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Comprehension ExerciseYear 7Level 2 · Standard

Free Year 7 Jean Batten: Flying Solo — Biography Comprehension

A short biography of Jean Batten, the Rotorua-born aviator who in 1936 became the first person to fly solo from England to New Zealand. Students sequence key events, infer the qualities that helped her succeed, and analyse how a biography is organised and why the writer chose particular details.

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Year
Year 7
Subject
English
Topic
Reading Comprehension
Difficulty
Level 2 · Standard
Estimated time
30 minutes
Curriculum
New Zealand Curriculum
Questions
12
Answers
Included, with working
Format
PDF (A4) + print

Students will practise

  • sequencing events in a biography
  • inferring personal qualities from evidence
  • identifying the structure of a biography
  • writing an evidence-based paragraph

Curriculum: New Zealand Curriculum. We show specific outcome codes only where they have been verified against the official curriculum document.

What's next?

Completed: Jean Batten: Flying Solo — Biography Comprehension

  1. 1Clauses and Sentence Editing
  2. 2Modal Verbs
  3. 3Year 7 Grammar Quiz

How to use this comprehension exercise

  1. Print the PDF or complete it on screen. Write the student's name and date at the top.
  2. Read the instructions for each part together before starting. Encourage working to be shown.
  3. Mark with the answer sheet. Use the model answers and success criteria as a guide rather than a single right answer.
  4. Record the score, celebrate what went well, then follow the "What's next" suggestion.

Common questions

Who is this comprehension exercise for?

Year 7 students (typically ages 11–12) working on reading comprehension. It is pitched at level 2 · standard.

Are the answers included?

Yes. The PDF includes a full answer sheet with model answers and success criteria where there is more than one good answer. You can also view the answers online.

How long does it take?

About 30 minutes for 12 questions. Short, regular sessions work best: two or three a week beats one long one.

Do I need to sign up to download?

No. Click Download Free PDF and it opens immediately. It is free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.

What should we do next?

Try Clauses and Sentence Editing.

Preview

Year 7 · English · Reading Comprehension

Jean Batten: Flying Solo — Biography Comprehension

Success Tutoring

Student name:

Date:

Score: /

Read the biography first. Then answer the questions in order.

Part A — Find the facts

1.Where and when was Jean Batten born?[1 mark]
2.Why did she travel to England in 1930?[1 mark]
3.What happened on her first two attempts to fly to Australia?[1 mark]
  1. Ashe set records
  2. Bthey ended in crash landings
  3. Cshe turned back because of weather
  4. Dshe flew with a co-pilot
4.What made the Tasman Sea part of the 1936 flight so dangerous?[1 mark]
5.How is Jean Batten remembered at Auckland Airport today?[1 mark]

Part B — Think about it

6.Put these events in order: (a) she landed in Auckland; (b) she earned her pilot's licence; (c) she crashed on the way to Australia; (d) she collected pictures of aeroplanes.[1 mark]
7.Identify two personal qualities that helped Jean Batten succeed. Support each with evidence from the text.[4 marks]
8.Why do you think the writer mentions that 'very few people, and even fewer women' had flown when Jean was a child?[2 marks]
9.The newspapers focused on her looks. What point is the writer making by contrasting this with what people who knew her flying said?[2 marks]
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Preview — the PDF contains the full resource and answer sheet.

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About this resource

Created by
Success Tutoring
Last reviewed
1 October 2026
How it was made
Written by our team

Free to print and share for personal, classroom and homeschool use. Please don't resell. Spotted an error? Let us know.