On Frog Pond

On Frog Pond

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Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about adding words to a text so that it makes sense.
 
illustration: lily pads
 
The following piece of writing has some spaces where words are missing.
First, read the whole piece of writing through to get an idea of what it is about. Then fill each space with ONE word so that the whole piece of writing makes sense.
When you have filled in all the spaces, re-read the text to check that the whole piece of writing makes sense.

Question 1Change answer

On Frog Pond
 
It's early morning on frog pond. As the sun rises, light sparkles on the 1. All sorts of pond animals are waking up. 2 busy day is beginning. At the edge of 3 pond, a little green frog sits on a 4 in the water. He is hidden here among 5 floating plants. He keeps very still and very 6. His big, bulging eyes are watching. He's watching 7 dragonflies. He's watching for slugs and worms. He's 8 for flies. This little frog is hungry for 9. 
 
Someone else is hungry too. A dragonfly hums 10 above the water. She is a fierce hunter, 11 for insects. She hovers near a clump of 12. She can fly in any direction, even backwards 13 sideways. Like the frog, she has very big 14. Suddenly she spots a fly crawling up a 15. She swoops down like an arrow and grabs 16 fly with her powerful front legs. Gripping it 17, she munches away at it with her sharp 18 parts. 
 
The little frog has seen all this 19. He turns very slightly. He's ready to pounce, 20 he keeps very still. He hopes that the 21 will take off towards him when she's finished 22. He hopes she won't notice him sitting still 23 green among the pond weed. Soon she flies 24.
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper or online (with auto-marking displayed to students).
 
Copyright: 
lily pads
 
Image source: J. Mabel (Wikimedia commons, GNU free documentation license)
 
Text source: Extract from Connected, Learning Media Limited, 1, 2002.
On Frog Pond - Text was first published by Learning Media Limited on behalf of the Ministry of Education. Copyright Crown 2002.
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
cloze, connected, comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, text features
Description of task: 
Students complete a cloze passage and use their vocabulary and knowledge of grammar to create well-formed sentences.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to Literacy Learning Progressions
This resource helps to identify students' ability to:
  • monitor their reading for accuracy and sense
  • use comprehension strategies
For further information, see 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
Making sense of text: text structure, set 4
Making sense of text: vocabulary knowledge, sets 4-5
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
    Y7 (03/2003)
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24.		 water/pond
another/a/the/this/their
the/frog
twig/rock/log/lily-pad/leaf/lily
the/some/little/green
quiet
for/the/some
watching/looking/waiting/ready/searching
breakfast/food/flies/insects/bugs/dragonflies
along/softly/loudly/slowly/right/up/quietly
hungry/waiting/looking/hunting/searching
grass/weed/plants/lilies
and/or
eyes
stem/leaf/flower/plant/lily/log/tree/reed
the/that
tightly/firmly/quickly
mouth
happen/before/action/commotion
but/yet
dragonfly
eating/feeding
and/camouflaged
off/away		 moderate
very difficult
easy
very difficult
moderate
easy
difficult
moderate
very difficult
very difficult
very difficult
very difficult
easy
moderate
very difficult
very easy
difficult
very difficult
very difficult
difficult
easy
easy
very difficult
very difficult

NOTE: The difficulty estimate is for the first word of the list.
Click here for more information on Interpreting Cloze Results