» Home

Total Marks: 40

"A Rain of Fire"   By John O'Brien

School Journal Part 2, Number 4, 1984

Learning Media Ltd, Wellington, NZ
Learners' Grid, https://www.learnersgrid.com/english/nzjournal-index.html
AJBerghuis,2020©

Vocabulary and Comprehension

External Links.  Find out about:

[i] Meteoroid Facts for Kids
[ii] Upcoming Meteor Showers in NZ

PDF Printable Version

  » Guided Reading Discussion Cards (for teachers)

VOCABULARY - Developing your language/word skills

Find a synonym for each word/phrase:

 1) move extremely quickly (parag. 2, pg4) [1 mk]  

 2) moved extremely quickly (parag. 1, pg5) [1 mk]  

 3) dive (parag. 2, pg5) [1 mk]  

 4) substantial (parag. 3, pg5) [1 mk]  

 5) awash (parag. 1, pg7) [1 mk]  

 6) occupied (parag. 3, pg7) [1 mk]  



NOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS:

 7) Read the final sentence on page 5. Identify to two NOUNS. [2 mks]

 8) Read the final sentence on page 5. Identify the PRONOUN. [1 mk]

 9) Read the final sentence on page 5. Identify to two VERBS. [2 mks]

 10) Read the 2nd-to-last sentence on page 5. Identify the ADJECTIVE. [1 mk]

 11) Read the final sentence on page 5. Identify the ADVERB. [1 mk]



SIMILE:

 12) Find a simile on page 6. [1 mk]  


PROOF-READING:

 13) Click [here] to get the text you must proofread. There are 6 errors.
Use the computer (or similar) to complete this task. You will need to copy-and-paste this passage to an editing software (any will do - e.g. Word, Notepad, Google Docs, email, and so on) - and email (or similar) your corrected version to your teacher.

Your teacher will explain your task in more detail. [3 mks]

[VOCABULARY sub-total: 17 marks]


EXTENSION - Developing a variety of skills and enriching our reading experience

 14) Write a haiku about "meteors". You will share it with your group. [3 mks]

 15) Write a brief explanation detailing how a particular sport of your choice is similar to a meteor shower. Be a creative thinker! [2 mks]

 16) Imagine you are a newspaper reporter and you are going to write a newspaper article/story based on the events in this article. Write down what could be a great HEADLINE for this article. [1 mk]



 17) Take a look at the article, also in this NZ School Journal, "Watching for Meteors". According to the information in this article, when would be the next best time for YOU to observe meteors? [1 mk]



JOURNAL References:

18) Who did the article art? [1 mk]  

19) Who wrote "Watching for Meteors" (pages 8 and 9)? [1 mk]  

[EXTENSION sub-total: 9 marks]


COMPREHENSION - Developing thinking skills

 20) Why did the author have difficulty getting back to sleep after waking during the night? [1 mk]  

 21) Why do you suppose the author "held [his] breath" (page 5)? [1 mk]  

 22) Why was the author camping on the beach? [1 mk]  

 23) Why did the author consider himself "lucky"? [1 mk]  

 24) According to the author's explanation, why had the meteors entered Earth's atmosphere? [1 mk]  

 25) Using the author's explanations on page 6, draw up a flow chart [What?] which clearly - and simply - explains how it is possible that people see "shooting stars" This is almost like creating a diagram to map out the "life cycle" of "shooting stars"! [4 marks]

 26) According to the author, what creates difficulties when looking for meteors at night? [2 mks]  

27) Write a paragraph explaining the author's attitude towards meteors/meteor showers. Give proof from the text for your opinions. [3 mks]  

[EXTENSION sub-total: 14 marks]