Scholastic Teaching Resources 248890 Grades 4 5 Nonfiction Passages

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24 Nonfiction Passages
for Test Practice
Grades 4–5
by Michael Priestley

New York • Toronto • London • Auckland • Sydney
Mexico City • New Delhi • Hong Kong • Buenos Aires

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the designated reproducible pages
from this book for classroom use. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in
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New York, NY 10012.
Cover design by Solás
Interior design by Creative Pages, Inc.
Interior illustrations by Kate Flanagan, page 6; Greg Harris, pages 10, 20, 40;
Neil Riley, page 40
Interior photos by Chris Cole/Duomo/Corbis, page 5; Hulton Archive, pages 6, 16, 36;
Duomo/Corbis, page 24; Stock Montage, Inc., Chicago, page 44
ISBN 0-439-25609-7
Copyright © 2002 by Michael Priestley. All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice
Grades 4–5

" Contents #
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
1 1.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
2 1.
22.
23.
24.

Biography: A Soccer Superstar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Informational article: Where Did We Get That Word? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Letter to Mr. Peralta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
How-to guide: Secret Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
News story: The Amistad Sails Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Announcement: Get Ready for the Talent Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Informational article: Fighting Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Essay: On Being Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Biography: Sequoyah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Review: The World of Harry Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Franny’s Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Informational article: A Park in Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
How-to guide: How to Make a Swan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Biography: A Hero for the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Comparison/Contrast: Whales and Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
A Letter from Washington, D.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
A Kid Pages Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Editorial: School Uniforms? Think Again! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Textbook article: Kingdoms of Gold: The Empires of West Africa . . . . . . . .34
Speech: “I Will Fight No More Forever” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Advertisement: Crockett Travel Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Informational article: Beekeeping Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Autobiography: How I Came to the Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Comparison/Contrast: Bridging the Gaps in New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

!
24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Intr oduction to Teachers
Today’s students receive information from an ever-increasing number of sources. To manage
this overload of information, students must be able to distinguish between what is important
and what is not—a key skill in reading nonfiction. They must understand what they read in
traditional forms of nonfiction, such as textbooks and news articles, but they must also
comprehend newer forms of nonfiction, such as advertisements on Web sites and e-mail on the
Internet. Many students can benefit from reading more nonfiction, but finding good examples
of nonfiction for instruction at different grade levels can be challenging.

How to Use This Book
The purpose of this book is to provide interesting, well-written nonfiction selections for
students to read. These selections can be used for practice and instruction in reading nonfiction,
and they can be used to help prepare students for taking tests that include nonfiction passages.
This book provides 24 grade-appropriate nonfiction texts in a wide variety of genres, from
informational articles, letters, and biographies to e-mail announcements and how-to guides.
Each text (of one page or two pages) focuses on a high-interest topic and has:
•
•

a prereading question to help students focus on what they read.
a set of 2–6 comprehension questions that resemble the kinds of questions students will
see on standardized tests.

The questions with these texts are designed to measure critical thinking and comprehension
skills, such as summarizing information, drawing conclusions, and evaluating an author’s purpose
and point of view. These questions will help you assess students’ comprehension of the material
and will help students practice answering test questions. For different passages, questions include
multiple-choice items, short-answer items, and written-response items that require longer
answers. (You will find answers to these questions in the Answer Key beginning on page 46.)

Extending Activities
For some of these richly detailed texts, you may want to have students go beyond answering
only the questions that are provided. For example, for any given text you could have students
write a summary of the selection in their own words or rewrite the passage from a different
point of view. For some pairs of texts, you might have students compare and contrast the two
selections. For other texts, you might want to create writing prompts and have students write
full-length essays about what they have learned. Students will benefit from reading and
analyzing these texts, discussing them in class or in small groups, and writing about them in
a variety of ways.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Te x t 1

Date

Who is Brandi Chastain?

he United States and China were
tied 4–4 in the final game of the
Women’s World Cup soccer match.
More than 90,000 fans packed the Rose
Bowl in California, where the game was
being played. Another forty million
people were watching on TV. All eyes
were on Brandi Chastain, who was
about to take her turn in the penalty
kick shoot-out that would decide the
winner. The ball flew into the upper
right corner of the net. She had scored a
goal! The U.S. team won 5–4!
Making that final goal to win the 1999
World Cup may well have been the
highlight of Chastain’s career as a soccer
player. But it was not her only triumph.
She had been a soccer star in high school
and college. She played on a winning
World Cup team in 1991. At the 1996
Olympic games, when the U.S. women’s
team won the gold medal, Chastain
played every minute of every game.
Soccer was at the center of her life.
Unfortunately, there were no
women’s professional teams in the

United States for this talented athlete to
join. In 1993, Chastain played for one
season on a professional team in Japan.
She was voted the team’s most valuable
player. But when she returned home,
she could not continue playing soccer
as a professional.
Then at last, in May 2000, a United
States professional league for women was
formed. The Women’s United Soccer
Association (WUSA) set up eight teams.
Women from the 1999 World Cup team
were assigned to different
teams in the new league.
Brandi Chastain was
assigned to play for
San Francisco.
Would she mind
playing against her
former teammates?
Not likely! As usual,
Brandi Chastain
welcomed the
chance to play against
tough opponents—
and win.

When Brandi Chastain made the most famous goal of her
career, she was playing against —
A China.
C Japan.
B her former teammates.
D San Francisco.

What can you tell about the 1999 U.S. World Cup team from
this article?
F Members of the team had been playing together for many years.
G Everyone expected the team to win.
H The players were not professionals.
J It was the first U.S. team to win the Women’s World Cup.
24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Why is a sandwich called a

The dancer put a cardigan sweater over her leotard. Then she sat down to
eat a sandwich. Cardigan, leotard, sandwich—where did these words come
from? Did you know that each of them was a person’s name? Words that
come from proper names are called eponyms, and there are
many eponyms in English.
The sandwich, for example, was named for John
Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich. He lived from
1718–1792. He loved to play cards and did not want to
stop a game even to eat. By putting cold meat between
two pieces of bread, he could eat while he played.
The cardigan sweater was named for an officer in the
British army. In the 1800s, James Thomas Brudenell, the Earl of Cardigan,
spent his own money to buy special knitted jackets for the men in his
regiment. Knitted jackets with buttons soon came to be called cardigans.
Jules Leotard was a French circus performer. In 1859,
at the age of twenty-one, Leotard performed the first
mid-air somersault. He became known as the “daring
young man on the flying trapeze.” Leotard invented
a close-fitting one-piece suit to wear when he
performed. Dancers and acrobats still call their
close-fitting garments leotards.
Another person who gave her name to a style
of clothing was Amelia Bloomer. Bloomer was
the editor of a magazine called The Lily.
American women in her day were expected to
wear heavy skirts that dragged on the floor. In
1851, a young woman named Elizabeth Smith
Miller introduced a new kind of clothing that
was much easier to move around in. She wore
a dress that came only to the knees. Under it
she wore baggy pants that fitted close at the
ankles. Amelia Bloomer published a picture
of the outfit in The Lily. She hoped women
would adopt the new style. In news stories,
reporters called the pants “bloomers.”
A hundred years later, people were still
using the word bloomers for pants worn
under a dress.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

There are many other words that come from people’s names. The
diesel engine was named for its inventor, Rudolf Diesel. The word
boycott comes from the name of an English landlord named Charles
Boycott. Where each word came from is a story in itself. Who knows,
maybe your name will become a word someday.
1.

Which of these word stories would best fit in this article?
A Armadillo comes from a Spanish word meaning “armed.”
The animal’s hard shell looks like armor.
B Braille is a system of writing for the blind that was
developed by Louis Braille.
C Cricket is a word that imitates the sound a cricket makes.
D Dynamite comes from a Greek word meaning “power.”
Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, created the word.

