Swim School Answer Key
Valor Reading SPED Reading Support Key
Literal Questions: "Swim School"
Right There Questions
Put Your Finger on the Answer!
4-Step Clue Hunter Strategy: How to Find "Right There" Answers
1. Read Question Circle clue words: Who, What, Why.
2. Hunt in Story Scan sentences for exact matching words.
3. Touch Words Put your finger on the line with the facts.
4. Strike & Pick Cross out silly choices ❌, pick match ✅!
Story Clue Box • Paragraphs 1–3 Touch the highlighted clues!
[1] Water is to sea creatures what air is to land creatures... But moving through water is very different from moving through air. Water is 1,000 times denser, or thicker and heavier, than air. When an animal pushes through the water, it is quite a lot of work... [2] But a sailfish... can reach speeds over 65 mph... Sea creatures move through water in all directions, too—forward, sideways, and up and down.
Q1. What makes swimming through water so much work? CORRECT: D
- A. [TRICK ❌] Pushing through water is work... (Copycat Trick: repeats question words, doesn't say WHY)
- B. [TRICK ❌] Moving through water is slower... (Fun example, but doesn't give science reason)
- C. [TRICK ❌] Swimming is harder than flying... (Made-up detail: story never says this)
- D. [WINNER! ✅] Water is more dense than air.
SPED Clue Helper
Finger Point: Touch Paragraph 1: "Water is 1,000 times denser... than air." Denser means thicker and heavier!
⚠️ Trick Alert: Don't pick A just because it copies words.
Q2. Which sentence from the text best supports Q1? CORRECT: B
- A. [TRICK ❌] “moving through water is very different...” (Too simple: doesn't explain why)
- B. [WINNER! ✅] “Water is 1,000 times denser, or thicker and heavier, than air.”
- C. [TRICK ❌] “When an animal pushes through water...” (Repeats that it is work, doesn't prove it)
- D. [TRICK ❌] “When you are wading, you cannot walk fast...” (Beach walking example only)
Word Match Clue
Partner Match: Look back at your answer for Q1 ("dense"). Choice B has the exact matching word: "denser"!
Golden Rule: Proof sentences must match your answer!
Q3. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT… CORRECT: C
- A. [TRUE in story] Water is much thicker and heavier than air. (True in Paragraph 1)
- B. [TRUE in story] A sailfish can swim as fast as a cheetah... (True in Paragraph 2: 65 mph)
- C. [FALSE = WINNER! ✅] Sea creatures move forwards/backwards but NOT up or down.
- D. [TRUE in story] Sea turtles swim hundreds of miles... (True in Paragraph 2)
The "EXCEPT" Rule
Find the False One! EXCEPT means find what is NOT true. Paragraph 2 says sea animals DO move up and down!
Tip: Write "T" for true and "F" for false next to each letter.
Valor Reading Curriculum • SPED Reading Support Page 1 of 4 • Strategy & Questions 1–3
Valor Reading Section: Wriggling
Fish, Eels, Dolphins & Sharks
Paragraphs 4–8
Tails & Fins in Action
Story Clue Box • Paragraphs 4–8 Touch the highlighted clues!
[4] Most fish wriggle through the water, moving their bodies from side to side... They use their fins to brake and to steer. [5] Eels really wriggle. But they don’t have tail fins... [6] Flying fish... jump out of the water, spread their wide fins, and glide through the air. [7] Dolphins and whales... move their tails up and down, rather than from side to side. [8] Sharks... Their stiff pectoral fins... help to lift the shark in the water, like wings lift an airplane into the air.
Q4. What is the difference between dolphins and fish? CORRECT: C
- A. [TRICK ❌] Dolphins go side to side, fish go up/down. (Backward Trick: mixed up who does what!)
- B. [TRICK ❌] Dolphins use tails, fish push themselves. (Both use tails, so this is not a difference!)
- C. [WINNER! ✅] Dolphins move tails UP and DOWN, while fish wag side to side.
- D. [TRICK ❌] Dolphins move slowly, fish swim fast. (Not in story: story never says dolphins are slow!)
Direction Clue
Paragraph 7: "move their tails up and down, rather than from side to side." Use your hand to show up/down and side-to-side!
⚠️ Watch out: Choice A swaps the words backwards.
Q5. What body part do fish use to stop themselves? CORRECT: D
- A. [TRICK ❌] Pectoral fins (Wrong Animal: That is for SHARKS in Paragraph 8!)
- B. [TRICK ❌] Wings (Silly trick: Fish do not have airplane wings!)
- C. [TRICK ❌] Whole bodies (Wrong Animal: Eels use whole bodies to MOVE, not stop!)
- D. [WINNER! ✅] Fins
Secret Word Match
What means stop? In Paragraph 4, fish use fins to brake. A brake stops a car or a bike!
Brain Clue: "Brake" = "Stop".
Q6. Which sentence shows a shark swims like an airplane flies? CORRECT: C
- A. [TRICK ❌] “Sharks are fast hunters... use muscular tails...” (Only about tails, mentions no airplane)
- B. [TRICK ❌] “Their pectoral fins... stick out like wings...” (Only what they LOOK like, not how they FLY)
- C. [WINNER! ✅] “They help to lift the shark in the water, like wings lift an airplane into the air.”
- D. [TRICK ❌] “Sharks need to keep moving, or they will sink.” (Tells what happens if they stop, not how they fly)
Action Word Match
Look for the action: The question asks about the ability (the action). Lifting into water matches lifting into air!
⚠️ Choice B is just looks; C tells what it DOES.
