Sports Day
This task can be completed with pen and paper or online (without auto-marking).
- Give each student a copy of the text. Read the text to them or ask them to read it independently. If you read it to them, they should follow the text as you read.
- The students may do the task independently or in groups.
- The purpose of question a) is to act as a scaffold. Here students gather evidence from the text that will help them respond to the evaluating questions, b) and c).
- The purpose of question b) is to provide evidence of student ability to use evidence from the text, as well as their background knowledge, to evaluate Grace's strategy of using the memory of her grandfather to help her.
- The purpose of question c) is to provide evidence of student ability to use evidence from the text, as well as their background knowledge, to make an overall evaluation of the author's construction of Grace. For this question, explain that a believable character is one who seems real, a credible character - someone you could believe is living, or once lived, somewhere in the world.
- For questions b) and c), tell the students that to explain their responses of Yes/ No/ Yes and No, they must support their thinking by using evidence from the text and from their prior knowledge, i.e., things that have happened to them, things they have seen, heard, or read about.
Literacy Learning Progressions (Reading)
Because this assessment task was trialled with year 5 students in the second half of the year, the most relevant progressions are:
By the End of Year 4
When students at this level read, respond to, and think critically about texts they:
- meet their purposes for reading by employing specific comprehension strategies, such as:- [there is no example given under this bullet point that relates specifically to evaluating but it should be assumed that students are expected to evaluate at this level.]
By the End of Year 6
When students at this level read, respond to, and think critically about texts they:
- understand how they select from and use their repertoire of comprehension strategies which include:- evaluating and integrating ideas and information across a small range of texts. [Note that in this case, students evaluate and integrate ideas within one text.]
Details that show us about Dad
The following details from the text will help you analyse student responses to questions a), b), and c). Students will draw on these details as they answer those questions. The details are not identified as relating to particular questions because many relate to more than one. We have listed details that show us about Grace.The evidence we have listed relates to what Grace looks like (appearance), what she, her mother, and Emma say (dialogue), what she does (action), and what she thinks (thought).
Appearance (what Grace looks like)
Note that in Sports Day, evidence comes from the visual, not written, text.Pages 14-15:
- The way Grace is drawn: She is sad at breakfast before Sports Day. Her mum is placing a comforting hand on her back.
Pages 16-17:
- The way Grace is drawn: She is not participating in the game. She is sitting in the outfield looking at bees and flowers.
Dialogue (what Grace, Mum, and Emma say)
Page 14:
- '"Grace!" shouted Mum. "If you don't get up straight away, you'll be going to school in your pyjamas."' Grace lingers in bed, avoiding getting up for Sports Day.
Page 15:
- "My tummy's sore." [Grace speaking] Grace attempts to avoid Sports Day.
- '"Don't cry," she said. "Grandad's honey will bring you good luck.' [Mum speaking] Grace needs comfort.
- '"Gobble and go," she said. "No more nonsense."' [Mum speaking] Mum is trying to snap Grace out of her Sports Day induced inactivity.
Page 17:
- "Grace! Wake up!"
Page 18:
- '"No," I whispered.' Grace is filled with dread as the ball falls down to her.
- '"Get out of the way," she yelled. "You'll drop it. Move, you idiot!"' [Emma speaking]
Action (what Grace does)
Page 14:
- She pulls the duvet over her head and hopes for rain (which would cause Sports Day to be cancelled). She is trying to hide from the reality of having to go to Sports Day.
Page 15:
- Her eyes fill with tears when she sees the last of Grandad's honey. She is in a melancholy mood, brought on or heightened by Sports Day.
Page 17:
- She sits down in the outfield while the game is in progress.
Page 18:
- She leaps to her feet when she sees the ball hanging high in the sky (after thinking of Grandad). Even though she doesn't want the ball to come to her, she makes an effort once she realizes it is above her.
- She keeps her eye on the ball and braces herself for Emma's push (after thinking of Grandad). She is determined.
Thought (What Grace thinks)
Page 14:
- 'Still no rain.' She is desperately hoping rain will cancel Sports Day.
- She imagines a new Sports Day-free life in which she lives in a cave. Books feature in her fantasy, suggesting she is bookish rather than sporty. She imagines that her best friends will be penguins, suggesting she may find making friends hard, or simply that she is imaginative.
Page 15:
- 'Still no rain.' She is desperately hoping rain will cancel Sports Day.
- 'In my mind, I heard Grandad's voice saying "That's my honey girl," ....' She is comforted by the memory of her grandfather's words.
Page 16:
- [Most of the page.] She thinks about the horrors of Sports Day, including remembering other kids muttering '"Why is she always in our team?" and "Useless".'
Page 17:
- [Most of the page] She thinks of the humiliation of being picked last, the perceived safety of the outfield, and the things she learnt from her grandfather.
Page 18:
- 'I looked at the ball. It was moving faster and I was its target.' She thinks she is the aim of the ball's attack.
- 'I heard Grandad say, "Stay calm, honey girl." ... "Keep calm," whispered Grandad, and the ball fell neatly into my hands.' She is calmed by the memory of her grandfather's words.
- 'It didn't even hurt.' Grace expects pain from the ball, suggesting that in the past she had seen balls as weapon-like.
