Party Note: Two Times in One Invitation
Anna writes a short note to her classmate Mika. The note is the only information Mika has. Text: 'Hi Mika, It is my birthday on Sunday. Please come to my house. The party starts at 2:30, but please come at 2:00. We will play games before we eat. Please bring a ball. Do not bring food - my mother will make pizza and cake. My house is near the park. See you! Anna.' Mika reads fast and sees two times, 2:00 and 2:30. She also sees both 'ball' and 'food' in the same note. In class the teacher asks three questions about the note. Mika must answer with the exact words of the note, not with what usually happens at parties.
1. What time should Mika arrive at Anna's house?
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2:00. The note says 'The party starts at 2:30, but please come at 2:00.' The word but shows the two times are different. Please come at is the instruction for Mika; the party starts at is information about the party. So she arrives at 2:00, thirty minutes before the games begin. If a note gives two times, ask which one is an instruction to you.
2. Name one thing Mika should bring and one thing she should not bring.
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Bring: a ball. Do not bring: food. The note says 'Please bring a ball' and 'Do not bring food'. The words Do not make the second sentence a negative instruction - the opposite of what is written after them. Pizza and cake are in the note, but Anna's mother makes them, so Mika does not bring them. Reading a word from the note is not enough; check whether it sits in a 'do' or a 'do not' sentence.
3. A question asks 'Where does Anna live?' What is the answer, and why is 'at the park' wrong?
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Near the park. The note says 'My house is near the park.' The word near means close to but not inside. At the park would mean the house is in the park, which the note does not say. Grade 5 reading items often test one small word like near, in or next to. Find the 'where' sentence first, then copy its preposition exactly.