•

•

SAMPLE

2014 Test timetable Monday 12 May

Tuesday 13 May Official test date

Wednesday 14 May Official test date

Thursday 15 May Official test date

Friday 16 May

1. Language conventions Yr 9: 45 min

3. Reading Yr 9: 65 min

4.1 Numeracy Yr 9 (calculator): 40 min

Catch up tests permitted

20 minute break 20 minute break

2. Writing Yr 9: 40 min

4.2 Numeracy Yr 9 (non-calc.): 40 min

Catch up tests permitted

Catch up tests permitted

Catch up tests permitted

Catch up tests permitted

Monday 19 May

Tuesday 20 May

Wednesday 21 May

Thursday 22 May

Friday 23 May

Test security to be maintained to ensure tests remain secure for schools granted approval to vary test dates. Individual student catch-up tests not permitted.

SAMPLE

LITERACY

Year 8

What are the three content strands for English? 1. Language 2. Literature 3. Literacy

By the end of end of Year 8, students should have developed the skills to: Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing) • Understand how text structures are influenced by language modes, and how these vary for

different purposes and audiences. • Explain how language features, images and vocabulary can be used to represent different

ideas and issues in texts. • Interpret texts and question the reliability and credibility of sources of ideas and information. • Select evidence from a text to demonstrate how events, situations and people can be

represented from a variety of viewpoints. • Listen and identify emphases in texts and use this understanding to elaborate upon

discussions.

Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating) • Understand how language features can be used for different purposes and effects. • Explain the effectiveness of their language choices on their audience. • Combine ideas, images and language features from other texts to show how ideas can be

expressed in new ways. • Create texts for different purposes, using language to influence the audience. • Create presentations and actively contribute to class/group discussions, making use of

language patterns for effect. • Understand the intended purpose of a text and the needs and interests of the audience when

creating and editing texts. • Understand grammar, use accurate spelling and punctuation, and select vocabulary for effect. SA

MPLE

LITERACY

Year 9

What are the three content strands for English? 1. Language 2. Literature 3. Literacy

By the end of end of Year 9, students should have developed the skills to: Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing) • Analyse the way text structures can be manipulated for effect. • Analyse and explain how the use of images, vocabulary choices and language features

distinguish an individual author’s work. • Evaluate and integrate ideas and information from texts to form interpretations. • Select evidence from texts to analyse an explain how language choices and conventions are

used to influence an audience. • Listen for ways to position an audience. Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating) • Understand how to use a variety of language features to create different levels of meaning. • Understand how interpretations can vary by comparing their own response to a text to the

responses of others. • Create texts that demonstrate an understanding of how manipulating language features and

images can lead to innovation. • Respond to issues through text creating, integrating and interpreting ideas from other texts. • Create presentations and actively contribute to class/group discussions, comparing and

evaluating responses to ideas and issues. • Use accurate spelling and punctuation, and edit texts for effect, selecting vocabulary and

grammar that contribute to the precision and persuasiveness of a text. SAMPLE

Some questions require you to demonstrate your understanding of the text, and often you will be asked to

locate and retrieve facts or information. These are often the easiest questions you will come across in a

reading exam. Nonetheless, when answering comprehension questions you can’t afford to miss any

details in the test - make sure you have read the passage twice or aloud, and refer back to the text when

answering comprehension questions.

Exercise:

“Avalon Bay, located in the northern suburbs of Sydney, is one of the most pristine beaches to be

found.”

Which of the following is correct? Avalon Bay can be found to the ________ of Sydney?

a) east

b) west

c) south

d) north

Making Inferences:

Finding information implicit in the articles can be more difficult. This requires you to look beyond what is

openly said in the text and make inferences, or assumptions, based on what information you have been

given. Sometimes a passage won’t explicitly make a point, but will subtley convey it through clues. This is

especially true of characters’ behaviour. For example, instead of a character being explicitly described as

being restless, the text might say that they were fidgeting and checking their watch.

Exercise:

James reluctantly shuffled across the hallway, his eyes frantically scanning his surroundings as he

walked towards the Principal’s office.

