Reading Review

I Can Infer...

100

Read the following paragraph. What can you infer about how the locals of New Orleans feel about their ghostly heritage? Give a piece of evidence to support your answer.

New Orleans is known for many things like the French Quarter, jazz music, great food, and talented artists. The area is very diverse and has a rich culture. Millions of people visit the city each year. However, New Orleans is known for another thing... ghosts! As a matter of fact, a person can take a ghost tour when he or she visits. Locals believe that ghosts exist because of the history of New Orleans. The city has seen its fair share of unfortunate events. The Beauregard-Keyes House is one location where locals believe ghosts exist. They believe that the ghosts are connected to General Beauregard somehow. Another location where people believe ghosts exist is Muriel's Restaurant. At Muriel's, you can order a delectable seafood dish and possible view strange occurrences. However, locals don't want their ghosts to scare you away from their city. They believe that the ghosts are a part of the city's charm.

Inference: They feel positively. 

They think the ghosts provide to the city's charm. 

200

Based on the details in the text, what can you infer about weather and plants?

Many people love the vibrant colors of autumn. Some plants have naturally colored leaves, but weather plays a major role in determining the color of other leaves. Green plants maintain their color because of a chemical called chlorophyll. Plants make plenty of chlorophyll during the warmer months. However, due to lowering temperatures during autumn and winter, less chlorophyll is made. This causes green plants to turn orange, yellow, and other fall colors. Water  also plays a big role in determining the colors of leaves. If plants experience a drought, the leave will wither and lose their color.

I can infer that weather plays an important role to plants. 

300

What can you infer about Michelle Obama?

Former First Lady, Michelle Obama, was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She skipped second grade and she took gifted classes in elementary school. Mrs. Obama did not attend her neighborhood high school. Instead, she attended Chicago's first magnet high school, Whitney Young High School. She was the salutatorian of her graduating class. From there, she attended Princeton University. In 1985, she graduated with honors. She received a Bachelor's degree in sociology. After her time at Princeton, she attended Harvard Law School. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard in 1988. After graduating from Harvard, Mrs. Obama obtained a job at a law firm. It was there that she met her future husband, Barack. Before becoming first lady, she worked for the University of Chicago. 

DAILY DOUBLE: WHAT IS THE TEXT STRUCTURE OF THIS PASSAGE?

I can infer that education is very important to Michelle Obama

The text structure is chronological order.

400

What can you infer about the career of the person in the story? What evidence best supports your inference?

A lot of my recent work is focused on the ocean. I'm really interested in the way the sunlight hits the water, especially when it is stormy. When the water is choppy, it is almost as if the light is shattered like broken glass across the sea. There is really nothing like it. Before I start a new piece, I will spend hours, sometimes days, just sitting on the rocky shore as a take note of the way the light and water are working together. Sometimes, I'll make a little sketch or two if I think it will help. Mostly, I'll just use words to describe what I see as best as I can. I won't pick up a brush until I've learned everything I can about a particular seascape until I can recall it totally by memory. Only then will I return to my studio, mix my colors, grab my canvas, and get to work.  

The author is a painter. (discuss evidence)

Daily Double: Identify an example of a simile in the text.

500

What can you infer about Omar in this story?

Omar looked down at his chicken sandwich. The waiter had dropped it of ten minutes ago, but Omar had not taken one bite. He poked at it a little bit with his fork, but he mostly stared in a daze at the stage. He was half listening to the musicians that were rotating through, half just staring off into space like a zombie. The same feeling kept repeating in his stomach, that feeling where you're waiting in an elevator for a while and then the elevator suddenly drops. That sinking in your belly where you feel your insides turn upside down and then quickly flip back. Though he hadn't really been listening, he had been counting the performers. There had been seven ahead of him on the list, which meant that he was next. Upon realizing that, Omar's forehead turned ice cold, but he was also sweating. He turned and looked at the entrance door which seemed to zoom a million miles away all of a sudden. Suddenly, he became thirstier than he'd ever been. He chugged a glass of water. Just when he finished, he heard his name over the loudspeaker, but he didn't move. 