Which of these words came from a person’s name?
F trapeze
G editor
H boycott
J acrobat

What is this article mainly about?

Why did the Earl of Sandwich invent the “sandwich”?

What are “bloomers,” and where did the word bloomers
come from?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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What did Mr. Peralta do?
October 9, 2001
Mr. Emilio Peralta, WKVP-TV
29 Rivera St.
Newtonville, Nebraska
Dear Mr. Peralta:
Thank you for speaking to our class last Thursday. It was very exciting to
meet a real television personality! We all learned a lot about how you make your
weather predictions. And it was fun to see some of the equipment you use.
After you left, we made a list of what we had learned. Then we set up a small
weather station outside our classroom. From now on, one student in the class
will be the weather person every day. He or she will record weather data in our
weather book. After a few months, we will start making graphs and charts that
show our weather patterns here in Nebraska. We will use the Internet to share
our information with students all over the United States. Next year’s students
will continue our work.
As you can see, your visit has given us a lot of ideas. Thank you so much for
opening our eyes to this interesting subject.
Sincerely,
B. J. Gluck
Mrs. Morse’s Class, Oakview School

What is B. J.’s purpose in writing this letter?

What is Mr. Peralta’s job?

Why do you think Mrs. Morse invited Mr. Peralta to speak to
her class?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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TIVVGRMTH! Can you guess what that means?

ould you and your friends like to write secret messages to each other?
If you read this article, you will soon know how to do it.
Secret codes have been used throughout history to send messages. A code
gives special meanings to symbols, words, or even a nod of the head. Codes
can be difficult to learn. Some codes can be used only by people who have
the same code book or computer program.
For secret messages that you write to your friends, it is best to use a cipher.
Unlike a code, a cipher uses the regular meanings of words. The words look
funny, though. Each letter has been changed to something else. It might be
another letter, a number, or a symbol. Words written in cipher are easy to
read once you know the key. Here is an example.
1) Write the alphabet in one row. Under it, write the alphabet backwards.
Place each letter directly under a letter in the first row.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N OP Q R S T U V WX Y Z
Z Y X WV U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A
2)
3)
4)

To write a message, use the letters in the second row to stand for the letters
you really mean. For example, the word YOU would be BLF.
To read the message, change each letter back. If BLF is in the message,
find B in the bottom row. You can see that it stands for Y.
People who want to know your secrets might try to figure out the key to your
cipher. To make the cipher harder to figure out, change the spacing of the
words. You can put letters in groups of five: HVXIV GNVHH ZTVHX
ZMYVU FM. Using the key, it becomes SECRE TMESS AGESC
ANBEF UN. Put the spaces in the right places. Now it says, “SECRET
MESSAGES CAN BE FUN.”

What does “TIVVGRMTH” mean? Use the cipher you learned
in this article.

Which is an example of a cipher?
A Apple stands for “Call me tonight.” Peach means “Don’t call.”
B WAFMAC means “Wait for me at the corner.”
C Raising the left thumb means “That’s right.”
D 1 stands for A, 2 for B, 3 for C, and so on, so 3-1-2 means “cab.”

How is a cipher different from a code?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Why would anyone build a new ship using really old plans?

YSTIC, Connecticut—
Thousands of people came
to the Mystic Seaport
recently to see the launch of a ship
called the Amistad. The ship’s
builders used plans and tools from
the nineteenth century to re-create a
wooden sailing ship. The ship took
two years to build.
The original Amistad became
famous in 1839. It was sailing to the
United States from Cuba. On board
were 53 Africans who had been
taken from Sierra Leone, their home
country, and shipped to Cuba. In
Cuba, they had been sold as slaves.
It was a crime to bring new slaves
into the United States. The men
who were bringing Africans to the
United States on the Amistad didn’t
care about the law. They had broken
it before. But this time they were in
for a terrible surprise. The Africans
on the ship rebelled. They killed the
captain and took over the ship.
The Africans wanted to
sail back to Sierra
Leone. The ship’s
crew fooled the
Africans and

took them to Connecticut instead.
There, the Africans were caught, put
in jail, and tried for murder. But in
the end, they won their freedom.
In 1976, Warren Marr, a magazine
editor, came up with the idea of
rebuilding the Amistad. He thought
it would be a good way to honor the
Amistad story (which was also told
in the 1997 movie Amistad, directed
by Steven Spielberg). For more than
14 years, Marr worked to interest
people in the project. In 1990, he
came to the Mystic Seaport. That’s
when the project really took off.
The Mystic Seaport helped raise
over three million dollars to build
the ship.
The new Amistad will be both a
ship and a museum. Its first stop
will be Operation Sail 2000 in New
York harbor on July 4. Then it will
sail on, carrying its story
of the struggle
for freedom.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

What is the main idea of this article?
A It was a crime to bring new slaves into the United States
in 1839.
B A new Amistad has been launched to help tell the
Amistad story.
C Warren Marr came up with the idea of rebuilding
the Amistad.
D The Africans who rebelled on the Amistad won
their freedom.

Why was the Amistad a famous ship?

In 1839, how did the Africans on the Amistad end up
in Connecticut?

Why do you think both Warren Marr and Steven
Spielberg wanted to retell the story of the Amistad?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Te x t 6

Would you like to be in a talent show?

Get Ready for the

TALENT SHOW
Get out your guitars! Dust off your drums! This year’s Carey School
Talent Show will be held on March 16.
To make this year’s show the best ever, we are trying to get as
many different kinds of acts as possible. Singers, tap dancers,
storytellers, magicians—whatever your talent may be, you are welcome
to sign up. We are also hoping to have more family acts with parents and
children performing together.
Most people seem to agree that last year’s show had too many lip-synch acts. Some
of them were too long. This year, we plan to limit the number of lip-synch acts to no
more than six. Each lip-synch group must have at least three people in it. The length of
each performance should be no more than five minutes. Groups
that want to do a lip-synch must choose a song and present
their idea to the Talent Show Committee by February 25.
The Talent Show sign-up sheet is in the school office.
Students who want to be in the show should sign up as soon
as possible. The last day to sign up is February 23. Mrs.
Whittle and Mr. Denby will make the final decision about
which acts will be included in the show.
1.

What kind of selection is this?
A editorial
B review

C
D

announcement
letter to the editor

What was the problem with last year’s Talent Show? What
changes are being made to correct the problem?

If you want to be in the Talent Show, you should —
F sign up in the office.
G talk to the Talent Show Committee.
H tell Mrs. Whittle or Mr. Denby.
J get a guitar.
24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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What is a bucket brigade?

othing gets people moving faster
than the word fire. When
someone yells “Fire!” most people
dash for the exits. Their only thought
is to get out of the building fast.
Firefighters, on the other hand, race
just as quickly toward the fire. They
want to put out the blaze as fast as
possible.
There are more than one million
firefighters in the United States today.
They are trained to put out fires.
Back in the 1600s, though, there
were no trained firefighters. Putting
out fires was everyone’s job.
Cities and towns had no
indoor plumbing, running
water, or fire hydrants, so
water from a pond, river, or
well had to be carried to the
fire in buckets. When a fire
broke out, everyone ran to
help. They formed a bucket

brigade. Men formed one line leading
from the water supply and passed
buckets of water to throw on the fire.
Women and children formed another
line, sending empty buckets back to
be filled. It was a very slow way to
put out a fire, and many homes
burned to the ground before they
could be saved.
Then in 1736, Benjamin Franklin
came up with the idea for a fire
department. He convinced a group of
people in Philadelphia to form the
Union Fire Company. They became
the first official volunteer firefighters.
Today, three out of four American
firefighters are volunteers. These
brave men and women do not get
paid for their work, but they are in
good company. George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, and Paul Revere
were all volunteer firefighters,
too, in their day.