Which set of words best describes James at this current moment?

a) Obstinate, sulky and stubborn

b) Joyful, cheery and outgoing

c) Nervous, fearful and hesitant

d) Cold, calculating and careless

Interpreting Figurative Language:

Some passages will include figurative language and it is likely that you will be tested on your ability to

interpret these devices. The figurative language devices you will most likely come across are: similes,

metaphors, personification and idioms.

Similes: Remember, a simile is comparing something to something else using the words ‘as’, ‘like’ or

‘than’ for example, ‘my sister is as greedy as a pig.’

Exercise:

My stomach felt like a washing machine, but I still managed to mumble my thanks before running

out the door to vomit.

Why did my stomach feel like a washing machine?

a) Because my clothes were dirty.

b) Because it was churning and I felt sick.

c) Because it was beeping.

d) Because I had a white t-shirt on.

A STUDENT’S GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE READING – Year 9

• Do you think that an athlete would stay up till dawn eating fast food the night before a race? No way!

In much the same way, there is a lot you can do to prepare yourself before and during the test to

ensure that you are performing at your peak.

• Try to have as much sleep as possible the night before. Studies have proven that minds and memories

are much sharper and more focused when they are well rested.

• Pack the essentials you will need the night before the exam so that you are prepared. Do you need to

write in pencil or pen? Will you need highlighters?

• Don’t eat anything strange or new the night before – waking up to discover that curried sausages

don’t agree with you the morning of an exam would not be ideal! Eat a healthy meal, preferably

including some brain food like fish, protein and pasta.

• Set an alarm!

• Don’t dose up on sugar before the test! This will only give you a temporary burst of energy, and you

are likely to come crashing down just as you are about to attempt the hardest question!

• Go to the bathroom just before the test, so you don’t waste any time having to dash out of the room

in the middle of your exam or instead suffer the discomfort of sitting with tightly crossed legs.

• Anxiety is contagious! If your friends are discussing the test with impending doom and gloom, steer

clear of them, and instead think about how well-prepared you are.

• Listen to the teacher’s instructions at the beginning of the exam. Ask a question if you need to clarify

anything about the test conditions so you are not left wondering.

• During the test, don’t rush! Read through everything properly – too many students make silly

mistakes because they missed a clue, word or sentence.

• Watch the clock – don’t spend all your time

lingering around the easy questions at the

beginning and then find you have no time to

tackle the harder ones. Pace yourself, and if

something is too difficult, put a star next to it

and come back to it at the end.

SAMPLE

WRITING TEST

• Have I used paragraphs?

• Have I ordered my paragraphs properly, i.e. opening scene, trigger, journey, turn of events,

critical choice, climax, consequence, resolution?

• Have I proofread my writing?

• Have I used capital letters and the correct punctuation, e.g. apostrophes?

• Have I used interesting words, especially adjectives?

• Have I started my sentences with different beginnings?

• Does my response relate to the topic?

SAMPLE

Audience This marks how well you are able to draw your reader into your story. Orient them by including information about the time, place and context the story is taking place in; engage them by writing something interesting; affect them means that you must link to bigger ideas and themes.

Text Structure Make sure that your text is structured correctly. It should include an orientation (setting the scene), a complication and a resolution. These parts should all join together cohesively as part of the overall plot.

Ideas Only include the information that is necessary and important to your story. This might include descriptive passages as a way to orient the reader. Your narrative should also have an overarching theme or idea that the readers can connect to. This will influence your resolution.

Character & Setting To do well in this criteria, you must develop both the characters and the setting of your narrative. You must create characters and places that readers can connect with.

Vocabulary Replace words like ‘good’ with ‘incredible, ‘bad’ with ‘terrible’ and ‘nice’ with ‘wonderful’. Make your vocabulary as interesting as possible, and try not to use the same word twice in a paragraph!

Cohesion Your narrative needs to be connected, which means your ideas need to link together – they can’t just be a random scattering of ideas. Try to make your writing flow. This can be achieved through grammatical and vocabulary choices.

Paragraphing Too often in the Writing test, students just write one big block of text. You need to split it into paragraphs. You could do this by starting a new paragraph when the setting changes, or a new character is introduced.

