Octopuses

Octopuses

Auto-markingPencil and paperOnline interactive
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.
 
 
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. You are able to change answers as you go.

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

Octopuses
 
No beast on land or sea has ever been so misrepresented and feared as the octopus. But the truth is that the 1 is afraid of anything larger than 2. For centuries it has been preyed 3 by humans, whales, and large eels, 4 the ferocious moray eel.
 
Of the 5 than one hundred varieties of octopus, 6 don't grow larger than one metre 7. Some are so tiny that, full-grown, 8 could fit on your little fingernail. 9 the Mediterranean, where octopuses are common, few grow tentacles longer than two 10. Huge specimens are to be found 11 in the depths of the Pacific 12. Tentacles discovered in a sperm whale's 13 were reported as being fifteen metres 14 – which would make the entire creature 15 than thirty metres across!
 
One story 16 the octopus deals with the speed 17 which it shoots through the water. 18 reality, though they can move rapidly 19 stress, they are usually anything but 20. The octopus's tentacles, however, can be  21 swift as a whiplash in snaring 22 and are surprisingly strong. In captivity, 23 have been known to pull out 24 from the bottom of their tank, 25 all the water to drain out.
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper or online (with auto-marking).
Copyright: 

Image source: R Houghton, www.angelfire.com/trek/scubarich (2003)

Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
cloze, comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, text features
Description of task: 
Students complete a cloze passage with 25 blanks on octopuses. A scoring guide with replacement words/synonyms and guidelines for interpretation are included.
Curriculum Links: 
 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • use comprehension strategies
  • monitor their reading for accuracy and sense
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
Making sense of text: processing system, set 5
Making sense of text: vocabulary knowledge, set 6
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
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25.		 creature/animal/octopus
it/itself/them
on/upon
especially/particularly/like/including
more
most/many/some
across/long
they
In
metres
only/down/deep/living
Ocean
stomach/belly/gut
long
more/greater/larger
about/of
at
In
under
fast/quick/speedy
as
prey/food/fish
octopuses/they/some/octopai
plugs/stoppers
allowing/causing

Click here for more information on Interpreting Cloze Results