Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023

GRADE 9 EFAL

BASELINE ASSESSMENT

TERM 1

2023

MEMORANDUM

SECTION A: COMPREHENSION
TEXT A

1.1. Provide one characteristics of a bully. (1) L1

Physically bigger / more popular at school 

1.2. Name one form of bullying. (1) L1
name-calling/making fun of someone/spreading rumours/hitting/kicking.] 

1.3 Discuss, in your own words, why “Children who learn and think differently are more likely to
be bullied.” (2) L3
They are more likely to be bullied because they are more noticeable and may be
considered to be different. They may also have a lower self-esteem / cannot stand
up for themselves.

1.4 Discuss, in your own words, why bullying can be “very harmful to children.” (line 18) (2) L2
Learners who are bullied will miss, skip or drop out of school because they do not
want be in the environment where they being are bullied. They could suffer from
psychological problems such as depression or anxiety. [Learners must mention two
points.]

1.5 Quote 6 consecutive words from paragraph 5 that shows the writer believes victims of
bullying should feel safe about reporting bullying. (1) L3
“feel secure enough to say something”

1.6 Provide a definition for the word “bystander” (line 23). (1) L3
Somebody who sees something being done, but does nothing to stop it. 

1.7 Discuss why it is important for victims of bullying to speak up. (2) L3
So that the bully is dealt with and prevents the bullying from carrying on

 Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023

1.8 Discuss why “Bullying often happens where adults cannot supervise learners” (line 24).
(2) L3
Bullies choose to bully others when adults are not around because there is no one to
stop them. They know they will get into trouble for bullying and so choose to do it
where the victim will be most vulnerable and where they are least likely to get
caught. 
[Two marks for two points.]

1.9 Do you think the laws against bullying will help stop bullying in schools? Give a reason for
your answer. (2) L4
Yes, because the laws are there to protect learners. If bullies know how serious
bullying is perhaps they would think twice about doing it. 
No, there will always be bullies. There are many rules in place and yet it still
happens in schools.
[Accept various alternative responses.]

1.10 How does the picture support the message in this advertisement? (1) L5
1.11 The picture shows a girl with no mouth and message says silence is a bully’s
bestfriend. It is supported because it is saying if you keep quiet the bullying will
continue. 

1.12 Does TEXT A relate to TEXT B? Provide a reason for your answer. (1) L1
Text A is a passage about bullying and how to identify a bully. Text B is about
How silence is a bully’s best friend and how you need to speak up to get help. They
relate because they both speak about speaking up when being bullied. (Accept
alternative responses)

[20 marks]
 Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023

SECTION B: SUMMARY

Students may include any of the following 8 points in their summary. Note that they should only
have 7 points.

Reasons as to why students bully others.

Quotations Own Words/Points

1 He/she lacks attention from a
parent at home.
2 Older siblings can also be the
cause of the problem.
3 Very often parents are bullies. /
They learn this behaviour at
home.
4 Some kids are just more
aggressive.
5 They lack empathy and foresight.
6 They crave power and attention.
7 Bullies have poor self-esteem.
8 They don‟t understand how wrong
their behaviour is.
1 They are neglected by a guardian
at home. (9)
2 Bullies are influenced by older
siblings who have bullied them.
(10)
3 Bullies are influenced from
aggressive behaviour at
home. (9)
4 It can be in a bully‟s nature to be
aggressive. (11)
5 They do not understand the
consequences of their actions or
that they hurt other people. (16)
6 They want to feel powerful and
bullying fulfills an attention-
seeking need. (12)
7 They bully because they do not
feel good about themselves. (11)
8 Bullies do not understand that
what they are doing is wrong. (12)

Marking guideline:
Make sure learners have summarized correctly:

Mark Allocation:
 7 marks for any 7 points +3 marks for language.

