[PDF] NAPLAN 2016 Final Test Reading Magazine Year 3.pdf | Plain Text

Year 3 Reading magazine 2016 � Australian curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2016

2 Boots the cat Mina and Jack have a cat named Boots. Boots is white with black feet. Mina and Jack keep lots of toys for Boots in a big box. There is a toy that looks like a carrot and there is a green ball too. Sometimes Boots visits Grandma and Grandpa�s house. Grandma likes to toss a toy mouse for Boots. She gives Boots ���1������1����1����1����1��
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Seahorses live in the ocean. They are fish but some people think that seahorses look a bit like ‘land’ horses. A group of seahorses is called a herd. Baby seahorses are called fry. Female seahorses lay eggs but it is the male seahorses that look after the eggs. Male seahorses keep the eggs in pouches at the front of their bodies. The fry must look after themselves as soon as they are born. Seahorses are fish but they are not very good swimmers. Their fins are very small. This makes it hard to move and steer in the water. They can use their tails to grab onto seaweed or coral so they can stay in one place. Seahorses have no teeth and they do not have a stomach. Food passes through the body of a seahorse very quickly. To stay healthy they must spend most of the day eating. One seahorse can eat up to 3000 small shrimps in a day. 3

Letter to Amy Hi Amy Guess what! Mum and Dad said I can invite you to stay with us in the Christmas holidays. I know Coober Pedy is a long way from the city, but I’m sure you’ll love it. Some people think there is nothing to do in the outback. But they are so wrong! I’m already planning things that we can do together. We could visit the kangaroo orphanage and see the joeys. We could go digging for opals. People in Coober Pedy call that ‘noodling’. If it gets too hot, we can visit my friend, Mani.\ He lives in a house under the ground. It’s nice and cool inside. The best thing is that Mani has an underground swimming pool. I’m sure there aren’t any underground houses in the city. Dad said he could take us camping too. We could have a camp fire and look for shooting stars. We might even go camel riding. You’ll be amazed at how much fun you can have here. It would be fantastic if you could come and stay. I promise that you’ll have more fun than you will ever have in your entire life! Write back soon and tell me what you think. From Alex PS Just saw a shooting star and made a wish. Can you guess what it was? Bamboo is an amazing plant. Did you know it is actually a grass? In fact giant bamboo is the largest member of the grass family. Some types can grow an incredible 90 centimetres in just one day. Some bamboo plants can grow to over 30 metres tall, which is as tall as a gum tree. You probably know that bamboo is the favourite food of pandas, but chimpanzees, gorillas and elephants eat it too. Bamboo is also extremely useful to people. It is a very valuable construction material because it is so strong. In fact, whole houses can be built from bamboo. In some parts of the world bamboo is used as scaf f olding (the frame used to support building work). The range of things that can be made from bamboo is huge. Furniture, cooking utensils, and musical instruments can all be made from bamboo. Bamboo f ibres can be used to produce a soft, cotton-like material for T-shirts and underwear. Bamboo f ibres are also used to make paper. Bamboo can even be used to make bicycle frames and boats. Bamboozled! Bamboo scaffolding Bamboo bicycles Bamboo chairs Bamboo boats 4

Letter to Amy Hi Amy Guess what! Mum and Dad said I can invite you to stay with us in the Christmas holidays. I know Coober Pedy is a long way from the city, but I’m sure you’ll love it. Some people think there is nothing to do in the outback. But they are so wrong! I’m already planning things that we can do together. We could visit the kangaroo orphanage and see the joeys. We could go digging for opals. People in Coober Pedy call that ‘noodling’. If it gets too hot, we can visit my friend, Mani.\ He lives in a house under the ground. It’s nice and cool inside. The best thing is that Mani has an underground swimming pool. I’m sure there aren’t any underground houses in the city. Dad said he could take us camping too. We could have a camp fire and look for shooting stars. We might even go camel riding. You’ll be amazed at how much fun you can have here. It would be fantastic if you could come and stay. I promise that you’ll have more fun than you will ever have in your entire life! Write back soon and tell me what you think. From Alex PS Just saw a shooting star and made a wish. Can you guess what it was? Bamboo is an amazing plant. Did you know it is actually a grass? In fact giant bamboo is the largest member of the grass family. Some types can grow an incredible 90 centimetres in just one day. Some bamboo plants can grow to over 30 metres tall, which is as tall as a gum tree. You probably know that bamboo is the favourite food of pandas, but chimpanzees, gorillas and elephants eat it too. Bamboo is also extremely useful to people. It is a very valuable construction material because it is so strong. In fact, whole houses can be built from bamboo. In some parts of the world bamboo is used as scaf f olding (the frame used to support building work). The range of things that can be made from bamboo is huge. Furniture, cooking utensils, and musical instruments can all be made from bamboo. Bamboo f ibres can be used to produce a soft, cotton-like material for T-shirts and underwear. Bamboo f ibres are also used to make paper. Bamboo can even be used to make bicycle frames and boats. Bamboozled! Bamboo scaffolding Bamboo bicycles Bamboo chairs Bamboo boats 5

