Going Solo By Roald Dahl

What is a formation leader?

• The general that is over the entire Army.

• The guy that watches out for enemy fighter planes.

• The guy that repairs the planes.

• The guy who leads the formation of planes.

Decide if each of the quotes listed below supports or doesn't support the concept that the formation leader is a strong, experienced pilot.

Groups:

(a) Supports

,

(b) Doesn't Support

• Flight-Lieutenant Pattle, the ace of aces

• the whole sky around us seemed to explode with German fighters.

• was evidently assuming that we could all fly as brilliantly as he could

• They came down on us from high above, not only 109s but also the twin-engined 110s.

What is a Hurricane

• A Tropical Storm

• A Plane

• A Drink

• A popular toy

Why did Dahl decide to include the description of the Hurricane in paragraphs 19-20?

• It shows how inadequate World War II planes were, which is the purpose of Dahl’s story

• It supports the theory that Dahl was the best pilot and wanted to be the formation leader.

• It helps the reader better understand what Dahl went through in the Battle of Athens.

• It illustrates the similarities between Hurricane planes and hurricane storms.

Read this sentence from paragraph 18: “On that morning of 20 April, Flight-Lieutenant Pattle, the ace of aces, who was leading our formation of twelve Hurricanes over Athens, was evidently assuming that we could all fly as brilliantly as he could, and he led us one hell of a dance around the skies above the city.”

According to the quote listed above, What is Dahl's perception of Flight- Lieutenant Pattle?

• His lack of leadership makes him nervous to fly.

• He is showing off in front of the German fleet.

• His patience and skills are what make him a great leader.

• He is reckless in his leadership of lesser skilled pilots.

Paragraph 20: Some people do not realize that although a Hurricane had eight guns in its wings, those guns were all immobile. You did not aim the guns, you aimed the plane. The guns themselves were carefully sighted and tested beforehand on the ground so that the bullets from each gun would converge at a point about 150 yards ahead. Thus, using your reflector-sight, you aimed the plane at the target and pressed the button. To aim accurately in this way requires skillful flying, especially as you are usually in a steep turn and going very fast when the moment comes.

What is the author's purpose for including paragraph 20?

• To indicate the author’s hesitance in using the Hurricane’s guns

• To describe the feeling of flying a Hurricane in a dog-fight

• To demonstrate the difficulty of flying a Hurricane into battle

• To explain how the ground-crew prepares a Hurricane plane for war

What is a collision?

• the act of coming violently into contact with another object; crash:

• Becoming one with another person

• A toy that shows various shapes when you twist it in a circle.

• A ride at an amusement park.

Paragraph 21, Sentence 11: “I am quite sure that the German planes must have often got in each other’s way because there were so many of them, and that, together with the fact that there were so few of us, probably saved quite a number of our skins.”

After reading the sentence above, readers can infer that....

• The British pilots had better equipment for battles

• The German planes likely collided with their own aircraft.

• The British planes outnumbered the German planes.

• The German pilots were the best pilots in the world.

Due to the circumstances that Dahl encountered during World WAR II, many people may consider Roald to be a brave piolot because he______.

• stayed in the battle until he had no ammunition left

• was the last pilot to defend the British in the battle

• spent half his time avoiding collisions with other planes

• was the best marksman out of all the pilots in his formation

What are vivid details?

• Action Words

• Sensory Words

• Dialogue

• Nouns