Reading

WALT: Find information and make inferences

Haircut Lament

Amber Thompson has turned a bad haircut into a chance to be weird for the
summer.

When the Year 12 student went for the chop she wanted her hair
“kind of like Meg Ryan’s”.

The hairdresser, however, did not know the style and simply cut
Amber’s hair short and layered.

“I just came home and cried my eyes out. It’s so horrible!”

Amber didn't want to show anyone, so she wore a hat for a couple of days.
Then she decided to put her hair in small clumps, and tied them with
rubber bands.

“I don’t care what anyone thinks. It’s better than what it would be like
without the rubber bands.”

Written by a Tauranga Girls’ College Student.

NIE, May 24, 1998.

Copyright Fairfax Media 2007 reproduced

courtesy of (The Sunday Star Times) and www.stuff.co.nz

1. Journalists often use the ideas of “Who? What?, Where?, and When?”
2. to help them identify ideas for a story. Write the answers to these questions from
3. the story above.

Who? Amber Thompson

What? Her hair

Where?The hair dressers

When?it was Summer

2. The article says that Amber “...went for the chop”. What does this phrase mean?

She went to cut her hair

3. What does ‘lament’ mean? A passion for something,

4. In what style did the hairdresser cut Amber’s hair?short and layered

6. What was the main reason the hairdresser could not cut Amber’s hair in the
style she wanted?Because he did not know the style.

7. What are three adjectives that are more interesting than “unhappy”
to describe Amber’s feelings following her haircut?

i) Disappointed 

ii) Bummed

iii) upset

8. Write a headline for the story that uses alliteration.

9. Complete the extra task for ‘Haircut Lament’