Sentence Structure Vary your sentence beginnings and the way they are structured. Don’t just start every sentence with the same word – it’s boring!

Punctuation Make sure that all of your sentences are punctuated correctly. This includes capital letters for sentence beginnings and proper nouns (e.g. names of people), full stops and commas when necessary, and even things like exclamation marks and question marks. Direct and indirect speech will be particularly important when writing a narrative.

Spelling Not only will you be marked on how correctly you’ve spelt everything, but also how difficult the words you use are. A good trick to do before the test is to learn how to use and spell around five tricky words to use in your response.

There are ten different criteria that will be used to mark your Narrative Writing Test. If you know the criteria, you can make sure your writing addresses each one!

SAMPLE

Please note: any activity that is not completed during class time may be set for homework or

undertaken at a later date.

‘Approaching the Test’ and ‘Practice Questions’

• Activity Description: • In this lesson, students are provided with two activities focussing on preparing them for

writing a narrative for the NAPLAN Writing Test.

• The first activity, ‘Approaching the Test’, provides students with information about how they

should begin the test. They are provided with a planning strategy and points to remember

that directly relate to the marking criteria. They are also given a narrative timeline planning

tool that they can use to organise the plot of their story in the test.

• The second activity, ‘Practice Questions’, is a guided model test. Students are provided

with a stimulus similar to what they might encounter in the NAPLAN Writing Test and are

asked to plan and produce their narrative response. This involves brainstorming plot ideas,

creating character descriptions and planning the outline of their story. Finally, they are

asked to produce a practise narrative using the provided stimulus.

• Purpose of Activity: • This lesson is designed to be a final preparation for the NAPLAN Writing

Task in the narrative genre.

• KLAs: • English

• CCEs: • Recalling/remembering (α3)

• Structuring/organising extended written text (β21)

• Using correct spelling, punctuation, grammar (π9)

• Using vocabulary appropriate to a context (π10)

• Creating/composing/devising (π46)

• Suggested Time Allocation: • This lesson is designed to take approximately one hour to complete.

• Teaching Notes: • If time is permits, ask students to swap their work with a neighbours to practise editing.

• This second activity could be shortened by outlining the orientation, complication and

resolution only.

• As an extension activity, ask students to write down a list of topics they would like to write

about before beginning the second activity.

• Once they have examined the stimulus and completed their brainstorming, ask

them if they can think of a way to link to the things they would like to write about.

Item Description

SAMPLE

When you sit the Writing Test, you will be given a prompt or stimulus. This will be a piece of paper with some pictures and a topic or idea. It will generally contain some questions, but you do not need to answer these. They are there to help you come up with ideas for your story. Some examples of possible topics are

The Door The Race Water’s Edge

One of the most effective ways to come up with an idea for a story is to brainstorm. Let your mind run wild, thinking of as many different things as possible to write about. There are no restrictions on what you write about, so long as it relates to the stimulus and has the right structure and word count.

Planning your narrative

Once you have chosen an idea for your narrative, you need to develop it. Every narrative must have an orientation, a complication and a resolution – also known as a beginning, middle and end. You should also have an idea of the style and genre you would like to write in. Is your story a mystery? Or an adventure? Is it based in reality or is it a fantasy? These choices will all influence how and what you will write.

The orientation introduces the reader to the main characters and the overall setting of the story. This is where you should introduce when and where the story is taking place. It should also let the reader know what the story will be about.

The complication is where the story gets interesting (though it should have already been engaging!). Some event or problem faces the main character(s) that must be overcome. Tension and suspense are a big part of this section of the story.

The resolution comes after the challenge faced by the main character(s) has been resolved. This may or may not mean that they were successful. The resolution of a story deals with the consequences or aftermath of the complication. It often links the events of the story to a bigger theme or idea.

When planning these sections, it is important to keep in mind the characters and the setting of the story. You must consider whether or not your story fits with the characters you have created. Are the choices that you have them make something that fits with their personality? You must give the readers details about the characters that make them believe that they would behave in that way. In some cases, the choices they make are part of what defines their character in the eyes of the reader.