People formed “bucket brigades” to —
A prevent fires from starting.
C rescue people trapped in a fire.
B put out fires.
D warn other people about a fire.

How did a bucket brigade work?

How, when, and where was the first fire company formed?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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What makes you special?

veryone likes to feel that he
or she is special.
Unfortunately, many of us
grow up believing that we’re not
special at all. We wish that we could
be better at sports or more attractive.
We wish we had nicer clothes or
more money. Like the Scarecrow,
the Tin Man, or the Cowardly Lion
from The Wizard of Oz, we believe
we’re not good enough just as we
are. In the movie, the Scarecrow
wishes that he had a brain. The Tin
Man wishes he had a heart, and the
Lion wants courage. In the end,
each of them realizes that he already
has what he needs.
Most parents want us to be the
best we can be. They sometimes try
to encourage us to do better by
comparing us to others. They mean
well, but the message we often get is
that we’re not good enough. We
begin to believe that the only way
we can be special is by being better

than someone else, but we are often
disappointed. There will always be
someone out there who is better than
we are at something. There are
plenty of people around who may
not be as smart as we are but who
are better at sports. Or they may not
be as good-looking, but they have
more money. It is impossible for us
to be better than everyone else all
the time.
Like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man,
and the Cowardly Lion, we all want
what we believe will make us better
people. What we don’t realize is that
often we already have inside us the
very things that we seek. Parents
sometimes forget to tell us that we are
special, that we are good enough just
as we are. Maybe no one told them
when they were growing up, or
maybe they just forgot. Either way, it’s
up to us to remind them from time to
time that each of us, in our own way,
is special. What we are . . . is enough.

This essay was most likely written by a —
A young person.
B parent.
C teacher.
D coach.

The author of this essay believes that —
F not everyone can be special.
G smart people are more special than others.
H the richer you are, the better you are.
J we are all good enough just the way we are.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Why does the author believe it is not a good idea to
compare yourself to others in order to feel special?

Why does the author discuss characters from The Wizard
of Oz in this essay? What point is the author trying to make?

What makes you special? Write a paragraph telling what
you like about yourself.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Who was Sequoyah?

!
#

magine a man who cannot read or
write. Now imagine that same man
creating a brand new alphabet from
scratch. It sounds next to impossible,
doesn’t it? Yet that is exactly what one
man did—a man named Sequoyah.
Born around 1770 in Tennessee,
Sequoyah was a Cherokee. Like other
Native Americans of that time, he could
neither read nor write. He couldn’t help
noticing, though, how white people wrote
to one another on sheets of paper. They
often used these “talking leaves,” as some
Native Americans called them, to communicate.
Back then, the Cherokee had no way to write down words in their own
language. Sequoyah believed it was important for the Cherokee to have a
system of writing. So, in 1809, he set out to create an alphabet that the
Cherokee could use to do just that.
Sequoyah started by drawing pictures, with each one representing
a different word or idea. He soon realized that writing sentences using
pictures would be much too difficult. There were too many words. No
one would ever be able to remember that many pictures.
Sequoyah decided to try a different approach. He began to develop
symbols to stand for the sounds, or syllables, that made up words. Twelve
years later, he completed a system of writing with 86 different symbols.
Each one stood for a different syllable in the Cherokee language. The
symbols could easily be put together to form words. Soon thousands of
Cherokee were able to read and write in their own language.
Sequoyah’s work did not end there, however. He helped to establish a
print shop and began publishing a bilingual newspaper in both Cherokee
and English. The shop also printed books translated from English into
Cherokee. In later years, Sequoyah also became a political leader
among the Cherokee.

#####
16

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Sequoyah died in 1843, but many Cherokee of today still use the
alphabet he invented. Thanks to him, the Cherokee now have a
written history that will never be forgotten. In honor of his
achievements, Sequoyah’s name was given to the giant redwood trees of
California and the Sequoia National Park. The name of Sequoyah
will never be forgotten either.
1.

Sequoyah is best remembered for —
A not being able to read or write.
B being raised as a Cherokee.
C drawing pictures to represent words or ideas.
D inventing a written language for the Cherokee.

White people used “talking leaves” to communicate.
What were “talking leaves”?

!
#

Which did Sequoyah do just after he completed the set of
symbols for the Cherokee language?
F He drew pictures to represent words and ideas.
G He began growing giant redwood trees.
H He helped to start a printing press and a newspaper.
J He became a political leader.

Give one reason why Sequoyah’s invention was important
to the Cherokee.

What did the people of the United States do to
honor Sequoyah?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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What is this Harry Potter book about?

ow would you like to
wake up one morning
and discover that you’re
really a wizard? That is
what happens to Harry Potter in
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,
a novel written by J.K. Rowling.
Harry, an orphan, has spent most
of his ten years living with his mean
relatives, the Dursleys. His Uncle
Vernon and Aunt Petunia treat him
like dirt. Their son Dudley is a big
bully who picks on Harry every
chance he gets.
Harry sleeps in a tiny closet under
the stairs and wishes that someone
someday would come take him
away. But that hasn’t happened yet.
Harry has all but given up hope
that it ever will.
A few days before Harry’s
eleventh birthday, strange letters
begin arriving. They are addressed
to Harry. His aunt and uncle,

though, won’t let him read them—
that is, until a giant named Hagrid
delivers one in person. That’s when
Harry learns that he is a wizard. He
has just been accepted as a student
at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry.
Just like that, Harry Potter goes
from being a nobody to being a
famous wizard. Who would have
guessed? Not only that, but Harry
also discovers that his parents didn’t
die in a car crash after all. They were
done in by an evil wizard, a wizard
so powerful that everyone is afraid
even to say his name: Voldemort.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s
Stone is a beautifully written
fantasy. If you love action,
you won’t be disappointed.
It is very funny and
imaginative, and it will
keep you reading long past
your bedtime.

In this book, Harry Potter finds out that he is —
A an orphan.
B a giant.
C an author.
D a wizard.

How does the author of this book review feel about Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer’s Stone? How can you tell?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 1

Date

On May 17, Franny got quite a scare. Read this
page from her journal to find out what happened.
May 17

I had the scare of my life today. When I stopped by Mrs. Nolan’s house, she asked if I
would mind taking her dog Buster out for a walk. Are you kidding? A few minutes later,
Buster and I were jogging happily toward the park.
We were almost there when this enormous black dog suddenly appeared from out of
nowhere. Before I could react, the giant dog attacked Buster and tried to sink its teeth into
Buster’s neck. I just stood there frozen, unable to move. The next thing I knew, both dogs
were rolling around on the ground, snarling and growling and biting each other. It was just
awful. I was too scared even to cry out for help.
Thank goodness someone showed up just then. A boy about my age grabbed the black
dog’s collar and pulled him off Buster. The black beast was his. He said he was really, really
sorry. His dog had yanked the leash right out of his hand and managed to get away. It
wouldn’t happen again.
I was still shaking when I got back to Mrs. Nolan’s house. Poor Buster was limping. One
ear was torn and he was bleeding in several places. Mrs. Nolan took one look at us and gasped.
I helped her load Buster into the car, and we drove right over to the animal hospital.
Buster was beaten up pretty badly, but the vet says he should be fine in a few days. I’m not so
sure about me, though. I still feel it was my fault that Buster got hurt. Mrs. Nolan says, no, no,
of course not, there was nothing I could do. But her kind words didn’t make me feel any better.
1.

On the way to the park, Buster —
A escaped from Mrs. Nolan.
B attacked someone else’s dog.

C
D

was attacked by another dog.
bit another dog’s owner.

Who do you think was really to blame for Buster getting hurt?
Tell why you think so.

How did Franny feel about what happened to Buster?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 2

Date

Will the Everglades be lost forever?

