Starter quiz
- In 'The Twisted Tree', where does Martha travel to stay with her grandmother?
- Sweden
- Norway ✓
- Denmark
- Finland
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- In 'The Twisted Tree', what physical feature makes Martha feel self-conscious and different?
- a missing finger
- a scar on her face ✓
- a birth mark
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- In 'The Twisted Tree', what unusual supernatural powers does Martha discover she has?
- telekinesis
- seeing into the future
- touching clothes and knowing about the owner's life ✓
- knowing when something bad is going to happen
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- At the start of 'The Twisted Tree', the book is dedicated to Odin. What type of mythology does this refer to?
- Greek mythology
- Norse mythology ✓
- Egyptian mythology
- Celtic mythology
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- Match the characters from 'The Twisted Tree' to the correct description.
- Martha⇔The protagonist who has supernatural powers. ✓
- Stig⇔A local boy in Norway who becomes an important friend to Martha. ✓
- Mormor⇔Martha's grandmother, who is discovered to be dead. ✓
- Olav⇔Gives Martha a lift. Bearded and friendly. ✓
- Yrsa⇔Olav's wife, has concerns for Martha being alone in the cabin. ✓
- Gandalf⇔Mormor's dog. ✓
- Which word can be described as 'a foul smell from rotting matter'?
- putrid ✓
- macabre
- mildew
- fragrant
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Exit quiz
- Which word can be described as 'a person’s family history or lineage'?
- omen
- ancestry ✓
- theme
- tome
-
- Which birds appear in Norse mythology as a messenger of the gods?
- ravens ✓
- gulls
- magpies
- sparrows
- starlings
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- In 'The Twisted Tree', Martha references her Mormor's stories about "draugr". What are these?
- trees that are alive and prey on human souls
- ravens that can predict the future
- walking corpses who come back to kill the living ✓
- crows that send messages from the gods
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- There are a number of key themes in 'The Twisted Tree'. What is a theme?
- an important character in a text which is explored in different ways
- an important quotation in a text which could be explored
- an important idea in a text which is explored in a number of different ways ✓
- an important plot point in a text which is explored in different ways
- important language devices used by the writer in a text
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- Which of the following would not count as a key theme in 'The Twisted Tree'?
- ancestry
- love and marriage ✓
- being an outisder
- supernatural
- fate and destiny
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- Below are three key themes in 'The Twisted Tree'. Match each theme to one way it is explored in the novel.
- fate and destiny⇔through the character of Martha and her role to water the tree ✓
- the supernatural⇔through Martha's powers in reading people through their clothes ✓
- good vs. evil⇔through Martha's bravery and the tree's foreboding presence ✓
Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The books in Martha’s room move on their own, introducing an element of the supernatural.
- Ravens help to create an ominous atmosphere in the novel.
- Key themes in the novel include the supernatural, good vs. evil, fate and being an outsider.
- A theme is an important idea in a text that is explored in a number of different ways.
- As students of English, the first step is to work out what are a text’s most important themes.
Common misconception
A theme is any idea or plot point in a text.
Themes are the most important ideas in a text. There may be multiple. The most important themes are the ones that are returned to over and over again, and explored in a number of different ways.
Keywords
Fleeting - passing quickly
Foreboding - a feeling that something bad is going to happen
Ancestry - a person’s family history or lineage
Omen - a sign or event that is believed to predict or indicate a future occurrence
Theme - an important idea or thread in a text that is explored in a number of different ways
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