Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
Teachers
Pupils
New
New
Year 7

Reading ‘The Twisted Tree’: explaining the creation of tension

I can understand the plot and explain how tension builds to a climactic moment.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 7

Reading ‘The Twisted Tree’: explaining the creation of tension

I can understand the plot and explain how tension builds to a climactic moment.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Martha tells Stig about her supernatural abilities.
  2. Martha's mother tells them to leave the cabin immediately, making the reader feel apprehensive for them.
  3. Tension increases as they discover the murdered bodies of Yrsa and Olav and hear another howl.
  4. Tension is the feeling of suspense and excitement that keeps readers interested.
  5. Time conjunctions can be used to explain a writer's development of tension.

Common misconception

Tension is only about scary or dangerous situations.

While scary or dangerous situations can create tension, tension can also arise from emotional conflicts, difficult decisions, or unresolved mysteries. It's about keeping readers eager to know what will happen next.

Keywords

  • Sombre - deep seriousness or sadness

  • Skeletal - like a skeleton

  • Anguish - extreme unhappiness caused by physical or mental suffering

  • Shrouded - cover with a cloth after a person has died for burial

  • Entity - a thing or existence

At the beginning of Learning Cycle 2, you could ask pupils about their own experiences of tension in other forms, such as: films, computer games or other literary works.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to the text 'The Twisted Tree' by Rachel Burge, published by Hot Key Books, 2019.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

Skip video

Loading...

Starter quiz

Download starter quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
In 'The Twisted Tree', which Norse god is Martha potentially descended from?
Loki
Correct answer: Odin
Thor
Frigg
Q2.
Match the character from 'The Twisted Tree' to the correct description of them.
Correct Answer:Martha,the protagonist

the protagonist

Correct Answer:Stig,found in Mormor's cabin: he began to live there after running away

found in Mormor's cabin: he began to live there after running away

Correct Answer:Olav,Mormor's neighbour: he gives Martha a lift and checks on her

Mormor's neighbour: he gives Martha a lift and checks on her

Correct Answer:Yrsa,Olav's wife: he seems to know what really happened to Mormor

Olav's wife: he seems to know what really happened to Mormor

Correct Answer:Mormor,Martha's grandma: she knows all of the family secrets

Martha's grandma: she knows all of the family secrets

Q3.
Starting with the first, put the plot points from 'The Twisted Tree' in chronological order.
1 - Martha describes struggling to navigate an airport on the way to Norway.
2 - Martha discovers Stig and the death of Mormor.
3 - Olav and Yrsa arrive at the cabin concerned for Martha's safety.
4 - Martha discovers a letter from her Mormor.
5 - Mormor's letter explains that she has a duty to water the twisted tree.
6 - Martha begins to discover she has connections to Odin.
7 - Martha sees a woman's face in the twisted tree.
Q4.
Which word can be described as 'a foul smell from rotting matter'?
macabre
Correct answer: putrid
mildew
ominous
Q5.
'The Twisted Tree' is written from Martha's perspective. This type of narrative perspective is called ...
Correct answer: first person.
second person.
third person.
Q6.
Which word beginning with 'p', can be used to describe the main character in a story?
Correct Answer: protagonist

Exit quiz

Download exit quiz

6 Questions

Q1.
In 'The Twisted Tree' which two characters are found murdered at the end of Chapter 14?
Martha
Correct answer: Olav
Correct answer: Yrsa
Stig
Mormor
Q2.
Which word would not be considered an antonym for the word 'macabre'?
delightful
pleasant
charming
Correct answer: morbid
Q3.
In 'The Twisted Tree' the chapters end with shocking revelations and new threats, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. This is an example of a ...
Correct Answer: cliffhanger, cliff-hanger, cliff hanger
Q4.
Which sentence does not use a time conjunction?
Finally, the chapter ends on a climactic cliffhanger.
Next, the writer develops tension though the description of the setting.
Correct answer: Often, Burge creates tension in the ominous presence of the twisted tree.
Initially, tension is created in the use of ambiguous dialogue.
Q5.
Which answer best describes the word 'tension'?
a feeling of relaxation and calmness
Correct answer: a sense of urgency and anticipation
extreme happiness and joy
a state of confusion and disarray
Q6.
Match the correct time conjunctions to the part of the chapter in a novel it can be used to explore.
Correct Answer:first, initially,beginning of the chapter

beginning of the chapter

Correct Answer:suddenly, immediately, eventually,a shift in the chapter

a shift in the chapter

Correct Answer:next, after, then,middle of the chapter

middle of the chapter

Correct Answer:finally,end of the chapter

end of the chapter