100 MI

si m

Ki s

Ri v e

verglades National Park is the
most endangered national
park in America. The
purpose of making a national park is
to protect the plants and animals that
live there. But things that happen
outside the park also affect the life
within it.
Everglades National Park is part
of a much larger area known as the
Everglades. At one time, water
flowed freely in the Everglades.
During the rainy season, water
would fill the Kissimmee River.
Then it flowed into Lake
Okeechobee. Once the lake became
full, water spilled over onto the flatland. From there a shallow sheet of
water moved slowly down the
Florida Peninsula. Then it emptied
into Florida Bay. This shallow sheet
of water was the Everglades River. It
was only a few inches deep in some
spots. But it was up to 50 miles
wide and over 100 miles long.
The Everglades are home to many
plants and animals found nowhere
else in the world. Today, some of
these plants and animals are in
danger of disappearing forever.

FLORIDA

Lake
Okeechobee

Everglades
National Park

Miami

Gulf of Mexico
N
W

E
S

Florida
Bay

Atlantic
Ocean

The main reason is that the
Everglades is no longer a freeflowing river. Canals have been built
to drain most of the shallow river.
People have also built a dam to hold
back water from Lake Okeechobee.
Most of the water from the
Everglades is trapped in manmade
lakes. Cutting off the flow of water
into Everglades National Park has
done more harm than good. Now it
threatens the wildlife in the park.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Water pollution is another reason some plants and animals are disappearing.
Years ago, large areas of the Everglades were drained and turned into farmland.
Today the fertilizers used on crops are polluting the water. The “river of grass”
is slowly disappearing. The tall sawgrass that once grew in the Everglades
River is being replaced by cattails. Many other kinds of plants are
disappearing. Animals that depend on these plants for food no longer have
anything to eat.
The problems facing Everglades National Park are very serious. But there
is still hope. Work is already underway to save the Everglades. The federal
government, the state of Florida, and several other groups are all working
together to try to undo the damage. But can they do it? Can they save the
Everglades before it is too late?
1.

What is another good title for this article?
A “Saving the Everglades”
C “Following the River”
B “Rare Plants and Animals”
D “Canals, Dams, and Lakes”

What is the main source of problems in the Everglades?
F The rainy season is too short.
G There are too many plants and animals.
H Water is no longer allowed to flow freely.
J Water spills out of Lake Okeechobee.

Give an example of how things that happen outside the
Everglades National Park affect the plants and animals within it.

How do you think the author of this article feels about the ways
people have changed the Everglades? Tell why you think so.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 3

Date

What is origami?

If you have ever folded a piece of paper to make an airplane, you were
practicing the ancient Japanese art of origami. The word origami comes from
two Japanese words: ori, which means “to fold,” and kami, which means
“paper.” In origami, a single sheet of paper is folded in different ways to create
different shapes, such as animals or flowers. The nice thing about origami is
that you can do it anywhere. There is no cutting, gluing, or drawing. Follow
the directions below to learn how to make a beautiful swan. All you need to get
started is one square sheet of paper.
Step 1. Look at the picture. Place your paper
exactly the same way in front of you. Fold the
paper in half as shown, then unfold it. (The
dotted line shows where to fold the paper.)

Step 2. Carefully fold the lower edges toward
the center of the paper as shown. Make sure the
edges meet in the middle. If you fold the paper
really well, there won’t be a big space between
the edges. Make sure the edges do not overlap
or rest on top of each other. This could cause
parts of your swan sculpture to lock together so
that it rips.
Step 3. Your paper should now look like this.
(The gray shading means the back of the paper
is showing.) Turn the paper over.

Step 4. Fold the paper
as shown below.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Step 5. To make the swan’s neck, fold the bottom point up.

Step 6. Fold down the head. You can change what the swan
looks like by changing the length of the neck or of the head.

Step 7. Fold the swan in half, as shown.

Step 8. Grab the swan by its neck and pull the paper up.
Keep pulling until it looks right to you. Then squeeze the
paper at the base of the swan’s neck to crease it.
Congratulations! You’ve just turned a
flat piece of paper into a beautiful swan!
1.

What is origami?
A a type of swan
B an old Japanese person

C
D

the art of folding paper
a special kind of paper

How can you tell where to fold the paper even if the directions
don’t say?

What should you do next after you make the swan’s neck?
F Unfold the paper.
H Fold the bottom point up.
G Turn the paper over.
J Fold down the head.

What should you do last, and why do you think it is necessary?

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 4

Date

What does it take to become a hero?

hen baseball player Sammy Sosa steps
up to the plate, he hits home runs, and
lots of them.
Born in 1968 in the Dominican Republic,
Sammy Sosa learned early the value of hard
work. When Sosa was only seven, his father
died, leaving the family extremely poor.
Everyone pitched in to help support the
family. Sammy shined shoes every day and
gave every penny he earned to his mother.
Young Sosa was so busy working, he did
not have much time to play. Every once in a
while, though, he would join some of the other
neighborhood boys in a game of baseball. Too
poor to own real equipment, the boys used
tree branches or scraps of wood for bats and
milk cartons for baseball gloves. The baseball
was a piece of cloth wrapped with tape.
When he was fourteen, Sosa got to play on a real baseball team in his
hometown. It was the first time he’d ever played using a real glove. He worked
hard, and he had a lot of natural talent. When he hit the ball, he hit it hard.
Shortly after Sosa turned sixteen, he was noticed by a scout for the Texas
Rangers. The Rangers offered him a contract to play baseball in the United
States. Sosa signed the contract on July 30, 1985, becoming a professional
baseball player at age sixteen.
Sosa was not an instant success. He still had a lot to learn about the game
of baseball. Even though he could hit a fastball hard for a home run, he
struck out a lot. Then he also started making more mistakes in the field.
Finally, in 1989, the Rangers traded Sosa to the Chicago White Sox.
The White Sox were excited about having him. This helped restore Sosa’s
confidence, and he began to play well again. Unfortunately, his success did
not last. Part of Sosa’s problem was that he was trying too hard. He was
thinking too much. He ended up making more and more mistakes. In 1992,
the White Sox traded Sosa to the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs believed Sosa could become a great player. They began to work
with him to improve his batting. Sosa worked harder than ever before. Soon
he was hitting more and more home runs, and he continued to improve. By
1998, he had become baseball’s best all-around player. He was voted the
National League’s Most Valuable Player that year.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

On the playing field or off, Sammy Sosa is, indeed, a hero for the
world. In 1997, he created the Sammy Sosa Foundation to help people
less fortunate than himself. “I want to be known as a good person more
than a baseball player,” Sosa said. He has donated money to worthy
causes in both the Dominican Republic and in Chicago. When
Hurricane Georges hit the Dominican Republic in 1998, Sosa arranged
to have food, blankets, and other supplies sent there. Sosa’s foundation
also raised $700,000 to help his country.
For his outstanding service to the community, Sosa received the
Roberto Clemente Award in 1998. Mrs. Vera Clemente was present,
and she had this to say about Sosa: “He’s not just a good baseball
player, but a great human being.” These words most likely meant more
to Sosa than any award he received that year.
1.

Which of these events happened first?
A The Texas Rangers traded Sosa to the White Sox.
B Sosa played on a baseball team in the Dominican Republic.
C Sosa signed a contract to play baseball in the United States.
D A scout for the Texas Rangers noticed Sosa.

What is the most important thing in the world for
Sammy Sosa?
F being a good baseball player
G living in the United States
H helping others
J being voted the Most Valuable Player

Why was Sosa most likely traded by the Rangers?

