Matilda · Garden Heights Academy
Part 3
for Matilda · Part 3 · Chapters 8–10
a novel by Roald Dahl
This workbook integrates content and language learning based on the CLIL framework.
💭 Before You Read · Just for Fun
No right or wrong answers — just think or chat about it: Has an adult ever refused to believe something true that you told them — what happened? Why do you think schools once used fear to teach? And what would YOU do if you saw someone powerful being cruel and everyone else stayed silent?
What Happens in Part 3
We have met the good adult in Matilda’s school life — Miss Honey. Now we meet the terrifying one. In Chapter 8, Miss Trunchbull is introduced: the headmistress of Crunchem Hall. She is enormous, physically powerful, contemptuous of children, and completely without pity. Dahl describes her with deliberate exaggeration, making her almost like a villain from a fairy tale. Chapter 9 explores the world of parents and children through a wider lens — showing how different adults see children and how the Wormwood family compares to others. Chapter 10 shows the Trunchbull in full horrifying action: she swings Amanda Thripp by her pigtails across the school grounds like a hammer. It is both outrageous and, somehow, darkly funny — exactly the tone Dahl is aiming for.
What We Will Learn
| Literary Element | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Hyperbole | Deliberate exaggeration used to create comic or shocking effects |
| Villain and Power Structure | How the Trunchbull uses authority to make cruelty harder to challenge |
| Dark Comedy | Mixing cruelty and humor to create Dahl's distinctive tone |
Chapter Summary
| Chapter | Title & Key Events |
|---|---|
| Ch.8 | The Trunchbull — Miss Trunchbull is introduced; her physical description, her background as a champion hammer thrower, her contempt for children and parents alike |
| Ch.9 | The Parents — Different kinds of parents and their attitudes toward children; the contrast between parents who see and value their children and those who do not |
| Ch.10 | Throwing the Hammer — The Trunchbull seizes Amanda Thripp by her pigtails and hurls her across the school grounds; her cruelty is on full open display |
Copyright Notice
Independent study guide by Garden Heights Academy. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Roald Dahl or the Roald Dahl Story Company. 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.
Part 1
Vocabulary
Study 10 key words from Chapters 8–10, then answer each question.
Knowledge Bank · How We Spot a Gifted Child
Psychology · GiftednessHow does anyone know that a child is truly gifted? Psychologists look for more than good grades. A gifted child often shows precocity — reaching milestones early, like Matilda reading novels before school — along with fierce curiosity and the habit of teaching herself. Many also show asynchronous development: a mind that races years ahead while the body and feelings stay young, so a five-year-old may discuss books an adult finds hard yet still need an afternoon nap. Tests can measure part of this, but sharp teachers often notice it first, in questions no one expected and answers that leap past the lesson. Sadly, a gifted child in the wrong classroom, bored and unchallenged, may look instead like a troublemaker. That is the danger Matilda faces under the Trunchbull, where brilliance is punished rather than fed. Real talent needs a watchful adult willing to recognize and nurture a hungry young mind.
ⓘ Vocabulary words are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the novel.
formidableadj.Ch.8
Inspiring fear or respect through being very powerful or difficult to deal with
“The Trunchbull was a formidable figure — even adults who met her felt an instinctive desire to step back.”
contemptn.Ch.8
The feeling that someone or something is worthless or deserving no respect; complete disregard
“The Trunchbull had nothing but contempt for children — she viewed them as unpleasant creatures who would ideally not exist.”
tyrannicaladj.Ch.8
Using power cruelly and unjustly; acting like a tyrant who rules through fear
“Her tyrannical rule over the school was total — teachers feared her as much as children did.”
cowerv.Ch.8–10
To crouch or shrink back in fear; to make yourself small to avoid danger or punishment
“Every child in the school had learned to cower when they heard the Trunchbull’s heavy footsteps in the corridor.”
outrageousadj.Ch.10
Shocking and extremely unacceptable; violating what is considered right or decent
“Swinging a child by her pigtails was outrageous — and yet somehow the Trunchbull had always managed to get away with it.”