To make writing easier, create a timeline for your narrative, including the details of the major events and when they occur in the context of your story. This doesn’t mean writing down exactly when major plot points happen – in some cases, something may have happened before the story began, but it is introduced as part of the complication stage of the narrative.

When writing a narrative for the Writing Test, you are given a writing prompt. Using

this prompt, you must come up with a storyline.

Planning should be your first step. !

What first comes to mind when

you look at each of the provided

topics?

What would your story be

about?

Tip

SAMPLE

Creating an outline

To make writing easier, create a timeline for your narrative, including the details of the major events and when they occur in the context of your story. This doesn’t mean writing down exactly when major plot points happen – in some cases, something may have happened before the story began, but it is introduced as part of the complication stage of the narrative.

The orientation, complication and resolution stages can be broken down even more, as shown above.

The orientation includes

• The opening scene – This, ideally, transports the reader into the environment of the story. It establishes some of the who, what, where and when aspects of the story.

• The trigger – This is what sparks the story’s action. Often the trigger is something that happens to the protagonist, which is out of their control.

• The journey – The protagonist is compelled to action by the previous trigger and sets out on a journey to resolve something. Remember that this does not have to mean a physical journey; it could be resolving a personal conflict, for example.

The complication includes • Surprise turn of events – These events can include obstacles, complications and detours that the

protagonist must take on their journey (because if the protagonist simply got what they wanted easily, it wouldn’t be a very exciting story!)

• A critical choice – Often one of the surprise events requires the protagonist to make a critical choice that conveys an aspect of their character. This might be a tough decision, the outcome of which is not exactly clear at this stage.

• The climax – The critical choice the protagonist made leads to a climax in the story, which is the height of the action.

The resolution includes • The consequence – This is the result of the climax. A change of some sort should be evident from the

start of the story, for example the protagonist has got to know himself better. • The resolution – This should wrap up the story so that the reader feels satisfied that it is concluding. The

original conflict should be resolved or alluded as going to be resolved.

Using a model like this one will help you keep on track when writing your narrative.

Orientation Complication Resolution

SAMPLE

Writing your narrative

Based on the marking criteria, there are a few things you must pay special attention to when creating your text. Use the following tips to help achieve top marks.

Write what you know One of the most powerful writing tactics to use when creating a narrative is to write from personal experience. If your writing relates to something you are familiar with – a place, time, topic – it will be much easier to be engaging and convincing.

Word choices The words you use throughout your narrative don’t need to be big, but they should be appropriate. Think about what your characters would say and make sure they say what you want them to mean! In order to write dialogue for a number of different characters (some completely different to others), you must possess a sophisticated vocabulary. Try to learn a few impressive words (not necessarily big) to make use of in your narrative. Just make sure they fit with the character or setting they are being used in.

Spelling Related to a good vocabulary is the ability to spell. This includes not just the big words but the little ones too. Ensure that you know how to correctly use homophones and other commonly confused words.

Interesting sentences Try to vary the pace of your sentences as you write. Nothing will make your readers lose interest faster than sentence after sentence of the same length. This kind of repetition is boring, and no matter how interesting what you are saying is, your reader won’t be engaged. Varying sentence length and the synthesis of phrases and clauses will help to make your writing as engaging as possible.

Punctuation In order to make interesting sentences, you must have a good command of punctuation. Throughout your narrative, make use of as many different kinds of punctuation – correctly, of course – as you can. For narratives, direct and indirect speech are particularly important.

Appropriate paragraph breaks When you are writing your narrative, it may be obvious where the breaks should be. Any time there is a change in the scene (relative to the time and/or place) you should begin a new paragraph. In some situations, a paragraph break can be needed without a change in scene. If there is an important revelation, or a new character enters the scene, this is probably a good time to start a new paragraph. Paragraph structure is much more flexible in the narrative genres than in formal essays.

Make your story flow Cohesion in your plot is created through the use of cohesive ties in your sentences. Using referential pronouns and linking words will help to form a sense of flow in your story that is hopefully assisted by a good plot.

Keep the marking criteria in mind when you write. !

SAMPLE

Editing your work

When you edit a text, you are checking for mistakes and inconsistencies. This could include spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, structural problems and stylistic mistakes (e.g., audience, genre features, tone).