In what way is Sammy Sosa a “hero for the world”? Give
one or two examples.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 5

Date

When is a whale not a whale?

here are about 76 different
kinds of whales and dolphins
around the world. Even
though they live in water, whales
and dolphins are not fish. They are
warm-blooded mammals, like cats,
dogs, and humans. Like other
mammals, their babies are born
alive and feed on mother’s milk.
Mammals breathe air and cannot
breathe underwater as fish do. Most
whales and dolphins must come up
for air after several minutes, or they
would drown. A few, though, can
stay under for an hour or more.
All whales and dolphins belong to
the group of mammals called
cetaceans. There are two main kinds
of cetaceans: those with teeth and
those without. Toothed whales have
sharp teeth that they use to catch,
bite, and kill their prey.
Baleen whales, on
the other hand,
do not have
teeth. Instead,
they have mouths
full of hanging plates called
baleen, which look like big brushes
or combs. These are used to filter
bits of food from the water. The
baleen whales are the real giants of
the sea. One kind of baleen whale,
the blue whale, is the largest
living thing on Earth.

All dolphins are whales, and they
have teeth. Names can be confusing,
though, especially when some
dolphins are called dolphins and
some others are called whales.
Killer whales, for example, are
really dolphins.
The killer whale is one of the
most handsome beasts in the sea.
It doesn’t look much like other
dolphins, which are a dull gray or
all black. The killer whale is marked
with a clear pattern of black and
white, and it is the largest of the
dolphins. But it is still much smaller
than the baleen whales.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Bottlenose dolphins are probably the best known dolphins. They are
the ones most often seen on TV and in marine parks. They can be trained
to perform jumps, flips, and other exciting moves. Killer whales, too, can
be trained to perform jumps and flips. Sea World’s Shamu® is one
example. During their training and while they are performing, the
dolphins are rewarded often, usually with a fish, for carrying out certain
behaviors. However, since these are all natural behaviors to begin with,
the question is, who’s training whom? Dolphins and whales are very
intelligent creatures.
1.

The killer whale is really a —
A dolphin.
B fish.
C porpoise.
D baleen whale.

Which of these statements is an opinion?
F All dolphins are whales.
G The killer whale is one of the most handsome beasts in the sea.
H Most dolphins are dull gray or all black.
J The blue whale is the largest living thing on Earth.

What are the two main kinds of cetaceans? Tell how
they differ.

All dolphins are whales, but not all whales are dolphins.
Explain.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Date

Te x t 1 6

What did Alicia see in Washington?

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24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Date

What kind of letter is this?
A a business letter
B a thank-you note

C
D

an invitation
a friendly letter

Where did Alicia and her family go to get a good view of
Washington, D.C.?
F the Washington Monument
H the Capitol
G the Lincoln Memorial
J the Jefferson Memorial

Which museum did Alicia and her family go to first?
A the National Air and Space Museum
B the Museum of Natural History
C the Museum of American History
D the Museum of African Art

Where did Alicia’s family go on the day it rained?

What did Alicia and her family plan to see in Virginia
and Maryland?

In the boxes on the left, write two words that
describe Alicia. In the boxes on the right, give a
detail from the letter to support each word
you choose.
Words That
Describe Alicia

Supporting Details

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 7

Date

Who is Fiona Walker, and what does she do?

Fiona Walker is a naturalist. She
works with fourth and fifth graders
in an after-school nature program
called Nature Web. We spoke with
her about Nature Web and her work
as a naturalist.
Q. What is Nature Web?
A. Nature Web is an after-school
program developed by the
McFarlane Nature Center. Our goal
is to help students and their parents
learn about the plant and animal life
around them. A few years ago, we
noticed that children seem to know a
lot about the rain forest. But they
don’t know what lives in their own
backyards! We want people to
develop pride in their own towns.
We hope they will want to protect
the region’s natural areas.
Q. How can kids join Nature Web?
A. We have Nature Web groups at
12 elementary schools. At those
schools, any fourth or fifth grade
student can sign up to be in a group.
Q. What will the kids do after they
join Nature Web?
A. Each Nature Web group meets
once a month with two naturalists
from the center. The naturalists plan
and lead an activity.
Q. What kind of activities do
you plan?

A. We do lots of different things.
Often, we hike outdoors to identify
wildlife. We explore swamps and
wooded areas. We follow animal
tracks in the snow. We learn to
identify the calls of different birds.
We use a microscope to look at life
in a drop of pond water. At the end
of every meeting we return to the
school to talk about our findings.
Q. Do you think the program has
been successful so far?
A. We’ve had some wonderful
experiences. One of my favorites
was Biodiversity Day. We wanted
our students to discover how many
different species live in one small
area. One Saturday, we asked them
each to spend two hours studying
nature in their own neighborhoods.
The idea was to write down every
living thing they saw. One girl
found 53 species in her own yard.
They ranged from moss and ants to
oak trees and squirrels.
Q. Why did you decide to become
a naturalist?
A. I’ve always loved being
outdoors. I’m curious about
everything I see and hear. Really,
anyone who loves nature and wants
to learn as much as possible about it
is a naturalist. I’m just lucky to have
a job that lets me do what I love all
the time.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

The main reason for this interview
with Fiona Walker was to find out about —
A a famous person.
B local plants and animals.
C her job as a naturalist.
D Biodiversity Day.

Based on what you learned in this interview, what
do you think biodiversity means?
F people who love science
G different kinds of living things
H a place to study
J time spent away from school

Nature Web’s goal is to encourage more people to —
A support the McFarlane Nature Center.
B learn about the rain forest.
C use time after school for learning.
D appreciate the living things around them.

How does Fiona Walker feel about her job?

What does it take to become a naturalist? Name
two things.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 8

Date

What do you think about school uniforms?

School Uniforms?

Think Again!

At Tuesday’s meeting of the school
Indeed, what is the issue? What
committee, Superintendent Russell
problem is our superintendent trying
made his position clear. He wants
to solve? Would children really feel
the children in our city’s public
better about themselves if they had
schools to wear school uniforms.
to wear clothes that someone else
“Uniforms make life easier for
picked out? Americans like to
families,” he said. Parents do not
express themselves through their
have to decide what kind of clothes
clothes. Uniforms can crush
to buy for school. And,
creativity. Paying for
it’s easier to get ready for Uniforms make it uniforms might be hard
school each day.
for some families. They
“Uniforms help children easier for children would have to pay for
feel better about
the uniform no matter
of different
themselves,” he added.
what it costs. Then
backgrounds
to
Children from families
they would need to buy
in need wear the same
other clothes for their
make friends.
clothes as children from
children to wear outside
rich families. Uniforms
of school.
make it easier for children of different
Mr. Russell has asked the school
backgrounds to make friends.
committee to vote for his plan.
His suggestion sparked a lively
Clearly, this city is not ready to
debate. Two committee members,
make a decision yet. We need more
Stan Oakley and Mae Stokes, said
information. The school committee
they thought it was a good idea. Mr.
should interview students, parents,
Oakley suggested that the schools
and teachers in towns that have
would look much neater. Children’s
school uniforms. They should do
behavior might even improve.
research to find out the cost of
Others were not so sure. “Is there
uniforms. Then they should hold
a problem now?” asked Gary
public meetings to discuss their
Washington. “I wasn’t aware that
findings. It would be foolish to rush
this was an issue.”
into a vote on this question.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Which sentence from the selection is a fact?
A Uniforms help children feel better about themselves.
B Americans like to express themselves through their clothes.
C Mr. Russell has asked the school committee to vote for his plan.
D It would be foolish to rush into a vote on this question.

Why does Superintendent Russell think school uniforms are a
good idea? List two reasons.

What is the writer’s opinion of school uniforms? How can
you tell?

What action does the writer recommend?

What is your own opinion on school uniforms? Give reasons
for your opinion.

24 Nonfiction Passages for Test Practice: Grades 4-5 © Michael Priestley, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name

Te x t 1 9

Date

Which part of Africa was known as the Land of Gold?

