It is asking you to use the information in the text to make an informed guess as to how the boys were feeling throughout the text.
Let's practise
The dragons thrashed around wildly in the surf, gagging and choking, with their eyes popping, their tails causing such tidal waves that the boys were soaked, even though they were scrambling away from the headland as fast as they could.
Finally, with some last heaving shudders and grim gurgles, both mighty beasts lay still in the water.
There was silence.
The boys stopped running. They stood gasping for breath, watching the motionless beasts with dread.
Cressida Cowell: from How To Train Your Dragon (Hodder Children's Books, 2010)
How were the boys feeling throughout the text? Refer to the text in your answer.
1 mark
- Read the question. Read it again. What is it asking?
Show me
- Look for clues in the text to see what the boys were doing.
Show me
They were watching the dragons thrashing, running away and then they stopped to catch their breath and watch.
- When they were running away, how do you think the boys were feeling?
Show me
They were running away from dragons thrashing about, which sounds frightening. Also, the language used to describe how the boys were running suggests they were frightened (e.g. scrambling and as fast as they could).
- Do you think they felt the same when they stopped running?
Show me
They stopped running because they were curious to know why everything was silent. They may have been relieved that the dragons had stopped, but they were still worried that they might move again.
- Answer the question referring to the boys' feelings throughout the text.
Show me
At the start of the text the boys were frightened and running away from the dragons. When things had gone quiet they were curious why, and might have been relieved that the dragons had stopped fighting, but they were still frightened that they might start again.
- Check your answer.