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Link ideas

Linked from: Interpreting explicit information 90-99

PAT Reading descriptor: Identifies the reason for a character's statement in a narrative text.

Key concepts and skills: Interpreting explicit information

QUESTION

                                           Click on the text to view a full-size PDF.


What did Linh's mother say was true?


A: That boats were the only way for Linh's present to get to the island.

B: That Linh's present was coming at midday that day.

C: That Linh's present was being flown to her.

D: That Linh's grandfather was bringing the present himself.
 

ANSWER

C: That Linh's present was being flown to her.

EXPLANATION

To identify the topic being referred to by Linh's mother, students must read back to the previous paragraph, where the grandfather states that 'A metal bird will bring it to you.' To interpret this phrase, students must read back further to see that 'it' refers to the present, and then further relate the idea of the 'metal bird' to the phrasing in the answer, that the present 'was being flown to her.' The options all refer to ideas represented in the story, and are easy misreadings to make. 

TEXT COMPLEXITY

Familiarity

The context of this story, of a young girl waiting for a present to arrive, is likely to be familiar to students. The family structure and relationships will be familiar. Some aspects of the setting will be less familiar to some students, such as a child living on an island and all goods having to be transported by boat, but this concept is well explained and supported in the text.

Vocabulary

The language used in this story is fairly simple, as it is designed for students who are relatively new to independent reading. Some possibly unfamiliar words are 'speck' and a plane's 'control', but these words are well supported by context.

Sentence complexity

The story is a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences. Most sentences are fairly short, although some lengthier ones require closer reading, particularly as they complicate the temporal structure of the story (for example, 'But Grandad had told Linh on the phone that her present would arrive at midday today.').

Structural complexity

This story has a fairly conventional structure, of text intermingled with dialogue. There is some complexity required in relating the dialogue to the surrounding text. There is also some temporal complexity created by the second paragraph.

Subtlety

There is some subtlety in this story. An event is introduced in the first paragraph that is not explained until the second. The story is from Linh's perspective and has the subtle inclusion of her thought processes, such as with the phrase 'But how?' Some interpretation is required to ascertain the ending, but there are fairly explicit clues (although no illustrative support). 

LINKED TEACHING ACTIVITIES

  • Linking across sentences

ASSOCIATED TEST ITEMS

PAT Early Years Reading End Year 1 - Question 20
PAT Early Years Reading End Year 1 - Question 19
PAT Early Years Reading End Year 1 - Question 14