No sweat for Sian!

No sweat for Sian!

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This task is about finding information and making inferences from a text.
Title: No sweat for Sian!
Image of people wrestling
Female wrestlers get given a hard time, says wrestling champ Sian Law. But she's learned to live with the hassles. Anyone who can strip to their underwear in a crowded weigh-in room can cope with anything!
 
"My friends can't believe I can just strip to my underwear in front of people," said Sian, a Passport to Gold athlete. "But it's no big deal. Just straight off with the clothes and straight on to the scales." "I still get teased about being a wrestler," said the 17 year-old. "I'm not the sort of person who cares about that kind of thing, but a lot of other females pull out of wrestling because of the hard time they get. I get called Hulk Hogan and all kinds of things." Such a name hardly seems appropriate for a softly-spoken, slim Wellingtonian, who has been wrestling for almost seven years. Coaching Sian was a challenge for her coach Scott Laurenson, who had never coached a female wrestler before. "He's had to make a lot of changes over the years," said Sian. "Guys wrestle differently to females, because females have a stronger hip area." "We had to make some adjustments and learn together." Optimum fitness is vital for competitions, so Sian combines wrestling practice, weight lifting, and running to keep fit and flexible. During the peak wrestling season in winter, she travels overseas about every three weeks. Sponsorship helps subsidise her trips, but she said it can be difficult to get funding because female wrestling is not a well known sport. "The Passport to Gold has really helped. It's hard on my parents to keep paying out for all my trips and training gear." "The Passport has also raised the profile of female wrestling and made getting sponsorship easier." There is no female wrestling competition in the 2000 Olympics, she's aiming for 2004. Sian hopes to add an Olympic gold medal to the golds she's gained in other competitions.
 
 
Use the story about female wrestling to answer the questions.
 
a) Why do a lot of young female wrestlers stop wrestling?

 
 
 
 
b)  Why was coaching Sian a challenge for Scott Laurenson?

 
 
 
 
c)  Explain in your own words, why the nickname "Hulk Hogan" does not suit Sian.

 
 
 
 
d) 
The table below sets out the conditions for being selected for the Passport to Gold Scheme.
Use facts from the article about Sian to show why she was selected for a "Passport to Gold". Write the facts in the right-hand column.
 
To be awarded a "Passport to Gold", athletes must be: Facts about Sian
...aged 23 years or under
i)
 
 
...be talented (evidence of achievement)
ii)
 
 
...and committed
iii)
  1.  
     
  2.  
     
 
e) Write down two ways that the Passport to Gold Programme has helped Sian.

  1.  
     
  2.  
     
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper.
Copyright: 
No sweat for Sian - Text and images were first published by Tearaway. Copyright Amanda Sye, 1998. Reproduced with permission.
 
Source: Tearaway, September 1998. (Text abridged.)
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
comprehension, retrieval chart, article, locate information
Description of task: 
An article about a female wrestler provides the context for this assessment that combines a retrieval chart with questions on alliteration, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • use comprehension strategies
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
Acquiring and using information and ideas in informational texts, set 4
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y8 (10/1999)
a)   They get given a hard time. very easy
b)   Any 1 of:

  • He hasn't coached a girl before.
  • Girls wrestle differently than boys.
 easy
c)   Any 1 of:

  • She is not big/is slim.
  • She does not look like Hulk Hogan.
  • She is softly spoken.

[Do not accept "she is a girl".]

 moderate
d)   Any example of alliteration. difficult
 

e) 

  

i)

ii)

iii) 

  

She is 17.

She has won gold medals/competitions in wrestling.

Any 2 of:

  • She puts up with taunts/teasing.
  • She hasn't given up (as others have).
  • She has wrestled for 7 years.
  • She travels every 3 weeks in the season.
  • She does lots of fitness work.
  • She is aiming for the 2004 Olympics.
  

easy

difficult 

2 correct – difficult 

1 correct – moderate
f)   Any 2 of:

  • Paid for overseas trips and sporting gear.
  • Helped her get sponsorship.
  • Has raised the profile of womens' wrestling.
2 correct – moderate
 1 correct – easy