diabolicaladj.Ch.8
Characteristic of the devil; extremely cruel or wicked; of a very high degree of nastiness
“Her diabolical behavior had gone unchecked for so long that the whole school simply accepted it as a fact of life.”
wretchedadj.Ch.8–10
In a very unhappy or unfortunate state; deeply miserable
“The wretched children sat in silence, hoping that if they did not move, the Trunchbull would not notice them.”
authorityn.Ch.8–9
The power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce rules; a person in a position of power
“The Trunchbull’s authority over the school was absolute — no one questioned her and no one dared to report her.”
intimidatev.Ch.8
To frighten or threaten someone in order to make them do what you want or prevent them from acting
“The Trunchbull did not just discipline children — she used her size and her voice to intimidate everyone around her.”
pigtailn.Ch.10
A hairstyle in which hair is braided or tied into one or two sections that hang down; also used by the Trunchbull as a literal handle
“Amanda’s pigtails were long and thick, and to the Trunchbull they looked very much like the handles of a hammer.”
1The Trunchbull was so large and powerful that even adult visitors to the school felt instinctively afraid of her. Which word means inspiring fear or respect through being very powerful or difficult to deal with?Ch.8
2True or False: To have “contempt” for someone means to deeply respect and admire them, seeing them as worthy of your full attention.Ch.8
3The Trunchbull ruled the whole school through fear, and no one — not teachers, not parents — dared question her. Which word describes ruling power cruelly and unjustly through fear?Ch.8
4True or False: To “cower” means to stand tall and face danger confidently, refusing to be frightened.Ch.8–10
5Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8–10
Word choices:outrageousdiabolicalintimidateauthoritywretched— some words will not be used
Throwing a child across the school grounds was — and yet somehow everyone simply accepted it because no one was willing to challenge her.
The Trunchbull used her size and her booming voice to anyone who might consider speaking up against her.
6True or False: “Authority” means the power or right to give orders and enforce rules, and can also refer to a person who holds that power.Ch.8–9
7The Trunchbull’s behavior was so cruel and wicked it seemed almost supernatural — like something from a horror story, not a school. Which word means extremely cruel or wicked, almost devilish?Ch.8
8True or False: A “wretched” state means being happy, comfortable, and well-cared for.Ch.8–10
9Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.8–10
Word choices:contemptcowerformidablepigtailtyrannical— some words will not be used
Every child learned quickly to in their seat and say nothing when the Trunchbull walked by — the best strategy was to be invisible.
The Trunchbull had nothing but for the parents who sent their children to her school — she thought they were as foolish as their children.
10In Chapter 10, the Trunchbull seizes Amanda Thripp by this hairstyle — two thick braids hanging from her head — and swings her across the grounds. What is this hairstyle called?Ch.10
Part 2
Comprehension
How well do you understand Chapters 8–10?
Knowledge Bank · Making a Movie in Your Mind
Reading Skill · VisualizationGreat readers make movies in their minds. This skill is called visualization: turning an author’s words into pictures, sounds, and even smells you can almost feel. Dahl hands you rich material — the Trunchbull swinging a girl by her pigtails, Bruce Bogtrotter forced to eat an enormous chocolate cake, the dark, spike-lined cupboard called the chokey. As you read Chapters 8–10, pause and build each scene fully in your head: the size, the colors, the faces of the watching children. Doing this does more than entertain; it helps you remember events and understand exactly why the pupils are so afraid. When a description feels vague, slow down and gather the concrete details Dahl gives, then let them sharpen into a single clear image. A reader who can truly see a scene feels both its danger and its comedy with startling force.
1What was Miss Trunchbull’s background before she became headmistress of Crunchem Hall?Ch.8
2True or False: The Trunchbull is physically small and quiet — she intimidates people through her sharp mind and cruel words rather than her body.Ch.8
3What does the Trunchbull do to Amanda Thripp in Chapter 10?Ch.10
4True or False: The Trunchbull is feared by the children but respected and liked by the teaching staff, who see her as a firm but fair leader.Ch.8
5Put the events from Chapters 8–10 in the correct order. Write 1–4 (1 = first).Ch.8–10
- The Trunchbull spots Amanda Thripp in the playground and seizes her pigtails.
