Correct Answer: whether and how to bring plants into classrooms
Passage Reference: The school board here in Moncton is testing plants in a handful of classrooms this year
Why this is correct: The blogger explains that the school board is testing plants in some classrooms. Every person in the post gives a view on whether and how that should happen.
Tips: For a “mainly about” question, find the test the board is running in the first paragraph. Then check that every person in the post is talking about that test.
Why the other options are wrong:
- how to raise money for a new school garden: The writer runs a garden club, but the post never talks about raising money for a garden.
- why old portables should be replaced this year: Old portables come up only because of the mould risk. Nobody asks for them to be replaced.
- how the school should spend its sports budget: Sports and budgets are never discussed. The blog post is only about plants in classrooms.
Correct Answer: Kaveh Rahmani
Passage Reference: warns that too much water in old portables with weak air flow can lead to mould inside the walls
Why this is correct: Kaveh Rahmani, the facilities manager, warns that too much water in old portables can lead to mould inside the walls.
Tips: Two people in the post mention mould, so read both closely. Ask which one says what could happen to the building, not to a child.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Bronwyn Castonguay: Bronwyn Castonguay is the teacher who started the plant idea. She talks about calmer students, not mould.
- Philippa Oakes: Philippa Oakes’s daughter has a mould allergy, but her request is a plant list and a seat choice. The warning about mould in the walls comes from Rahmani.
- Dunstan Lessard: Dunstan Lessard worries about who will water the plants during holidays, not about mould.
Correct Answer: a record of fewer lesson stops once plants arrived
Passage Reference: she has kept a simple chart of how often she has to stop a lesson to ask for quiet
Why this is correct: Castonguay says her students settle faster with plants, and her chart shows fewer stops to ask for quiet. A record like that would support her position.
Tips: Castonguay gives a number from her own chart to the parent council. The right choice is the same kind of proof.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a photo of damp drywall in a portable: Damp drywall would support Rahmani’s warning about mould, which argues for more caution, not for Castonguay’s case.
- a count of children with allergies at the school: A count of allergic children would support Oakes’s worry, not Castonguay’s claim that plants help students settle.
- a sign-up sheet with several empty weeks: Empty weeks on a sign-up sheet would support Lessard’s worry about who waters the plants, not Castonguay’s claim.
Correct Answer: families would see a list of approved plants first
Passage Reference: wants a written list of approved plants shared with families before any more pots arrive
Why this is correct: Oakes wants a written list of approved plants shared with families before any more pots arrive. So her condition means families see the list first.
Tips: Oakes’s condition names a thing and a time. The word “before” tells you the order, so match both.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every classroom would receive plants in the same week: Oakes wants care before more plants arrive, so plants in every room at once is the opposite of her condition.
- teachers would pick any plants they liked: Oakes wants only approved plants, so teachers could not choose any plant they liked.
- the plant test would end after one month: Oakes never asks to end the test. She asks for a list of approved plants before more arrive.
Correct Answer: back a slow start and ask parents to join in
Passage Reference: One wing first, a public plant list and a sign-up sheet sound like a sensible way to begin.
Why this is correct: The blogger supports starting with one wing, a plant list and a sign-up sheet. Then the post invites more parents to the garden club meeting where the list will be made.
Tips: For a question about purpose, read the last paragraph closely. Notice what the writer agrees to and what the final sentence asks readers to do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- complain that the board ignored the garden club: The writer never says the board ignored the club. The club is helping to make the plant list.
- argue that plants belong outside the school: In the last paragraph, the writer supports plants in classrooms and says “I am with Castonguay on the plants.”
- explain how to care for a spider plant at home: The spider plant is only a short story about the son. The blog post gives no care tips.
Correct Answer: teachers take turns with the watering
Passage Reference: She also thinks donated plants cost almost nothing if teachers take turns with the watering.
Why this is correct: Castonguay thinks donated plants cost almost nothing if teachers take turns with the watering.
Tips: The blank follows “if”, so it is Castonguay’s condition for keeping costs low. Find the sentence where she talks about donated plants.
Why the other options are wrong:
- parents buy them at the spring sale: Castonguay talks about donated plants. A spring sale is never mentioned.
- the board orders them in bulk: Nobody suggests that the board buy plants in bulk. The plants are donated.
- students grow them from seeds: Growing plants from seeds is never suggested. Castonguay’s condition is shared watering by teachers.
Correct Answer: one wing of the school
Passage Reference: He wants the test kept to one wing of the school
Why this is correct: The facilities manager, Rahmani, wants the test kept to one wing of the school.
Tips: The comment calls him “the facilities manager”. Find the sentence that starts “He wants the test kept to” and read the place he names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the portables near the gym: Rahmani talks about old portables in general, but he never picks the ones near the gym for the test.
- the grade four classroom: Castonguay teaches grade four, but Rahmani never limits the test to her classroom.
- the main office and library: Neither the office nor the library is named as a place for the test.
Correct Answer: March break and snow days
Passage Reference: wonders who will look after the plants during March break and snow days
Why this is correct: Lessard, the principal, wonders who will look after the plants during March break and snow days.
Tips: Lessard is the principal, and he asks a question about looking after the plants. The blank matches the times he names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- summer holidays and long weekends: Lessard does not mention summer holidays or long weekends. He names March break and snow days.
- staff meetings and field trips: Staff meetings and field trips are never mentioned in the blog post.
- exam weeks and sports days: Exam weeks and sports days are never mentioned. Lessard’s worry is about March break and snow days.
Correct Answer: move to a seat away from the windows
Passage Reference: should be able to move to a seat away from the windows without having to explain why
Why this is correct: Oakes says any child who reacts should be able to move to a seat away from the windows. The child should not have to explain why.
Tips: The comment repeats Oakes’s words “without a word of explanation”. Find her matching sentence and see what the child should be allowed to do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- go home early without a note: Oakes never says a child should go home. She wants the child to change seats.
- take the plant out of the room: Oakes does not ask for plants to be removed when a child reacts. The child moves seats.
- spend the day in the library: The library is never mentioned. Oakes wants a seat away from the windows in the same room.
Correct Answer: has not sneezed once near his plant
Passage Reference: My son’s spider plant is doing well, by the way, and he has not sneezed once near it.
Why this is correct: In the last paragraph, you learn that the son’s spider plant is doing well and he has not sneezed once near it.
Tips: The blank is about the son, so find where the post talks about him. Read that part to the end and match it in other words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- waters every plant in his classroom: The blog post says nothing about the son watering every plant. It only says his own plant is doing well.
- brought a cactus home from school: The son brought home a spider plant in a yogurt cup, not a cactus.
- moved his desk to the back row: The son asked to keep the plant on his desk. No desk move is mentioned.
