Jean Batten: Flying Solo — Biography Comprehension — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 7 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.

Download answers PDF Print answers Back to worksheet

Year 7 · English · Reading Comprehension

Jean Batten: Flying Solo — Biography Comprehension — Answers

Success Tutoring

Part A — Find the facts

1.Where and when was Jean Batten born?[1 mark]

Answer: In Rotorua, in 1909.

2.Why did she travel to England in 1930?[1 mark]

Answer: To learn to fly.

3.What happened on her first two attempts to fly to Australia?[1 mark]

Ashe set records
Bthey ended in crash landings
Cshe turned back because of weather
Dshe flew with a co-pilot

Answer: they ended in crash landings

The text says they 'ended in crash landings'.

4.What made the Tasman Sea part of the 1936 flight so dangerous?[1 mark]

Answer: There was nowhere to land if anything went wrong.

5.How is Jean Batten remembered at Auckland Airport today?[1 mark]

Answer: The international terminal is named after her.

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]

Answer: d, b, c, a

7.Identify two personal qualities that helped Jean Batten succeed. Support each with evidence from the text.[4 marks]

Answer: Determination: after two crash landings she tried again instead of giving up. Careful or calm: people who knew her flying talked about her careful planning and her calm in danger. (Also accept resourcefulness: she saved, borrowed and persuaded others to pay for lessons.)

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]

Answer: To show how unusual and ambitious her dream was, which makes her achievements more impressive.

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]

Answer: That her success came from skill, planning and courage, not her appearance, and that the newspapers missed what really mattered.

Part C — How the text works

10.How is this biography mainly organised?[1 mark]

Aby topic, such as family and hobbies
Bin time order, from childhood to later life
Cas a list of questions and answers
Dfrom the most to the least important event

Answer: in time order, from childhood to later life

Each paragraph moves forward in time, from 1909 to 1982 and today.

11.In paragraph 4, navigated means...[1 mark]

Arepaired the engine
Bfound her way
Clanded safely
Dflew very fast

Answer: found her way

She navigated 'with a compass and maps', so she was finding her way.

Part D — Write about it

12.In one paragraph, explain what Jean Batten's life teaches us about facing setbacks. Use at least two pieces of evidence from the biography.[4 marks]

Model answer: Jean Batten's life shows that setbacks do not have to be the end of a dream. Her first two flights to Australia ended in crash landings, yet she tried again and in 1934 broke the women's record by more than four days. She also faced the cost of lessons, which she overcame by saving, borrowing and persuading others to help. Her story suggests that careful planning and refusing to quit can turn failures into steps towards success.

Success criteria:

Clear statement answering the question
At least two accurate pieces of evidence from the text
Explains how the evidence supports the point
Organised as one clear paragraph

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.

Great work. Here's what to try next: