Declined

Declined

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about reading to find evidence and make inferences.
 
Image from Declined

Declined title

Are you tired of punching in your EFTPOS PIN number and seeing the word DECLINED
flash up on the screen? I am.
    I go red in the face and jump up and down, chanting, "Try it again! Try it again!"
    And for a second time it flashes on the screen:
DECLINED!
    So I say nervously to the cashier, "I'll buy it later, thanks," and run out of the shop as if it was
about to blow up.
    On the way home, it occurs to me that now is the right time to plead or beg for a raise in my
pocket money.
    Predictably, the answer is: "No! If you saved your money instead of buying junk, you would be
able to afford what you want to buy."
    Sitting there I twiddle my fingers and think up some new rules:
  I MUST restrain myself.
  I MUST exercise discipline.
  I MUST learn to choose between what I want and what I need ...
  I MUST figure out how I can get more money to feed my habit!
    After a long negotiation with Mum, I secure a one-off pocket money payment. Straight down to
the bank to fill my hungry account!
    But then I need lunch ...
    I see this really neat top I have to buy ...
    My shoes aren't cool any more, so ...
    And just as I'm in the middle of buying a pair, that dreaded word flashes on the screen.
    DECLINED!
 
 
 
Use the story 'Declined' to help answer the questions.
a)
The storyteller uses the phrase, "my hungry account". In what way is the account hungry?
 
_______________________________________________________________________
 
b)
Why is the word "DECLINED" in the text written in capital letters and made to stand out?
 
_______________________________________________________________________
 
c) What are three things that show the storyteller was angry when her card was declined the first time?
   
i)
 
ii)
 
iii)
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
d) i) 
How does the storyteller feel when her card is declined the second time?
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
  ii)
How does the storyteller show she feels this way?
 
___________________________________________________________________
 
e)
How does the storyteller get a, "one-off pocket money payment"?
 
_______________________________________________________________________
 
f) What do the dots at the end of each of these lines tell the reader?

          "But then I need lunch...

          I see this really neat top I have to buy...

          My shoes aren't cool anymore, so..."

_______________________________________________________________________

g)
Write down the phrase that suggests that the storyteller's spending is an addiction.
 
_______________________________________________________________________
 
h) How does the way the story ends link with the way the story begins?
 
_______________________________________________________________________

 

Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper.
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
Description of task: 
A student's text about the effects of their spending habits is read to answer retrieval and inferential questions.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • infer ideas and information that are not directly stated in the text
as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y8 (08/1999)

a)   It is empty/has no money in it. easy
b)   Any 1 of:

  • It emphasises the girl has no money.
  • It links to the title of the story.
  • It links to the word in the illustration.
  • It shows the girl's anger/frustration.
  • It imitates the way the word flashed up on the screen.
moderate
c)  
  • She goes red in the face.
  • She jumps up and down.
  • She chants ("Try it again!")
3 correct – moderate

2 correct – easy

1 correct – easy

d)

 

i)

 

ii)

Any 1 of:

  • Embarrassed the account is overdrawn.
  • Nervous about the cashier's reaction.

Any 1 of:

  • She speaks nervously to the cashier.
  • She runs out of the shop.
moderate

 

difficult

e)   By pleading/begging/negotiating with her mother. moderate
f)   Any 1 of:

  • To complete the sentence.
  • That the storyteller spends the money (on the lunch, top and shoes).
  • That the list of things the girl wants to buy is endless.
difficult
g)   Any 1 of:

  • "Feed the habit".
  • The "I must" statements.
difficult
h)   The request for cash is declined.
easy