ASSESSMENT

Reading
Progress Tests

4
Year

Helen Betts
Series Advisors: Cornwall Learning

Rising*Stars
 Year 4  Autumn test 1: Part A

  This text is from Tilly Mint Tales by Berlie Doherty.

Tilly Mint and the Leaf-lords

When Tilly’s mum goes out to work, Mrs Hardcastle from up the street pops in to look
after her. There are two special things about Mrs Hardcastle. The first thing is that she’s
always dropping off to sleep (she snores too, sometimes). The second thing is that
whenever she goes to sleep, something magic always seems to happen to Tilly Mint!

One day Tilly and Mrs Hardcastle are at the park, when Mrs Hardcastle suddenly
feels sleepy...

Then she lay down on the bench, with her handbag under her head, and her feet
sticking over the end.
“I’ll just have five minutes,” she promised, yawning.
Tilly sighed. “But what shall I do, Mrs Hardcastle?” she asked.
“You could look for the leaf-lords,” Mrs Hardcastle yawned. “Only don’t tread on
them, will you, love? And see if you can find some of their treasure...”
And then, as she said that, her voice sort of fizzled out into an enormous yawn, and
then into a snore, and then into a lovely long whistle. Mrs Hardcastle was fast asleep.
And Tilly Mint was bored.
Leaf-lords? she thought. What are they? She sat for a long time listening to Mrs
Hardcastle whistling away like a blackbird, and watching the leaves, and she said:
“What a lovely day it would be, if only something would happen!”
It was then that she thought she heard a whispery sort of voice saying,

“Spin around, swing around,

Float and flutter down,
Swirl around, twirl around...”

over and over again, in a crackly sort of crunched-up-paper-bag way.

It couldn’t have been Mrs Hardcastle, could it, talking in her
sleep? No. She was much too busy snoring and whistling to say
anything like that. It couldn’t have been the blackbird, could it,
hiding in the branches at the top of the tree? No. He was much
too busy singing up to the sunshine to say anything like that.
Tilly listened. There it was again!

“Spin around, swing around,

Float and flutter down,
Swirl around, twirl around...”

Tilly jumped off her bench in great excitement. It couldn’t be the leaf-lords,
could it? Could it?

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Year 4  Autumn test 1: Part B

  This text is based on Dolphin vs Fish by Mary Meinking.

Predator vs Prey
predator: an animal that hunts other prey: an animal that is hunted by other
animals animals for food

The dolphin The sardine

Swimming speed: 40 kilometres per hour Swimming speed: 8 kilometres per hour

Teeth pierce! Tails splash! Two animals battle in the sea. First, the dolphin – the cleverest animal
in the sea. It is set against the shiny sardine, a cool water fish. These competitors live in the
ocean. Both have strengths that will help them in the battle.

Did you know? Did you know?

Dolphins are carnivores (meat Millions of sardines swim together in giant
eaters). To grow healthy they need groups called shoals. Sardine shoals swim as
fat in their diet, so they eat oily though they are one fish. When a few change
sardines. direction, the whole shoal turns.

Pods (groups) of dolphins follow the sardine shoals. But how can
they catch fish from the wide shoal of sardines swimming by?

The dolphins dive in and try to herd thousands of sardines away

from the main shoal. To give themselves some protection, the
sardines group together in a ball called a baitball (this can be the
size of a tennis court!). It is more difficult for a dolphin to pick out
one sardine from a big group of twisting, flashing fish.

The dolphins push the baitball to the surface of the water and surround the fish, packing the
sardines closer together. Some of the dolphins are like cowboys, keeping the sardines herded
together; others dive into the ball to eat. They take turns to make sure they all have a chance.
Not only are the dolphins attacking the sardines, but sharks approach from below to eat, and
birds called gannets dive down from the sky – the water is wild with activity!

After 20 minutes it’s all over. The baitball that was lost to the predators was just a small part of the
giant sardine shoal, and the lucky few that remain continue with the others in the shoal.

So who is the winner?

The dolphin. Dolphins are more intelligent than sardines and work together to catch their fill.

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 Year 4  Autumn test 1: Part A

Name: Class: Date:

Tilly Mint and the Leaf-lords

What is special about Mrs Hardcastle? Write one thing.
1
2b
  
1 mark

Why does Tilly sigh when Mrs Hardcastle says she is going to have a sleep?
2
2d
  
1 mark

What does Mrs Hardcastle tell Tilly to do while she is asleep?

