Free Year 3 Layout features in print and digita... Practice | Skillo

Question 1 — Easy

Read the passage below, then answer the question. Every school in Australia should have a kitchen garden where students grow their own vegetables. Gardens teach children skills they will use for the rest of their lives, and there is no better classroom than the soil itself. Firstly, kitchen gardens improve the way students eat. Research shows that children who grow vegetables are far more likely to try eating them. When a student has watered a tomato plant for weeks and watched it fruit, they feel proud to taste what they have grown. This connection between effort and food is something a supermarket shelf can never teach. Secondly, gardens support learning across every subject. Students measure garden beds in maths, study plant life cycles in science, and write garden journals in English. The garden becomes a living lesson that makes abstract ideas feel real and meaningful. Some people argue that gardens cost too much money and take up valuable school time. However, many schools across Victoria and Queensland have started kitchen gardens using donated materials and parent volunteers. The time spent in the garden actually strengthens classroom learning rather than replacing it. A kitchen garden does far more than produce vegetables. It builds patience, teamwork, and respect for the environment. It connects students to the food on their plates and the land beneath their feet. Australia's schools should not wait any longer — every student deserves the chance to dig in. This passage is organised into paragraphs with a clear structure. What is the purpose of the paragraph that begins 'Some people argue that gardens cost too much money'?

Answer: Option C is correct — This paragraph introduces a counter-argument ('Some people argue...') and then immediately responds to it ('However, many schools...have started kitchen gardens using donated materials'). This is a classic persuasive text structure where the author acknowledges an opposing view and then refutes it. Option A is wrong because the author disagrees with that view.

Question 2 — Medium

Read the passage below, then answer the question. The morning of the school swimming carnival, Priya stood at the edge of the pool and stared at the water. Around her, students splashed and cheered, but she barely heard them. Her hands wouldn't stop trembling. "You've trained for this," her coach called from the side. Priya nodded, though her stomach told a different story. When her race was announced, she climbed onto the starting block. The sun bounced off the water below, turning it silver. Beside her, Zac from Bankstown Primary cracked his knuckles and grinned. Priya looked straight ahead. The starter's whistle blew. She dived. The cold hit her like a wall, but her arms found their rhythm almost immediately. Left, right, breathe. Left, right, breathe. The crowd noise became a distant blur. At the halfway mark, Priya could see Zac pulling ahead. Her lungs burned and her shoulders ached, but she thought of every early morning training session at Blackwattle Bay, every lap when she had wanted to stop but hadn't. She touched the wall. For a moment everything was silent. Then her coach was crouching beside her, grinning so widely that Priya didn't even need to look at the scoreboard. "Second place," he said. "Your personal best by four seconds." Priya pulled herself out of the pool and laughed — a long, surprised laugh that had been waiting all morning to escape. The passage uses a single short sentence: 'She touched the wall.' Why has the author set this sentence apart on its own line?

Answer: Option B is correct — By placing this single short sentence on its own line, the author creates a dramatic pause that signals the race has ended and something significant has happened. The isolation of the sentence forces the reader to slow down and feel the weight of the moment before the result is revealed.

Question 3 — Hard

Read the passage below, then answer the question. The platypus is one of the most unusual animals on Earth, and it lives only in Australia. Found along the freshwater rivers and streams of eastern Australia and Tasmania, this remarkable creature has puzzled scientists for centuries. At first glance, the platypus appears to be a combination of several different animals. It has a broad, flat bill similar to a duck's, a thick waterproof coat like an otter's, and a wide, beaver-like tail. Despite being a mammal, the female platypus lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young — a feature that shocked European scientists when they first studied the animal in the late 1700s. Many believed early descriptions were a hoax. The platypus is also a skilled hunter. It dives beneath the surface and uses its sensitive bill to detect the tiny electrical signals produced by the muscles of small creatures such as shrimps, worms, and insect larvae. This ability, called electroreception, allows the platypus to hunt with its eyes, ears, and nostrils all closed underwater. Although the platypus is not currently endangered, it faces serious threats from habitat destruction, drought, and pollution. When rivers become degraded, platypuses struggle to find enough food and suitable burrows for shelter. Protecting Australia's waterways is therefore essential to ensuring this extraordinary animal continues to thrive for future generations. If the word 'electroreception' appeared in bold print in this passage, what would most likely be the reason?

Answer: Option B is correct — In informative texts, bold text is commonly used to highlight key vocabulary that is being introduced and explained.