Stig of the Dump by Clive King

Chapter 1 (p7 – 16): The Ground Gives Way Assessment notes

AF5: Look at the first sentence – why do you think the author starts like this? (It
makes the reader anticipate this event)
AF6: Turn to the meeting between Barney and Stig – when did you first realise that
the ‘somebody’ is Stig? Why does the author postpone telling the reader? (It creates
suspense and reflects Barney’s own gradual realisation)
AF5: Re-read the description of the chalk-pit (‘He crawled through…’) (p8) – what
interesting, powerful words does the author use? (looped, crumbly, rattle; the simile:
‘like bones’) What effect does this have? (Showing, not telling, what happened – the
place is described as if in close-up and Barney’s fall is described as if in ‘slow motion’)
AF2: Select a modern object in Stig’s den (e.g. book, teapot etc.) and explain how he
uses it.
AF3: What have you learned about Barney? (He plays by himself; he is truthful)
AF2: How do his grandmother and sister react when he tells them what happened?
(They do not believe him)

Chapter 2 (p17 – 39): Digging With Stig Assessment notes

AF3: Re-read opening passage (‘He had fallen, hadn’t he?’) – from whose point of view
is the author writing here? (Barney’s – note how the author conveys his thoughts, and
track their development)
AF3: How do Barney and Stig communicate? (Through expression and gesture)
AF2: What do we learn about Stig? (He is curious and inventive; he is not presented
as a barbarian)
AF2: Focus on the technological content – what do Barney and Stig make? (A chimney
and a window) How do they make it? (They collaborate – for example, Stig cuts the
ends off tins, Barney realises this will make a chimney)

Chapter 3 (p40 – 53): It Warms You Twice Assessment notes

AF3: Explore the handling of time – what time of year is it now? (Christmas;
previously it was autumn)
AF2: Describe how Barney and Stig cut down the tree. (Point out how they bring the
tools and knowledge of their own cultures)
AF6: Re-read the description of how Stig tries to make fire – how did you feel when
Barney lit a match for Stig? (E.g. touched, amused, moved)
AF7: How does Barney begin to behave like someone from the Stone Age? (He goes
home carrying a torch and a spear)
AF7: How does Stig begin to behave like a modern man? (He learns to use matches
and a saw)

Chapter 4 (p54 – 66): Gone A-Hunting Assessment notes

AF3: Read up to the point at which Barney says: ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no!’ (p63) – what
makes him say this? What does he see Stig doing? (He is hunting the hunters)
AF3: Compare Barney’s behaviour when he sees Stig hunting the hunters to how he
behaves towards the fox. (Read the next two paragraphs to confirm that he was
aiming an arrow at the horse)
AF4: Read to the end – what is different about the beginning of the second episode?
(The narrative switches away from Barney and Stig to Lou)
AF2: What does Lou see? (A horse with an arrow sticking into its saddle)
AF3: Why did Stig shoot at the horse? (He saw it as food)
AF7: Compare Stig’s view of hunting with the modern one.

Chapter 5 (p67 – 81): The Snargets Assessment notes

AF6: How does the reader’s view of the Snargets change? (At first they are
presented as rough and badly behaved; then better qualities, including loyalty and
friendliness, are revealed)
AF5: Re-read the passage of dialogue beginning: ‘’Ere, ‘oo’s chuckin’ dirt?’ (p69) – how
does the author show how the Snargets talk? (Spelling is used to indicate accent
(dropped initial ‘h’ and final ‘g’) and non-standard dialect features (double negatives))
AF3: Contrast the way the Snargets talk with the way Barney speaks – what can be
inferred from this?
AF4: Read the extract on page 71, beginning with: ‘The Snargets walked off…’ and
ending with: ‘’All right mister, come out, we got you covered!’’ – can you pinpoint the
shift from narrator’s voice to characters thoughts? (After the first paragraph)
Where else does the focus change between these voices?
AF6: What does the reader know that Barney does not? (The Snargets are luring
Barney into a trap – note how this is conveyed by switching between Barney’s
(mistaken) point of view and the authorial voice)
AF5: Can you find three different ways in which the author reveals Barney’s
thoughts? (Direct reporting: ‘Funny, he thought’; quoting words spoken aloud to
himself: ‘Pooh! Silly old conkers’; describing: ‘He wondered what the valuable thing
was’) What is the effect of these ‘inside a character’s head’ techniques? (It allows
readers to share in a character’s thoughts and feelings)
AF5: Re-read the conversation between Barney and the Snargets, beginning: ‘Cor! It
ain’t Albert!’ (p72) – can you identify the many different speech verbs and adverbs?
(exclaimed, snapped, piped, sneered and roughly, fiercely, masterfully etc.)
AF3: What have you learned about Stig, especially from his reaction to the youngest
Snarget and the jelly-baby? (Both suggest his sensitivity and the latter also
indicates his cultural and religious background)