Spelling, grammar and punctuation Once you have finished writing, you should always read back over your work at least once. You will find that you pick up a whole range of small errors in your spelling, grammar and punctuation as you go; these mistakes are a normal part of the writing process, which is why editing needs to be as well! The following checklist contains many of the common errors found when editing that you should be looking for:

Full stops

Capital letters

Commas

Spelling and homophone use

Subject-verb agreement

Tense

Punctuation for direct speech (quotation marks, commas, capitals, full stops)

Apostrophes (omission and ownership)

Structure and flow Editing for structure and flow requires reading a text as a whole, rather than sentence by sentence (as is appropriate for spelling, grammar and punctuation editing). You need to be on the lookout for repetitious use of words and sentence structures, clumsy sentences, and how well your ideas connect each other. You should also be making sure that your paragraph breaks are in the right places and that your ideas are presented in the correct order. Sometimes after you write a text, it may become clear that one idea should be presented before another; this could be for a number of reasons.

Overall After reading your text through as whole, ask yourself if you think that it fulfilled its purpose. In the case of a narrative, the point is to entertain and engage the reader. In the NAPLAN Writing Test, your narrative must also relate to the provided idea. If it isn’t obvious how your text relates to this idea, you may need to revise.

Editing is key to implementing many of these tips. !

SAMPLE

Practise makes perfect! Use the prompt below to plan and write a narrative.

Examine the stimulus provided below. !

! Brainstorm some possible ideas for a story related to ‘A Mind of Its Own’. Be as creative

as possible! Q1

A Mind of Its Own

A Mind of Its Own

‘A Mind of Its Own’ is the idea for your story.

What has a mind of its own? Is it dangerous or unexpected?

Your story might be about an inanimate object that comes to life, a child learning to think for themselves, or even an animal behaving like a human.

It might be an adventure, or a literary reflection.

What would be interesting if it suddenly had a mind of its own?

SAMPLE

Are you in the story? If not, who is the main character(s)? Describe them or yourself. Q2

! What is your story about? Use the timeline provided below to note the details of each

stage of your narrative. Q3

Orientation Complication Resolution

SAMPLE

! Write your narrative in the space below. Remember to use appropriate paragraph breaks,

interesting words and sentence structures, and, above all, make sure it is engaging! Q4

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

Practise makes perfect! Use the prompt below to plan and write a narrative.

Examine the stimulus provided below. !

! Brainstorm some possible ideas for a story related to ‘A Mind of Its Own’. Be as creative

as possible! Q1

A Mind of Its Own

A Mind of Its Own

‘A Mind of Its Own’ is the idea for your story.

What has a mind of its own? Is it dangerous or unexpected?

Your story might be about an inanimate object that comes to life, a child learning to think for themselves, or even an animal behaving like a human.

It might be an adventure, or a literary reflection.

What would be interesting if it suddenly had a mind of its own?

Inanimate object

Plant

Animal

Electronics

Tree Pot plant

TV Computer Phone

Car

Robot Pet Animals in the zoo

Ants

Baby Can talk/think for itself

Like an adult

Child/teenager learning to question authority

SAMPLE

Are you in the story? If not, who is the main character(s)? Describe them or yourself. Q2

The main character is Tom. Tom works at the zoo during the day and loves animals. One day

he would like to travel to South Australia to study great white sharks in the wild.

Tom is cleaning out an enclosure at the zoo, thinking he is alone.

! What is your story about? Use the timeline provided below to note the details of each

stage of your narrative. Q3

Orientation Complication Resolution

Tom hears a voice and realises it is one of the animals speaking to him.

They ask Tom to help them escape.

Tom says he can’t because he’ll get in trouble.

Someone else overhears and the zoo decides to do tests on the animals to find out why they can talk.

Tom decides that he has to help them escape, and smuggles them out of the zoo.

With the help of a biologist he knows, Tom is able to relocate the animals to a special reserve where they will be safe.

He is fired from his job at the zoo and decides to go to South Australia to study sharks.

