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Total Marks: 44

"The Cheating Ghost"   By Margaret Mahy

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] 7 Things You Didn't Know About Ghosts
[ii] Ghost Facts for Kids

PDF Printable Version

  » Guided Reading Discussion Cards (for teachers)

VOCABULARY - Developing your language/word skills

Find a synonym for each word/phrase:

 1) selfishness (parag. 2, pg14) [1 mk]  

 2) knocked (parag. 5, pg18) [1 mk]  

 3) authentic (parag. 1, pg12) [1 mk]  

 4) adversary (parag. 2, pg14) [1 mk]  

 5) droopy, feeble (parag. 7, pg18) [1 mk]  

 6) assaulted (parag. 1, pg19) [1 mk]  



NOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS:

 7) Read the 2nd-to-last sentence on page 14. Identify to two NOUNS. [2 mks]

 8) Read the final sentence on page 14. Identify two PRONOUNS. [2 mks]

 9) Read the final sentence on page 19. Identify to two VERBS. [2 mks]

 10) Read the first sentence on page 20. Identify the ADJECTIVE. [1 mk]

 11) Read page 11. Identify the ADVERB. [1 mk]



METAPHOR:

 12) Find an example of a metaphor on page 14. (You are looking for a metaphorical phrase.) [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: 18 marks]


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

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

 15) Imagine you are the rooster, Darius. Write a brief explanation detailing why you don't like Conrad. Be a creative thinker! [2 mks]

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

 17) The name, "Darius" is historically linked to an ancient Persian emperor. Do a bit of research and write a paragrpah about the historical "Darius" which includes THREE (3) interesting facts about this historical "Darius". [3 mk]



JOURNAL References:

18) Who did the story art? [1 mk]  

[EXTENSION sub-total: 10 marks]


COMPREHENSION - Developing thinking skills

 20) Describe Ben's attitude to Conrad's story about having a ghost visit him. How does Ben feel about that story? [1 mk]  

 21) Why does Ben refer to Great Uncle Conrad as an "old Scrooge" (page 13)? [1 mk]  

 22) Why does Conrad suggest Ben is "a sort of enemy"? [1 mk]  

 23) Suggest two possible reasons for Conrad spraying water as described in paragraph 1 on page 16. [2 mks]  

 24) Briefly explain why Darius decided to attack Ben. [1 mk]  

 25) Draw up a flow chart [What?] for this story. Use no more than 6 steps! [4 marks]

26) On page 19, Conrad sprays water on Ben and Darius. How does Conrad feel about this - and why? Justify your opinions by citing evidence from the text. [3 mks]  

27) "By the end of the story, Conrad feels much more positively about Great Uncle Conrad". Argue that this statement is true - and justify your opinions by citing evidence from the text. [3 mks]  

[EXTENSION sub-total: 16 marks]