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My Story Timeline

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My Story Timeline

Read the story carefully. Then use clues from the text to put its events in order, build a five-part timeline and explain how the story works.

The Lantern at the Old Pier

On a windy Saturday evening in Galway, Niamh and her cousin Cian helped Auntie Maeve close her small seaside café. As they carried the last tray inside, Niamh noticed a pale light flashing beneath the old pier. It blinked three times, then disappeared. “Probably a reflection,” said Cian, though he kept glancing towards the water. Auntie Maeve gave them a torch and told them to stay on the shore. The cousins followed the pier’s wooden rail until they spotted a sealed glass jar wedged between two rocks. Inside it was a tiny battery lantern and a damp note: PLEASE TAKE THIS TO THE HARBOUR OFFICE. THE NIGHT FERRY IS WAITING. Cian wanted to open the jar, but Niamh noticed a name scratched into its lid: E. DOYLE. They hurried to the harbour office, where a worried ferry worker explained that the lantern belonged to an older passenger, Eileen Doyle. She had dropped it while coming ashore and was waiting for it before walking home in the dark. The worker called Eileen, who came back to the office. When she saw her lantern, she smiled with relief. “My father gave me this when I was young,” she said. Niamh and Cian walked with Eileen as far as the bright, busy street. The wind still howled, but the lantern glowed warmly in her hand.

Check the story clues

Answer each question using details from the story.

1.Where and when does the story begin?

2.What first makes Niamh curious about the pier?

A ferry worker calls her name.
She sees a pale light flashing beneath the pier.
Cian finds a note on the beach.
Auntie Maeve asks her to check the rocks.

3.Put these four events in the order they happen. Write 1, 2, 3 or 4 beside each event. ___ The ferry worker explains who owns the lantern. ___ Niamh spots a flashing light. ___ Eileen is reunited with her lantern. ___ The cousins find a jar with a note inside.

4.Complete a five-event timeline for the story. Include the beginning, three important events in the middle and the ending. Use brief phrases, and keep the events in the order they happen.

1. Beginning

2. A clue

3. The search

4. The owner

5. Ending

5.Why do Niamh and Cian take the jar to the harbour office instead of opening it themselves?

6.True or false: The setting matters because Eileen needs the lantern to help her walk home safely in the dark.

TrueFalse

7.Which event is the turning point—the moment when the cousins discover what the lantern is needed for? Explain your choice.

8.How does the mood change from the beginning to the ending? Use one detail from each part of the story.

9.Imagine the story continued for one more event. Write a sentence that fits the characters and setting, then say whether it would belong before or after the ending.