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CE.E6 Reading and Comprehension: Non-Fiction Set 2

ISEB COMMON ENTRANCE CE.E6 · Calculators not allowed · about 50 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

Dig In: Why Every School Needs a Vegetable Patch

An original opinion article written for Revision Library, in the persuasive style of a newspaper feature. By Priya Chandrasekaran.

[1] Picture a school where lunchtime carrots were pulled from the ground that same morning, still gritty with soil, by the very pupils who will eat them. Sound far-fetched? At a small primary school in Sheffield, it is simply Tuesday.

[2] Across the United Kingdom, fewer than one child in three eats the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and a recent survey of nine-year-olds found that almost half could not identify a leek, a swede or a stick of celery when shown one. We are raising a generation that recognises a hundred logos but cannot recognise a runner bean. That should trouble every parent, teacher and governor in the country.

[3] This is why every school, whether in a city centre or a quiet village, should dig up a corner of its playground and plant a vegetable patch. At Oakfield Primary in Leeds, where pupils have tended raised beds since 2019, staff report calmer classrooms, fewer lunchtime squabbles and a noticeable rise in children asking for seconds of broccoli. "They will not touch a sprout on a plate," says teaching assistant Aaliyah Osei, "but they will fight over whose turn it is to pick one." Gardening, it seems, turns reluctant eaters into proud growers.

[4] Sceptics will say that school budgets are stretched too thin already, and that staff have no spare hour in the week to supervise a patch of soil. I understand the worry. Yet a vegetable garden need not cost a fortune: seeds, canes and a little compost can be found for the price of a single set of textbooks, and many local garden centres donate surplus plants to schools that simply ask. Parents, grandparents and retired allotment-holders are often desperate to help; schools rarely need to look further than their own community for willing hands.

[5] The rewards, meanwhile, run far deeper than a bowl of salad leaves. Digging, planting and weeding get children outdoors, moving and breathing fresh air instead of hunched over a screen. Working in a team towards a harvest weeks away teaches patience in an age of instant everything. And watching a seed you planted yourself become food on your own plate is, for many children, the first time science, geography and cookery ever feel like the same subject.

[6] So why not start small? A single raised bed, a packet of bean seeds and twenty minutes a week is all it takes. Will your school still be waiting for someone else to dig the first hole this time next year?

Look at paragraph [2]. Answer the following.

(a)What fraction of children in the United Kingdom eats the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to the writer?(1)

(b)What proportion of nine-year-olds could not identify a leek, a swede or a stick of celery, according to the survey mentioned by the writer?(1)

(Total for Question 1 is 2 marks)

Find and copy one word from the paragraph stated that has the meaning given. Write only the word.

(a)Paragraph [3]: a word meaning 'unwilling'.(1)

(b)Paragraph [4]: a word meaning 'people who have doubts about something'.(1)

(c)Paragraph [4]: a word meaning 'more than is needed'.(1)

(Total for Question 2 is 3 marks)

Why does the writer include the quotation from Aaliyah Osei in paragraph [3]? Explain your answer.

(Total for Question 3 is 2 marks)

What can you infer about the writer's attitude towards school budgets, based on paragraph [4]? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

(Total for Question 4 is 3 marks)

Look at paragraph [5]. Answer the following in your own words as far as possible.

(a)Explain what the writer means by the phrase 'instant everything'.(2)

(b)Explain what the writer means by describing the vegetable patch as the first time 'science, geography and cookery ever feel like the same subject'.(2)

(Total for Question 5 is 4 marks)

In your own words, summarise three main benefits of school vegetable gardens that the writer describes in paragraphs [3] and [5]. You should not copy whole phrases directly from the text.

(Total for Question 6 is 4 marks)

Why does the writer begin the article with the description of the school in Sheffield in paragraph [1], rather than starting with the statistics in paragraph [2]?

(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)

Explain how the writer uses language in paragraph [2] to persuade the reader that action is needed. Refer to at least two techniques and support your answer with quotations from the text.

(Total for Question 8 is 4 marks)

What impression does the writer create of Oakfield Primary in paragraph [3]? Explain how this impression is created, using evidence from the text.

(Total for Question 9 is 3 marks)

'The writer makes a convincing case for school vegetable gardens.' To what extent do you agree with this statement? In your answer, you should consider: the strength of the writer's evidence; the persuasive techniques used; how the writer deals with possible objections. Support your answer with close reference to the text.

(Total for Question 10 is 8 marks)

Mark scheme · CE.E6 Reading and Comprehension: Non-Fiction Set 2

Question 1

(a) 1 fewer than one in three (accept 'less than a third'), cao
(a) Answer: Fewer than one in three.
(b) 1 almost half, cao
(b) Answer: Almost half.

Question 2

(a) 1 reluctant, cao
(a) Answer: reluctant
(b) 1 Sceptics (accept sceptics), cao
(b) Answer: Sceptics
(c) 1 surplus, cao
(c) Answer: surplus

Question 3

1 identifies a valid reason, e.g. it provides first-hand, eyewitness evidence from someone who works directly with the children (oe)
1 links the reason to the persuasive effect, e.g. it makes the claim that gardening changes children's attitudes feel authentic and believable rather than simply the writer's own opinion (oe)
Answer: The quotation gives first-hand evidence from a teaching assistant who has seen the change in the children herself, which makes the writer's claim more convincing and authentic because it comes from someone directly involved rather than just the writer's own opinion.

Question 4

1 identifies that the writer takes the concern about budgets seriously and is sympathetic, e.g. 'I understand the worry' (oe)
1 identifies that the writer believes the concern is not a strong enough reason to avoid a garden, e.g. 'need not cost a fortune' (oe)
1 supports the inference with a relevant quotation, clearly linked to the point made (oe)
Answer: The writer respects the worry about tight budgets, shown by 'I understand the worry', but does not think it should stop schools acting, because a garden 'need not cost a fortune' and the local community can help for free.

