Mills Hill Primary School.

English- Thursday 14th May

Task –Reading comprehension

Read through the following poem. As you are reading think about the poem and the words that
the author has chosen- similar to how we usually would in shared reading.

The Dentist and The Crocodile

By Roald Dahl

The crocodile, with cunning smile, sat in the dentist’s chair.

He said, “Right here and everywhere my teeth require repair.”
The dentist’s face was turning white. He quivered, quaked and shook.
He muttered, “I suppose I’m going to have to take a look.”
“I want you”, Crocodile declared, “to do the back ones first.
The molars at the very back are easily the worst.”
He opened wide his massive jaws. It was a fearsome sight—
At least three hundred pointed teeth, all sharp and shining white.
The dentist kept himself well clear. He stood two yards away.
He chose the longest probe he had to search out the decay.
“I said to do the back ones first!” the Crocodile called out.
“You’re much too far away, dear sir, to see what you’re about.
To do the back ones properly you’ve got to put your head
Deep down inside my great big mouth,” the grinning Crocky said.
The poor old dentist wrung his hands and, weeping in despair,
He cried, “No no! I see them all extremely well from here!”
Just then, in burst a lady, in her hands a golden chain.
She cried, “Oh Croc, you naughty boy, you’re playing tricks again!”
“Watch out!” the dentist shrieked and started climbing up the wall.
“He’s after me! He’s after you! He’s going to eat us all!”
“Don’t be a twit,” the lady said, and flashed a gorgeous smile.
“He’s harmless. He’s my little pet, my lovely crocodile.”

Read through the poem again, now thinking about the following questions as you are reading
through:
1. What is the purpose of the text? (inform/entertain/persuade etc.) Why has the author
written this?

2. Pick out a phrase and think about the possible meanings it may have.
a. Why did the author use these particular words? What impact do they have?
b. What did the author want you the feel/think/imagine?
c. What do the words/phrases remind you of? Any particular thoughts/feelings/events?

3. Using a dictionary, look up any words that you don’t know the meaning of.
L.I. TBAT understand what i am reading by exploring the meaning of words in context

1. Circle one word closest in meaning to ‘cunning’.

honest devious wide confused

2. Find and copy one word that means ‘frightening’.

3. ‘The poor old dentist wrung his hands’. In this line, what is the meaning of the word
‘wrung’?

4. What does the phrase ‘in burst a lady’ suggest about how she entered the room?

L.I. TBAT answer questions that ask my own views and perspectives about a text

5. Is the dentist a man or a woman? Use evidence from the text.

6. Why did the crocodile want the dentist to check his back teeth first?

7. How far away from the crocodile did the dentist stand?

8. How do you think the dentist felt about checking the crocodile’s teeth? Use evidence from
the text.

9. Who was the lady with the golden chain? Explain your answer.

10. What did the dentist do when the lady entered the room?

11. Do you think the crocodile really visited the dentist to get his teeth checked? Use evidence
from the text to explain you answer.

Challenge: Draw a picture of the crocodile sat in the dentist chair and the dentist in the room. Try
to show how the dentist is feeling with his facial expressions and actions.

Answers
1. Devious
2. Fearsome
3. Squeezed or twisted
4. The word burst suggests the lady entered quickly and forcefully
5. The dentist is a man because the poem uses the male pronoun. He quivered and wrung his hands.
6. The molars at the very back are easily the worst
7. Two yards away
8. Answer needs to include an emotion you think the dentist was feeling and an explanation that uses parts of the
poem that show this feeling,
E.g. The dentist felt scared because he quivered, quaked and shook suggesting he was that scared his body
was shaking with fear. He also stood far away from the crocodile suggesting he felt wary of him.
9. The lady with the gold chain is the crocodile’s owner as she tells the dentist the crocodile is her pet.
10. The dentist shrieked and started climbing up the wall
11. Answer needs to include your opinion (either yes he wanted his teeth checked or no he didn’t want his teeth
checked) and an explanation including parts of the poem that support your view.
E.g. I think the Crocodile didn’t really want his teeth checked as he was asking the dentist to put his head deep
down inside his great big mouth whilst grinning. This suggests he wanted him there for another reason other than
to checking his teeth.