Approach: Station
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Focus:
Reading comprehension. |
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1.4MB |
Resources:
A story in four parts,
on 4 separate sheets. (see
above frame) |
Questions
/ instructions:
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Read
Part 1 of the story.
Circle the letter alongside the best answer. (answers
are indicated with a tick) |
%
responses
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y4
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y8
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1. How did the rich man feel about the elephant? |
a.
He was proud of it. |
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77
(77)
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94
(95)
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b.
He was worried about it. |
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c.
He wanted to get rid of it. |
2.
Why should Lee Chin have to give something to the King? |
a.
The King did not like him. |
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b.
The King wanted Lee Chin's elephant. |
c.
The King was having a birthday. |
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85
(83)
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97
(96)
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3.
Why didn't they climb over the mountains? |
a.
The mountains were too high. |
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b.
The track was too narrow. |
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62
(66)
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85(84)
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c.
Lee Chin was too old. |
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4.
What did Lee Chin ask the boatman to do? |
a.
Take the elephant down the river. |
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76
(74)
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92
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b.
Weigh the elephant. |
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c.
Give his elephant to the King. |
5.
What did the boatman want to know first? |
a.
Whether Lee Chin had enough money. |
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b.
How much the elephant weighed. |
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82
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97
(95)
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c.
Why they wanted to take the elephant on board. |
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6.
Why did he want to know this? (Write an answer in your own words.) |
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to
work out how much had to be paid
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48
(40)
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78
(76)
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Now
read Part 2 of the story. Circle the letter alongside the best answer. |
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7.
What was the first method suggested for weighing the elephant? |
a.
Use a see-saw. |
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b.
Try to weigh the legs. |
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65
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88
(84)
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c.
Try to lift it up. |
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8.
What did they think was wrong with the see-saw method? |
a.
The see-saw would get smashed. |
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b.
The elephant would fall off. |
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c.
They could not find a big enough see-saw. |
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79
(66)
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96
(96)
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9.
The third method required many scales. Where was the elephant supposed
to sit? |
a.
On the boat. |
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b.
On the scales. |
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68
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94
(93)
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c.
In the water. |
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10.
How would they get the answer in this method? |
a.
By adding up the amounts on all the scales. |
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57
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85
(80)
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b.
By counting how many scales it took. |
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c.
By waiting till the scales reached their highest point. |
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11.
What did the Wise Man try to do to solve the problem? |
a.
Asked Lee Chin for advice. |
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b.
Looked through his books. |
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88
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c.
Told them how to weigh the elephant. |
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12.
Why was Lee Chin getting impatient? (Write an answer in your own words.)
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nobody
had a solution |
19
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39
(34)
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Now
read Part 3 of the story. Circle the letter alongside the best answer. |
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13.
Who had the flash of inspiration? |
a.
Lee Chin. |
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b.
The Wise Man. |
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c.
The Wise Man's daughter. |
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63
(41)
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90
(87)
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d.
The King's daughter. |
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14.
What happened the first time that Little Tsao asked to be heard? |
a.
They ignored her. |
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55
(37)
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87
(84)
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b.
Lee Chin spoke to her. |
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c.
They laughed. |
d.
They told her to be quiet. |
15.
How did she get people's attention in the end? |
a.
She asked the King to listen. |
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b.
She said she had a plan. |
c.
Lee Chin encouraged her to speak. |
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42
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74
(72)
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d.
She threatened them. |
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16.
What did she ask them to do first? |
a.
Get some large scales. |
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b.
Weigh the boat. |
c.
Put the elephant on board. |
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50
(36)
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87
(80)
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d.
Get some paint. |
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17.
Where did they draw a line? |
a.
On one side of the elephant. |
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b.
On both sides of the elephant. |
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c.
At the water line on the boat. |
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49
(34)
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79
(77)
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d.
Around the top of the boat. |
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18.
What do you think she will ask them to do next? (Write an answer in your
own words.) |
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fill
boat with something until water level reaches the line
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2
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19
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(better
answer) fill boat with something and/or see how high the water comes
up
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9
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18
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Now
read Part 4 of the story. Circle the letter alongside the best answer. |
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19.
What did the servants do with the stones at first? |
a.
Weighed them. |
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b.
Put them in the boat. |
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48
(31)
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85
(79)
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c.
Counted them. |
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d.
Put them in the water. |
20.
At what point were they to stop what they did with the stones? |
a.
When they ran out of stones. |
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b.
When she told them to stop. |
c.
When they reached the boat's normal water-line. |
d.
When they reached the painted line on the boat. |
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38
(24)
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75
(69)
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21.
What did they do with the scales? |
a.
Weighed the stones. |
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50
(28)
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84
(79)
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b.
Weighed the elephant. |
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c.
Weighed the boat. |
d.
Weighed Lee Chin |
22.
Why was the weight of the stones important? |
a.
It showed the weight of the boat. |
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b.
It showed the weight of the boat and the elephant. |
c.
It showed the weight of the elephant. |
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49
(25)
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80
(74)
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d.
None of these. |
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23.
What was the "precious cargo"? |
a.
The elephant. |
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51
(30)
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85
(80)
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b.
Lee Chin. |
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c.
The stones. |
d.
Little Tsao. |
24.
How did they work out the weight of the elephant in the end?
(Write an answer in your own words.) |
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found
equivalent weight in stones and then weighed the stones (2)
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7
(4)
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32
(32)
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found
equivalent weight in stones or then weighed the stones (1)
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24
(11)
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42
(35)
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other
(0)
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69
(85)
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26
(33)
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Total
score:
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21
25
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15
(10)
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59
(55)
|
|
16
20
|
23
(16)
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26
(24)
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11
15
|
26
(17)
|
9
(13)
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6
10
|
20
(29)
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5
(6)
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0
5
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16
(28)
|
1
(2)
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Commentary:
On average, about 25 percent more year 8 than year 4 students got each
question correct. Almost 50 percent more got a total score of 21 or above.
Comparison of the results for 1996 and 2000 reveals little change for
year 8 students, but very substantial improvement for year 4 students.
The percentage of year 4 students scoring more than half marks increased
from 36 percent to 55 percent. |