Meridian Home Learning - Summer Week 3 - 04.05.20 

Year 5 and 6 English 

 

Daily Practice: 

Reading 

Remember to read each day, record your thoughts in your reading diary and complete the activities inside. To access free audio books, go to 

https://stories.audible.com/start-listen For free levelled ebooks, try readingeggs.co.uk or oxfordowl.co.uk  

Spellings 

Choose one spelling rule to practise from your spelling objectives list or five spellings that you don’t know yet from your word list. Practise spelling the words 

using the spelling menu in your pack and/or the ‘Look, cover, say, write, check’ game online: http://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/lcwc?index.html 

Week 3: ‘Suffragette’ by David Roberts  

This week your activities are based around the history book ‘Suffragette’ by David Roberts.  

Activity 1  Activity 2  Activity 3  Activity 4 

Explore it 

 

Look at the illustration from the 

book in English Resource A. 

Discuss and write down your ideas in 

response to these questions:  

 

-Who do you think these people 

are? What are they doing?  

-Where are they going? 

-What do you think they are 

thinking?  

-When do you think this event is 

happening?  

-What in the illustration makes you 

think this?  

 

Now read the text that goes 

alongside the illustration (English Resource B). Discuss and write 

down your ideas in response to 

these questions:  

 

-What is a suffragette? 

-What is the difference between 

parliament and government?  

-What are MPs?  

-Why would these women be 

demanding to vote?  

-What does it mean to vote?  

-Why would they want to barge into 

parliament?  

Draw it 

 

Look at the illustrations of the 

suffragettes in English Resource A. 

How do you know the suffragettes are 

running quickly?  

How has David Roberts shown their 

determination? Look at their clothing 

and the colours he has used. What do 

you notice about the shape and the 

patterns on the blouses, skirts, jackets 

and accessories?  

Which suffragette interests you most? 

Why?  

 

If you were to draw one of the other 

suffragettes involved in this raid, how 

would you draw them? What would be 

special about her? What would you 

include? How could you show the force 

of their energy compared to the 

‘trundling’ van?  

 

Use whatever drawing materials you 

have to illustrate one of the other 

suffragettes. 

 

Writing a newspaper opening 

paragraph  

 

If you were to summarise the events 

for your own newspaper, what would 

you tell your readers? 

 

Write the first paragraph of your own 

newspaper article about the events 

described (English Resource B). The 

first paragraph of a newspaper is 

called the orientation paragraph and it 

summarises the events. It needs to 

contain key information, so that even 

if the reader stopped reading after 

this, they would still know roughly 

what happened.  

 

Before you begin, plan your ideas by 

writing down key information that you 

need to include:  

When did it happen? 

Where did it happen?  

Who is involved?  

What happened? 

How did it happen?  

Why did it happen? 

 

Look at my planning and the beginning 

of my orientation paragraph to help 

you get started (English Resource D). Try to include all of the ‘Steps for 

Creating an information poster or 

leaflet 

 

Read the information about 

suffragettes or ask an adult to read 

it to you (English Resource E - 4 pages). 

 

You could also watch these videos:  

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/2

2766676 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/

horrible-histories-suffragettes 

 

Make an information poster or 

leaflet to teach someone in your 

family all about the suffragettes.  

 

To make sure that you include all of 

the key information, try to include 

the answers to the following 

questions:  

-What is ‘suffrage’? 

-What were the two main political 

groups called that campaigned for 

women’s right to vote?  

-How were the two groups different 

-How does the title ‘The Trojan 

Horse Raid’ relate to what is 

happening here? Read the original 

Greek Myth about the Trojan Horse 

raid (English Resource C) to help 

you answer this question.  

-What do you like about this story 

of the suffragette’s own ‘Trojan 

Horse Raid’?  

-Do you agree with the newspapers 

that it was hilarious?  

-Can you imagine this happening 

nowadays? 

 

Success.’ If you need to, watch this 

video to revise what relative clauses 

are: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics

/zwwp8mn/articles/zsrt4qt 

 

As an extra challenge, you could 

decide to write your newspaper using 

bias in favour or against the 

suffragettes. (Think back to when you 

wrote your biased newspaper articles 

about Odysseus!)  

 

from each other?  

-What did Emily Wilding Davison do 

in 1913 and why was it an important 

event for the suffragette 

movement?  

-How do you think World War One 

changed people’s views on women’s 

rights and why?  

-When did parliament grant women 

the right to vote?  

-What do you think about what the 

suffragettes did?  

 

Which pictures could you copy to 

illustrate your information best? 