3
2b
  
1 mark

From what you learn in the story, tick to show whether the following are
4
true, false, or whether we can’t be sure. One has been done for you.
True False Can’t be sure
Mrs Hardcastle thinks the leaf-lords have
some treasure.
The blackbird was saying the rhyme that
Tilly heard.
The leaf-lords are very friendly.
2b
Tilly and Mrs Hardcastle are at the park.    
2 marks

/5
Total for this page
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Year 4  Autumn test 1: Part A

Look at this section of the story.

5

It was then that she thought she heard a whispery sort of voice saying,

“Spin around, swing around,

Float and flutter down,
Swirl around, twirl around...”

over and over again, in a crackly sort of crunched-up-paper-bag way.

Think about the rhyme Tilly hears and about the words and phrases used to
describe the voice. What clues do they give you that it is one of the leaf-lords
talking?

2g
  
2 marks

Number these sentences to show the order in which they happen in the story.
6
The first one has been done for you.

Tilly watches the leaves.

Tilly jumps off the bench.
Mrs Hardcastle starts to snore.
Tilly hears an unfamiliar voice.
2f
Mrs Hardcastle lies down on a bench. 1   
1 mark

How does Tilly feel at the end of the text? Why? Explain your answer as fully
7
as you can, using the text to help you.

2d
  
2 marks

/ 10
Total for this test
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 Year 4  Autumn test 1: Part B

Name: Class: Date:

Predator vs Prey
Look at the fact boxes at the beginning of the text. What advantage does the
1
dolphin have over the sardine? Write one thing.
2d
  
1 mark

Draw lines to match each word with its meaning in the text. One has been
2
done for you.

Word Meaning in text

predator a group of sardines

shoal an animal that is eaten by other animals

carnivore an animal that hunts other animals

prey a group of dolphins

2a
pod an animal that eats meat   
1 mark

Look at the first paragraph, beginning: Teeth pierce! ...

3
How does the writer make this paragraph exciting? Write one way, explaining
how it adds to the excitement.
2d
  
1 mark

Sardine shoals swim as though they are one fish.

4
What does this mean? Tick one.

One shoal of sardines follows another shoal.

They move in the same way at the same time.
A shoal of sardines can contain a million fish.
2g
Only one fish in each shoal can change direction.   
1 mark

/4
Total for this page
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Year 4  Autumn test 1: Part B

a)  When the dolphins dive into a shoal, what do the sardines do?
5
2b
  
1 mark

b)  Why is this a clever thing to do?

2d
  
1 mark

The text says that some of the dolphins are like cowboys. Why has the writer
6
compared the dolphins to cowboys?
2g
  
1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning: The dolphins push the baitball.

7
Why is the water wild with activity? Explain your answer as fully as you can,
using the text to help you.

2d
  
1 mark

Number these sentences to show the order in which dolphins do each thing
8
when they are catching sardines. The first one has been done for you.

They dive into the baitball to eat.

They try to separate many sardines from the main shoal.
1 They follow the sardine shoals.
They surround the baitball to keep the fish together.
2f
  
They push the baitball to the surface of the water. 1 mark

Look at the paragraph beginning: After 20 minutes it’s all over...

9
Find and copy a phrase which shows that not many sardines will survive a
dolphin attack.
2b
  
1 mark

/ 10
Total for this test
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 Year 4  Answers and mark schemes: Autumn test 1: Part A

Answers and mark schemes 

Autumn test 1: Part A – Tilly Mint and the Leaf-lords

Content
Part A: Tilly Mint and the Leaf-lords Mark Extra information
domain
1 Award 1 mark for one of the following points: 2b 1 Do not accept: She is magic.
• She is always falling asleep/dropping off.
• When she goes to sleep, something magic happens.
2 Award 1 mark for answers that acknowledge one of the following: 2d 1 Do not award marks for generic/vague answers
• That Tilly will be bored that give a feeling associated with a sigh, without
• That Tilly won’t know what to do an explanation, e.g. She was fed up.
• That there will be no one for Tilly to play with/talk to
3 Award 1 mark for answers that refer to looking for/finding the 2b 1
leaf-lords, or to finding some of the leaf-lords’ treasure.
4 Can’t 2b 2 Award 2 marks for all three ticks correctly placed
True False and 1 mark for two correct.
be sure
Mrs Hardcastle thinks the leaf-lords

have some treasure.
The blackbird was saying the rhyme

that Tilly heard.
The leaf-lords are very friendly. 

