Garden Heights Academy · Independent Novel Study

Part 5

for The BFG · Part 5 · Chapters 15–17

a novel by Roald Dahl

60 min6 Parts

This workbook is built on a solid pedagogical foundation, effectively integrating content and language learning based on the CLIL framework (Content and Language Integrated Learning), elevated by our unique 5th C — Connection — and an integrated Standardized Test section that weaves every SAT & TOEFL question type right into the novel, so learners build real test skills easily, naturally, and with fun.

💭 Before You Read · Just for Fun

No right or wrong answers — just think or chat about it: If you had one chance to convince the most powerful person in the country of something unbelievable, what evidence would you bring? Who is the highest-up person YOU have ever spoken to? And is it braver to act at night, in secret — or in daylight, in front of everyone?

What Happens in Part 5

Sophie and the BFG come up with a daring Great Plan: they will go to the Queen of England and tell her about the man-eating giants. The BFG spends all night carefully mixing a special dream — blending together nightmares of giants gobbling up children — so that the Queen will know exactly what is happening. Then, in the dark before dawn, the BFG wraps Sophie safely in his hand and runs to London at extraordinary speed, covering the vast distance in a single night to reach Buckingham Palace before daylight.

What We Will Study

Focus	What It Means
The Great Plan	How Sophie and the BFG decide to act — and why going to the Queen is the boldest possible choice
Mixing a Dream	How the BFG crafts a dream deliberately — using it as a tool to communicate truth to the powerful
Journey to London	How Dahl creates a sense of speed and wonder in the overnight run to the capital

Copyright Notice

This is an independent study guide created by Garden Heights Academy to support reading comprehension and literary analysis. It contains original analysis questions and does not reproduce any text from the novel. The BFG is a work by Roald Dahl. This guide is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Roald Dahl, the Roald Dahl Story Company, or any associated rights holders. Students should read the original book, available from libraries and booksellers.

Part 1

Vocabulary

Study the key words from Chapters 15–17, then answer each question.

🧠Knowledge Bank · How the Brain Mixes a Dream

Science · Sleep & MemoryThe BFG blends stored dreams together to brew a brand-new one, and the sleeping brain does something surprisingly similar. As we sleep, the brain sorts through the day’s events, strengthening the memories worth keeping in a process scientists call consolidation. Bits of these memories can drift up into dreams, which is why a dream so often stitches a familiar face onto a strange place, or replays a worry in some twisted shape. In a sense, every dream is a mixture, cooked from scraps of what you have seen, felt, and feared. That is the recipe the BFG follows when he pours several dreams into one jar and swirls them into a fresh vision for the Queen. Dahl’s fantasy machine mirrors a real one humming inside your skull each night, quietly turning the raw stuff of your day into the strange little films you call dreams.

ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.

audaciousadj.Ch.15

Showing a willingness to take bold, daring risks

“It was an audacious plan — going to the Queen herself — but the BFG agreed it was the only way.”

schemen.Ch.15

A carefully thought-out plan or arrangement, often a clever one

“The BFG listened carefully to Sophie’s scheme and nodded his enormous head in approval.”

concoctv.Ch.16

To create or devise something by mixing several things together

“The BFG began to concoct the perfect dream, blending together the wisps and vapors in exactly the right order.”

composev.Ch.16

To create something carefully by putting its parts together

“The BFG worked through the night to compose a dream that would make the Queen understand everything.”

wispn.Ch.16

A very thin, delicate streak or thread of something, like smoke or vapor

“Each dream was a wisp of golden vapor, fragile and glowing, caught in a glass jar.”

striden./v.Ch.17

A long, powerful step; to walk or run with long steps

“With every giant stride, the BFG covered ground that would take a human an hour to cross.”

gallopv.Ch.17

To run at great speed, like a horse at full pace

“The BFG began to gallop across the open fields, moving faster than Sophie had ever thought possible.”

blurn.Ch.17

Something seen as a smear or indistinct shape because it is moving too fast to see clearly

“The countryside flashed past in a blur as the BFG ran through the dark at enormous speed.”

destinationn.Ch.17

The place someone is traveling to; the place you are trying to reach

“Their destination was Buckingham Palace in London — and the BFG had to get there before dawn.”

duskn.Ch.17

The time of day just after sunset when the sky grows dark

“They set out at dusk, when the shadows were long, so no one would see a giant running across England.”

1Sophie and the BFG came up with a bold plan to visit the Queen. Which word best describes a plan that is brave and daring?Ch.15

2True or False: A “scheme” is a random accident that happens without any planning.Ch.15

3Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.16

Word choices:concoctcomposewispschemeblur- some words will not be used

Each dream was a delicate of golden vapor.

The BFG worked all night to the perfect dream.

4The BFG mixed together several dream fragments to make the special dream. Which word means to create something by mixing several things together?Ch.16

5True or False: “Dusk” is the time just after sunset when the light fades.Ch.17

6Fill in the blanks to describe the BFG’s run to London.Ch.17

Word choices:stridegallopblurdestinationduskaudacious- some words will not be used

The countryside passed in a as the BFG began to across England at full speed.