On Saturday afternoons, I go to the library for story time with my little sister, Tess. The children’s librarian, Mr Frank, has been leading story time ever since my mum was a little girl! Today he was wearing a funny white beard and a lumpy, brown coat. When we sat down with the other kids, Mr Frank winked and said, ‘Did you know that every book is alive?’ He picked up a book that had a picture of a bird on the inside and flapped the covers as if they were wings. Mr Frank had a great big smile. He brushed his coat sleeve over the book, and, whoosh, a white bird flew up to the ceiling! We all laughed and wondered where it came from. But Mr Frank whispered, ‘Shhhh! This is a library!’ and gave us an even bigger smile. Next he picked up a book titled How to Make a Puppet. As soon as he showed it to us, a little cowboy popped up from between the pages! The little cowboy was moving and talking! I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Then Mr Frank picked up a book with orange and black stripes on the cover. The title was Tigers of East Asia. I glanced at Tess. My heart was thumping. Mr Frank placed the book behind his back then whisked it out again! Now it had claws! ‘ RAWWRRR!’ Tess was a little scared and ready to go home. As we waited to have our books scanned, Mr Frank handed me a book with a worn red cover. ‘Your mum used to borrow this one,’ he said. His eyes twinkled. On the way home I read the title, trying to imagine what was inside. I didn’t dare open it. But as we walked, a small thrill was rising inside me like a bird taking off. Library magician 6

Bats Types of bats Bats can be subdivided into two main groups: microbats and megabats. This is determined by their diet and the way they navigate when flying. Did you know? • Bats are the only mammals that can fly. • Bats have been known to live more than 30 years. • A group of bats is called a colony. • There are about 1240 different species of bats in the world. • Australia is home to over 90 different species of bats. • The Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is the smallest bat in the world. It weighs up to two grams: about the same as a tea bag! • The giant golden-crowned flying fox is the biggest bat; it weighs up to 1.6 kilograms with a wingspan of 170 centimetres! Microbats are very small. They are mostly insectivorous, which means their diet consists of flying insects such as beetles, moths and mosquitoes. They usually live beside rivers and creeks, so they have access to fresh water. They also live in parks, reserves and even residential areas. During the day they roost in trees and hollows. They feed at night and although they have good eyesight they use sound waves and echoes to find their prey in the dark. This 'bat sonar' is called echolocation. Megabats tend to be larger than microbats (but not always!). They are frugivorous, which means their diet consists of fruit and nectar from flowering plants. Like microbats, megabats are nocturnal but they rely on their good eyesight and excellent sense of smell to find food. Some megabats are called flying foxes because of their fox-like faces and the red-coloured fur on their bodies. Although megabats hunt at night, large groups can often be seen during the day hanging from tall trees. Kitti’s hog-nosed bat Flying fox mother and baby 7

On Saturday morning, Sara got up early to play football. She put on her football shirt and black shorts. Then, she pulled on some long socks. Next, she carried her football boots to the door and put them on. ‘I thought you played football on Sunday, not Saturday!’ said Sara’s dad. ‘Oh, yeah!’ said Sara, and she went back to bed. 8 The materials included in the NAPLAN stimulus magazine are intended to e\ ngage students and assess their literacy skills. Any views or opinions expressed in these test materials do not necessarily refle\ ct the views and opinions of ACARA. AcknowledgementS cover Seahorse image © Peter Ryngaert/Guylian Seahorses of the World (courtesy Project Seahorse) Seahorses Seahorse image © Peter Ryngaert/Guylian Seahorses of the World (courtesy Project Seahorse) Bats Image of Kitti’s hog-nosed bat © MERLIN D. TUTTLE/SCIENCE SOURCE Image of flying fox mother and baby © DanieleC / Alamy Stock Photo