Valor Reading Curriculum • SPED Reading Support Page 2 of 4 • Questions 4–6
Valor Reading Sections: Wriggling & Flapping
Eels, Flying Fish, Penguins & Turtles
Paragraphs 5–11
No Fins vs. Flapping Flippers
Story Clue Box • Paragraphs 9–11 Touch the highlighted clues!
[9] Not everything in the sea wriggles or wags its tail... [10] Penguins... don’t fly in the air. Instead, they flap their flippers like wings to “fly” through the sea. Penguins steer with their short tails and their feet. [11] Sea turtles... swim by flapping their front flippers in a figure-eight pattern... Sea turtles steer with their hind feet.
Q7. Which sea creature wiggles forward WITHOUT the use of fins? CORRECT: B
- A. [TRICK ❌] Sharks (Sharks have big fins: Paragraph 8 says stiff fins)
- B. [WINNER! ✅] Eels
- C. [TRICK ❌] Flying fish (Flying fish have fins: Paragraph 6 says wide fins)
- D. [TRICK ❌] Whales (Whales have big swimming tails in Paragraph 7)
Finger Point: "Don't"
Paragraph 5 Proof: Touch the words: "they don’t have tail fins, so they must thrust their whole bodies." Eels have NO fins!
Clue word: "Without" means they have none.
Q8. Where does the “flying fish” get its name from? CORRECT: C
- A. [TRICK ❌] Swims fast like flying through water. (Tricky Word Swap: It glides in AIR, not water!)
- B. [TRICK ❌] Has bird wings to glide through water. (Fake fact: Fish have fins, not bird wings)
- C. [WINNER! ✅] They leap out of water and fly through the AIR with wide fins.
- D. [TRICK ❌] They are related to birds and used to be birds. (Silly trick: Fish were never birds!)
Air vs. Water Check
Paragraph 6: "jump out of the water, spread their wide fins, and glide through the air." Look closely at the word AIR!
⚠️ Don't be fooled: Choice A swapped "air" for "water"!
Q9. What is the SAME between penguins and sea turtles? CORRECT: C
- A. [TRICK ❌] Both steer with tails. (Only penguins use tails; turtles do NOT use tails)
- B. [TRICK ❌] Both are bird-like. (Turtles are reptiles, not birds!)
- C. [WINNER! ✅] Both penguins and sea turtles use their FEET to steer!
- D. [TRICK ❌] Both swim in figure-eight patterns. (Turtle only: Paragraph 11 says only turtles do figure-8)
Double Check Proof
Paragraph 10: Penguins steer with "their feet." Paragraph 11: Turtles steer with "hind feet." Both use feet!
Clue: Look for the body part they BOTH share.
Valor Reading Curriculum • SPED Reading Support Page 3 of 4 • Questions 7–9
Valor Reading Section: Jetting
Squids, Octopuses & Test Tips
Paragraphs 12–14
Jet Propulsion & Steering
Story Clue Box • Paragraphs 12–14 Touch the highlighted clues!
[12] Rays are flat fish... enlarged fins are called a disk... uses its long, thin tail for steering. [13] What if you don’t have tails, fins, or flippers? [14] Squids and octopuses have roundish bodies, long, soft arms, and tentacles. How do they get around? They use jet propulsion. They suck in water, then squirt it out of a funnel, called a siphon... To steer, they point their siphons in different directions.
Q10. What is the method octopuses use to get around? CORRECT: C
- A. [TRICK ❌] Long, soft tentacles (Body part, not the moving method!)
- B. [TRICK ❌] A funnel called a siphon (The squirt tube organ, not the method name)
- C. [WINNER! ✅] Jet propulsion
- D. [TRICK ❌] Jetting (Just the heading nickname; story names "jet propulsion")
Exact Words Clue
Paragraph 14: "How do they get around? They use jet propulsion." The answer is right after the question mark!
Touch the exact phrase "jet propulsion."
Q11. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT… CORRECT: C
- A. [TRUE in story] A ray uses two large fins called a disk. (True in Paragraph 12)
- B. [TRUE in story] Squids suck in and squirt out water. (True in Paragraph 14)
- C. [FALSE = WINNER! ✅] Penguins fly faster through the AIR.
- D. [TRUE in story] Rays have long, thin tails for steering. (True in Paragraph 12)
The "NOT TRUE" Clue
Paragraph 10 Proof: Touch the words: "They don’t fly in the air." So Choice C is totally false!
Penguins fly in WATER, never in the air.
Q12. Which sentence explains how an octopus turns or changes direction? CORRECT: D
- A. [TRICK ❌] “Octopuses have round bodies, long arms...” (Only what they look like, not turning)
- B. [TRICK ❌] “They use jet propulsion.” (Tells how they move forward, not turn)
- C. [TRICK ❌] “They suck in water, then squirt it out...” (Tells how water squirts, not how they turn)
- D. [WINNER! ✅] “To steer, they point their siphons in different directions.”
Steer = Turn!
Paragraph 14: "To steer..." Steer is what you do with a bike handle or steering wheel to change direction!
Matching words: "Steer" = "change direction".
SPED Clue Hunter: 3 Big Test Tricks to Avoid Teacher & Student Review Checklist
1. 🦜 The Copycat Trick A choice copies words from the question to sound smart, but it doesn't really answer what is asked! (Like Q1 Choice A).
2. 🔀 The Sneaky Word Swap The test changes one little word, like changing "air" to "water" to fool quick readers! (Like Q8 Choice A).
3. 🦈 The Wrong Animal Trick A choice tells a true fact about a shark, but the question is asking about regular fish! (Like Q5 Choice A).
Valor Reading Curriculum • SPED Reading Support Page 4 of 4 • Questions 10–12 & Trick Hunter
