Three Days at Bush Camp — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 4 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
Year 4 · English · Reading Comprehension
Three Days at Bush Camp — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Three Days at Bush Camp
Read all three diary entries. Notice how the writer's feelings change from day to day.
Tuesday 14 April
Day one at Cooinda Bush Camp. The bus ride took three hours and Hamza was carsick twice, so nobody was allowed to open the chips. When we finally arrived, Mr Lee made us carry our own bags to the cabins. Mine weighs a tonne because Mum packed four jumpers. Four! It is not even cold.
Our cabin is called Wombat. There are six bunks and I got a top one. Tonight we had sausages and damper cooked on the campfire. The damper was burnt on the outside and gooey in the middle, but I ate three pieces anyway.
Wednesday 15 April
Today was the high ropes course. I was fine on the first part, but the wobbly bridge was twelve metres above the ground. My legs went to jelly. Chloe, who is scared of nothing, went in front of me and kept saying, 'Don't look down, look at my back.' I looked at her back the whole way. When I got to the other side, the instructor said I did a good job. I didn't tell him my hands were still shaking.
After dinner we went spotlighting. We saw two ringtail possums and a tawny frogmouth sitting on a branch like a broken stick. I would never have noticed it if the guide hadn't pointed it out.
Thursday 16 April
Last day. We cleaned the cabins and Mr Lee found seven socks under the bunks. None of them were mine. On the bus home, Hamza fell asleep before we even left the car park. I think I am going to miss the campfire, but not the damper. Actually, maybe the damper too. Even Mum's four jumpers came home unworn.
Part A — Right there in the text
Find each answer in the diary.
Answer: Three hours.
- APossum
- BWombat
- CKookaburra
- DEchidna
Answer: Wombat
The diary says 'Our cabin is called Wombat.'
Answer: Twelve metres.
- Atwo koalas and an owl
- Btwo ringtail possums and a tawny frogmouth
- Ca wombat and a possum
- Dtwo bats and a frog
Answer: two ringtail possums and a tawny frogmouth
They saw 'two ringtail possums and a tawny frogmouth'.
Answer: Seven.
Answer: 'Don't look down, look at my back.'
Part B — Reading between the lines
The diary does not say these answers directly. Use clues to work them out.
Answer: Hamza had been carsick twice, so the teacher probably did not want the smell of food or any more mess on the bus.
Answer: They were proud of finishing and did not want to admit how scared they had been.
Answer: Even though the damper was burnt, the writer enjoyed camp so much that they will miss everything about it, even the bad food.
Answer: It looked like a broken stick on the branch, so it was camouflaged.
Part C — Word meanings
- Areally weighs 1000 kilograms
- Bis very heavy
- Cis very light
- Dis lost
Answer: is very heavy
This is an exaggeration. The bag just feels very heavy.
- Afell over
- Bfelt wobbly and scared
- Cwas hungry
- Dwas running fast
Answer: felt wobbly and scared
Jelly wobbles. The writer's legs felt weak and shaky from fear.
Answer: gooey
Part D — Extended response
Model answer: Wednesday 15 April. The high ropes were awesome. I went across the wobbly bridge first and it was easy, but when I looked back my friend had stopped and gone white. I kept telling them to look at my back and not down. When we got to the end the instructor said well done and I felt proud, not just of me but of my friend too. Spotlighting was cool, but the frogmouth just looked like a stick.
Success criteria:
- Written in first person as Chloe
- Includes the date and the high ropes course
- Shows how Chloe feels about helping her friend
- Uses details from the original diary
- Full sentences with correct punctuation
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.
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