7True or False: “Destination” means the place you are currently standing, not where you are going.Ch.17

8The BFG took enormous steps that covered huge distances with each movement. Which word means a long, powerful step?Ch.17

9True or False: “Audacious” is used to describe plans or people who are too fearful to take any risks.Ch.15

10Fill in the blank to complete the sentence.Ch.17

Word choices:audaciousschemedestinationblurstridedusk- one word will be used

Buckingham Palace was their , and the BFG had to reach it before the first light of dawn.

Part 2

Comprehension

How well do you understand Chapters 15–17?

🧠Knowledge Bank · Guessing What Comes Next

Reading Skill · PredictingPredicting means using what you know from a story to guess what will happen next. It is not wild guessing; it is a careful forecast built on clues. In Part 5 the BFG and Sophie hatch a plan to reach the Queen and warn her about the giants, and Dahl plants hints about how it might unfold. A sharp reader pauses and asks: given the plan they have made, what could go right, and what could go wrong? Making a prediction pulls you deeper into the story, because now you have a stake in finding out whether you guessed correctly. when you are wrong, you win, since a surprise only surprises a reader who was expecting something else. As you read on, keep a running guess about the Queen, the dream, and the giants’ fate. Then read to discover whether the story confirms or overturns your hunch.

1What is the main purpose of the Great Plan in Chapter 15?Ch.15

2True or False: The special dream the BFG makes in Ch.16 is designed to show the Queen exactly what the giants are doing to children.Ch.16

3Why does the BFG leave for London at dusk rather than during the day?Ch.17

4True or False: The BFG holds Sophie safely in his hand during the entire run to London.Ch.17

5Write the numbers 1–5 to show the correct order of events across Part 5. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch.15–17

The BFG agrees to the plan and begins selecting dream fragments to mix together.
The BFG spends all night carefully mixing and composing the special dream.
The BFG arrives near Buckingham Palace before the first light of dawn.
At dusk the BFG cups Sophie in his hands and begins his galloping run to London.
Sophie proposes the Great Plan: they should go directly to the Queen of England.

6What role does the specially mixed dream play in the overall plan?Ch.16

7True or False: The BFG is afraid to go to London and has to be persuaded by Sophie for a long time before he finally agrees.Ch.15

8Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence.Ch.15–17

Word choices:mixingLondonQueendreamgallopdawn- some words will not be used

The BFG and Sophie planned to take a special to the of England to prove the giants existed.

9Which city is the BFG’s destination in Chapter 17?Ch.17

10True or False: Chapters 15–17 mark a major turning point in the story because Sophie and the BFG stop being passive and start taking bold action for the first time.Ch.15–17

Part 3

Literary Elements

Understanding HOW and WHY Dahl crafts Chapters 15–17 the way he does.

🧠Knowledge Bank · Dahl’s Craft in Part 5

Language · Capitalized-Naming SpotlightNotice how Dahl gives the scheme a grand name with capital letters: the Great Plan. Turning ordinary words into a proper name, using capitalization, is a quiet but powerful device. A capital letter lifts a thing out of the everyday and treats it as important, unique, almost a character in its own right. A plan is common; the Great Plan feels weighty and official, something with the power to change history. Writers use this trick to signal what matters, steering your attention like a spotlight swinging across a stage. Dream Country, the Queen, the Great Plan — each capital promises significance. As you read, watch which words Dahl chooses to crown with a capital, because those choices reveal what he wants you to take seriously. A single tall letter can turn a plain little noun into a landmark the whole story seems to circle.

📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples

Rising action is the part of a story where events build and tension increases on the way to the climax. In Ch.15–17 Sophie’s Great Plan takes shape, the dream is mixed, and the journey to London begins — each step pushing the story toward its big moment.

Character agency means a character taking action and driving events themselves, rather than just having things happen to them. In Ch.15 Sophie stops being a passenger in the story and invents the Great Plan herself.

Kinetic imagery is descriptive language that conveys movement and motion. In Ch.17 words like “gallop,” “stride,” and “blur” make us feel the speed of the BFG racing across the world toward London.

The questions below are mixed — not grouped by device. Decide which device each one is about.

1Chapters 15–17 are best described as which part of the story’s structure?Ch.15–17

2True or False: In Ch.15 Sophie demonstrates character agency by inventing the Great Plan herself rather than waiting to be rescued.Ch.15

3Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.17

Word choices:kineticgalloprhymehumormisty- some words will not be used

Imagery that conveys movement is called imagery. Dahl uses verbs like to make us feel the BFG’s tremendous speed.

4Who comes up with the Great Plan to stop the giants, showing strong character agency?Ch.15

5True or False: Kinetic imagery is descriptive language that conveys movement and motion.Ch.17

6Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.15

Word choices:rising actionplanrhymeclimax- some words will not be used

The build-up of events and tension before the climax is called the . It begins as Sophie works out her Great to stop the giants.