Omar has terrible stage fright.

Daily Double: Identify a type of figurative language used in this passage and the example from the text.

Watch Your Tone

100

“How could you?” Rhea said to Rosy, her eyes filled with tears as she watched her volcano on the floor. “It . . .it took me a week. Just watch where you’re going.” Rhea bent to pick up the pieces of her class project, not letting Rosy help her.

Rosy stood there, still willing to help. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to,” she said. “Can I. . ?”

“Just go away,” Rhea said, almost shouting.

After school, Rhea sobbed and stayed in her room all evening. She did not know that Rosy had come to her house, talked to her mother, and found out how exactly Rhea made the volcano. Rosy asked Rhea’s mother to not tell Rhea about the visit and said she was sorry. All the while, Rhea kept thinking about excuses to skip school. She didn’t want to go to the fair. She did not want to see Rosy. She hated everything.

The picture helps the reader understand how:

A: Rhea feels when she makes the volcano again.

B: Rosy feels when she visits Rhea at her house.

C: Rosy feels when her solar system is on the floor.

D: Rhea feels when her volcano hits the floor.

D: how rhea feels when her volcano hits the floor.

200

 

1. Sheridan did not want to say it. She wanted the others to just understand it. It was her birthday, and she was home with her right leg in a cast. Sure, she couldn’t go to a bounce house or a water park, but she did not want to feel lonely and sad all day. It was already noon, and nobody had even wished her yet.
   
   
2. “Need anything?” Miranda, Sheridan’s mother asked, holding Sheridan’s bedroom door.
   
   
3. “Nah!” Sheridan said, her voice almost breaking. After her mother left, Sheridan sobbed a little and drifted to sleep.
   
   
4. Sheridan thought she had only taken a short nap, but when she woke up, she saw quite a sight. There were balloons all over the floor. Her friends were giggling and chatting away, wearing party hats. Her nightstand and study desk was overflowing with presents. Sheridan was so surprised, she squealed.
   
   
5. “You didn’t think we’d forget, did ya?” Mayuka, Sheridan’s best friend said, hugging her. “I love it, guys,” Sheridan said. “So much.”
   
   
6. “We haven’t even started the games yet,” Ella said. “Mom baked red velvet cake for you! Oops! Act surprised.” Elle winked at her little sister.
   
   
7.  “What games?” Sheridan asked, sitting up in her bed.
   
   
8. “All the games you can play sitting right there,” Mayuka said. “You’re going to love it!"

The picture best supports the details provided in which paragraph?

Paragraph 1

300

The Treasure

1.  
2. Once a town was full of lazy people. They didn’t clean their yards or streets. The chief hated the laziness. One day, a hurricane passed through the town. The place looked even worse. A tree was right in the middle of the main road to the market.
   
   
3. However, people didn’t bother moving the tree. The chief came up with an idea. He asked his helpers to move the tree, dig a big hole, bury some gold, and to put the tree back in its place. Then, he asked the town crier to ask everyone to come gather by the tree in the afternoon. The chief asked people to move the tree.
   
   
4. “The hurricane should move it,” said a lazy person.
   
   
5. “We can move around it,” said another. Almost everyone agreed.
   
   
6. Then, one farmer came forward. He moved the tree without saying anything. Nobody came forward to help the man. The chief asked the farmer to dig the ground. The farmer did so and found a bag full of gold coins.
   
   
7. “Only you can have it,” the chief said.

The picture helps the reader understand that:

A: the hurricane has destroyed the entire town.

B: the townspeople help the farmer carry the gold.

C: the chief asks the town crier to reward the farmer.

D: the farmer uses a shovel to dig the ground.

D: the farmer uses a shovel to dig the ground.

400

Which answer below provides the BEST summary of what is happening in the selection from the graphic novel above?

A: A girl is being chased by a small furry monster when a super hero appears to save her. Suddenly, the hero is approached by more monsters and they are much scarier. The hero becomes nervous.

B: A bunch of monsters are chasing a girl who is scared. A super hero flies in to save her. He defeats the evil monsters and saves the day.

