Prescription

Prescription

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Further Resources
This task is about reading a poem and answering some questions about it.
Read Prescription (Choices, Can't a Person Have a Friend?, 1996) and answer the questions.

 

a)Apart from the pot pourri of frangipani, sandalwood, moso'oi, and gardenia what five other things does the writer want put in the parcel?

 
 i) _________________________ 
 
 
ii) _________________________ 
 
 
iii) _________________________ 
 
 
iv) _________________________ 
 
 
v) _________________________ 
 

b)Why does the speaker in the poem most probably want these things sent?

 
 
 
 
 

c) Why might the speaker in this poem want "a pocket of air" from the kitchen?

 
 
 
 
 

d) Why is "Prescription" a better choice for the title than "Parcel"?

 
 
 

 
 
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper.
Copyright: 
Prescription - Text and images were first published by Learning Media Limited for the Ministry of Education © Emma Kruse Va'ai, 1996. Illustrations copyright © Crown. Reproduced with permission.
 
Sources: Choices, 'Can't a Person Have a Friend?', Learning Media, 1996.
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
English, Making meaning, Reading
Key Competencies: 
Thinking
Keywords: 
poetry, comprehension, purpose, inference, locate information, choices
Description of task: 
A poem about Samoa is read and then retrieval and inference questions are answered about the author's choice of title and her key ideas. Text provided.
Curriculum Links: 
 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Reading:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • recognise and unpack figurative language
  • 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
Making sense of text: reading critically, set 4
Reading for literary experience, set 5
within the Reading Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y8 (10/1999)
a)
i)
ii)
iii)
iv)
v)
Sunshine
Warm rain
Cicada
Pocket of air from your kitchen
A long letter
 5 correct –difficult

4 correct –very easy
b)   Any 1 of:

  • Because she is missing her home/Samoa.
  • To remind her of Samoa.
 difficult
c)   Any 1 of:

  • Because she would like to smell the cooking (from home).
  • Because the (food) smells would remind her of home/Samoa.
 difficult
d)   Because prescription (is a list of things that) can make you feel better. very difficult