Kingdoms of Gold: The Empires of West Africa

he kingdoms of West Africa are not
nearly as well known as those of
ancient Egypt and Nubia. Yet there was
a time when rulers of this region were
thought to be the richest kings in all the
world. From about A.D. 300 to 1700,
three great empires flourished in the
lands just to the south of the Sahara
Desert. These were the empires of
Ghana, Mali, and Songhay.

resources. The most important of these
were gold and salt. Gold came from
secret locations in the south. There
was so much gold that the Ghana king
had to control the supply carefully.
Otherwise, it might become too
common and lose its value.
Salt, on the other hand, was very
scarce. Because people need salt to live,
it was literally worth its weight in gold.
Most of the salt came from the Taghaza
mines in the Sahara Desert. Traders
bringing salt through Wagadu had to pay
a large tax in gold. The gold went to the
king, who used it to keep the army and
the government strong. Wagadu had so
much gold that the first Arabic writer to
write about it called it the Land of Gold.

The Empire of Ghana

Today, Ghana is the name of a West
African country on the Atlantic coast.
It was not part of the ancient empire of
Ghana, though. The country of Ghana
adopted the name in 1957 in honor of
the ancient empire of Ghana.
The word Ghana actually means
“warrior-king.” It was a title given to the
rulers of the Soninke people who called
their homeland Wagadu. Wagadu was
located at the edge of the Sahara Desert,
far from the ocean.
The Soninke people were highly
skilled in metal working. For many years
they were the only people in the region
who knew how to forge iron. This skill
helped them become powerful. Metal
tools made their farms more productive.
One farmer could grow enough food for
many people. This left more people free
to follow other occupations. Many men
became soldiers. Using metal swords and
spears, they easily conquered rivals whose
weapons were made of wood or stone.
As Wagadu grew in size and power, it
became an important center of trade.
The regions around it had a variety of

Spain

Africa
Atlantic
Ocean
N

Miles

500

Western Africa

Showing the Ancient Kingdoms of
Mali

Songhay

Gulf
of
Guinea

Influence of the Arabs

By the year 680, powerful
Arab armies had conquered most
of North Africa. When they
reached Morocco, they heard
about a land of gold across the
desert. They sent an army south
to conquer it. The Arabs were
surprised by the power of the
Wagadu army. They decided it
would be wiser to trade with
these people than to fight them.

The people of Wagadu had no
written language until the Arabs
came. The earliest accounts of
life in Wagadu were written by
Arabs. They called the kingdom
Biland Ghana, “the land of the
warrior-king.” This was
shortened to Ghana. That is why
the first great West African
kingdom is called Ghana rather
than Wagadu.

In a social studies textbook, this article would most likely
be included in a unit called —
A “The Age of Exploration.”
B “Ancient African Kingdoms.”
C “The Arab World.”
D “The History of Songhay.”

What did the word Ghana originally mean?
F a country on the Atlantic coast of Africa
G a country south of the Sahara Desert
H the people of Wagadu
J a ruler of the Soninke people

How did skill in forging iron help make the Soninke
people powerful?

Why was salt so expensive? Give two reasons.

Name

Te x t 2 0

Date

Who was Chief Joseph?

The Nez Percé people lived for many centuries in the part of America we
now call Oregon. In the 1800s, white settlers began pouring into that rich and
beautiful land. The settlers wanted the land for themselves, and they had the
United States Army to help them take it. A band of Nez Percé, led by Chief
Joseph, fought hard for the right to stay on their land, but in the end they were
defeated. In 1877, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Howard of the United
States Army. His speech ended with these famous words:
Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart
is sick and sad. From where the sun now
stands I will fight no more forever.
Chief Joseph and the other survivors of his
band were forced to leave their homeland.
They were sent far away to reservations in
Kansas and Oklahoma. Many died of
sickness. Those who lived wanted desperately
to go back home. In January 1878, Chief
Joseph delivered a speech to a large gathering
of United States officials and congressmen.
He spoke through an interpreter.
There has been too much talking by
men who had no right to talk. Too many
misrepresentations have been made, too many misunderstandings have come
up between the white men about the Indians. If the white man wants to live
in peace with the Indian he can live in peace. There need be no trouble.
Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even
chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief.
They are all brothers. . . .
You might as well expect the rivers to run backward as that any man who
was born free should be contented penned up and denied liberty to go where
he pleases. . . .
Let me be a free man—free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to
trade, where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the
religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself—and I will
obey every law, or submit to the penalty.

The main purpose of Chief Joseph’s speech in January 1878
was to —
A create misunderstandings between whites and Indians.
B make the American people feel sorry for him.
C persuade the U.S. government to let him return to his homeland.
D teach white people about Indian religious beliefs.

Which sentence best expresses the main theme of Chief Joseph’s
speech?
F People who break laws cannot expect freedom.
G Whites can live in peace with Indians if they respect them as equals.
H A country’s laws are more important than individual people.
J People with freedom to travel and work where they choose will obey
the law.

What clue do you have that the U.S. government did not believe
Chief Joseph when he said he would “fight no more forever”?

Reread the sentence that begins, “You might as well expect the
rivers. . .” What does Chief Joseph mean? Rewrite the sentence,
using your own words to express the same idea.

Reread the last paragraph of Chief Joseph’s speech. Do you think
that what he is asking for is reasonable? Why or why not?

Name

Te x t 2 1

Date

Which travel deal would you choose?

1-800-555-7000
For your next vacation, book a fabulous trip with us!
Boston, MA

Stay at the Huntley Plaza in downtown Boston, walk the
Freedom Trail, visit historic sites. You can even go to a Red Sox
baseball game! Your children will have a ball! $179* per night
Big Sky, MT

Hey, dude! Spend a week at the Big Sky Dude Ranch where
you’ll learn to ride horses, camp under the stars, and tend cattle.
Now that sounds like fun! $89* per night
Orlando, FL

Meet Mickey Mouse and play some golf! Spend your days at
the theme parks and your nights at the show! Restaurants, beaches,
fireworks—we’ve got it all! $185* per night
Lake Tahoe, CA

See the most beautiful lake in America! Climb mountains, enjoy
spectacular scenery and wildlife, and go mountain biking. Try the
thrilling Alpine Slide. It’s an experience you’ll never forget!

$199* per night

New York, NY

See the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Ellis
Island! Watch a Broadway show and take a carriage ride through
Central Park! You’ll have the time of your life! $209* per night
*All special rates are per room, based on double occupancy.
Offers not valid during holiday periods, July 1–6 and September 3–8.

Which place offers historic sites to visit?
A Boston
C Lake Tahoe
B Orlando
D Big Sky

If you go to Big Sky, Montana, you will —
F see a baseball game.
H see a Broadway show.
G play golf.
J ride horses.

This advertisement gives a special price for each trip. On
which of these dates would the prices be different from the
prices listed in the ad?
A June 28–29
C July 20–21
B July 4–5
D August 9–10

Which two places described in this advertisement focus on
nature and doing things outside? Name the two places and
describe what they offer.

If you could choose one of these five places to visit, which
would you choose, and why? Give at least two reasons.

Name

Te x t 2 2

Date

What can we learn from bees?