- Amanda Thripp is hurled across the school grounds; the children watch in horrified silence.
- Dahl introduces Miss Trunchbull: her enormous size, her background as an athlete, and her complete contempt for children.
- Dahl explores the world of parents and the contrast between those who value their children and those who do not.
6True or False: One of the reasons the Trunchbull gets away with her behavior is that no adult will believe a child who reports it — the acts are so extreme they seem impossible.Ch.8–10
7Why is it significant that the Trunchbull was once a champion hammer thrower?Ch.8–10
8True or False: After seeing the Trunchbull throw Amanda Thripp, Matilda decides immediately to use her power to stop her.Ch.10
9In Ch.8, what does the Trunchbull do to Amanda Thripp because she has pigtails?Ch.8
10In Ch.10, why do the other parents not complain about the Trunchbull’s methods?Ch.10
Part 3
Literary Elements
Understanding HOW and WHY Dahl creates certain effects in Chapters 8–10.
Knowledge Bank · Exaggeration and Dark Humor
Literary Craft · HyperboleDahl is a master of hyperbole — deliberate, wild exaggeration used for effect. The Trunchbull does not merely scold children; she hurls them over fences and claims to have thrown the hammer for the Olympics. No real headmistress could do such things, and Dahl knows it; the outrageous scale is the point. Paired with this is dark humor, comedy made from frightening or cruel situations. The chokey and the flying pupils ought to horrify us, yet Dahl tells it so absurdly that we laugh even as we gasp. This mix does clever work: exaggeration turns a bully into a cartoon monster we can defy rather than simply fear, and laughter gives young readers power over her. When a scene grows impossibly huge or grim, ask what Dahl is stretching and why, because his tallest tales usually carry his sharpest truths.
📚 Literary Devices in This Part · definitions & examples
Hyperbole is extreme, impossible exaggeration used for comic or dramatic effect. Dahl describes the Trunchbull in wildly exaggerated terms — strong enough to hurl a child like an Olympic hammer — to make her feel monstrous and larger than life.Power structure is the way power in a society or institution is organized into levels. The Trunchbull is dangerous not only because she is strong, but because she holds the position of headmistress — total authority over children who cannot fight back.Dark comedy is humor that finds comedy in cruel, painful, or disturbing situations. When the Trunchbull swings Amanda Thripp by her pigtails and hurls her over the fence, it is shocking and cruel — yet Dahl writes it so outrageously that we laugh in disbelief.
The questions below are mixed — not grouped by device. Decide which device each one is about.
1Dahl describes the Trunchbull’s size and strength in extreme, almost impossible terms. This deliberate exaggeration is called —Ch.8–10
2True or False: A power structure is the way power in a society or institution is organized into levels — from those with the most to those with the least.Ch.8
3Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.10
Word choices:dark comedycruelrhymepowertone- some words will not be used
Humor drawn from painful or frightening situations is called . The Amanda Thripp scene is shockingly , yet written to be funny.
4What makes the Trunchbull such a powerful and frightening villain?Ch.8
5True or False: Dark comedy finds humor in cruel, painful, or disturbing situations.Ch.10
6Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.8–10
Word choices:hyperboleTrunchbullrhymepathos- some words will not be used
Extreme, impossible exaggeration for effect is called . Dahl uses it to make the headmistress, Miss , seem monstrous.
7The Amanda Thripp pigtail-throwing scene is cruel and frightening, yet written to make us laugh. This kind of humor is called —Ch.10
8True or False: Hyperbole can only ever be funny — it can never be used to create fear or shock.Ch.8–10
9Fill in the blanks with the correct words.Ch.8
Word choices:powerauthorityrhymecomic- some words will not be used
The way control is organized into levels is called a structure. The Trunchbull is dangerous because of the her position gives her over the children.
10The pigtail scene is horrifying — yet parents in the novel refuse to believe it happened. How do Dahl’s HYPERBOLE and the Trunchbull’s safety work together?Ch.10
Part 4
Think Deeper
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it through.
