The Label on My Coat
A historical story about two evacuees arriving in the countryside in 1939, with eight questions on feelings, figurative language and summarising.
Read the passage
It was the first of September 1939, and war was coming. The platform at the station was a sea of coats, cases and brown luggage labels. Dorothy kept a tight hold on her brother’s hand. Peter was only six, and his gas mask box bumped against his knees with every step. Somewhere a guard’s whistle shrilled, and a mother turned away so that her child would not see her face.
“Don’t cry,” she told him, though her own throat felt tight. “It’s an adventure. We’ll be home by Christmas.”
She had no way of knowing whether this was true. Mum had said it at the gate, smiling a smile that did not reach her eyes.
Pinned to Dorothy’s coat was a label in her mother’s neat writing: Dorothy Ashby, aged eleven. Peter Ashby, aged six. She touched it with one finger. It seemed strange to be turned into a parcel, to be sent away with her name on a piece of card in case she was lost.
The train rattled through the countryside for hours. London’s smoke and chimneys gave way to hedgerows and fields, so green that they hurt her eyes. Peter fell asleep against her shoulder. Dorothy stayed awake, watching the unfamiliar world slide by.
At the village hall, which smelled of floor polish and damp wool, a stern woman in a green hat walked slowly down the line of children, choosing. Dorothy straightened her back. She had heard whispers that nobody wanted to take two.
Eventually, a round-faced woman in an apron stopped in front of them. “Well now,” she said gently, crouching to Peter’s level, “I expect you two are hungry. I’ve a pot of stew on the stove and a bed with two pillows. Will you come?”
Dorothy looked at her brother, and then at the woman, whose hands were rough from work but whose eyes were kind. For the first time that day, her shoulders came down from around her ears. “Yes, please,” she whispered. “We would like that.”
Answer the questions
- What was written on the label pinned to Dorothy’s coat? (1 mark)
- The story says Dorothy watched “the unfamiliar world” slide by. What does “unfamiliar” mean? (1 mark)
- Dorothy says, “We’ll be home by Christmas”, but she “had no way of knowing” if it was true. Why do you think she said it? (2 marks)
- Mum smiled “a smile that did not reach her eyes”. What does this suggest about how Mum was feeling? (2 marks)
- Dorothy feels “turned into a parcel”. Explain what she means and why she feels this way. (2 marks)
- How does Dorothy show that she is a caring older sister? Give two examples. (2 marks)
- Describe how Dorothy’s feelings change from the start of the story to the end. Use evidence from the story. (3 marks)
- Why do you think Dorothy “straightened her back” as the woman in the green hat walked down the line? (2 marks)
Answer key for parents and teachers
1. Her name and age, and her brother’s: Dorothy Ashby, aged eleven; Peter Ashby, aged six. (1 mark)
Finding information (2b). A detail to find in the middle of the story.
2. Not known or not seen before; strange or new. (1 mark)
Word meaning (2a). Working out a word from the context around it.
3. To comfort and calm Peter (and perhaps to reassure herself). (2 marks)
Inference (2d). Understanding why a character says something, which may not be the same as what they believe.
4. She was sad or worried, but she was pretending to be cheerful so the children would not be frightened. (2 marks)
Inference (2d). A short phrase that says one thing and suggests another.
5. She has been labelled and sent away like something being posted, rather than being treated like a child with a home and a family. (2 marks)
Language choices. Understanding a metaphor and the feeling behind it.
6. Any two of: she holds his hand; she tells him not to cry; she stays awake while he sleeps; she looks at him before answering the woman. (2 marks)
Inference (2d). Gathering evidence about a character from several places.
7. One mark each for: her feelings at the start (anxious, tight throat, putting on a brave front); a point where she is worried (the line of children, “nobody wanted to take two”); the change at the end (relieved, hopeful, shoulders relaxing, “Yes, please”). (3 marks)
Summarising (2c). Summarising how a character changes across a whole story.
8. She wanted to look strong or well behaved, and hoped to be chosen together with her brother. (2 marks)
Explaining from the text. A small action that reveals a character’s hopes and fears.
What this practises
Finding information (2b), Word meaning (2a), Inference (2d), Language choices, Summarising (2c), Explaining from the text. 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
Imagine you are Dorothy. Write a letter to your mum on your first night in the village.
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?
You mark the worksheet yourself with the answer key. LiteracyLab AI is different: it reads what your child has written and gives specific feedback, such as what worked, one thing to try next, and a corrected version, matched to their year. The Free plan includes 3 pieces a month and needs no card.
More Year 6 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.