Open a jar of golden honey. Spread some on a slice of toast. Take a bite and
enjoy its special sweetness. There’s nothing else quite like it!
Where does honey come from? Bees make it, right? But wait! Bees are
insects. They don’t set up little factories for making honey and putting it in
jars, do they? What’s the real story behind the honey we eat?
Since ancient times, people have known that bees make a delicious, sweet
food. To get it, people would search for a hive of wild bees and steal the honey.
Then some people figured out that they could get honey more easily if they
made hives for bees to live in. They became beekeepers.
The first hives were probably hollow logs or clay pots turned on their sides.
Later, in about 1500, farmers in Europe began building straw beehives that
looked like baskets turned upside down. Farmers from Europe brought
honeybees with them to America in the 1600s.
Around 1850, an American beekeeper invented a better kind of hive called
the hanging movable-frame beehive. It looks like a stack of boxes. Inside are
wooden frames where bees build wax honeycombs for storing their honey. This
is the kind of hive that most beekeepers use today.
The amazing thing about a beehive is how much it actually is like a little
factory for making honey. Each hive is home to a colony of as many as 60,000
bees. A colony has one queen that lays eggs. Other bees have different jobs,
such as building the honeycomb, keeping it
clean, feeding the young, or making honey.
Some bees are guards that protect the hive.
If a guard thinks you are a danger to the
colony, it will sting you.
Honey is made from nectar, a sweet
liquid inside flowers. A bee sucks nectar
from a flower and then brings it back to the
hive. A wax-making bee places the
nectar in a honey cell. Other bees add
more and more nectar to the honey
cell. The nectar is mostly water when
it is first brought to the hive. “House bees”
fan their wings over the cell to remove the water. As the water evaporates, the
nectar changes into honey. When the honey in a cell is ready, the bees cover it
with a wax cap.

Beekeepers give the bees several months to fill the honeycombs in a
hive. Bees must gather nectar from more than a million flowers to make
just one pound of honey! When the honey is ready to harvest,
beekeepers wear special clothes that cover their bodies completely.
Otherwise, they would surely be stung many times as they pull frames
filled with honey from the hive.
Using special tools, beekeepers can extract the honey without
breaking the honeycomb. They do this so that the bees will not need to
rebuild the honeycomb. When the beekeeper puts the frames back into
the hive, the bees will start filling them with honey again.
No bee can make honey alone. It takes a large team of very hard
workers to get the job done. We could learn a lot from these little
creatures about working together and getting things done.
1.

Beekeepers extract honey without breaking the
honeycomb. What does extract mean?
A take out
C make
B fill up
D eat

How is a beehive like a factory?

List four steps in the making of honey.
1
2
3
4

Which sentence best states the main idea of this article?
F Be careful around honeybees—they sting!
G An American invented the best kind of beehive.
H Honeybees are useful and interesting creatures.
J Beekeepers have been around for a long time.

Name

Te x t 2 3

Date

Can one accident lead to a life ’s career?

One week before my seventh birthday, my sister and I were playing in the
basement with a friend. Our older brother had installed a bar across a doorway
for doing chin-ups. We were taking turns standing on a sturdy toy chest. We
would leap off the chest, grab the bar, and swing for a moment before dropping
to the ground. After each successful round, we moved the chest farther from
the bar. I was the smallest one playing the game, so it’s probably not surprising
that I was the first one to miss the bar. My mother had just called us for lunch.
I took one last flying leap as the others ran up the stairs. This time I landed
face first on the hard floor.
I spent that afternoon in the dentist’s office, where they pulled out bits of
broken tooth and sewed up my torn gums. A few weeks later, I was fitted with
a brand new pair of front teeth. I was very proud of them. I had lost my baby
teeth before the accident, but my permanent teeth had not yet grown in. I saw
myself with big grown-up teeth for the first time. I loved showing my friends
how I could pop them in and out of my mouth whenever I wanted to.
As I got older, I began to realize just how lucky I was to be born in the
1950s instead of the 1750s. When we learned about George Washington at
school, what I remembered best was that he had false teeth. I learned that his
mouth looked funny in his portraits because his teeth were made of wood.
They were very uncomfortable. They never fit quite right. This really got me
thinking. What if I had lived back then? I came from a family of poor farmers,
not presidents. What hope would I ever have had for a normal smile? My
whole life could have been ruined by an accident at the age of six.
It’s strange how one thing leads to another. I might have decided to become
a dentist so that I could help others as I had been helped. Instead, I found
myself thinking more and more about how people’s lives are changed by
inventions. My grandmother walked from her farm to a one-room schoolhouse
when she was a child. There were no cars or buses to ride in. I went to a big
school with different teachers for every grade. That was because modern buses
could bring children to school from miles around. What other parts of our lives
had changed because of inventions? I loved thinking about it.
When I went to college, I decided to study history. I soon tired of learning
about governments, kings, and wars. I wanted to know about the everyday
lives of ordinary people. That’s when I discovered archaeology.

Archaeologists study buildings, tools, pottery, bones, and other
objects from the past. They use them to figure out how people lived
long ago. Some archaeologists work in the field, carefully digging up
objects that have been buried for hundreds or even thousands of years.
I prefer writing and talking about the things that other people have dug
up. That’s what I do as a museum curator. The exhibits I set up help
visitors understand how people’s lives have changed over time. I haven’t
set up an exhibit about the history of dentistry yet, but I probably will
someday. I think about it every time I brush my teeth!
1.

What kind of selection is this?
A news story
B how-to guide

C
D

autobiography
editorial

What does the author of this article do in her job?
F She fixes people’s teeth.
G She digs up objects from the past.
H She invents things that change people’s lives.
J She sets up museum exhibits.

Why was the author interested in George Washington’s
teeth?

Why did the author decide to study archaeology?

What kinds of things would you expect to see in an
exhibit about the history of dentistry?

Name

Te x t 2 4

Date

Why did New York City need bridges?

New York City is the biggest, busiest city in the United States. But
different parts of the city are separated by water. As the city grew, people
needed to get from one part of the city to another. They needed bridges.
The Brooklyn Bridge
In the 1850s, an engineer named John Roebling designed a bridge that
would cross the East River between Manhattan Island and Brooklyn. Long
bridges in those days usually rested on a series of solid supports. But that
kind of bridge would block ships. Roebling wanted to build a suspension
bridge that hangs in the air. Thick cables suspended from two towers would
hold the bridge up. Ships would be able to sail underneath.
Roebling had a hard time
convincing people that the
bridge would be safe. It would
be much longer than any
suspension bridge yet built.
Finally, in 1869, Roebling’s
plans were approved. But he
died suddenly before work
began. His son, Washington
Roebling, took over.
The most dangerous part of
the job was sinking the
foundations that would support the towers. Men worked deep under water in
chambers called caissons. When they came up, they often experienced terrible
pain. Many workers were crippled or even killed. Today, we know that
people working deep under water need to come up slowly to let their bodies
adjust to the change in pressure. But in those days, no one knew what caused
the illness. Washington Roebling himself became too ill to leave his bed. He
watched the progress of the bridge through his window.
In 1872, work on the towers began. The completed towers rose 276 feet
above the water. Then thousands of thin steel wires were strung from
Brooklyn to Manhattan and attached to the towers. Bundles of wire were
wrapped together to make four main cables, each about 16 inches thick. This
was the first time that steel cables had been used for a bridge. A roadway was
hung from the main cables. Then extra cables were added for strength.

After 14 difficult years, the Brooklyn Bridge finally opened in 1883. It
had a main span of 1,595 feet—the longest in the world. The roadway
was 135 feet above the river. The bridge was not only a great feat of
engineering, it was also a beautiful sight.
The George Washington Bridge
After the success of the Brooklyn Bridge, people began to dream of a
bridge connecting Manhattan with New Jersey. It would have to cross
the Hudson River and would be longer than any bridge yet built. In
1925, an engineer named Othmar Ammann was given the job. His
bridge would have a main span of 3,500 feet—more than twice that of
the Brooklyn Bridge! It would arch 200 feet above the river. Each of
its towers would stand 604 feet high. The steel cables would be three
feet thick.
Work on the bridge began in 1927. It was completed just four years
later. The George Washington Bridge was a wonder of engineering. It
was thinner and more graceful than any suspension bridge built before.
New York City had once again broken the record for the longest
suspension bridge. And it was now home to two of the most beautiful
bridges in the world.
1.

