Chapter Graphic : An Elephant Story
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  Level: Year 4 and year 8
Approach: Station 
Focus: Reading comprehension.
1.4MB
Resources: A story in four parts, on 4 separate sheets. (see above frame)

Questions / instructions:

Read Part 1 of the story.
Circle the letter alongside the best answer. (answers are indicated with a tick)
% responses
y4
y8
1. How did the rich man feel about the elephant? a. He was proud of it.
77 (77)
94 (95)
  b. He was worried about it.
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.
  b. The King wanted Lee Chin's elephant.
c. The King was having a birthday.
85 (83)
97 (96)
3. Why didn't they climb over the mountains? a. The mountains were too high.
  b. The track was too narrow.
62 (66)
85(84)
c. Lee Chin was too old.
4. What did Lee Chin ask the boatman to do? a. Take the elephant down the river.
76 (74)
92 (91)
  b. Weigh the elephant.
c. Give his elephant to the King.
5. What did the boatman want to know first? a. Whether Lee Chin had enough money.
  b. How much the elephant weighed.
82 (76)
97 (95)
c. Why they wanted to take the elephant on board.
6. Why did he want to know this? (Write an answer in your own words.)
to work out how much had to be paid
48 (40)
78 (76)
Now read Part 2 of the story. Circle the letter alongside the best answer.
7. What was the first method suggested for weighing the elephant? a. Use a see-saw.
  b. Try to weigh the legs.
65 (57)
88 (84)
c. Try to lift it up.
 
8. What did they think was wrong with the see-saw method? a. The see-saw would get smashed.
  b. The elephant would fall off.
c. They could not find a big enough see-saw.
79 (66)
96 (96)
9. The third method required many scales. Where was the elephant supposed to sit? a. On the boat.
  b. On the scales.
68 (58)
94 (93)
c. In the water.
10. How would they get the answer in this method? a. By adding up the amounts on all the scales.
57 (42)
85 (80)
  b. By counting how many scales it took.
c. By waiting till the scales reached their highest point.
11. What did the Wise Man try to do to solve the problem? a. Asked Lee Chin for advice.
  b. Looked through his books.
61 (52)
88 (87)
c. Told them how to weigh the elephant.
12. Why was Lee Chin getting impatient? (Write an answer in your own words.)
  nobody had a solution
19 (15)
39 (34)
Now read Part 3 of the story. Circle the letter alongside the best answer.
13. Who had the flash of inspiration? a. Lee Chin.
  b. The Wise Man.
c. The Wise Man's daughter.
63 (41)
90 (87)
d. The King's daughter.
14. What happened the first time that Little Tsao asked to be heard? a. They ignored her.
55 (37)
87 (84)
  b. Lee Chin spoke to her.
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.
  b. She said she had a plan.
c. Lee Chin encouraged her to speak.
42 (28)
74 (72)
d. She threatened them.
16. What did she ask them to do first? a. Get some large scales.
  b. Weigh the boat.
c. Put the elephant on board.
50 (36)
87 (80)
d. Get some paint.
17. Where did they draw a line? a. On one side of the elephant.
  b. On both sides of the elephant.
c. At the water line on the boat.
49 (34)
79 (77)
d. Around the top of the boat.
18. What do you think she will ask them to do next? (Write an answer in your own words.)
fill boat with something until water level reaches the line
2
19
(better answer) fill boat with something and/or see how high the water comes up
9
18
Now read Part 4 of the story. Circle the letter alongside the best answer.
19. What did the servants do with the stones at first? a. Weighed them.
  b. Put them in the boat.
48 (31)
85 (79)
c. Counted them.
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.
  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.
38 (24)
75 (69)
21. What did they do with the scales? a. Weighed the stones.
50 (28)
84 (79)
  b. Weighed the elephant.
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.
  b. It showed the weight of the boat and the elephant.
c. It showed the weight of the elephant.
49 (25)
80 (74)
d. None of these.
23. What was the "precious cargo"? a. The elephant.
51 (30)
85 (80)
  b. Lee Chin.
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.)
found equivalent weight in stones and then weighed the stones (2)
7 (4)
32 (32)
found equivalent weight in stones or then weighed the stones (1)
24 (11)
42 (35)
other (0)
69 (85)
26 (33)
Total score:
21 – 25
15 (10)
59 (55)
 
16 – 20
23 (16)
26 (24)
11 – 15
26 (17)
9 (13)
6 – 10
20 (29)
5 (6)
0 – 5
16 (28)
1 (2)
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.
 
Chapter Graphic
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