MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

MINIMUM COMPETENCY TEST

2015

LANGUAGE ARTS
GRADE FOUR (4)

NAME:

SCHOOL:
GENDER: M F

SCORE
Composition
Comprehension
Language Rules
Vocabulary
Spelling
Punctuation/Capitalization
Total

EDUCATIONAL TESTING AND MEASUREMENT UNIT

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
BOTANICAL GARDENS
TANTEEN
ST. GEORGE’S
 Task 1 – Composition- (25 marks)

(Time: 30 minutes)

Look at the picture below. It shows a girl and her grandmother in the
living room. Use the picture to write a composition of about 150 words.
You may use any of the words below and your own words to help you
write.

(Source: Keskideee Integrated Language Arts for the Caribbean, Reader 1)

sitting television grandma brother

living room movie flowers sister

floor friends beach enjoy

grandmother story colour watching

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 READING PASSAGE A – (15 Marks)

(TIME: 30 MINUTES)

In this part of the test, you are going to read and answer
questions. First, read the following poem carefully.

In the Corner

Sitting in the corner

Is quite boring
If I knew this was the punishment
I would have done my chores
Time out makes me unhappy
It upsets my day
It makes me wish that adults were “ticks”
That I could try to scare away
This is spoiling all the fun
To be quiet and to wait
Hearing the others laugh and run
Knowing playtime is almost done
I think tomorrow I will share
I’ll remember to be fair
And when it’s time for a nap
I won’t pull anybody’s hair
By L- Eleanor Earle

(Adapted from ‘First Aid in English for the Caribbean’ by Angus Maciver)

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Now answer these questions about the poem. Circle the letter of
the correct answer.

1. What is the name of the poet?

______________________________________________

(1 mark)

2. According to the author, ______________ is quite boring.

a. listening to children play

b. looking around
c. sitting in a corner

(1 mark)
3. How do you think the poet feels about adults? They are
___________.
a. miserable
b. smart
c. unfair
(2 marks)

4. Write two things that the author would remember to do tomorrow.

a. _______________________________________________

b. _______________________________________________
(2 marks)

5. A suitable word to replace the word chores is _______________.

(2 marks)

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6. Which of the following best describes how the author is feeling?

a. angry
b. happy
c. thoughtful
(2 marks)

7. State one thing that sitting in the corner forces the author to do.

_________________________________________________

(2 marks)

8. Another title for the story is____________________.

________________________________________________
(3 marks)

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 READING PASSAGE B – (15 Marks)

(TIME: 20 MINUTES)

Most animals must find food to survive and warn their members of

danger. Some will cooperate and communicate in their search for food

and protection from danger.

Bees have figured out a very complicated system of passing on

information about the location of food. In a hive, bees perform a dance

in which they wriggle their bodies while moving. By using this dance,

they can communicate to other bees that there are flowers with a good

supply of nectar. Their movements also give an idea of how far away

the supply of food is.

Other animals communicate through a special call which warns members

of the group when danger is present. This is true for birds, which can

produce very loud alarm calls. Near airfields, recordings of birds’ alarm

calls are often played to prevent birds from flying close to the planes.

At airports, people regard birds as a danger. However, for the birds,

the planes are a danger.

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Some animals listen for the alarm call of other creatures to give them

warning. Many animals have security to look out for dangers and give

warnings to the rest of the group. That way, members can safely

concentrate on feeding or drinking. Meerats are like this. They can

stand up almost straight and turn their heads around a wide angle to

spot danger.
(Adapted from ‘Oxford Children’s Book of Science.’)

Now answer these questions. Circle the letter of the correct

answer.
1. What do bees do in their hive to communicate about food?
a. buzz
b. dance
c. hum
(1 mark)

2. Read the statement below carefully. Write true if the

statement is true or write false if the statement is false on
the line provided.

Bees can communicate to other bees where there are flowers with
a good supply of nectar and how far away the flowers are.
________________
(2 marks)
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3. The word communicate in paragraph two could best be replaced
with _________________.
a. come along
b. send messages
c. talk together
(2 marks)

4. This animal uses a special alarm call to communicate danger?

a. birds
b. fish
c. rabbits (1 mark)

5. Name two (2) animals which are mentioned in the passage? Write
your answers on this line. _________________________

(1 mark)

6. What can the meerats do to spot danger? Write your answer on

the lines below.