This resource was trialled in August, 2010, by 25 Year 5 students from 1 decile 9 school. The story was read to the students.
Question a): Which parts of the text show us Grace doesn't like sport?
Responses should include a variety of details from the previous page listed under the heading Details that show us about Grace.
Question b) Was it a good idea for Grace to use the memory of her granddad to help her?
All the trial students believed it was a good idea for Grace to use the memory of her grandfather to help her.
Following are examples of responses that reflect an awareness of how Grace's memory of Grandad had the emotional effect of calming her, and that once calmed, she was able to focus on catching the ball.
We found useful examples from students who thought Grace using her memory of Grandad to help herwas a good idea.... on page 18 it says she heard her granddad say "Stay calm honey girl" and "keep calm" and these things kept her going; He comforted her and made her catch the ball; She listened to her grandad's voice, calmed down and caught the ball; Because she kept hearing him in her head encouraging her to do well.
Question c) Has the author made Grace a believable character?
Most of the trial students thought Grace was a believable character. A small group thought she wasn't, and a small group believed she was and wasn't.
We found useful examples from students who thought Grace was a believable character. Because a lot of children don't like sports Day and stuff like that. People pretend to be sick and hope it will rain on days they don't like much. She does lots of things most children do; Because not many girls are very good at sport. Also because she dreams a lot, she sometimes cries and she doesn't like getting out of bed like me; Some people might not like sport but have a good imagination like Grace; Well I think she is because she's like me. I love sport but not when it involves catching a ball. If I had someone to motivate me I might be able to finally catch a ball; Because when you go to school there are some things you don't want to try. You just try to sit it out.
The following section: Students who need to focus on using text details, is presented as an example of how you might foreground the Key Competencies within reading. In particular, it exemplifies how you might foreground "Using language, symbols, and texts" and, to a lesser extent, "Thinking" within reading through a focus on the way authors construct characters with carefully chosen details. This approach requires students to not just understand the text but to understand how the text is constructed and why it is constructed that way. This idea is expanded below. In the table below, Using language, symbols, and texts has the largest bolded font because it is the most important to this particular example.
Students who need to focus on using text details Writers build characters with details. Good writers are meticulous in their choice of details, including only those that add value and meaning to the description of a character. It is these details, as well as background knowledge, that a reader uses in order to respond to questions such as "Which parts of the text show us Grace doesn't like sport?", "Was it a good idea for Grace to use the memory of her granddad to help her?" and "Is Grace a believable character?"
Details: telling and showing
Writers may choose to use details that tell readers about characters if they want to convey information quickly. For example:
Everyone loved Sports Day - everyone except me. (p.16)
However by telling the reader how Grace and the other kids felt about Sports Day, the writer has not given the reader the opportunity to come to their own conclusion; and, increasingly, modern readers expect to have that opportunity.
More commonly, writers of fiction will choose to use details that show characters to readers. For example:
Mum had spread my toast with the last of Grandad's honey. The empty jar was on the bench with the light shining through it. My eyes filled with tears. (p.15)
Here the reader must infer why Grace's eyes fill with tears: Perhaps she is crying about having to go to school? Perhaps she is crying because there is no more honey because Grandad has died?
Ask your students to compare how they respond to having the opportunity to come to their own conclusion about why Grace's eyes fill with tears with how they would respond if the author had simply told them "My eyes filled with tears because Grandad had died."
Details: general and specific
When writers tell readers about charactersthey use details that are general or broad. For example, the narrator says:
Everyone loved Sports Day - everyone except me. (p.16)
The word "loved" is general (or abstract); it has a broad rather than specific meaning because it can be generally applied to all sorts of situations. You might like to ask your students to tell you about the situations "loved" can be applied to in an attempt to show them that it is not specific to any particular situation. (Note that at this point your students will probably be unclear about why "loved" is general; in fact they may even argue that it has a specific meaning. It will probably not be until the end of the following exercise that they have a clearer understanding.)
However, when writers show characters to readers they use specific (or concrete) details. For example:
"No, no," I think, but it keeps on coming as if I'm magnetic. (p.16)
Here readers create an image that is specific. They create a vivid picture in their heads; they can "see" this image. Most importantly, it is vivid pictures like this one that have impact upon readers.
Finally, ask your students to attempt to create a picture in their heads of something that is "loved" (you may need to explain at some point that it is much easier when they imagine a specific situation).
References
- Burroway, J. and Stuckey-French, E. (2007). Writing Fiction: A guide to narrative craft. Seventh Edition. New York, NY: Longman.
- Ministry of Education, (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
- Ministry of Education (2010). The literacy learning progressions: Meeting the reading and writing demands of the curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Notes1 According to Burroway and Stuckey-French (2007: 81-82), "our eyes are our most highly developed means of perception ... it is appearance that prompts our first reaction to people". A character's appearance, their clothing, features, shape, style, the way they hold themselves and objects associated with them such as the car they drive or the house they live in, make statements about who the character is, what kind of person they are, their character, the "inner" person.
For more information on the terms "abstract" and "concrete": http://www.nzcermarking.org.nz/help/AbstractInformation.html