SAMPLE

Tom was sweeping. He spent most of his afternoons sweeping. Sweeping and daydreaming

about sharks. It might seem odd, but Tom worked at a zoo, so he was often sweeping out

the enclosures, and was an animal lover – especially sharks. In fact, it was Tom’s dream to

study great white sharks in the wild.

Off in his own little world, it took Tom a second to realise that he was not alone.

Three voices, whispering, could be heard just outside the enclosure. This struck him as

being odd, because he hadn’t seen anyone walk past. Deciding he should investigate – it was

probably some silly teenagers who climbed in over the fence – Tom walked towards the

voices. Rounding the corner, there was no one in sight. Only the three lemurs that were

kept in this enclosure. Funny, he thought to himself, it feels like I walked in on a group of

people talking about me.

“Don’t freak out,” said one of the lemurs flatly. Unfortunately, a talking primate –

especially one that was meant to be nocturnal – was not something Tom was expecting, and

he did, in fact, freak out. Quickly backing away, using the broom as a spear, he stammered,

“Y-you can talk!”

“Yes, genius, we all can,” replied the second lemur, “and you need to help us get out of here!”

“What? Are you crazy?” Tom sputtered. “Or maybe I’m the crazy one! I am talking to a

bunch of monkeys…”

“Excuse you, we are not monkeys!” piped in the third lemur.

“Whatever! You’re talking and you shouldn’t be!” cried Tom. “And I can’t help you. I’d lose

my job and probably be put in the nut house!”

With that, Tom dropped the broom and ran out of the enclosure. He didn’t stop until he was

in his house with the door firmly locked behind him.

! Write your narrative in the space below. Remember to use appropriate paragraph breaks,

interesting words and sentence structures, and, above all, make sure it is engaging! Q4

SAMPLE

The next day, Tom awoke in his bed and decided that the entire ordeal had been a bad

dream. However, when he arrived at work, he noticed that the lemur enclosure was

suspiciously shut for the day. The lemurs will not be available for viewing indefinitely.

Indefinitely. It was this word that made the hairs on the back of Tom’s neck stand up.

Maybe it hadn’t just been a bad dream.

The end of day was approaching and it was time for Tom to clean out the lemur’s

enclosure once again. But when he arrived, he was greeted by a burly security guard who

told him that there was no need for cleaning today. Tom realised that it had definitely not

been a dream. Feeling slightly queasy, he began to wonder what was in store for the little

lemuriforms.

Tom was not normally the sort of person to make snap decisions, but he was suddenly

impelled to take his broom and hit the security guard over the head, knocking him out cold.

Stepping over his giant form, Tom raced into the enclosure. Calling out, he finally heard a

response and discovered the lemurs locked away in a carry cage.

“Help! They’re going to take us away!” they squeaked. In yet another uncharacteristically

bold move, Tom picked up the cage and dashed out the door to his car.

They say that what goes around, comes around. Tom managed to get the lemurs safely

into the care of some odd but well-meaning animal rights activists. He was, of course, fired

from his job at the zoo, but he didn’t mind. His new-found decisiveness carried him all the

way to his dream job studying great white sharks in South Australia!

SAMPLE

Practice Questions

Question One:

In this question, students were asked to consider the provided writing prompt – A Mind of Its Own.

Students were required to brainstorm as many ideas as they could for a story based on the stimulus.

They should have considered what would be an interesting interpretation of this idea – what would be

unusual if it had a mind of its own? A model answer is provided below.

Question Two:

This question asked students to describe the protagonist of their story. They should have given

information about the character’s background and motivations. By considering these things, students

should have formed a better idea of the actions of their character when writing their story. A model

response is provided below.

The main character is Tom. Tom works at the zoo during the day and loves animals. One day

he would like to travel to South Australia to study great white sharks in the wild.

This answer guide is continued on the next page...

A Mind of Its Own

Inanimate object

Plant

Animal

Electronics

Tree

Pot plant

TV Computer Phone

Car

Robot Pet Animals in

the zoo

Ants

Baby Can talk/think for

itself

Like an adult

Child/teenager learning

to question authority

SAMPLE

...This answer guide is continued from the previous page.

