Innocence and guesswork

This week I had to give my class a reading and spelling age test.

The reading test involves 86 sentences, each with a word missing and 5 possible alternatives.

Now this starts very easy and gets progressively more difficult.

For example:
Question 1: She could _______ him with the computer.

Make help jump water ship.

Question 85: Fortunately, her regular _________, which were an essential part of the covert operation, had not been detected.

assignations, adieus, infatuations, coagulations, mastications

N.B. This is a test for 9-10 year olds!!

Anyway, I decided to use the commute home to complete some marking, and one or two ‘wrong’ guesses from some of my pupils made me laugh out loud.

A few examples of the combination of childhood ignorance and innocence and slightly unfortunate guesswork: (I have included correct answers in brackets).

In a park, children play on sweets (swings)

When you stand in the sunshine, you can often see your oblong on the ground. (Shadow).

We sometimes dream when we are away. […with the fairies…???] (asleep)

They spilt the milk and had to wipe the roof. (floor)

The hottest season of the year is holiday! (Summer)

The drum is one of the oldest mathematical instruments. (musical)

The farmer destroyed her fields into 8 equal parts. (divided).

A clarinet is a musical experiment. (instrument)

Switzerland is a momentous country. (Mountainous).

The boy observed his opposition in the shop window. (Reflection).
Dolphins are said to be inescapable creatures. (intelligent).

There were plans for the assassination of the children of London at the outbreak of war. (evacuation)

The rebels wanted to overthrow the government by starting a redemption. (revolution).

The doctor made a correct ambulance. (diagnosis).

The elephants regularly renovated themselves with water (doused).

It was common before Victorian times for drinking water to be purified by domestic waste and industrial effluence. (contaminated).