr.

Roylott, the what, is guilty of the murder of his stepdaughter.

The when, two years ago in the night, the where, at Stoke Moran in her bedroom, and the how, that Julia died from the snake's poisonous bite, as well as the why he did it, because he would lose money if she married.

I now want you to pause the video and self-assess your work, making sure that you've got all the necessary information in your summary.

Off you go.

Excellent job today, everyone.

I've been really impressed with your hard work.

Let's go through what we've learned today.

Holmes and Watson undertake a dreadful vigil whilst they wait for more evidence to be revealed.

Julia Stoner died after being bitten by a venomous snake.

Dr.

Roylott attempts to kill Helen in the same way.

Instead, Holmes sends a snake back to Dr.

Roylott's room, and Roylott himself is bitten and dies.

And we can write a summary of how Julia Stoner died by including the key details, who, what, where, when, and why.

I really enjoyed learning with you today, and I really hope to see you next time.