C: A woman runs from a monster. A super hero vows to help the monster catch the girl. When he fails to catch the girl, the other monsters are angry with him.

D: A woman's pet dog lost his bone and she is trying to retrieve it. A super hero comes to save the day when suddenly he is approached by three scary monsters. 

A: A girl is being chased by a small furry monster when a super hero appears to save her. Suddenly, the hero is approached by more monsters and they are much scarier. The hero becomes nervous.

DAILY DOUBLE: What character's mood change can we see from the superhero in the beginning panel to the last panel?

500

Road Trip

1. The highway was a centipede
2. I saw its many feet
3. We moved inside its stomach
4. The tires dragging it

5. My sister was sound asleep
6. throughout our long trip
7. My brother did not peep
8. out the window of our jeep

9. With hands on the steering wheel
10. my daddy felt in charge
11. He did not know what moved us
12. the highway oh so large   fig. 1

Which part of the poem does the picture of the centipede help the reader understand?

A: Stanza 3

B: Line 10

C: Stanza 1

D: Stanza 2

Stanza 1

Strong Structures

100

Determine the text feature of the following paragraph and explain how you know. 

Owls are fascinating creatures. Their physical features mimic some features of humans, but some physical features do not. First, owls can turn their heads 270 degrees. Humans can only turn their heads 90 degrees. Owls and humans both have binocular vision, but owls cannot move their eyes around because they don't have eyeballs! They have tube-like eyes that are fixed in place by their bones. Both owls and humans rely on their sense of hearing but for different reasons. Owls have better hearing and rely on it to catch pray. 

Compare and Contrast (Words like both, different, etc.)

200

Determine the text structure of the text.

Did you know that certain foods can make you sleepy? Cherries, pasta, and lettuce are some of the culprits that can make you feel fatigued, or tired. Cherries contain a hormone called melatonin. Melatonin is a natural sleep aid. The body naturally uses it to control when we sleep. It regulates the body's sleep patterns as well. However, the melatonin gained from food can add to this effect. Pasta contains a load of carbohydrates. Blood sugar levels can surge because of pasta, thus causing sleepiness. Lettuce contains lactucin, which slows down brain processes and causes fatigue. Because of the effects of these sleep-inducing foods, it is a good idea to eat them in the evening. 

CAUSE AND EFFECT

DAILY DOUBLE: IDENTIFY THE CAUSE AND THE EFFECT

300

 No matter what winter sport you participate

in, you will need winter gear. Long johns,

which are tight pants and shirts, help trap

heat against your skin, and are often worn

under regular clothing. Fluffy winter jackets

and snow pants are important if you’re going

to be in the snow for long. Heavy boots, a

warm hat and gloves, and goggles are other

winter staples!

What is the text structure of this passage?

Description

400

Most ski and snowboard resorts open in mid-

November. Sometimes, though, there is no snow for

skiers and snowboarders to ride. When that happens,

the resorts fire up their snow machines, called snow

guns or cannons. If temperatures are cold enough, air

and water can be combined to create artificial snow,

and the “no snow issue” will disappear under a pile

of fresh, white, powder. Some ski resorts use the snow

machines nightly until mother nature creates enough

of her own snow!

Problem and Solution

Daily Double: Identify the problem and the solution to the problem.

500

Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago. Yet he unlocked the secrets of chess in a Brooklyn apartment right above a candy store. At the age of six he taught himself to play by following the instruction booklet that came with his chess board. After spending much of his childhood in chess clubs, Fischer said that, "One day, I just got good." That may have been a bit of an understatement. At the age of 13 he won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship. He was the youngest Junior Champion ever. At the age of 14 he won the U.S. Championship, also becoming the youngest U.S. Champion in history. Fischer even went on to become the World Champion of chess, but he would also grow to become his own worst enemy. He forfeited the championship to the next challenger without even making a move. The rise of a chess superstar ended with a fizzle.

What is the text structure of this passage?

Chronological Order

That's a Good Point

100

Explain the differing perspectives (points of view) that the two characters have about the use of technology.

