Literacy: reading and viewing
Reading a factual passage
Answer questions about a factual passage by finding what it actually says, including the order of what happens and what it leaves out.
A factual passage is not a story. It is there to tell you how something works or what happens, and every answer you need is somewhere in it. You are not being asked what you already know about the topic — you are being asked what these particular sentences say.
Read the question first
Then read the passage hunting for it. A question about when something happens sends you looking for time words; a question about why sends you looking for "because" and "so".
Do not add what you know
If the passage does not say it, it is not an answer — however true it may be. "The passage does not tell you" is a perfectly good answer to a question, and often the one being tested.
Watch for NOT and EXCEPT
"Which of these does the passage NOT tell you?" turns the question inside out: three of the four options will be in the passage, and the odd one out is the answer.
Worked example
Read this and find what makes the honeycomb hold its shape: "Bees build each cell of the comb with six flat sides. Sides that meet at that angle brace one another, so the whole sheet holds its shape with very little wax."
The question asks what makes the comb hold its shape, so look for something bracing or supporting it.
The question word points you at the kind of sentence to look for.
Try it together
Three questions on a short passage.
Read this: "The kingfisher sits still on a low branch above the water. When it sees a fish it drops straight down, catches the fish in its beak and carries it back to the same branch. It beats the fish against the wood before swallowing it head first."
1.Write the one word the passage uses for the place the kingfisher waits.
Have a go
From the kingfisher passage: what does the bird do straight after it sees a fish?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.