Grade: KS2 Subject: English Date: 18/01/2021

Chapter 6: Short Stories

Exercise 3: ‘Polly helps a friend’ – Part 3

1. What two things did the workmen do to fix the park bench?
Ans: One of the workmen had nailed a brand-new wooden arm to the
bench. The second man took brushes and two cans and he dipped his
brush in one can of paint and painted the wooden arm.

2. Why does Polly walk her bicycle home?

Ans: Polly wanted to walk her bicycle home so she could think about her
special day and how she made the slide happy.

3. Explain clearly, using your own words, what Polly does to make the
slide’s life easier.
Ans: Polly used a yellow drawing paper and a red crayon to make a sign
which said ‘wet paint’ and stuck it on the slide.

4. From your reading of the whole story, explain as fully as you can
the relationship between Polly and her mother. Refer closely to
details from the story in your answer.
Ans: Polly loves her mother and they have an unbreakable bond. Polly
always tries to make her mother proud. She also wants to be like her
mother when she grows up.

5. Why is the fact that Polly is an imaginative child important to the

story?
Ans: The fact that Polly has good imagination helps because she did not
panic when she first spoke to the slide. Her good imagination also helps
her to think of a way to help the slide.

6. The park is described as an ordinary playground and Polly and her

mother are normal people. How does the writer succeed in making the
introduction of something unusual like a talking slide believable? In
your answer you should consider carefully the language used to
describe the slide and what it says and does.
Ans: The writer succeeded in making the introduction of something
unusual like a talking slide believable by giving the slide human quality.
The writer also personifies the slide by giving it a big mouth and teary
eyes.

7. Do you think the slide really speaks to Polly or is it just another

example of her imagination? Give reasons for your answer.
Ans: The slide really speaks to Polly as no one else was there when the
slide first spoke to Polly.