Comprehension
Passage 1: Why couldn’t Joshua sleep the night before his big baseball game?
He was worried about his pitching.
If I am feeling tired and have a runny nose I am in what zone?
Blue
You see a brush, large cans, and a drop cloth on the couch when you get home from school. It smells like chemicals in your living room. When your mom comes out of the kitchen, you can see she has white on her hands. What might she be doing?
Painting the living room
Melanie is in the fourth grade. Her favorite sport is soccer. She loves soccer because she gets to play with her friends. Scoring goals and celebrating with her team is what Melanie loves best. She also enjoys eating the oranges at half-time, they are delicious!
What is the main idea of this passsage?
Melanie's favorite sport is soccer.
My dog took my munch bag and my friend is teasing me in an annoying way. What zone am I in?
Red
Passage 2: How often did Kevin play his new video game?
Everynight after school
I feel ready to work and I have just enough energy, what zone are you in?
Green
Emily jumped off the school bus and ran to her front door. She unlocked it and went inside. Her teacher, Mrs. Fields, had passed out report cards earlier in the day and Emily couldn't wait any longer to look at hers. She had really put her heart into her schoolwork this quarter. Emily pulled the envelope from her backpack, her heart skipped a beat. She tore the envelope and slipped her grades out. Emily unfolded the paper. Her eyes bulged like a frog's. She couldn't wait for her mom to get home, so she could share the news with her.
What does "bulged" mean?
What is Omar's costume?
to jut out: swell
to bend outward
to be filled to overflowing
The sun is shining on a cool fall day. The students’ backpacks are filled with new notebooks and pencils. They wait at the bus stop, talking with their friends who they haven’t seen all summer. The teachers are happy as they greet the new students in the hallway on their way to class. Everyone is excited for the first day of school.
What is the main idea of this passage?
Everyone is excited for the first day of school.
We are playing dodge ball and I got hit once, I am back in and caught a ball and am ready to get every one out. What zone am I in?
Red
Passage 3: What does "Rex" mean? And in what language?
"King" in Latin
I have so much energy that I feel silly and want to joke with everyone, what zone am I in?
Yellow
Your neighbor is building something small in the backyard. He has wood, a hammer, nails and paint. He finally a paints the small roof red and adds some seeds. What do you think he could be building?
A bird house
It looks like a giant pelican with bat’s wings and has a nightmarish nickname to boot. The scientists who discovered fossilized remains of this monstrous flying reptile say they’ve found a new species. They call it by the Greek name,“Thanatosdrakon amaru.”
"It seemed appropriate to name it that way," the project leader told Reuters. "It's the dragon of death."
The team found the fossils while digging at a site in the Andes mountains.
These “dragons” are members of the pterosaur family. They flew above walking dinosaurs during the Cretaceous Period. That was 86 million years ago. They lived about 20 million years before an asteroid crashed into the Earth. The asteroid wiped out all the dinos.
The dragons were cold-blooded creatures. They are believed to be among the first flying animals to hunt their prey and had no flying competitors. So, the animals could dominate the air all over Earth. They evolved into various sizes and shapes.
Scientists say these fossils are among the largest pterosaur remains ever discovered. One specimen had a wingspan of 23 feet. The other had a 30 foot wingspan. That suggests they might have been blood relatives. Both had bodies as long as school buses. Both died at the same time, experts say.
The project leader says he’s never seen anything like these specimens: “We don’t have a current record of any close relative that even has a body modification similar to these beasts,” he said.
Scientists unearthed fossils of a flying dragon, "Dragon of Death", that roamed the Earth over 86 million years ago.
Donald has a hard time in math and could not understand what the teacher was talking about. What yellow emotion would he be feeling?
Frustrated
Passage 4: James Naismith invented basketball. He was a ____, ____, and ____.
Clergyman, educator, and physician
Fred went the whole night without sleeping and he is still wide awake and in what yellow zone?
