New
New
Year 7

Reading ‘The Twisted Tree’: Mormor’s letter

I can explore the importance of letters; how they relay important information and affect the characters emotionally.

New
New
Year 7

Reading ‘The Twisted Tree’: Mormor’s letter

I can explore the importance of letters; how they relay important information and affect the characters emotionally.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Stig and Martha have dinner, but are interrupted by a guttural howl outside.
  2. Martha finds a letter from Mormor that tells her she also can feel emotions through clothes.
  3. Mormor tells Martha that she must continue to water the tree in the garden.
  4. Letters are an effective method to relay important information in a novel and explore a character's feelings.

Keywords

  • Putrid - a foul smell from rotting matter

  • Devouring - eating food or prey hungrily and quickly

  • Emanating - emitting or spreading from something

  • Superstition - a widely held but irrational belief in a supernatural influence or practice

  • Sacred - connected with god or regarded with great respect

Common misconception

Letters are only used in novels to drive the plot forward.

Letters can also give a reader an insight into a character's thoughts and feelings, as well as background information. They can also be used as an effective way to create dramatic irony.

An interesting way to complete Task B would be to allow pupils to swap letters and use their skills of prediction to answer the questions.
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 violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

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).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What country is 'The Twisted Tree' mostly set in?
Correct answer: Norway
Finland
England
Sweden
Iceland
Q2.
Which type of weather does the writer use in 'The Twisted Tree' to symbolise secrecy and mystery?
rain
Correct answer: fog
sunshine
clouds
Q3.
What is the name of the island in 'The Twisted Tree'?
Correct Answer: Skjebne
Q4.
In 'The Twisted Tree', what is the name of the character who Martha discovers living in her Mormor's cabin?
Correct Answer: Stig
Q5.
In 'The Twisted Tree', what "strange" thing does Mormor ask Yrsa to do before she dies?
weed around the tree
feed Gandalf
Correct answer: water the tree
hide a letter
Q6.
'The Twisted Tree' could be considered a Nordic thriller. Which of the following, would not be considered conventional for this genre?
dark and isolated settings
Correct answer: bright and upbeat plots
extreme weather
tension and suspense

6 Questions

Q1.
In 'The Twisted Tree' what sound coming from outside does Martha hear in the dark?
Correct answer: a howl
glass breaking
a man's voice
a scream
Q2.
In 'The Twisted Tree' what do Martha and Stig discover moving on its own in the house?
Mormor's kitchen whisk
a key in a lock
Correct answer: Mormor's old spinning wheel
the tap
Q3.
In 'The Twisted Tree', which word does the writer use to describe the smell coming from the tree?
vile
fragrant
Correct answer: putrid
unpleasant
Q4.
In 'The Twisted Tree' Martha discovers a letter from her Mormor. What does it tell her she needs to do?
Correct answer: water the twisted tree
ignore the twsited tree
run away from the twisted tree
prune the twisted tree
Q5.
When writing a letter that is speaking about yourself, you will often use person.
Correct Answer: first, 1st
Q6.
Which answer offers the best description of the word 'sacred'?
a foul smell from rotting
a harsh sound produced in the throat
mouldy
Correct answer: connected with god or regarded with great respect