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Why Your Brain Needs Sleep to Learn — Reading Comprehension — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 9 reading comprehension comprehension exercise.

Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 9 · English · Reading Comprehension

Why Your Brain Needs Sleep to Learn — Reading Comprehension — Answers

Part A: Finding information

1.Roughly how long does each sleep cycle last?[1 mark]

Answer: About an hour and a half.

2.Name the three kinds of sleep that make up each cycle.[1 mark]

Answer: Lighter sleep, deep sleep and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

3.According to the article, how much sleep do experts generally recommend for teenagers?[1 mark]
  1. Asix to seven hours
  2. Baround eight to ten hours
  3. Cat least twelve hours
  4. Das much as they like

Answer: around eight to ten hours

'Sleep experts generally recommend that teenagers get around eight to ten hours of sleep a night.'

4.What does melatonin do?[1 mark]

Answer: It is a hormone that helps us feel sleepy.

5.List three habits the article suggests for better sleep.[1 mark]

Answer: Any three of: going to bed and waking at similar times each day; putting devices away before bed; keeping the bedroom dark and quiet; avoiding caffeine later in the day.

6.The article says the brain stops working while we sleep.

Answer: False

The article says 'the brain stays busy during sleep'.

7.The article says the teenage body clock naturally shifts later.

Answer: True

'During the teenage years, this clock naturally shifts later.'

Part B: Understanding and inferring

Use evidence from the article to support your answers.

8.Why does the writer say that staying up all night to cram is 'a poor strategy'?[2 marks]

Answer: Because sleep is when the brain strengthens and stores what has been learnt. Cramming all night gains a little study time but takes away the sleep the brain needs to remember the information.

9.Explain what the writer means by a 'sleep debt'.[2 marks]

Answer: It is the sleep a person owes their body after regularly getting less than they need, for example when teenagers fall asleep late but still have to wake early. Like a debt, it builds up over time.

10.Why do you think the subheading 'Filing the day away' was chosen? What comparison does it make?[2 marks]

Answer: It compares the sleeping brain to someone filing papers, sorting the day's information and putting it in the right place so it can be found later. It is a simple, memorable way to explain memory storage.

11.In the sentence 'you rob your brain of the time it needs', the word rob suggests that:[1 mark]
  1. Athe brain is a criminal
  2. Blosing sleep unfairly takes away something valuable
  3. Cstudying is against the rules
  4. Dsleep can be bought

Answer: losing sleep unfairly takes away something valuable

'Rob' means to take something that belongs to someone else, so missing sleep is presented as stealing something the brain needs.

12.The word vivid in 'when most vivid dreaming happens' is closest in meaning to:[1 mark]
  1. Aboring
  2. Bclear and lifelike
  3. Cshort
  4. Dfrightening

Answer: clear and lifelike

Vivid means bright, clear and full of detail.

Part C: The writer's choices

13.Who is the main intended audience of the article?[1 mark]
  1. Ateachers of young children
  2. Bscientists who study sleep
  3. Cteenage students
  4. Dparents of babies

Answer: teenage students

The writer addresses 'you' with a test tomorrow and messages buzzing, and discusses the teenage body clock.

14.Look at the opening paragraph. Identify two techniques the writer uses to engage the reader.[2 marks]

Answer: Any two of: direct address ('you'); a relatable scenario (a late school night with a test and a buzzing phone); a rhetorical question ('Or does it?'); a short, punchy sentence that challenges a common belief.

15.How does the final paragraph link back to the opening?[2 marks]

Answer: The opening asks whether anything useful happens during sleep; the ending answers it by saying that 'your brain will keep studying without you'. It returns to the night-time study scene and reverses the idea that sleep is wasted time.

16.The writer says sleep 'appears to' do important work and that the brain 'seems to' replay information. Why might a careful writer choose these words rather than saying it definitely does?[2 marks]

Answer: They show the writer is being accurate about the science: researchers have strong evidence but are still learning exactly how sleep works. Careful modality makes the article more trustworthy.

Part D: Extended response

17.The article ends: 'Sleep is not a reward for finishing your work. It is part of the work.' Do you agree? Write a response of 8–10 sentences that explains what the writer means, uses at least two pieces of information from the article, and gives your own view about how students could apply this advice.[6 marks]

Model answer: The writer means that sleep should not be treated as something we earn only after all our study is done, because sleep is itself part of how we learn. The article explains that during sleep the brain 'seems to replay and strengthen' what we learnt during the day, linking it to things we already know. It also points out that people who sleep after learning remember more than people who stay awake. This means that cutting sleep to study longer can actually undo some of the benefit of studying. I agree with the writer. Students often see sleep as the first thing to sacrifice when they are busy, but the article shows this is a false saving. Because the teenage body clock shifts later, it is also important to protect sleep with habits such as putting devices away and keeping regular bedtimes. Students could apply this by planning study over several days instead of cramming the night before a test. In this way, sleep becomes part of a study plan rather than an afterthought.

Success criteria:

  • Explains the meaning of the final lines accurately
  • Uses at least two relevant pieces of information from the article
  • States a clear personal view and supports it
  • Suggests a practical way students could apply the advice
  • Organised logically, with accurate sentences and punctuation
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Marking tips

  • Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
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