 

Look at a section of my leaflet to 

help you and try to include all of the 

‘Steps for Success’ (English Resource F).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

English Resource A 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

English Resource B  

 

1908: The 'Trojan Horse Raid' SUFFRAGETTES WERE FREQUENTLY STOPPED FROM ENTERING PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS. HECKLING, BOOING, EVEN PHYSICAL ATTACKS ON MPS HAD WORN THE PATIENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT PAPER-THIN. The government was so nervous that Parliament was on occasion surrounded by an army of policemen to stop the women from getting in. But suffragettes didn't give up so easily, especially Christabel Pankhurst, who thought up a new tactic. When a big furniture van trundled up to the gates one day in 1908, the police thought nothing of it, parted ranks, and let the van pass through. No sooner was it inside than over twenty suffragettes leaped from the back and made a dash for the entrance to the building. The startled police gave chase and grabbed all but two who barged straight into Parliament shouting, 'Votes for women!' The newspapers thought this was hilarious, and called it the 'Trojan Horse Raid'. The story of how the suffragettes outwitted the police was reported as far away as New Zealand, where the Auckland Star commented, 'Such determination and pluck must surely win in the end.' There was still a long way to go, but through such exploits the campaign for votes for women was getting noticed.

English Resource C  The Legend of the Trojan Horse  

This story takes place in the ancient Greek city of Troy, across the sea                           

from Sparta. 

 

At one time, Troy and other Greek city-states were friends, but during                       

the Trojan War, the Greeks and Trojans became enemies. 

 

Troy was protected by a towering wall which stretched all the way around the city. The wall                                 

gave the Trojans the advantage of height and protection. When anyone tried to attack,                           

arrows would rain down on their enemies. 

 

The Greeks had been trying to get over the wall for many years but every attempt was 

thwarted by the Trojans. 

 

One day, Odysseus, a Greek general, had an excellent idea. 

It was a known fact that gifts were left when armies surrendered. Using this information, Odysseus planned to                                   

leave a very attractive gift for the Trojans, making them believe that the Greeks had admitted                               

defeat and sailed home. 

 

The Greeks built an enormous, beautiful wooden horse but the body was                       

hollow, with enough space to fit thirty men inside. 

 

The people of Troy were fascinated by the wooden horse standing outside                       

their city wall. As they saw the Greek army sail away, they decided to                           

drag the gift into their city as a symbol of their victory. 

 

 

That night, the Greek ships turned around and sailed back towards Troy. 

Whilst the people of Troy were asleep, the soldiers hiding inside the horse climbed out and signalled                                 

to the Greek ships that they had entered the city. The gates were opened and the Trojans were                                   

caught off guard. Troy was destroyed and the Trojan War was over. 

English Resource D  

 

Newspaper Orientation Paragraph Steps for Success 

I have include key information about the events:  

when, where, who, what, why?  

 

I have used relative clauses to add extra detail about 

nouns using relative pronouns: 

who - refers to people 

which, that - refers to things  

where - refers to places 

whose - to talk about possession  

 

 

Planning  

When did it happen?  11th February 1908  

 

Where did it happen?  House of Commons  

 

Who is involved?  Members of Parliament, police, twenty suffragettes, Christabel Pankhurst  

 

What happened?  Twenty suffragettes hiding inside the back of a van were let through the security gates 

of the House of Commons by the police. The women ran towards Parliament and all but two of them were stopped 

by the police officers. The two who escaped ran into Parliament shouting.  

 

Why did it happen?  Parliament was often surrounded by armed police to prevent the suffragettes getting in 

so Christabel Pankhurst had to think of a new tactic to get in. The suffragettes wanted the members of parliament 

to give women the right to vote.  

 

Orientation paragraph beginning  

Yesterday, the women of the Suffragette movement led yet another defiant attack on the House                             

of Commons. Twenty women outwitted the police officers guarding the Parliament security gates                         

by hiding themselves in the back of a furniture van, which was let through without suspicion. The                                 

women made a dash for the parliament building, but only two were able to escape being grabbed by                                   

the officers, who launched into action after quickly realising their error. 

 

 

English Resource E  

 

The Suffragettes  

 

What is ‘suffrage’? 

‘Suffrage‘ means the right to vote in political elections. 

It is a sad fact that throughout history, there have been many restrictions placed on who can and can’t vote, based                                         

on things like age, gender, race, education, wealth and social status. 

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, men in the UK had the right to vote but women did not. Many people                                             

– including women – didn’t believe that women should be able to vote. Even Queen Victoria called the fight for                                       

women’s rights a “mad, wicked folly” – despite being a powerful woman herself! 

The suffragist movement 

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many women started to campaign for women’s                             

rights. The focus of their attention? The right to vote. This became known as the suffragist                               

movement. 

During this time, two main political groups formed, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage                           

Societies and the Women’s Social and Political Union. 

These groups came to be known by two different nicknames, invented by some newspapers who sought to ridicule                                   

them; the Suffragists and the Suffragettes. 

The two groups used very different tactics to draw attention to their cause but their message was very much the                                       

same. They wore the colours purple, white and green and made banners, badges and sashes with the words ‘Votes                                     

for Women‘ displayed on them. 

 

Who were the Suffragists? 

The suffragists were members of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies                       

(NUWSS) and were led by Millicent Garrett Fawcett during the height of the                         

suffrage movement, 1890 – 1919. 

They campaigned for votes for middle-class, property-owning women and believed in                     

peaceful protest. Millicent thought that if the organisation was seen to be thoughtful,                         

intelligent and law-abiding, that they would win the respect of Parliament and in time, be granted the vote. 

By 1900, the Suffragists’ hard work was starting to make waves. Several Bills (a proposed law) in favour of women’s                                       

suffrage won support in Parliament, but not enough to pass… Yet! 

Who were the Suffragettes? 

Emmeline Pankhurst was a former member of the NUWSS and a supporter of women’s                           

suffrage. After becoming frustrated with the Suffragists’ approach, she broke off and                       

formed her own society – the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). The society was                             

more inclusive and welcomed women from all different walks of life. Emmeline’s daughters,                         

Christabel and Syliva, were also active in the cause. 

From 1905 onwards the Suffragettes’ campaign became more violent. Their motto was ‘Deeds                         

Not Words‘ and they began using more aggressive tactics to get people to listen. This included                               

breaking windows, planting bombs, handcuffing themselves to railings and going on hunger strikes. 

Suffragettes and the law 

Many protesting Suffragettes were arrested for law-breaking and many went to prison.                       

In further protest, Suffragettes would go on hunger strike (stop eating) in prison. To                           

stop them from becoming ill, they would often be held down and force-fed by prison                             

staff in a particularly unpleasant procedure! 

To prevent any Suffragettes on hunger strike from dying in prison, Parliament introduced the “Cat and Mouse” Act.                                   

This meant that hunger-strikers were temporarily released from prison until they recovered – before being                             

re-arrested and locked up again! 

In 1913, Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison stepped out in front of the King’s                         

racehorse during a race at Epsom, and died a tragic death after being trampled on.                             

Whilst no one knows for sure what Emily was hoping to do exactly, it’s believed she was                                 

trying to pin a banner of suffragette colours to the King’s horse. 

Emily’s death and the cruel police treatment of the Suffragettes sparked public anger                         

and gathered sympathy and support to the women’s cause. 

The suffragist movement during WWI 

The outbreak of World War 1 changed life as people knew it – BIG time! In the midst of such huge international                                           

conflict, both Emmeline Pankhurst and Millicent Fawcett temporarily stopped campaigning and instead encouraged                         

women to join the war effort in the spirit of national unity. 

World War 1 also drastically changed women’s role in society. Before the war, a woman’s place had been in the                                       

home, cooking, washing, cleaning and raising her children. But when the war began, women were needed to lend a                                     

hand! Millions of men had been sent away to fight, leaving vacant jobs that were essential to keeping the country                                       

running. Many women went to work for the first time in lots of different industries – even in dangerous munitions                                       

factories making weapons for the war! 

The Representation of the People Act 

In 1918, the efforts of the women’s suffrage movement finally had a breakthrough. A Bill                             

was passed through Parliament that granted some women the right to vote. They had to be                               

over the age of 30 and own property, or be married to someone who owned property.                               

Despite the restrictions, it was still a big victory, giving 8.4 million women the vote! 

However, there was still a long way to go until all women had the same voting rights as men – who could vote from                                               

the age of 21 regardless of property. In fact, it took another ten years until women received equal suffrage with                                       

men, in 1928. 

How are the Suffragettes remembered? 

There is some divided opinion over the violent tactics the Suffragettes used to spread                           

their message. On several occasions, they were lucky that no one was seriously injured, or                             

even killed, by the bombs they planted. But there is no doubt that they are remembered                               

as incredibly courageous, forward-thinking women who stood up for what they believed in                         

– often laying their lives on the line in the process! 

They paved the way for future generations of women. Without them, your grandmothers,                         

mums, aunties, friends and sisters – even you! – might have had considerably fewer rights today. 

That’s not to say that the fight for women’s rights is over. Around the world, including in the UK, men are still                                           

likely to be paid more than a woman for doing exactly the same job. And there are many countries today where                                         

women still lack basic rights that we take for granted. 

So let’s make sure the future looks even brighter for women’s rights! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

English Resource F  

 

Leaflet/poster Steps for Success  

I have organised my information underneath subheadings.   

I have used words and phrases to help me to explain when the 

events happened e.g. finally at that moment when 

meanwhile while until subsequently after   

 

I have used relative clauses to add extra detail about nouns 

using relative pronouns: 

who - refers to people 

which, that - refers to things  

where - refers to places 

whose - to talk about possession