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(2 marks)

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7. Most animals have security to spot danger. They place
___________ as look-outs.
a. centuries
b. friends
c. guards
(3 marks)

8. A suitable title for the passage is.

a. Animals Always Have Food and Danger
b. Animals Communicate About Food and Danger
c. Animals Need Food and Danger to Survive
(3 marks)

(Total 15 marks)

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 PART 3- LANGUAGE SKILLS (45 marks)
(Time: 40 minutes)

(A) LANGUAGE RULES (22 marks-1 mark each)

Using Verbs
Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb. Choose
one word from the bracket at the end of each sentence.

1. The boys ------------ cricket every day. (play, plays)

2. Four of the sheep ------------in the pasture. (is, are)

3. My older sister------ her clothes on Sundays. (wash, washes)

4. Travis ------ a gift for his brother; it is a surprise. (has, have)

(4 marks)

Write the past tense of the underlined word in the sentence on the
right into the blank space in the matching sentence on the left.

5. They are on the beach. They ------------------ on the

beach.

6. The man jumps over the The man jumped over the fence
fence and the dog runs after and the dog--------------------
him. after him.

7. She wins the 100 metre race She ----------------- the 100
every year. metre race last year.
(3 marks)

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PARTS OF SPEECH

Write the correct part of speech (adjective, adverb, noun, pronoun,

verb) of each word that is underlined in the following sentences.

The huge kites soared gracefully in the sky.

1. huge-------------------------------

2. kites---------------------------------

3. soared-------------------------------

4. gracefully----------------------------
(4 marks)

Fill in the spaces with the correct pronoun. Choose from the words in
the bracket at the end of each sentence.

5. This is ----------------- own. (our, we)

6. These books belong to ---------- (he, him).

7. If she listens, you can tell ----------- a story, (she, her).

(3 marks)

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SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Put a circle around YES if the group of words makes a sentence. Put a
circle around NO if the group of words does not make a sentence.

1. Sports day is always fun. YES NO

2. Running the race. YES NO
3. Won a medal. YES NO
4. He came first! YES NO
(4 marks)

Join each pair of sentences by using ONE of these words.

(because, and, but, so)

Use each word once.

5. Our class went on the beach. We were not allowed to bathe.

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6. Sam reads every day. He wants to succeed in school.

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7. The children went to the fair. Their parents went too.

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8. The lines were very long. We had to wait a long time to get
inside of the museum.

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(4 marks)

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(B) VOCABULARY (13 Marks-1 mark for each correct answer)

Similar in Meaning

Circle the option that is similar in meaning to the underlined word in

each sentence.

1. The children jeered at the boy because he lost the race.

a) cried
b) encouraged
c) laughed

2. Saying good morning, excuse me and thank you are examples of

being polite.
a) brave
b) courteous
c) obedient

3. When fruits are in abundance, many are wasted.

a) expensive
b) plentiful
c) spoilt

4. The driver came to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting the old lady.
a) halt
b) serious
c) sudden

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5. The rowdy crowd made it difficult to hear what was said.
a) happy
b) jolly
c) noisy
(5 marks)

Opposite in Meaning

Write a word of opposite meaning to each one that is provided below.

a. Strong ----------------------------------------

b. Absent ----------------------------------------

c. Bitter -----------------------------------------

d. Brave ------------------------------------------

(4 marks)

Homonyms

Underline the correct word in each bracket.

a. Please use the brown -------------------- to make the bread.

(flour, flower)

b. We waited for one ----------------- for the show to begin.

(hour, our)

c. The boy standing over------------------- is my brother.

(there, their)

d. Do you --------------------- what the colours of our flag mean?

(know, no) (4 marks)

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(C) SPELLING (5 Marks-1 mark each)

Find the word that is incorrectly spelt in each sentence and write the
correct spelling on the line provided.

1. All children love stories about anemals. ------------------------------

2. The likle boy was praised for speaking the truth. -------------------

3. My frist trip on a boat was very exciting.----------------------------

4. We are diferent but special.------------------------------------------

5. Jumping and swiming are my favourite sports. -----------------------

(5 marks)

(D) PUNCTUATION MARKS AND CAPITAL LETTERS (5 Marks-1

mark each)
Circle the letter of the sentence with the correct capital letters
and punctuation marks.

1. a) Miss always says” pay attention in class and you will learn.’’

b) Miss always says,” pay attention in class and you will learn.’’

2. a) They served pizza cake and ice-cream at the party.

b) They served pizza, cake and ice-cream at the party.

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3. a) We can’t go out to train because it is raining.

b) We cant go out to train because it is raining.

4. a) How are you today.

b) How are you today?

5. a) My best friend’s birthday is in February.

b) My best friend’s birthday is in february.

(5 marks)

END OF EXAMINATION!!

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