Knowledge Bank · Power, Fear, and Quiet Courage
Ethics · CourageChapters 8–10 show raw power used to crush the weak. The Trunchbull rules by fear, inventing punishments so terrible that children obey without a murmur. Yet Dahl also shows the first sparks of courage. When Bruce Bogtrotter finishes the whole monstrous cake, and when the watching pupils quietly will him on, we see that even the powerless can resist. True bravery here is not loud; it is stubborn and shared, a refusal to be broken. Notice the difference between the Trunchbull’s strength, which comes from terror, and the children’s, which comes from sticking together. Dahl wants us to see that a tyrant looks unbeatable only until people stop being afraid. As you read, ask what gives a frightened child the nerve to endure, because the quiet, steady kind of courage often outlasts the loudest bully.
1Claim: “Miss Trunchbull rules the school through fear.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence
2Whose way of treating children is this? Tap each item to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ Miss Honey (caring)The Trunchbull (cruel) ►
3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect
Miss Honey praises Matilda to her parents→
Trunchbull spots Amanda’s pigtails→
The Trunchbull invents the Chokey→
Amanda somehow lands unhurt→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
Matilda’s parents dismiss Miss Honey’s praise because , which shows that .
Part 5
Standardized Test · Factual Detail & the EXCEPT Question
Part 3 adds a trickier exam family — the Negative Factual (EXCEPT / NOT) question — on top of Factual Detail, Inference and Vocabulary in Context, 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 · Beating the EXCEPT Question
Test Skills · Part 3In an EXCEPT / NOT question, three answers are true and stated in the passage — your job is to find the one that is not there. Turn it into a checklist: read each choice, find it in the passage, and tick it off. The choice you cannot find is the answer. Danger: an option can sound sensible and still be the right answer because the passage never says it. Slow down — these questions punish speed-reading.
For much of history, fear was the engine of the classroom. In the schools of an earlier era, the cane and the strap were widespread, and strict obedience was prized far above curiosity. A teacher’s word was law; a child’s account of events counted for almost nothing. Children who were punished unjustly had nowhere to appeal — complaining usually earned a second punishment for dishonesty. Then reformers began to push back. Educators argued that fear teaches children to hide, not to learn; psychologists gathered evidence that harsh punishment damages memory, trust, and the willingness to ask questions.
Slowly, country by country, laws began to change. Britain moved to abolish corporal punishment in its state schools in 1986, and dozens of nations followed. Each reform rested on the same new idea: that a child’s dignity deserves the law’s protection, exactly as an adult’s does. Today that idea has a global charter. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) — the most widely accepted human-rights treaty in history — says that schools must protect children from harm and, just as importantly, that children have the right to be heard in matters that affect them. The reasoning is practical as well as moral: a school where children are afraid to speak can never discover what its children actually know.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1As used in the passage, the word “widespread” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context
2The passage most strongly suggests that letting children speak up helps a school because it —SAT · Inference
3According to the passage, what happened to children who complained about unjust punishment in the old era?TOEFL · Factual Information
4All of the following are mentioned as harms of fear-based punishment EXCEPT —TOEFL · Negative Factual
5As used in the passage, the word “abolish” most nearly means —SAT · Words in Context
6According to the passage, what did each reform rest on?TOEFL · Factual Information
7The passage most strongly suggests that in an old-era school, a Trunchbull-like adult would —TOEFL · Inference
8In the passage, the word “reform” is closest in meaning to —TOEFL · Vocabulary
9Which of the following is NOT stated in the passage?TOEFL · Negative Factual
10Why does the author end with the sentence about a school where children are afraid to speak?SAT · Text Structure & Purpose
Part 6 · Optional
Creative Writing
A bonus challenge to practice your English.
About This Section
This writing task is optional and not part of your auto-graded score. Feedback checks length, spelling, and grammar only.
Writing Task — Part 3 “The Trunchbull”
Imagine you are a student at Crunchem Hall. You have just watched the Trunchbull throw Amanda Thripp across the school grounds. Describe what you saw, what you felt, and what you thought about it. Write at least 40 words.
You can start with: “Nobody moved. Nobody said anything. We just stood there and watched…”
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 3 Complete!
You finished Chapters 8–10 of Matilda.
Here are your auto-graded results:
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points out of 100