Reading & writing · Grades 6–8

The missing week

An original passage with comprehension questions and a teacher key.

The missing week

The weather club compared two months of rainfall. April's sheet totalled 48 mm, while May's totalled 39 mm. At first, the pupils titled their chart May was drier. Then one member noticed seven blank days in May's record. A blank did not mean zero rainfall; the gauge had not been read during a school closure. The club could report the recorded totals but could not make a fair full-month comparison without addressing the missing observations. They shaded the missing period on the chart and revised the title to Recorded rainfall.

Try it yourself

What is the difference between the two recorded totals in mm?
What did the seven blank days mean?
1. April's data were erased.
2. The gauge read 7 mm.
3. No reading was recorded.
4. There was certainly no rain.
Why was May was drier too strong a title?
How did the club display the missing period?
1. by claiming perfect records
2. by shading it on the chart
3. by deleting April
4. by inventing values
What extra information could support a fuller comparison?

Which title best matches what is actually known?
1. The driest month ever
2. Recorded rainfall
3. All rainfall with complete certainty
4. May had no rain

Answers and marking notes

9
48 − 39 = 9.
No reading was recorded.
The gauge was not read during the closure.
May's full total was unknown because observations were missing, so the months were not directly comparable.
Credit missingness rather than treating blanks as zeros.
by shading it on the chart
The visual marking made the gap visible.
Reliable measurements for the missing period or an explicitly justified method with uncertainty, rather than guessed zeros.
Credit a suitable data source or transparent limitation.
Recorded rainfall
The revised title limits the claim to observed data.

Preview material · independent educational review required. Grade bands are approximate, not official curriculum alignment.