English 1st Language Grade 7

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Growing Good Examples at the White House

In 2009, people praised First Lady Michelle Obama for planting a vegetable garden soon

after moving into the White House. The hope was that growing vegetables on the White

House lawn would encourage Americans to eat healthier and motivate other families to

grow fresh produce, too. It might seem like a new idea to plant a presidential garden to

influence national behaviour. However, earlier presidents and first ladies also used the

White House grounds to set a good example.

In 1943, during World War II, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a “victory garden” at

the White House. The goal was to get Americans to grow small gardens to feed

themselves. That way, more food was available to send to American soldiers fighting

overseas. Mrs. Roosevelt was widly admired, and her garden inspired many families to

plant more food for themselves.

Twenty-five years earlier, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson used the White

House lawn to send a message to Americans. Wilson brought in a flock of sheep to cut

the grass. It was a novel way to show how to use “natural resources” during wartime.

There was a time when a vegatable garden at the White House was simply practicle.

President John Adams planted the first garden in 1800. Adams didn’t need to set an

example, since most of the nation were already farmers. He just wanted food for his

family and guests to eat!

Bonnie Brook Communications. 2010. Daily reading comprehension grade 6. Page 32: Evan Moor educational

publishers.

(Some spelling mistakes were made on purpose.)

Comprehension and Language

English 1st Language Grade 7

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Questions: Answer the following questions using full sentences.

1. The term “healthier” is being used to describe the way people should eat. Classify

the term according to its part of speech and explain your answer. (2)

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2. Using your general knowledge of America and considering the average American’s

diet, do you agree that encouraging people to grow their own vegetables is

important? Ensure you provide enough reasoning to support your answer. (3)

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3. “It was a novel way to show how to use “natural resources” during wartime.” Provide

a definition and synonym for the word “novel”. (2)

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4. Compare First Lady Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden to President John Adams’s

vegetable garden. Which one do you believe was more important to the people of

America? Give a reason for your answer. (2)

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English 1st Language Grade 7

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5. Complete the parts of speech table below using the underlined words in the

passage: (16 x ½ = 8)

Part of Speech Definition Example

Proper Noun

garden

flock of sheep

Verb

Adjective

healthfully

Preposition

Conjunction

6. There are three spelling errors in the text. Identify these and write the correct

spelling of each. (6 x ½)

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7. The words/phrases below have been extracted from the text. Identify and explain

the function of the punctuation in each case. Use the text as a reference to assist

you. (8)

English 1st Language Grade 7

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A. In 2009, people praised First Lady Michelle Obama

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B. a “victory garden” at the White House

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C. He just wanted food for his family and guests to eat!

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D. Twenty-five years earlier

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English 1st Language Grade 7

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Memo:

1. The term “healthier” is being used to describe the way people should eat. Classify

the term according to its part of speech and explain your answer.

Healthier is an adverb as it is being used to describe the word eat which is a verb.

2. Using your general knowledge of America and considering the average American’s

diet, do you agree that encouraging people to grow their own vegetables is

important? Ensure you provide enough reasoning to support your answer.

America has a reputation for being unhealthy and therefore encouraging people to

grow their own vegetables is extremely important. There are often convenient

ways to get unhealthy food such as Mc Donald’s and other take-away options and

many meals and sugary drinks can be ‘upsized’ for a minimal amount. Growing

their own food will give them easy access to healthier options that are also

affordable.

3. “It was a novel way to show how to use “natural resources” during wartime.” Provide

a definition and synonym for the word “novel”.

The term novel refers to something that is unusual, something you don’t often

find. For example: a novel idea is a unique idea. A novel way to show how to use

natural resources would be to use sheep to ‘mow’ the lawn – you don’t see that

often and it is unique and different. A synonym would be “original”.

4. Compare First Lady Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden to President John Adams’s

vegetable garden. Which one do you believe was more important to the people of

America?

Michelle Obama’s would have been more important as she was growing a

vegetable garden but did not have to. She has access to various resources which

could provide her with vegetables but still grew her own. While President John

Adams, and many families in that time, had to do this to feed their families.

Michelle Obama’s garden was an example to other Americans to show them that it

could be done, even if you didn’t have to.

English 1st Language Grade 7

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5. Complete the parts of speech table below using the underlined words in the passage:

Part of Speech Definition Example Proper Noun Name of a place or person. White House Common noun Name of something we can see, touch or

feel garden

Collective noun Name of a group of things Flock of sheep Verb Action word planted Adjective Describes the noun small Adverb Describes the verb healthfully Preposition Shows the position/relation of objects into Conjunction Word used to join phrases or sentences and

6. There are three spelling errors in the text. Identify these and write the correct

spelling of each.

widly, vegatable, and practicle are the spelling errors.

Correct spelling: widely, vegetable and practical.

7. The below words/phrases have been extracted from the text. Identify and explain

the function of the punctuation in each case; use the text as a reference to assist

you.

A. In 2009, people praised First Lady Michelle Obama

Comma – used after an introductory phrase, creating a pause and showing that

additional information will follow.

B. a “victory garden” at the White House

Quotation marks - used to display metaphorical usage. The garden was seen as

a message of hope to the soldiers of America.

C. He just wanted food for his family and guests to eat!

Exclamation mark - used to show emotion, in this case surprise.

D. Twenty-five years earlier

Hyphen – used to link compound words.