The Platypus — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 3 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
Year 3 · English · Reading Comprehension
The Platypus — Reading Comprehension — Answers
The Platypus
Read the report carefully. Look for facts about where the platypus lives, what it looks like and how it finds food.
The platypus is one of the strangest animals in the world. When scientists in England first saw a platypus skin in 1799, some of them thought it was a joke. They believed someone had sewn a duck's bill onto the body of a furry animal!
The platypus lives in rivers and creeks in eastern Australia and Tasmania. It has thick brown fur, a flat tail like a beaver, webbed feet and a soft, rubbery bill. It is a mammal, which means it has fur and feeds its babies milk. But unlike most mammals, the platypus lays eggs. The mother lays her eggs in a burrow dug into the riverbank.
A platypus hunts underwater, but it closes its eyes, ears and nose when it dives. So how does it find food? Its bill can sense tiny electric signals made by the muscles of other animals. The platypus scoops up insects, worms and yabbies from the bottom of the river and stores them in its cheeks. It eats them when it comes back to the surface.
Male platypuses have a sharp spur on each back leg. The spur contains venom and can give a very painful sting.
Platypuses are shy and are most active at dawn and dusk, so they are hard to spot. If you want to see one, find a quiet river, sit very still and watch for ripples on the water.
Part A — Find the facts
Look back at the report to find each answer.
Answer: 1799
- Ain the desert
- Bin rivers and creeks
- Cin the ocean
- Din trees
Answer: in rivers and creeks
The report says it lives 'in rivers and creeks in eastern Australia and Tasmania'.
Answer: Any three of: a rubbery bill like a duck, webbed feet, a flat tail like a beaver, thick brown fur.
Answer: False
The platypus is a mammal that lays eggs.
- Afish and frogs
- Bgrass and leaves
- Cinsects, worms and yabbies
- Dfruit and seeds
Answer: insects, worms and yabbies
The report lists 'insects, worms and yabbies'.
Answer: At dawn and dusk.
Part B — Reading between the lines
Use clues from the report to explain your answers.
Answer: It looked like parts of different animals stuck together, such as a duck's bill on a furry body.
Answer: Its bill senses the tiny electric signals made by other animals' muscles.
Answer: Platypuses are shy, so noise or movement would scare them away.
Answer: It cannot chew and swallow safely underwater, so it waits until it comes back to the surface.
Part C — Topic words
- Alays eggs and has feathers
- Bhas fur and feeds its babies milk
- Clives only in water
- Dhas scales
Answer: has fur and feeds its babies milk
The report explains that a mammal has fur and feeds its babies milk.
- Aa type of nest in a tree
- Ba hole or tunnel dug in the ground
- Ca rock in a river
- Da kind of food
Answer: a hole or tunnel dug in the ground
The mother digs a burrow into the riverbank.
Answer: venom
Part D — Extended response
Model answer: The platypus is strange because it looks like a mix of different animals, with a duck's bill, a beaver's tail and webbed feet. It is a mammal, but it lays eggs, which most mammals do not do. It also hunts with its eyes closed by sensing electric signals, and the male has a venomous spur on its leg.
Success criteria:
- Gives at least three reasons from the report
- Uses your own words, not just copied sentences
- Written in full sentences
- Correct capital letters and full stops
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.