7Words like “gallop,” “stride,” and “blur” in Ch.17 create which kind of imagery?Ch.17

8True or False: Rising action is the part of a story where events build up and tension increases on the way to the climax.Ch.15–17

9Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.15

Word choices:agencySophierhymecontrast- some words will not be used

When a character takes charge and drives the action, we say they show character . Here it is who creates the plan to defeat the giants.

10In Part 5, SOPHIE invents the Great Plan while the BFG supplies the dream-craft and the speed. How do character agency and rising action work together here?Ch.15–17

Part 4

Think Deeper

Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it through.

🧠Knowledge Bank · The Courage to Speak Up

Social-Emotional · CourageSophie and the BFG know a terrible secret — the giants are eating children — and knowing is not enough. Someone must be brave enough to carry that truth to the most powerful person in the land. Choosing to act, than staying safely silent, takes real courage. It would be far easier to hide in the cave and let the danger continue, but Dahl’s heroes flatly refuse. This is the difference between wishing a problem away and standing up to fix it. Notice, too, that neither of them can win alone: the BFG holds the knowledge, and Sophie holds the plan and the nerve, so their bravery is a true partnership. Speaking up to someone big and important is frightening for a small orphan and a mocked giant alike. Yet the story insists that when you know something is deeply wrong, staying quiet becomes its kind of failure.

1Claim: “Sophie and the BFG decide to stop the giants by asking the Queen for help.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence

2The problem of the giants, or Sophie and the BFG’s plan? Tap each item to send it left or right.Sort into two

◄ The problemTheir plan ►

3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect

The giants gallop off to England→

The BFG is too small to stop them→

Sophie thinks of the Queen→

The Queen must believe them→

4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument

Sophie decides to go to the Queen because , which shows that .

Part 5

Standardized Test · Author’s Purpose & Passage Structure

Part 5 studies how nonfiction is BUILT — Text Structure & Purpose (what job each sentence does) — together with Vocabulary in Context and Factual Detail, in the styles the SAT and TOEFL use. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then choose the answer best supported by the text.

🎓Knowledge Bank · How a Passage Is Built

Test Skills · Part 5Good nonfiction is architecture: each part of the passage has one job, and the jobs fit together. As you read, name each part’s job in a few words (“how it’s built” → “life inside” → “who shares it”). Structure questions ask for that map; purpose questions ask for one sentence’s job — example, contrast, proof, or hook. If a detail were deleted, what would the paragraph lose? That missing thing is the purpose.

Buckingham Palace looks like a monument, but it works like a small town. It is the monarch’s official London residence — 775 rooms, including 19 grand State Rooms — and behind its famous balcony some 500 people work: chefs, footmen, clockmakers (there are more than 350 clocks to wind), gardeners, and the palace’s own postmaster. The palace’s days run on duty. The monarch’s work is to host and to honor: private audiences with the Prime Minister every week, receptions for visiting presidents and kings, and summer garden parties that welcome thousands of ordinary citizens chosen for their service.

Grand ceremonies like the State Banquet require military precision: the great table is measured with rulers, and every glass stands exactly where tradition says it must. Yet the fairy-tale walls hide a working household with homely problems: leaking roofs, worn carpets, mice in the kitchens, and endless repairs. The guards outside are real soldiers on real duty, and the flag above the roof tells London, day by day, whether the monarch is at home. A palace, in the end, is a house that belongs partly to history — its owner lives there, but the nation watches through the railings.

Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.

1As used in the passage, the word “residence” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context

2In the passage, the word “official” is closest in meaning to —TOEFL · Vocabulary

3According to the passage, about how many people work at Buckingham Palace?TOEFL · Factual Information

4According to the passage, who meets the monarch in a private audience every week?TOEFL · Factual Information

5As used in the passage, the word “host” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context

6According to the passage, a royal palace belongs partly to —SAT · Inference

7Which choice best describes how the passage is organized?SAT · Text Structure & Purpose

8Why does the author mention the leaking roofs, worn carpets, and mice?SAT · Text Structure & Purpose

9The passage most strongly suggests that an unexpected visitor hoping to reach the monarch would find it difficult because —TOEFL · Inference

10Which statement best expresses the central idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas

Part 6 · Optional

Creative Writing

A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.

About This Section

This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!

Writing Task — Part 5 “The Great Plan / Mixing the Dream / Journey to London”

Imagine you are Sophie, held safely in the BFG’s giant hands as he gallops through the dark towards London. Describe what you can see, hear, and feel during the journey. How does it feel to travel this fast? What are you thinking about as you get closer to the Palace? Write at least 40 words.

You can start with: “The wind roared past my ears as the BFG galloped through the dark, and below me England was nothing but a blur of…”

0 / 40 words minimum

🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)

No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.

Part 5 Complete!

You finished “The Great Plan · Mixing the Dream · Journey to London”

Here are your auto-graded results:

-

points out of 100

Your Writing

Your optional writing was checked automatically for length, spelling, grammar, and key parts of the scene. Scroll back to Part 5 anytime to read your feedback and improve your work.

Independent study guide by Garden Heights Academy. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Roald Dahl or the Roald Dahl Story Company. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Roald Dahl’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.

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