Correct Answer: whether the school’s Halloween candy sale should continue
Passage Reference: our parent council asked families this month whether the Halloween candy sale should continue
Why this is correct: The blogger explains that the parent council asked families whether the Halloween candy sale should continue. Every paragraph reports a view on that question.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, look at what every paragraph keeps coming back to. Check the opening lines, where the writer sets up the issue.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to plan a safer Halloween costume parade: The blog post never mentions a costume parade. Halloween matters only because the candy comes in after it.
- why the fall concert was cancelled this year: The fall concert is not cancelled. It is one of the places where students sell the bags of candy.
- which charity the school should support each year: The blog post does not compare charities. The food bank is mentioned only as the place that takes sealed treats.
Correct Answer: Nkechi Lavigne
Passage Reference: a hallway full of chocolate bars a week later wipes that lesson away
Why this is correct: Nkechi Lavigne, the dietitian, says the grade three classes learn about “sometimes foods” in October. She says the chocolate a week later wipes that lesson away.
Tips: Read each speaker’s lines and ask who links the sale to what children learn in class. The passage may use different words from the question, so look for the same idea.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Marek Jensen: Marek Jensen wants to keep the sale because it raises trip money quickly. He does not talk about what children are taught about food.
- Tove Hadley: Tove Hadley worries about opened or melted candy reaching classrooms, which is about where the candy goes, not about a lesson.
- Harlan Quigley: Harlan Quigley wants a report with numbers before he approves another year. He says nothing about nutrition lessons.
Correct Answer: class totals showing candy earns more than wrapping paper
Passage Reference: his class raised more for its own trip in one candy week than in a whole month of selling wrapping paper
Why this is correct: Jensen wants to keep the sale. His class raised more in one candy week than in a month of selling wrapping paper. Class totals like these would back him.
Tips: First find Jensen’s reason for his view. Then pick the choice that would make that reason stronger.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a lesson plan that warns children about sugar: A lesson about sugar would support Lavigne’s worry about the “sometimes foods” lesson, not Jensen’s wish to keep the sale.
- a survey showing parents dislike selling door to door: Door-to-door selling is never mentioned, and a dislike of selling would not help Jensen show that the candy sale works.
- a report that the food bank refuses loose candy: Loose candy at the food bank is Hadley’s concern about sorting. It says nothing about how much money the sale raises.
Correct Answer: opened or melted candy would stay out of classrooms
Passage Reference: opened or melted candy must never reach a classroom or the lunchroom
Why this is correct: Hadley supports the sale with one firm condition: opened or melted candy must never reach a classroom or the lunchroom.
Tips: Look for the word “condition” in Hadley’s lines. The sentence after it tells you what she needs before she supports the sale.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every child would take the leftover candy home: Hadley wants leftovers sorted at a table so sealed treats can go to the food bank, not sent home with children.
- the sale would move to the spring term: Hadley never asks to change the timing. The sale stays in the week after Halloween.
- families would pay a fee to join the sale: No fee is mentioned. Hadley expects families to bring extra candy for free whatever the council decides.
Correct Answer: willing to keep it with changes
Passage Reference: But I now think the sale can stay for one more year if it changes
Why this is correct: At first the blogger expected to vote no. In the last paragraph, though, the writer says the sale can stay for one more year if it changes.
Tips: Read the last paragraph. Note how the writer talks about the sale there, then test each choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- eager to make it much bigger: The writer wants a cap on the sale, so making it much bigger is the opposite of the plan.
- firmly against it from now on: The blogger started out against the sale but ends up willing to let it stay for another year.
- unsure whether it raises money: The writer knows the sale raised about $1,900 last year and paid for a bus trip. Money is not in doubt.
Correct Answer: five school days and a set weight
Passage Reference: only for five school days and with a cap on the total weight collected
Why this is correct: Jensen wants the sale kept only for five school days and with a cap on the total weight collected.
Tips: Go back to Jensen’s lines in the second paragraph. Find what he wants for the sale and match it to a choice.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the two days before Halloween: The sale runs in the week after Halloween, and Jensen asks for five school days, not two days before it.
- a single evening at the fall concert: The fall concert is only one place where bags are sold. Jensen’s limit is five school days, not one evening.
- the grade five class and no others: Jensen teaches grade five, but he never says that only his class should take part.
Correct Answer: a table where volunteers set aside sealed treats
Passage Reference: She wants a sorting table outside the office, where volunteers set aside sealed treats the food bank can accept
Why this is correct: Hadley wants a sorting table outside the office, where volunteers set aside sealed treats that the food bank can accept.
Tips: The comment writer likes an idea from the post. Find the speaker who suggests something new for the sale, and read what that idea is.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a box where families can drop off old costumes: Hadley runs the lost-and-found, but she never suggests a box for costumes. Her idea is about candy.
- a jar where children guess the number of sweets: No guessing game appears in the blog post. The only counting is Quigley’s report on kilograms.
- a board where teachers post each child’s sales: Nobody suggests posting what each child sells. Jensen talks only about what his whole class raised.
Correct Answer: a count of every kilogram collected and thrown out
Passage Reference: he wants a short report showing how many kilograms came in, how many went to the food bank and how many ended up in the garbage
Why this is correct: Quigley wants a short report after the sale. It should show how many kilograms came in and how many went to the food bank. It should also show how many ended up in the garbage.
Tips: The comment names the principal, so find the principal’s lines in the passage. Look for what he wants to see before he approves another year.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a vote by every family before each sale: The parent council asks families for their views, but Quigley asks for a report, not a family vote.
- a list of the students who sold the most: Quigley wants totals in kilograms for the whole sale, not the names of the best sellers.
- a new rule against selling sweets at lunch: Quigley does not ask for any new rule about lunch. He wants numbers before he approves another year.
Correct Answer: a grade four bus trip to Regina
Passage Reference: that money put Arlo’s grade four class on a bus to the science centre in Regina
Why this is correct: In the first paragraph, the writer says last year’s sale raised about $1,900. That money put Arlo’s grade four class on a bus to the science centre in Regina.
Tips: Look for the dollar amount in the passage. The sentence that gives it also says what the money paid for.
Why the other options are wrong:
- new books for the school library: The library is never mentioned. Last year’s money paid for a class trip.
- a climbing frame for the playground: No playground equipment is mentioned. The money paid for the bus to the science centre.
- hot lunches for a whole month: Lunch is only one of the times when students sell bags. The money did not pay for meals.
Correct Answer: scraped melted chocolate out of compost bins
Passage Reference: Last November I spent a whole Saturday scraping melted chocolate out of the green compost bins
Why this is correct: The post opens with a memory from last November. The writer spent a whole Saturday scraping melted chocolate out of the green compost bins behind the school.
Tips: The comment talks about how the writer felt after a job. Look for a hard day the writer remembers, near the start of the post.
Why the other options are wrong:
- counted coins from the sale until midnight: The writer never describes counting money. The bad memory is cleaning the compost bins.
- sewed costumes for the whole class: Costumes are never mentioned in the blog post.
- sold candy bags at the fall concert: Students sell the bags at the fall concert, but the blogger never says they did the selling.