Chapter 6 (p82 – 97): Skinned and Buried Assessment notes

AF3: Read up to the point when Barney says: ‘Hey, just a minute!’ (p89) – what is he
thinking? (The men are thieves after all)
AF7: Read to the end of the chapter – how can you tell that the story is set in the
past? (For example, Barney has saved ‘three shillings and threepence’)
AF4: What kind of story is being told here? (An adventure)
AF6: What has been the most exciting moment and the biggest surprise?
AF2: How does Stig react when the car falls into the chalk-pit? (He sees it as a
hunted animal)
AF3: What have you learned about Barney? (He can act bravely, even recklessly; he
is trusting, even gullible)
AF3: Re-read the last paragraph – what has happened? (Barney received a reward)
AF3: What do different characters know about Stig? (One of the thieves sees ‘An
‘orrible Fing’, but does not know what it is; the grandmother and the policeman do not
believe what Barney tells them about Stig)

Chapter 7 (p98 – 119): Party Manners Assessment notes

AF3: Read the first episode – what kind of person is Mrs Fawkham-Greene? How can
you tell? (She is ‘posh’, as indicated by the way she talks and her ‘large shiny car’)
AF2: Why does Barney go to Stig? (He wants help)
AF2: Read the first paragraph of the second part, beginning: ‘One or two stars…’
(p107) – what is this passage depicting? (Barney and Lou leaving for the party)
AF3: Read on to the sentence: ‘Barney thought he knew what was going on…’
(p109/110) – what is Barney thinking?
AF2: What did Lou see? (Stig, who is following them)
AF6: Read to the end – when did you first realise that a leopard had escaped from
the circus?
AF6: Find more evidence that the story is set in the past. (For example: the circus
with its ‘Daring Wild Animal Act’ would now generally be regarded as cruel; the
children dress as ‘cowboys and Indians’ – a kind of make-believe popularised by
television series of the 1950s and 1960s but a little more unusual today; perhaps also
the stereotyped way in which ‘rough’ boys and ‘twittering’ girls are presented)

Chapter 8 (p120 – 133): Midsummer Night Assessment notes

AF3: Read up to the point where Barney and Lou see the camp, stopping at: ‘…joined
in with hand claps and cries.’ (p130) – can you describe what has happened? (The
children have travelled back in time to the Stone Age) When did you first realise
this?
AF6: Why do you think the author reveals the time-shift gradually? (It mirrors
Barney and Lou’s experience and prompts the reader to speculate)
AF3: Read the next four paragraphs, up to the point when Barney realises that the
‘little harpist’ is Stig (p131) – what is revealed about Stig from this passage? (He is
inventive and pioneering in his own time, and something of an outside)
AF3: How did Stig come to be living in the modern world?
AF3: Read to the end of the chapter – what do you think will happen next?

Chapter 9 (p134 – end): The Standing Stones Assessment notes

AF5: Read the extract beginning: ‘There was a long time between thumps…’ and
ending: ‘…each time fell forward in their direction.’ (p144 – 145) – can you identify
words and phrases that describe the noise and then the sight? What do you notice?
(The description of the object becomes increasingly precise and complete as detail is
added to detail)
AF2: How do Lou and Barney react to the noise? What do they think it is?
AF6: What effect does the description of their reaction have? (Note how it puts
the reader in the characters’ shoes, allowing them to share in the excitement and
uncertainty)
AF3: Read the first part until: ‘…the tops of the standing stones and…’ (p153) – what
can you guess about things that aren’t made explicit?
AF2: Does Stig recognise Barney?
AF2: What does Stig say in his speech?
AF6: Focus on tone – is there anything that made you laugh? (For example, Lou’s
speech and the offering of food and drink)
AF6: What is the climax of this episode? (The moment when Lou rushes under the
suspended stone to rescue the baby)
AF2: Who prevents the disaster? How? (Barney and Stig, by collaborating, as they
have done before)
AF2: Read to the end – what happens at the episode break? (Barney and Lou return
to the modern world) What remains from the past? (The stones – and Stig)
AF3: Did Barney and Lou really go back in time?
AF2: Where does Stig live?
AF6: Do the children think he lives in both worlds, travelling between them, or just
in the modern world?
AF3: Was Stig real? (There is no doubt Stig is real; many characters see him, not
just Barney)
Think about what happens to Stig after the end of the story. Where does he go next?
Will he ever meet Barney again?