Teacher Guidance

This NAPLAN Style Reading Practice Test is designed to

provide daily comprehension practice. The three texts included in
this resource are an explanation, a procedure and a narrative.
These questions could be worked through over three
weeks with one question per day. Alternatively, one
text could be explored each day and worked through over a
three-day period.
Three strategies are referred to throughout this PowerPoint -
Elimination, Trial and Error and Best Guess. After each question,
students are invited to reflect on which strategy they used. These
class discussions could benefit students who require extra support
to answer questions correctly.
Strategies
Hi! Remember me? I’m Helperoo the helpful kangaroo. I’m here to give
you some strategies you could use when answering questions.
Let’s revise some of our strategies:

Eliminate
Trial and Error
Narrow down your answer by
This is a great strategy to use when
Best Guess
eliminating two of the four multiple
asked about the meaning of a word.
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options. This when
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Try the word in the sentence, if it
across aOne
two answers. wordwill
youbedon’t know? Have
correct,
doesn’t work (error), then try
one isathe
best guess. Use
distractor. your reading
Destroy the
another one!
strategies
distractor to tryatand
and arrive work
your out the
answer.
word. If that doesn’t work, guess!
Strategies
Let’s give some of these strategies a go! For the following slides, you’ll be
asked to read a text and answer some questions. At the end of each question,
you’ll be asked to share what strategy you used.

Eliminate

Trial and Error

Best Guess
 Rips
What is a rip?
When you go to the beach, you have to be careful of rips. Rips are a very strong current or
flow of water heading out to sea. If you swim in a rip, the water can suck you out into the
deeper part of the ocean. It’s important to take steps to reduce your risk of getting stuck in a
rip. You can avoid rips by swimming between the flags at beaches. Lifeguards are experts at
spotting rips and will always make sure the area between the flags is safe to swim.
How to spot a rip
Rips can be difficult to see. It usually takes a trained eye to be able to see a rip in the ocean.
However, there are a few telltale signs that you can use to spot a rip. Signs of a rip include:
• areas of the surf that don’t have many waves;
• lots of sand getting sucked back out to sea;
• deep looking water close to shore;
• water that is moving quickly.
Remember, it’s always best to swim between the flags under the supervision of adults. Never
swim on days where the ocean looks rough.
Which of the following best defines a rip?

a) a strong current or
flow of water
What strategy did
you use? b) water that sucks
• Eliminate you out to sea
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) sandy water

d) deep, rough water

Who is an example of someone with a
‘trained eye’?

a) adults

What strategy did

you use? b) lifeguards
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) beachgoers

d) children
What does the term ‘telltale sign’ mean?

a) a clue

What strategy did

you use? b) a noticeboard
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) an explanation

d) a hint
Why do you think people get caught in
rips?
a) they aren’t very good
swimmers

What strategy did b) they see water without

you use? waves and think it’s
• Eliminate safe
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) they aren’t trained
lifeguards

d) they didn’t take

swimming lessons
 This text is…

a) a narrative

What strategy did

you use? b) a poem
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) an explanation

d) a procedure
Why do you need to use a light, small foam
board?
a) so it’s easy to carry
down the beach

What strategy did

you use? b) so you float
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) so you can catch waves
easily

d) so it doesn’t hurt you

if it hits you on the
head
What could you do to make sure you are safe
while surfing?

a) swim between the flags

What strategy did

you use? b) use a leg rope
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) practise in the
swimming pool

d) both a) and b)
Why should you surf at a beach that isn’t
too crowded?
a) to make sure you have
enough space

What strategy did

b) crowded beaches
you use? means someone could
• Eliminate get hurt
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) less people means
more surfing fun

d) crowded beaches
don’t have surf
lifesavers
Which of the following is a synonym of
‘furiously’?

a) slowly
What strategy did
you use? b) carefully
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) quickly

d) skillfully
Which step from the text does not begin
with a verb?

a) Step 1
What strategy did
you use? b) Step 5
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) Step 7

d) Step 10
 The Big Race
Lucy’s heart was beating out of her chest. Slowly, she slid into the cold depths of
the pool. Her whole body was shaking like a leaf. The other end of the long lap pool
looked so far away. Why had she chosen to swim this race? There were so many
people watching from the grandstands, peering down at her as she hung onto the
edge of the pool. This was a big mistake.
A booming voice cut through all the noise. “On your mark.” Lucy got in her starting
position, holding onto the diving block. “Get set.” She took a deep breath. “Go!”
The noise disappeared as Lucy pushed off from the wall and swam underwater.
When she came up for air, she couldn’t hear the cheering crowd, only her breath as
she gulped in a lungful of air. She didn’t dare look at the lanes to her left or right.
She just focussed on getting to the other end of the pool.
With one last push, Lucy reached out and touched the wall. She looked around and
saw her friends on either side of her, puffing and panting. The cheers of the crowd
rung in her ears. The big race was done. She had made it to the end.
How do we know Lucy was nervous? Choose
all that apply.
a) her heart was
beating loudly
What strategy did
you use? b) she was shaking
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) she couldn’t
breathe

d) she felt sick

What event was Lucy participating in?

a) a running race

What strategy did

you use? b) a swimming race
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess
c) a water polo game

d) a netball game
Order these events from the text as 1-4.
Lucy gulped in a
lungful of air

Lucy was feeling

nervous

Lucy swam
underwater

Lucy got in the pool

Order these events from the text as 1-4.
Lucy was feeling
nervous

Lucy gulped in a
lungful of air

Lucy swam
underwater

Lucy got in the pool

Order these events from the text as 1-4.
Lucy was feeling
nervous

Lucy got in the pool

Lucy swam
underwater

Lucy gulped in a
lungful of air
Order these events from the text as 1-4.
Lucy was feeling
nervous

What strategy did you

use? Lucy got in the pool
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess Lucy swam
underwater

Lucy gulped in a
lungful of air
Why didn’t Lucy look at the lanes to her left
and her right?
a) it might slow her
down

What strategy did b) she didn’t want to

you use? get distracted
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) she didn’t want to
know if she was
coming last

d) she was too busy

 The text is…

a) a narrative

What strategy did

you use? b) an explanation
• Eliminate
• Trial and Error
• Best Guess c) a procedure

d) a description