Question Three:

This question asked students to create an outline for their narrative. They needed to choose an idea

from their brainstorming to develop into a complete story. Students were provided with prompts for

the stages their narrative should progress through, and were required to give details of what would

happen at each stage. A model response is provided below.

Question Four:

In this question, students were asked to write their narrative in response to the stimulus. They should

have made use of the planning they did in the previous two questions. Good responses will show an

awareness of the marking criteria and be as engaging as possible, using interesting sentence

structures and appropriate language. A model answer is provided below.

Tom was sweeping. He spent most of his afternoons sweeping. Sweeping and daydreaming

about sharks. It might seem odd, but Tom worked at a zoo, so he was often sweeping out the

enclosures, and was an animal lover – especially sharks. In fact, it was Tom’s dream to study

great white sharks in the wild.

Off in his own little world, it took Tom a second to realise that he was not alone. Three voices,

This answer guide is continued on the next page...

Tom is cleaning out

an enclosure at the

zoo, thinking he is

alone.

Orientation Complication Resolution

Tom hears a voice

and realises it is

one of the animals

speaking to him.

They ask Tom to

help them escape.

Tom says he can’t

because he’ll get in

trouble.

Someone else

overhears and the

zoo decides to do

tests on the animals

to find out why they

can talk.

Tom decides that he

has to help them

escape, and

smuggles them out of

the zoo.

With the help of a

biologist he knows,

Tom is able to

relocate the animals

to a special reserve

where they will be

safe.

He is fired from his

job at the zoo and

decides to go to

South Australia to

study sharks.

SAMPLE

...This answer guide is continued from the previous page.

whispering, could be heard just outside the enclosure. This struck him as being odd, because

he hadn’t seen anyone walk past. Deciding he should investigate – it was probably some silly

teenagers who climbed in over the fence – Tom walked towards the voices. Rounding the

corner, there was no one in sight. Only the three lemurs that were kept in this enclosure.

Funny, he thought to himself, it feels like I walked in on a group of people talking about me.

“Don’t freak out,” said one of the lemurs flatly. Unfortunately, a talking primate – especially

one that was meant to be nocturnal – was not something Tom was expecting, and he did, in

fact, freak out. Quickly backing away, using the broom as a spear, he stammered, “Y-you can

talk!”

“Yes, genius, we all can,” replied the second lemur, “and you need to help us get out of here!”

“What? Are you crazy?” Tom sputtered. “Or maybe I’m the crazy one! I am talking to a bunch

of monkeys…”

“Excuse you, we are not monkeys!” piped in the third lemur.

“Whatever! You’re talking and you shouldn’t be!” cried Tom. “And I can’t help you. I’d lose my

job and probably be put in the nut house!”

With that, Tom dropped the broom and ran out of the enclosure. He didn’t stop until he was in

his house with the door firmly locked behind him.

The next day, Tom awoke in his bed and decided that the entire ordeal had been a bad

dream. However, when he arrived at work, he noticed that the lemur enclosure was

suspiciously shut for the day. The lemurs will not be available for viewing indefinitely.

Indefinitely. It was this word that made the hairs on the back of Tom’s neck stand up. Maybe it

hadn’t just been a bad dream.

The end of day was approaching and it was time for Tom to clean out the lemur’s enclosure

once again. But when he arrived, he was greeted by a burly security guard who told him that

there was no need for cleaning today. Tom realised that it had definitely not been a dream.

Feeling slightly queasy, he began to wonder what was in store for the little lemuriforms.

Tom was not normally the sort of person to make snap decisions, but he was suddenly

impelled to take his broom and hit the security guard over the head, knocking him out cold.

Stepping over his giant form, Tom raced into the enclosure. Calling out, he finally heard a

response and discovered the lemurs locked away in a carry cage.

“Help! They’re going to take us away!” they squeaked. In yet another uncharacteristically bold

move, Tom picked up the cage and dashed out the door to his car.

They say that what goes around, comes around. Tom managed to get the lemurs safely into

the care of some odd but well-meaning animal rights activists. He was, of course, fired from

his job at the zoo, but he didn’t mind. His new-found decisiveness carried him all the way to

his dream job studying great white sharks in South Australia!

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