Question 5

(a) 1 recognises the phrase refers to modern life where things happen immediately, without delay (e.g. online shopping, downloads, fast food) (oe)
(a) 1 links this to the contrast the writer is making with the patience that gardening requires (oe)
(a) Answer: The writer means that in modern life people are used to getting things immediately, without having to wait, for example through technology and fast deliveries; this is used to contrast with gardening, which teaches children to wait patiently for a harvest.
(b) 1 recognises the writer means gardening naturally combines several school subjects in one activity (oe)
(b) 1 gives a plausible example or development, e.g. growing (science), where food comes from (geography), preparing food (cookery), showing the subjects overlap in practice rather than staying separate (oe)
(b) Answer: The writer means that growing your own food naturally brings together subjects that are normally taught separately, such as how plants grow (science), where food comes from (geography) and preparing it to eat (cookery), so gardening makes the connections between them feel real and obvious to a child for the first time.

Question 6

1 benefit 1: improves children's behaviour and willingness to eat vegetables (from paragraph [3], e.g. calmer classrooms, fewer squabbles, eating more vegetables) (oe)
1 benefit 2: gets children physically active outdoors rather than using screens (from paragraph [5]) (oe)
1 benefit 3: teaches patience and teamwork by working towards a harvest, or connects different school subjects (from paragraph [5]) (oe)
1 awarded for expressing the points in the candidate's own words rather than lifting phrases directly from the text
Answer: Gardens seem to calm children down and make them more willing to eat vegetables; they get pupils outside and physically active instead of sitting in front of screens; and working together towards a harvest teaches patience and shows children how different subjects, such as science and cookery, connect in real life.

Question 7

1 identifies that the opening creates an engaging or vivid image and hooks the reader's interest before the facts (oe)
1 develops the point, e.g. it makes the issue feel real and relatable through a specific scene rather than abstract numbers, or makes the idea of a school garden feel achievable rather than starting with a problem (oe)
Answer: The writer opens with a vivid, specific scene to catch the reader's attention and make the idea feel real and achievable, before backing it up with statistics; starting with numbers first would be less engaging and would not show what a school garden could actually look like.

Question 8

1 identifies a technique, e.g. statistics or statistical evidence
1 supports with quotation and explains effect, e.g. 'fewer than one child in three' and 'almost half' make the problem sound widespread and measurable (oe)
1 identifies a second, different technique, e.g. contrast, rule of three, or emotive/direct language
1 supports with quotation and explains effect, e.g. the contrast in 'recognises a hundred logos but cannot recognise a runner bean' makes the situation sound shocking or ironic, or the rule of three in 'every parent, teacher and governor' widens the sense of who is responsible and increases the pressure to act (oe)
Answer: The writer uses statistics such as 'fewer than one child in three' and 'almost half' to make the problem sound widespread and to give the argument authority. The writer also uses contrast, in 'recognises a hundred logos but cannot recognise a runner bean', to shock the reader by comparing something children know well with something they should know but do not, and the rule of three in 'every parent, teacher and governor' broadens the sense of responsibility, pressuring a wide range of readers to feel the issue applies to them.

Question 9

1 identifies a plausible impression, e.g. a happy, calm, successful school, or a model example other schools should copy (oe)
1 selects relevant evidence, e.g. 'calmer classrooms, fewer lunchtime squabbles and a noticeable rise in children asking for seconds of broccoli' or the quotation from Aaliyah Osei (oe)
1 explains how the evidence creates the impression, e.g. the list of positive outcomes and the direct quotation make the school sound like real proof that the idea works, not just theory (oe)
Answer: The writer presents Oakfield Primary as a positive example, almost a model school, where the vegetable patch has genuinely improved behaviour and attitudes to food. This impression is created through the list of specific outcomes ('calmer classrooms, fewer lunchtime squabbles and a noticeable rise in children asking for seconds of broccoli') and the direct quotation from a member of staff, both of which make the claim sound like proven fact rather than the writer's opinion.

Question 10

Level 1 (1-2): Simple agreement or disagreement with little or no reference to the text; general, unsupported comment.
Level 2 (3-4): Some relevant comment on evidence and/or techniques, with limited reference to the text; a partial or one-sided view.
Level 3 (5-6): Clear, supported comment on at least two of the three bullet points (evidence, techniques, objections), with relevant quotations or references to specific paragraphs.
Level 4 (7-8): A well-developed, balanced response that engages with all three bullet points, uses precise textual evidence, and reaches a considered personal judgement about how convincing the article is.
Indicative content:
- Evidence: statistics in paragraph [2] are persuasive because they are measurable, though a candidate may note they are unsourced and could be exaggerated; the Oakfield Primary example in paragraph [3] is persuasive because it is specific and includes a direct quotation, though it is only one school's experience.
- Techniques: rhetorical questions in paragraphs [1] and [6]; rule of three in 'every parent, teacher and governor'; contrast in 'a hundred logos... a runner bean'; direct address to the reader in 'Will your school...'; emotive language such as 'That should trouble every...'.
- Objections: the writer raises the cost and time objection directly in paragraph [4] and offers a rebuttal, such as cheap materials and community help; candidates may judge whether this rebuttal is fully convincing or only partly answers the objection.
- Personal judgement: credit any well-supported view, whether the candidate finds the article wholly convincing, only partly convincing, or unconvincing, provided it is backed by specific reference to the text.

Reading and Comprehension: Non-Fiction Set 2 - Worksheets, Questions and Revision