Compared with the George Washington Bridge, the
Brooklyn Bridge is —
A taller.
C longer.
B older.
D heavier.

Name three things that are the same about the
two bridges.

Why do you think the Brooklyn Bridge took longer to
build than the George Washington Bridge?

Answer Key
1. A Soccer Superstar
1. A
2. H
2. Where Did We Get That Word?
1. B
2. H
3. It is about eponyms, or words that come
from people’s names.
4. He could eat while playing cards without
stopping the game.
5. Bloomers are pants worn under a dress.
They were first shown in a magazine edited
by Amelia Bloomer, and reporters called
the pants “bloomers.”
3. Letter to Mr. Peralta
1. The purpose of the letter is to thank
Mr. Peralta.
2. Mr. Peralta gives the weather report on TV.
3. Answers will vary. She wanted Mr. Peralta
to tell her students about his job and to get
them interested in studying the weather.
4. Secret Messages
1. GREETINGS!
2. D
3. A code gives special meanings to symbols
or words; a cipher uses the regular meaning
of words, but each letter is changed to
something else.
5. The Amistad Sails Again
1. B
2. Answers will vary but should indicate that
African slaves on board the ship rebelled
and won their freedom.
3. They wanted to return to Africa, but they
were not experienced sailors, and the ship’s
crew fooled them.
4. Answers will vary. They want people to
understand what happened in 1839, they
want to show how heroic the Africans on
the Amistad were, or they want to remind
people that the struggle for freedom
never ends.
6. Get Ready for the Talent Show
1. C

2. There were too many lip-synch acts and
they were too long. This year only six lipsynch acts can be in the show and each
group must limit its time to five minutes.
3. F

7. Fighting Fires
1. B
2. Example: Men formed a line and passed
buckets of water from a water source to the
fire. Women and children formed another
line to pass the buckets back.
3. In 1736, Benjamin Franklin convinced a
group of people to form the Union Fire
Company in Philadelphia.
8. On Being Yourself
1. A
2. J
3. You will probably be disappointed because
there’s always someone out there who is
better than you are at something.
4. Example: The author uses The Wizard of
Oz characters as examples of people who
think they could be special if they only
had certain qualities, but they learn that
they already have these qualities and are
already special.
5. Answers will vary but should focus on
the writer’s good points and why he or
she is special.
9. Sequoyah
1. D
2. They were letters, books, documents, or
sheets of paper with words on them.
3. H
4. Example: It enabled the Cherokee to
record their own history.
5. The giant redwood tree and a national park
were named after him.
10. The World of Harry Potter
1. D
2. The author of this review likes the book.
You can tell because she says things like,
“beautifully written,” “you won’t be
disappointed,” “very funny and
imaginative,” “will keep you reading long
past your bedtime.”

11. Franny’s Journal
1. C
2. Answers will vary. The owner of the black
dog was most at fault because he did not
have control of his dog.
3. Franny felt awful, upset, or terrible; she
felt that the incident was her fault; she
felt guilty.
12. A
1.
2.
3.

Park in Danger
A
H
Examples: Construction of dams and
canals has cut off the flow of water; use
fertilizer on farmland has polluted water
in the Everglades.
4. The author is upset, or angry, or critical
about the changes people have made,
and she thinks people have made serious
mistakes. You can infer the author’s view
from statements such as “done more
harm than good” and the use of words
such as “threaten.”

13. How to Make a Swan
1. C
2. The dotted lines in the drawings show
where to fold the paper.
3. J
4. Last, you should squeeze the bottom
to crease it. This will help the swan
keep its shape, or will keep the swan
from unfolding.
14. A
1.
2.
3.

Hero for the World
B
H
Examples: He wasn’t playing well. He was
making a lot of mistakes. The Rangers
were disappointed with his performance.
4. Examples: He has worked hard to become
a great baseball player. He created the
Sammy Sosa Foundation to help others
less fortunate than himself. He helped his
country when Hurricane Georges hit the
Dominican Republic.

15. Whales and Dolphins
1. A
2. G
3. Toothed whales and baleen whales. The
toothed whales have teeth. The baleen
whales do not; instead they have large
hanging plates called baleen.
4. There are two types of whales: toothed
whales and baleen whales. All dolphins
are toothed whales, but there are other
toothed whales and baleen whales that
are not dolphins.
16. A
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Letter from Washington, D.C.
D
F
C
the National Zoo
They were going to see Mount Vernon in
Virginia and the wild ponies in Maryland.
6. Examples: Alicia is enthusiastic (or
excited). She raves about how exciting
everything is. She is honest. She admits
that she did not like the music at the
concert. She is appreciative. She enjoys the
beautiful days, and she likes that the
museums are free.

17. A
1.
2.
3.
4.

Kid Pages Interview
C
G
D
She loves being a naturalist and feels lucky
to have her job.
5. Examples: To become a naturalist you
have to (1) love nature and (2) want to
learn about it.

18. School Uniforms? Think Again!
1. C
2. Answers should include any two of the
following reasons: Uniforms make life
easier for families. Parents do not have to
decide what kind of clothes to buy for
school. It’s easier to get ready for school
each day. Uniforms help children feel
better about themselves. Uniforms make it
easier for children of different backgrounds
to make friends.

3. Answers will vary but should suggest that
the writer does not like the idea of school
uniforms. The writer says that uniforms
“crush creativity” and suggests other
problems with uniforms.
4. Example: The writer recommends that the
school committee gather more information
and hold public meetings to discuss the
issue before voting.
5. Answers will vary. Students should give
their own opinions and support them
with reasons.

19. Kingdoms of Gold
1. B
2. J
3. Answers will vary. They made iron tools
for farming, which made their farms more
productive. Because one farmer could
produce food for many people, more men
could serve as soldiers. The soldiers had
metal weapons that could easily defeat their
rivals who used wood or stone.
4. Example: People must have salt to live, and
salt was scarce.
20. “I
1.
2.
3.

Will Fight No More Forever”
C
G
Example: The government would not
let him return to his homeland even after
he surrendered.
4. Example: People who are born free cannot
be happy when they are forced to live in
one place and are not allowed to go where
they please.
5. Opinions and reasons will vary.

21. Crockett Travel Agency
1. A
2. J
3. B
4. Lake Tahoe offers beautiful scenery,
mountain climbing, mountain biking, and
an alpine slide. Big Sky offers camping and
horseback riding.
5. Answers will vary. Students should choose
one of the five places and give two or more
reasons for their choice.

22. Beekeeping Basics
1. A
2. Examples: The work is done in steps; the
bees all work together to make something
that one bee could not make alone.
3. Answers will vary. Steps could include:
build the honeycomb, gather nectar from
flowers, put nectar into a honey cell, fan
the nectar to evaporate the water, put a wax
cap on the cell.
4. H
23. How I Came to the Museum
1. C
2. J
3. Answers should indicate that she was
interested in George Washington’s teeth
because she, too, had false teeth. The story
of Washington’s teeth helped her realize
how lucky she was to have good-looking,
comfortable false teeth.
4. She was interested in how ordinary people
lived long ago.
5. Examples: tools a dentist would have used
long ago, wooden false teeth.
24. Bridging the Gaps in New York City
1. B
2. Examples: Both are suspension bridges;
boats can sail underneath; at the time each
was built, it was the longest suspension
bridge ever built; both use steel cables;
each connects Manhattan with a nearby
community; both bridges are beautiful.
3. Answers will vary. The Brooklyn Bridge
was the first long suspension bridge. Many
people got sick while working on it. It was
the first bridge to use steel cables. Building
materials and techniques improved
between the 1880s and the 1920s. People
building later bridges learned from what
people did before.

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