05-02-06-010-s

Name: Date:

Subject: Year 5 Literacy Sheet: Poetry - All my great excuses

All My Great Excuses

Read the poem below 'All My Great Excuses' and answer the questions.
I started on my homework but my pen ran out of ink. My hamster ate my homework. My computer's on the blink. I accidentally dropped it in the soup my mum was cooking. My brother flushed it down the toilet when I wasn't looking. My mother ran my homework through the washer and the dryer. An airplane crashed into our house. My homework caught on fire. Tornadoes blew my notes away. Volcanoes struck our town. My notes were taken hostage by an evil killer clown. Some aliens abducted me. I had a shark attack. A pirate swiped my homework and refused to give it back. I worked on these excuses so darned long my teacher said, "I think you'll find it's easier to do the work instead." -- Kenn Nesbitt
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Primary Leap Ltd. 2012

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5
05-02-06-010-s

Name: Date:

Subject: Year 5 Literacy Sheet: Poetry - All my great excuses

1. What kind of animal did the student say ate his homework? a A dog b A chicken c A dog d A hamster 2. In the line that reads "My notes were taken hostage," what does "taken hostage" mean? a Stolen b Destroyed c Lost d Kidnapped 3. What blew the student's notes away? a A fan b A tornado c The student's mother d A pirate 4. What did the teacher say would be easier than making up excuses? a Tidying the bedroom b Cleaning the windows c Doing the work d Baking cakes 5. Who was cooking soup? a Mum b Dad c The clown d The pirate 6. What do you think 'abducted' means? ___________________________________________________________
Primary Leap Ltd. 2012 www.primaryleap.co.uk - Primary Resources