"Katie, can you help me add this contact to my phone? i just can't remember how to do everything on this fancy new iPhone," said Katie's grandmother, handing her the phone. "Sure, Grandma," replied Katie, "I'm a pro at this because it's just like my iPod. It's really quite easy. Just watch what I do." Katie touched the screen a few times, and then handed the phone back to her grandma. "Thanks, Katie. I have no idea how you did that, though. I think I might be too old to learn all of this new technology. Just when I think I've figured it out, they change it all again," Katie's grandmother complained. "I love new technology," said Katie. "In fact, I can't wait to find out what the next version of the iPhone will be able to do!"

Katie's point of view is that technology is fun and exciting.

Grandma's point of view is that technology is confusing and difficult to learn.  

200

“A dare is a dare,” I heard my friend Tony say behind me as I walked up the creaking steps. The October wind started blowing harder the closer I got to the front door. Old, grey wood covered in spider webs surrounded me. There’s no way out this now," I thought, "why did I make up that story in the first place?“ Come on, Ben!” Tony called to out. “I don’t have all day!” I glanced down at the rusted, metal door handle. I could see teeny bumps covering my skin like the chicken I sometimes saw my mom making for dinner. I closed my eyes, grabbed the cold, metal handle, and pushed the door open.

How does the narrator's point of view influence how events are described?

A. It allows the reader to understand the reasons why Ben is afraid to enter the house. 

B. It allows the reader to understand Ben's opinion of his friend, Tony.

C. It allows the reader to understand the anxiousness Ben feels about the house.

D. It allows the reader to understand that Ben is saddened by visiting the house.

C. It allows the reader to understand the anxiousness Ben feels about the house.

300

When I lifted the toilet lid, a grey tree frog stared back at me. He spread his long, wide fingers to keep himself on the side of the toilet bowl, right at the edge of the water. He didn't stay there for long, though, because the minute he saw me, he leaped out of the toilet and onto the wall.

I didn't know how he'd gotten there, but I knew he didn't belong. I used both hands to try to scoop him up, but he hopped onto the floor. I closed the bathroom door and ran to find something to catch him in.

I tried a cup, but it was too small. I tried a pot, but the frog scooted out from underneath before I could drop it over him. He kept leaping all over!

I thought maybe I was scaring him by trying to trap him. I put a paper plate near him and waited for him to jump onto it. When he did, I walked quickly toward the door. He jumped off twice, but each time I got him to hop back onto the plate.

Outside, I finally set the cute tree frog down, and he hopped away.

The narrator's opinion is that the tree frog keeps jumping because it is ________. Give evidence to support your answer.

The narrator thinks he or she is scaring the frog. This means he or she thinks the frog was frightened.

400

When I lifted the toilet lid, a grey tree frog stared back at me. He spread his long, wide fingers to keep himself on the side of the toilet bowl, right at the edge of the water. He didn't stay there for long, though, because the minute he saw me, he leaped out of the toilet and onto the wall.

I didn't know how he'd gotten there, but I knew he didn't belong. I used both hands to try to scoop him up, but he hopped onto the floor. I closed the bathroom door and ran to find something to catch him in.

I tried a cup, but it was too small. I tried a pot, but the frog scooted out from underneath before I could drop it over him. He kept leaping all over!

I thought maybe I was scaring him by trying to trap him. I put a paper plate near him and waited for him to jump onto it. When he did, I walked quickly toward the door. He jumped off twice, but each time I got him to hop back onto the plate.

Outside, I finally set the cute tree frog down, and he hopped away.

How does the narrator's point of view influence how the events are described throughout the story? What is your evidence?

A. The narrator's point of view helps the reader understand the reason he is trying to catch the frog.

B. The narrator's point of view helps the reader understand the size of the frog he is trying to catch.

C. The narrator's point of view helps the reader understand the fear he has for catching the frog.

D.  The narrator's point of view helps the reader understand how the frog entered the house.

A. The narrator's point of view helps the reader understand the reason he is trying to catch the frog.

 "I didn't know how he'd gotten there, but I knew he didn't belong" This evidence explains that the frog should not be in the toilet and he is trying to catch him to put it back where it belongs.

