A Letter to the Principal — Reading Comprehension — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 4 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.
Year 4 · English · Reading Comprehension
A Letter to the Principal — Reading Comprehension — Answers
A Letter to the Principal
Read the letter carefully. As you read, look for the reasons the writer gives.
Dear Mrs Okafor,
I am writing to ask you to let our school start a vegetable garden in the empty space behind the Year 4 classrooms. I believe a garden would be good for our learning, our health and our environment.
Firstly, a garden is a real-life classroom. In science, we are learning about how plants grow, but reading about it in a book is not the same as watching a seed turn into a tomato plant. We could measure the plants in maths and write about them in English. Learning would be hands-on and much more fun.
Secondly, a garden would help us eat better. Many students bring packaged snacks for lunch. If we grew our own carrots, lettuce and strawberries, we could taste fresh food that we had cared for ourselves. Children are much more likely to eat vegetables they have grown.
Thirdly, a garden is good for the planet. We could make compost from the scraps in our lunch boxes instead of sending them to landfill. The plants would also attract bees and butterflies to our school.
Some people might say that a garden is too much work. However, our class has already made a watering roster, and Mr Singh, the groundskeeper, has offered to help on Fridays. The parents' committee has even promised to donate seeds and tools.
Please give us the chance to show you what we can do. A school garden would make our school a greener, healthier and happier place.
Yours sincerely,
Priya Nair
Year 4, Room 12
Part A — Right there in the text
Find each answer in the letter.
Answer: Mrs Okafor, the principal.
- Aon the oval
- Bbehind the Year 4 classrooms
- Cnext to the canteen
- Din the car park
Answer: behind the Year 4 classrooms
She asks for 'the empty space behind the Year 4 classrooms'.
Answer: It is good for learning, for health (eating better) and for the environment.
Answer: Carrots, lettuce and strawberries (also tomato plants).
- AMrs Okafor
- Bthe parents' committee
- CMr Singh, the groundskeeper
- Dthe Year 6 students
Answer: Mr Singh, the groundskeeper
Mr Singh, the groundskeeper, has offered to help on Fridays.
Answer: Donate seeds and tools.
Part B — Reading between the lines
Use clues from the letter to explain your answers in full sentences.
Answer: She is answering the argument that a garden is too much work by showing that the work has already been planned and there are people to help.
Answer: She thinks hands-on learning is better because you can see and do things for real, which is more interesting and memorable.
Answer: She thinks they are not very healthy. She says a garden would 'help us eat better' and contrasts packaged snacks with 'fresh food'.
Answer: To organise her reasons clearly so the reader can follow each argument in order.
Part C — Word meanings
- Alistening to the teacher
- Bdoing and touching things yourself
- Creading a textbook
- Dwatching a video
Answer: doing and touching things yourself
Hands-on means practical, doing things with your own hands.
- Aa place where rubbish is buried
- Ba type of garden soil
- Ca farm
- Da recycling centre
Answer: a place where rubbish is buried
Landfill is where rubbish is dumped and buried in the ground.
Answer: To give something freely, without being paid.
Part D — Extended response
Model answer: I think the strongest argument is that a garden is a real-life classroom. Priya explains how it could be used in science, maths and English, so it helps with lots of subjects at once. She also says it would be 'hands-on and much more fun', which would make students want to learn. The other arguments are good, but this one shows the principal that the garden would help with schoolwork.
Success criteria:
- Clearly states which argument you chose
- Gives at least two reasons for your choice
- Uses a quote or detail from the letter as evidence
- Written in 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.