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Year 7

Reading ‘The Twisted Tree’: Martha and Stig’s relationship

I can continue to understand the plot and track Martha and Stig's relationship.

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Year 7

Reading ‘The Twisted Tree’: Martha and Stig’s relationship

I can continue to understand the plot and track Martha and Stig's relationship.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Martha's dream tells her that she can only save Mormor from torment if she goes to the tree.
  2. Martha kisses Stig but he pulls away and she feels humiliated.
  3. The draugr appears and kills Stig and Gandalf.
  4. Martha calls on her ancestors to help her against the draugr.
  5. Martha visits Hel.

Keywords

  • Subside - become less intense or severe

  • Sacrifice - slaughtering something as an offering

  • Constellation - a group of stars forming a pattern

  • Reincarnate - reborn in another body

  • Frenzied - wildly excited or uncontrollable

Common misconception

The Norns are whimsical and conventionally beautiful.

Look at the descriptions of the Norns. Their beauty lies in their power and wisdom. They are "gnarled" and "wrinkled", which adds an air of authority to their presence. They are also described as "fierce".

The discussions in Learning Cycle 2 can also be completed as a written or thinking task, if discussion is not a viable option.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

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

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on

Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In 'The Twisted Tree', which character can be described as the protagonist with supernatural abilities?
Stig
Correct answer: Martha
Mormor
The Norns
Q2.
Which word can be described as 'the development of events outside a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power'?
supernatural
Correct answer: fate
apparitions
power
Q3.
In 'The Twisted Tree', the island of Skjebne is a fictional place, what does its name mean?
death and decay
Correct answer: fate and destiny
luck and fortune
good and evil
Q4.
In 'The Twisted Tree', what are the Norns?
The leaders of all of the Norse gods.
Correct answer: The weavers of fate and protectors of the tree.
The corpses that comes back to life and hunt the living.
The cursed souls that are trapped in the tree.
Q5.
According to Martha's great-grandmother Karina, why is Mormor trapped in the tree in 'The Twisted Tree'?
because she angered the gods
Correct answer: because nobody has watered the tree
because of a curse placed on her family
because she wanted to be there
Q6.
In 'The Twisted Tree', how do Martha's inherited abilities connect her to her family's history?
they allow her to control time
they grant her immortality
Correct answer: they tie her to ancient Norse mythology
they make her invisible

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In 'The Twisted Tree' which word is not used to describe the draugr?
putrid
emaciated
rotten
Correct answer: beautiful
Q2.
In 'The Twisted Tree', whose letter tells Martha that the Norns will reveal her fate?
Karina
Correct answer: Mormor
Yrsa
her mother
Q3.
In 'The Twisted Tree', Burge uses the same word to describe both the tree and the Norns, which word is it?
Correct answer: gnarled
wizened
harsh
beautfiul
fierce
Q4.
In 'The Twisted Tree' which god does Martha demand to see, in order to save Stig?
Correct Answer: Hel
Q5.
Which of these answers is not true with reference to Martha and Stig's relationship in 'The Twisted Tree'?
Martha is initially wary of Stig.
Martha and Stig become mutually dependent on each other.
Martha and Stig share their personal experiences leading to greater trust.
Correct answer: Martha does not feel anything for Stig.
There is romantic tension between Stig and Martha.
Q6.
In 'The Twisted Tree' what happens to both Gandalf and Stig?
They both get scared and run away.
They are sucked into the hollow of the tree.
Correct answer: They are murdered by the draugr.
The Norns give them a secret message.