Distribution of language marks when candidate has NOT QUOTED VERBATIM

 1-3 points correct: award 1 mark
 4-5 points correct: award 2 marks
 6-7 points correct: award 3 marks

Distribution of language marks when candidate HAS QUOTED VERBATIM

 6-7 quotations: award no mark
 1-5 quotations: award 1 mark

[10 marks]
 Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023

SECTION C: LANGUAGE IN CONTEXT

QUESTION 3: ANALYZING CARTOONS

3.1 Identify the setting of the cartoon. Justify your answer by referring to the text and visual. (3)
School playground/park. Visual: bench and grass√ Text: She mentions school and
not having friends at school. √

3.2. Refer to FRAME 1 and 2:

With reference to body language, discuss how Sophia‟s mood changes from Frame 1 to 2
Frame 1 her arms are hanging and head down.  She looks sad. √ Frame 2 she lifts
her head, arms on her lap instead of hanging  and her face lights up with
excitement. (3)

3.3 Refer to FRAME 1:

Determine whether the cartoonist has used speech or thought bubbles in Frame 1. Provide
a reason to support your answer. (2)
Thought bubbles. √ There’s a cloud above her head to indicate that she is thinking
and the use of circles rather than connecting arrow. √

3.4 Discuss the message that is highlighted in this cartoon. (2)

Being kind to others and noticing when they are feeling sad can make a huge
difference in that person’s life. You’ll never know whether you can become good
friends unless you take the initiative to get to know them./Do not judge others. Give
everyone the benefit of the doubt. √√
[Accept relevant alternative answers.]

[10 Marks]
 Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023

QUESTION 4: USING LANGUAGE CORRECTLY

4.1.1 anxious- adjective (1)

4.1.2 seen- verb (1)
4.1.3 bullying- noun (1)

4.2 „You might be getting anxious about the upcoming school year and for those who is victims
of bullies, the first day can be particularly frightening.‟ (lines 1-3)
Correct the concord error in the above sentence. (1)
You might be getting anxious about the upcoming school year and for those who
are victims of bullies, the first day can be particularly frightening.

4.3 Write the abbreviation U.S in full. (1)

United States
4.4 „According to StopBullying.gov, over 70 percent of young people say they seen bullying in
their schools, and almost 30 percent of U.S students in grade 6-12 experience bullying.‟
(lines 3-5)
Correct the error of tense in the above sentence. (2)
According to StopBullying.gov, over 70 percent of young people say they have
seen bullying in their schools, and almost 30 percent of U.S students in grade 6-12
experienced bullying.
4.5 Refer to paragraph 2.
Rewrite the sentence correcting the deliberate spelling errors (lines 6-8). (2)
From calling names over social media to ganging up on someone at the
playground, bullying takes many different forms and any type of bullying is not OK.

4.6 Replace the word „Ok‟ with a more formal English word. (1)
acceptable/good  [any other relevant answer]

4.7 Explain the phrase “unlearn harmful beauty standards” in your own words. (2)
To try and teach yourself to practice more positive habits/behaviours regarding
beauty standards.  [Accept alternative responses.]

4.8 A word has been incorrectly used in paragraph 3. Replace it with the correct word. (1)
People would go out their way to tell me how fat an unattractive I was.

4.9 Refer to paragraph 4.

Identify the punctuation mark and comment on its use (line 15). (2)
Apostrophe - used for contraction to indicate the place where the letters have
omitted. 

4.10 Punctuate the following sentence.
This girl who hated and bullied me walked into the bathroom and said,
Oh my God i love your shoes. (2)
This girl who hated and bullied me walked into the bathroom and said, “Oh my God,
I love your shoes.”

 Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023

4.11. Discuss why Mean Girls is written in italics? (1)

It is the name of a movie. 

4.12 Write a simple sentence with the homonym for “saw” (line 13) that shows you know the
meaning. (1)
I use the saw to cut the wood. / The saw is in the shed. / I cut myself with the saw.
[Accept various alternative responses.]
[Learners may only be awarded the mark if the sentence uses “saw” as a common
noun and if the sentence is a simple sentence.]

4.13 Provide a synonym for the word „hated‟ (line 13). (1)
Despised/loathe/detest/abhor.

[20 Marks]

GRAND TOTAL = 60 mark

Grade 9 Baseline Assessment Term 1 2023