Tilly and Mrs Hardcastle are at the 

park. (given)

5 Award 1 mark for each of the following points, to a maximum of 2 2g 2 NB: answers do not necessarily have to refer to
marks: both the rhyme and the description of sounds
• Reference to the rhyme: to be awarded 2 marks, e.g. they may make
• Leaves spin around/float/flutter/swirl/twirl (in the breeze) reference to both the descriptive words/phrases.
• The rhyme describes how leaves move through the air Example answers:
• References to the descriptive words/phrases: 2 marks
• Crackly/crunched up (paper bag) – describes the sound of • Leaves do float and flutter through the air
crunchy/crispy leaves and the crackly sound is like a leaf when you
• Whispery – suggests something magical/small/something stand on it.
that is hiding
1 mark
• The crunchy sound is the sound a leaf makes
so it could be the leaf’s voice.
6 3 Tilly watches the leaves. 2f 1 Award 1 mark for all sentences correctly
5 Tilly jumps off the bench. numbered.
2 Mrs Hardcastle starts to snore.
4 Tilly hears an unfamiliar voice.
1 Mrs Hardcastle lies down on a bench.
7 Award marks for answers that give or imply an appropriate feeling 2d 2 Example 2-mark answers:
and explain the reasons why (based on the text), to a maximum • She was excited because she thought she’d
of 2 marks. found the leaf-lords.
• She couldn’t believe that the leaf-lords might
Award 1 mark for answers that either give an appropriate feeling or
be real [feeling of incredulity is implied here].
a reason (with no feeling implied), e.g.:
• She was excited because she’d heard the voice
• She was excited.
again.
• She had found the leaf-lords.
Do not award marks for answers that state a very
generic feeling or emotion, with no explanation
of why/no support/development, e.g. She felt
happy.

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Year 4  Answers and mark schemes: Autumn test 1: Part B

Autumn test 1: Part B – Predator vs Prey

Content
Part B: Predator vs Prey Mark Extra information
domain
1 Award 1 mark for reference to the fact that the dolphin is a faster 2d 1
swimmer.
2 Word Meaning in text 2a 1 Award 1 mark for all correctly matched.
predator a group of sardines

shoal an animal that is eaten by other animals

carnivore an animal that hunts other animals

prey a group of dolphins

pod an animal that eats meat

3 Award 1 mark for any of the following points: 2g 1 Answers must make it clear how the selected
• Use of short sentences, e.g. Teeth pierce! /Tails splash! to add feature adds to the excitement, e.g. It says Tails
drama splash would not be awarded the mark as it
• Language/vocabulary, e.g. battle/competitors suggest a fight simply picks out a sentence from the paragraph.
• Structure of paragraph – sets it up as a competition
4 They move in the same way at the same time.   2d 1
5 a) Award 1 mark for reference to the sardines forming a baitball/ 2b 1
grouping together in a ball.

b) Award 1 mark for answers that refer to any of the following

2d 1
points:
• It makes it hard for the dolphins to catch them.
• The dolphins can’t pick them out from the big group.
• It gives them some protection from the dolphins.
6 Award 1 mark for answers that make the comparison between 2g 1
cowboys and the dolphins, i.e. that they herd the sardines together
(as a cowboy would herd animals), e.g.:
• They herd the sardines together.
• They both herd things.
7 Award 1 mark for answers that make reference to the amount of 2d 1
activity going on in the water or to the drama of the situation.
Answers should explain/comment on the phrase wild with activity
and could make reference to:
• The fact that dolphins, sharks and birds are all in the water/
attacking the sardines
• More generally, the fact that there are different animals involved
in the water, all splashing around
8 5 They dive into the baitball to eat. 2f 1 Award 1 mark for all sentences correctly
2 They try to separate many sardines from the main shoal. numbered.
1 They follow the sardine shoals.
4 They surround the baitball to keep the fish together.
3 They push the baitball to the surface of the water.
9 (the lucky) few that remain 2b 1

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