The Clockmaker’s Apprentice
A story about a silent town clock and a boy who listens carefully, with eight questions on evidence, similes and the main message.
Read the passage
Every morning at precisely eight o’clock, the great clock in Wick Market Square chimed, and the whole town set its day by it. But on the first Monday of winter, the chime never came.
Idris, the clockmaker’s apprentice, was the first to notice. He stood in the square, staring up at the silent hands, which had frozen at seven minutes to eight. Shopkeepers drifted out of their doors, muttering. A farmer’s cart rattled past, late for the market. Nobody knew what to do.
Mr Hollis, the clockmaker, had been ill for weeks, and the repair was too difficult for a boy of thirteen. Yet Idris could not forget what his master used to say: “Every machine tells you what is wrong, if you listen carefully.”
So he climbed the narrow ladder into the tower, his lantern casting long shadows over the dusty gears. Slowly, he followed each cog and wheel with his finger, listening. Then he heard it: a tiny, scratchy sound, like a mouse nibbling a biscuit. Jammed between the teeth of the biggest wheel was a sparrow’s nest, woven from twigs and scraps of wool.
Idris held his breath. With the gentlest of movements, he lifted the nest free and carried it to a sunny beam beside the window, where the sparrows could find it again. Then he gave the wheel a careful push.
The pendulum shuddered, swung and settled into a steady tick. Far above the square, the great bell rang out, a little late, but loud and clear. Below, the people of Wick looked up and cheered. Idris wiped the oil from his hands and smiled. He had a feeling that Mr Hollis would be proud.
Answer the questions
- At what time had the clock stopped? (1 mark)
- Where was the sparrow’s nest jammed? (1 mark)
- Find and copy one word from the second paragraph that tells you the shopkeepers were complaining quietly. (1 mark)
- Why did Idris have to try to mend the clock himself? (1 mark)
- The author says the tiny sound was “like a mouse nibbling a biscuit”. What does this comparison tell you about the sound? (2 marks)
- How did Idris use Mr Hollis’s advice to solve the problem? Use evidence from the story. (2 marks)
- What is the main message of this story? Explain your answer in one or two sentences. (2 marks)
- Idris moved the nest to a sunny beam instead of throwing it away. What does this tell you about him? Explain your answer. (2 marks)
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. Seven minutes to eight. (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). A detail to find in the second paragraph.
2. Between the teeth of the biggest wheel. (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). Finding the key detail that solves the mystery, inside a longer sentence.
3. muttering (1 mark)
Word meaning (2a). Finding the word that shows how people spoke builds vocabulary and attention to detail.
4. Mr Hollis, the clockmaker, had been ill for weeks, so there was nobody else to do it. (1 mark)
Inference (2d). Linking two facts that sit in different parts of the story to explain why a character acts.
5. It was very small, quiet and scratchy, but still noticeable if you listened carefully. (2 marks)
Language choices. Understanding what a simile suggests, not just spotting it.
6. He listened carefully (“listening”) and followed the sound until he found the nest jammed in the wheel. (2 marks)
Inference (2d). Connecting something said early in the story to what happens later.
7. A good answer says that patience and careful listening can solve problems that seem too big or difficult (accept: kindness to animals, trusting yourself), with a reason from the story. (2 marks)
Summarising (2c). Identifying the main idea behind a whole story.
8. He is kind and careful: he wanted the sparrows to be able to find their nest again. (2 marks)
Giving a view with evidence. Deciding what a character’s actions show about them.
What this practises
Finding information (2b), Word meaning (2a), Inference (2d), Language choices, Summarising (2c), Giving a view with evidence. The codes in brackets are the reading content domains from the national curriculum test framework. Marks and answers are a guide: accept any sensible answer that is backed up by the text.
Now try the writing task
Write a short story about a problem that nobody else notices, and the person who solves it.
Aim for eight to twelve sentences. Read it back aloud together and fix anything that does not sound right.
Want feedback on your child's own writing?
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More Year 5 worksheets
Free to print and copy for your own family or classroom. Please do not sell or republish. The passage and questions were written for LiteracyLab AI.