Chapter Graphic : Cats' Eyes
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  Level: Year 4 and year 8
Approach: Station 
Focus: Reading comprehension.
132k
Resources: Story sheet.

Questions / instructions:

Cats' Eyes
  

Some animals hunt for their food at night. They have special eyes that help them see when there is only a little light.

Many people think that cats can see in the dark. This is not true. Cats cannot see when it is completely dark, but they need much less light than people need.

All cats, large or small, have narrow black pupils in their eyes. These grow larger when there is not much light, and become narrow again when it is bright.

What about dogs? Can they see at night? No. They have eyes like ours, with round pupils, which also become larger when there is less light.
 
 
     
% responses
2000 ('96)
y4
y8
Put a ring around the a, b or c beside the best answer.    
1. Some animals can hunt at night because... a. they are clever      
  b. they cannot see in daylight      
c. they can see when there is not much light
75 (69)
94 (95)
2. Can cats see when it is completely dark? a. Yes
  b. No
74 (69)
92 (89)
c. Don't know
3. When are cats' pupils very narrow?
a. When it is light
51 (51)
78 (77)
 
b. When it is nearly dark
c. When it is completely dark
4. Dogs' eyes are different from cats' eyes because dogs...
a. have narrow pupils
 
b. have round pupils
69 (61)
89 (89)
c. have pupils that become smaller at night
5. What does the story tell us about humans' eyes?
a. They have narrow pupils
 
b. They have round pupils
68 (68)
93 (91)
c. Their pupils change when they go hunting
6. Which of these do you think would have narrow pupils in their eyes?
a. Dogs
 
b. Tigers
62 (58)
87 (87)
c. Humans
  
 
Total score:
 
6
24 (20)
62 (60)
5
22 (19)
23 (21)
4
17 (20)
7 (10)
3
15 (15)
5 (6)
2
14 (12)
2 (2)
0–1
8 (14)
1 (1)
Commentary:
Year 8 students showed distinctly better comprehension than year 4 students, with 38 percent more year 8 than year 4 students answering all 6 questions correctly. Seven percent more year 4 students scored perfectly, and six percent fewer very poorly, in 2000 than in 1996. There was little difference between 1996 and 2000 for year 8 students.
 
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