Hyper
On April 10th, 1912, the Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton, United Kingdom. The Titanic was a British-registered ship, but owned by a US company in which John Pierpont, “JP” Morgan, was a major stockholder. The ship was the largest and most luxurious passenger ship of it’s time, and was said by many to be unsinkable. Most advertisements during the time of sailing focused on its size and accommodations for beautiful details, instead of focusing on the safety of the ship. The passengers traveling on the Titanic ranged from all sorts of folks. Businessmen who wanted to make deals, families who were traveling for leisure, and some who just wanted to experience the grandest ship in the world. Although the Titanic was mainly used for passenger liner, it was also used for carrying excessive amounts of cargo. While many hoped that the ship would last forever, on April 14 at 2:20 AM, the Titanic would become incapable of ever setting sail again.
extremely comfortable, elegant, or enjoyable, especially in a way that involved great expense
The world’s newest space race has shifted into high gear. Car companies have entered the race. They're trying to roll out new vehicles that drive across the moon’s surface. Toyota plans to build a moon rover with the help of Japan’s space agency, JAXA.
Toyota is developing its “Lunar Cruiser.” Experts predict the moon could be colonized by 2040. The automaker wants to help. The joint project has been going on since 2019. Toyota officials released details about the space vehicle last week.
Takao Sato heads the project. He said the cruiser is made to provide moon colonists with a car where they can sleep, work, eat, and talk to others.
“We see space as an area for our once-in-a-century transformation,” Sato told the Associated Press. “By going to space, we may be able to develop ... technology that will prove valuable to human life.”
The Lunar Cruiser is named after the company’s earthly land cruiser. It will come with a robotic arm. The car is set to be revealed by the end of 2030, company officials said.
General Motors is developing its self-driving Lunar Terrain Vehicle. Nissan is also creating a moon cruiser with JAXA. The company has not said whether the vehicle will be driven by a person.
What is the main idea of this passage with 1 supporting detail?
Automakers are racing to gets cars on the moon.
Bonnie did not get the drink she wanted for breakfast and now she found out her favorite class will be interrupted by a fire drill. What red emotion is she feeling.
Angry
Passage 5: Put the events in order:
A) Michael’s homework went missing.
B) Michael’s teacher said that if everyone completes their homework they get a prize.
C) Michael’s whole class got a prize.
D) Michael showed his teacher the picture of the squirrel with his homework.
E) The squirrel had eaten Michael’s homework.
B, A, E, D, C
B) Michael’s teacher said that if everyone completes their homework they get a prize.
A) Michael’s homework went missing.
E) The squirrel had eaten Michael’s homework.
D) Michael showed his teacher the picture of the squirrel with his homework.
C) Michael’s whole class got a prize.
Jen woke up early and found her favorite shirt. What green emotion is she feeling?
Excited
Your parents tell you to go to the gas station and fill the small can with gasoline for them while they sharpen the blade and check the motor. What is your parent going to do?
Mow the lawn
Imagine riding on a school bus with an engine that doesn’t roar like an old lion or stink like a diesel spill. Quieter, cleaner transportation is on the way for some kids as school districts roll out electric buses.
Around 25 million US students ride 480,000 buses to and from school daily. Nearly all of the buses run on diesel fuel. They emit more greenhouse gasses than other vehicles. The buses only get six miles per gallon of diesel. The air quality inside and around them is poor.
Not so with electric vehicles. The electric buses are cheaper to maintain, don’t pollute like the current buses, and are very quiet. However, the buses cost a lot. They cost at least twice as much as diesels. Schools also need the ability to charge them. That's stopped many school systems from buying them.
That’s starting to change. The Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package includes $5 billion for school buses. School districts are facing pressure from parents and activists to address children’s health concerns as well as the environment. So, they are coming up with funding on their own to buy more electric buses.
One school board in Maryland voted in 2021 to replace 25 diesel buses with electric ones. It's committed to swapping out its entire fleet through a lease program by 2035. California’s legislature has already paid for 1,167 electric buses. 1,000 more will be bought. In Florida, 12-year-old Holly Thorpe lobbied Miami-Dade Public Schools to apply for a state grant to purchase 50 electric buses. The school board got the grant.
What is the main idea of this passage with 2 supporting details?
School buses are being replaced with electric buses to benefit the health of kids and the environment.
Doug is feeling blue, because he lost his glasses and is having a hard time seeing. What blue emotion is he feeling?
Sad