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Oliver Twist Comprehension Activity
A Meal at the Workhouse
Read the passage, then answer the questions that follow.
At supper, the boys gathered in the workhouse's communal meal hall. A cook stood beside a steaming pot and poured a small serving of thin porridge into each bowl. The meal was so scant that the boys were still hungry when they had finished. They scraped their bowls clean with their spoons and watched the pot, hoping there might be another helping.
After many weeks of meagre meals, the boys quietly agreed that someone should ask the cook for more. They chose Oliver. When supper came, he stood up, carrying his bowl in both hands. His voice trembled, but he managed to ask for another serving.
The cook stared at Oliver as if he had heard something impossible. Then he seized the boy and called loudly for Mr Bumble, the workhouse beadle. Mr Bumble hurried to tell the board what had happened. The gentlemen looked amazed that a hungry child had dared to ask for more. One of them declared that Oliver would come to a terrible end.
Find the Details
Use information from the passage to answer each question.
1.What food did the cook serve to the boys at supper?
2.Where did the boys eat their supper?
3.What did the boys use to scrape their bowls clean?
4.How long had the boys endured small meals before they decided someone should ask for more?
5.Who did the boys select to speak to the cook?
6.What was Oliver holding when he stood up?
7.How does the passage show that Oliver felt nervous?
8.What did the cook do after Oliver asked for another serving?
9.What was Mr Bumble's job at the workhouse?
10.What did one of the gentlemen say would happen to Oliver?
Think and Infer
Explain your ideas using clues from the passage.
11.What can you infer about the size of the boys' meals? Give a clue from the passage.
12.Why might the boys have chosen Oliver to make the request for them?
13.Why is it surprising that the cook and the gentlemen react so strongly to Oliver's request?
14.What does Oliver's trembling voice, followed by his request, suggest about his character?
15.The cook calls for Mr Bumble, who then reports the incident to the board. What does this sequence suggest about how the workhouse is run?
Creative Writing
Imagine you are one of the boys at the table. Write a diary entry about Oliver's request. Describe what you saw, how you felt, and what you think may happen to Oliver next. Aim for two paragraphs, using vivid details and a tense atmosphere.
16.Write a diary entry from the viewpoint of one of the boys who witnessed Oliver ask for more food.