500

Do you consider fruit snacks to be healthy? I asked 10 eight year olds that vary questions, and 8 out of 10 stated that they considered fruit snacks to be healthy. In fact, one child informed me that since fruit snacks are made of fruit that had to be healthy. Consider this: a tiny bag of fruit snacks contains about 5 teaspoons of sugar per pouch. That's a lot of sugar for such a small snack! Also, they contain no protein, no fiber, or healthy fats, so kids who eat a serving of fruit snacks will likely be hungry and wanting another snack very soon. Do you still thing fruit snacks are healthy? The next time someone mentions wanting fruit snacks, encourage him or her to find a real piece of fruit instead!

What is the author's point of view? Provide one piece of evidence to support your answer.

The author believes that fruit snacks are unhealthy.

Go Figure

100

What type of figurative language is used in the sentences below? What does the figurative phrase mean?

Cody Braxton just transferred into our district. He's fast, big, and smart, and we all think he would be a great addition to the team. I met him at a track meet last year, and from that I could instantly tell he was a great teammate. He was the kind of guy who would run through a brick wall if it would help the team win. I really hope that he will try out for the team.

Run through a brick wall is an idiom. It means he will do whatever it takes to be there for his teammates. 

200

What type of figurative language is used in the sentences below and what does it mean?

My younger cousin Maddie has a violin recital coming up soon. Her mother thought it would be a great idea for a practice recital just in front of our close family. Maddie is good at many things including sports, school, and computers, so I knew she would be great at violin too. She came out and positioned the violin on her shoulder, raised the bow, and started playing. From the start, her playing was an old wagon wheel in desperate need of oil. I glanced around the room and everyone was cringing and trying to to make eye contact. After she finished, I tried to make up a good story with a lesson about practicing. She still has a week before the recital so hopefully that will be enough time to improve.

From the start, her playing was an old wagon wheel in desperate need of oil is a metaphor. This means her playing sounded rusty or in need of lots of help.

300

I walked up the sidewalk from school and before I could even get to the door to let myself in, you will never believe what I smelled. Brownies! I can always smell mom's brownies from miles away. Her brownies are delicious and full of fudgy goodness. I walked in and it was as if the smell grew legs and walked towards me begging me to grab a plate. I instantly ran to the kitchen, grabbed a plate, and headed straight towards the brownies. I reached in and WHAM! My mom smacked my hand so quickly that it felt like a boulder had just fallen on it. "Those are for the bake sale at church tonight," cried Mom. I huffed and grabbed a granola bar and marched to my room. 

Identify at least two types of figurative language used in this passage and the example. Daily Double if you get them all!

Hyperbole: I can always smell mom's brownies from miles away.

Personification: it was as if the smell grew legs and walked towards me begging me to grab a plate.

Onomatopoeia: Wham

Simile: My mom smacked my hand so quickly that it felt like a boulder had just fallen on it

400

My new friend Sam asked me to come over to play video games after practice today. "Sounds like fun!" I thought. I had never been to Sam's house before, but he was a pretty cool kid, so I figured why not. His dad pulled up and I instantly regretted my decision. Sam's dad, Dan, drives up in this dark dingy Dodge Dakota, and the truck's engine was coughing its last breath. We don't drive a new car, but this thing was prehistoric! I didn't speak the entire ride. We pulled up to Sam's house and I couldn't believe what I saw. This house had to be the size of Michael Jordan's. I guess you should never judge a book by its cover. 

Identify at least two types of figurative language used in this passage and the example. Daily Double if you get them all!

Alliteration: Sam's dad, Dan, drives up in this dark dingy Dodge Dakota

Personification: truck's engine was coughing its last breath

Hyperbole: this thing was prehistoric

Idiom: judge a book by its cover

500

My son, Jake, is having 5 friends over tonight after their big soccer game. The last time they were at our house, they were wolves ravaging throughout my kitchen. Our kitchen could have been the size of Walmart and it would have been no match for these boys!

What type of figurative language is used here? What is the specific example? What does it mean?

Metaphor: They were wolves ravaging throughout my kitchen. They were extremely hungry and dug through everything to find food.