Q3 Reading Comprehension TEST

Q3 Reading Comprehension/ELA Skills Test

Directions:  Make sure you read the directions for each section carefully!  There are  questions in this exam.  Good Luck! : )

PART I: Reading Comprehension
Read the following passages and answer the questions.  Choose the best possible answer for each question.  Be sure to mark your answer on both the scantron sheet and circle the answer in the test booklet.

“A Crayon is Born”
Nobody takes color more serious than the makers of crayons

What if you could have jungle green hair and atomic tangerine eyes? Hot magenta pants with a blizzard blue shirt?

You can! When you use crayons, you can color yourself any way you want.

Life wasn’t always so colorful though.  A hundred years ago, all crayons were black.  They were used in factories and shipyards to label crates and lumber.  Kids couldn’t use them because they were toxic.

Then a company called Binney & Smith had an idea.  They decided to make Crayola crayons for kids and teachers to use in school.  They figured out a formula that was safe, and they also decided to add color.  The first box of eight Crayola crayons included black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, and green.  All of the crayons were labeled by hand.  The box cost five cents.  The crayons were a huge hit!

Today, many companies make crayons, but Crayola is still the biggest.  They take crayons very seriously, especially when it comes to color.

For example, Crayola has a team of seven chemists and chemical engineers who do nothing all day but develop new crayon colors.  Their laboratory holds the unique, secret formula to every crayon color.  They blend different colors to come up with new shades.  Once the engineers discover a new color they like, they test it on hundreds of kids and parents to make sure it’s really useful.  Only then is a crayon ready for the box.

Then comes the hard part - figuring out what to name a new color.  In 1993, Crayola introduced 16 new colors for its “Big Box” of 96 crayons.  More than two million kids and adults wrote in with color name suggestions.  Some winners were tickle me pink (bright pink), timber wolf (gray), purple mountains majesty (purple), tropical rainforest (bright green), granny smith apple (light green), and mauvelous (light pink).

Over the years, Crayola has changed some of its color names.  In 1962 Crayola changed the name of its crayon color “flesh” to “peach”.  They recognized that not everyone’s flesh is the same color.  Despite all the work Crayola puts into developing new colors, kids’ tastes haven’t changed much.  Around the globe, kids still say that red and blue are their favorite crayon colors.  What are your favorites?

4

1. This article is mainly about

4

Crayola has changed the name of its crayon color “flesh” to “peach” because

4

What do engineers do when they discover a new color they like?

4

Which of the following was NOT a new Crayola crayon color introduced in 1993?

4

The fourth paragraph is about

“Cursive Writing: A Soon-To-Be Lost Art?”

Today, many people write with a pen only when they have to fill out a form or sign their names. Emails and texts have replaced letters and notes, so much of the time people communicate by using a keyboard. Because of this, some wonder why schools should bother teaching students how to write well using a pen and paper at all. In particular, they wonder how useful it is to teach - and to learn - how to write in cursive.

Schools have taught cursive writing for generations. Your guardians (and their guardians before them) might have learned how to make looping strokes that produce letters tied together. Using cursive writing was once considered very important for good handwriting. If you turned in a paper with messy handwriting, the teacher would notice. You might even get a lower grade because of it.

In 2007, a study found that cursive was still widely taught in grades 1 through 3. But few states required that it be taught.  Today, nearly all of the 50 states have adopted education standards that say nothing about teaching cursive.

Schools are not going to stop teaching kids how to make their letters by hand. But cursive writing has a certain style to it. The question is whether anyone still needs to learn that style of writing. You won't be surprised to learn that different people have different thoughts about that.

People who favor cursive have many reasons for doing so. One education expert says that if schools don't teach cursive in third grade,  “they're dooming every child to write at the second grade level.” Other experts say that using cursive writing helps develop the small muscles of the hand in ways that printing letters or typing on keyboards do not. For very young children, it is often easier to move one pencil to write than it is to work ten fingers on a keyboard.

Those who favor cursive also remind us that it's a quick way to write. They say the kids who don't learn it make up their own writing style. Because a private style doesn't have to follow a set of rules, it can be very hard to read. Older students with poor handwriting often get lower grades on tests even if their ideas are good. Those who favor cursive also worry that if students don't learn how to write in cursive, they won't learn how to read it, either. The family history contained in handwritten letters will be lost to them. So will the American and world history contained in handwritten documents.

The big argument against cursive is that we use keyboards for almost everything, anyway. But some arguments have nothing to do with typing at all. One is that it takes time to teach cursive. Teachers are under pressure to meet a lot of education standards, and some feel they just don't have the time to teach a style of handwriting. Others think of cursive the same way they think of some extracurricular activities. It's a nice thing to have, but it's not as important as math and reading.

But what do children think? Many see writing in cursive as a “grown up” skill. For example, kids have been quoted as saying such things as “It’s fancy writing” and “It looks better than normal writing.”  At one school in New Jersey, over half of the students in one classroom said learning cursive was the number one thing they wanted to accomplish in third grade.  Even when states don't require it, kids still want to learn it.

Some people say it's silly to worry about the death of cursive writing. Handwritten communication is always changing.  Ancient peoples drew pictures to stand for words.  Once they came up with the idea of making marks to stand for sounds, they connected those marks (letters), just like we do in cursive. Handwriting in all languages will probably continue to change over time whether kids are taught cursive in school or not.

For now, cursive writing is still a popular way to write out words...but for how long?

4

Which of the following sentences best shows that cursive writing has a long history?

4

Which sentence best supports the idea that learning cursive has a physical benefit for students?

4

Which detail best supports the idea that teaching cursive writing in schools might be less important than it used to be?

4

According to the author, a student with handwriting that is hard to read

4

Read this sentence from paragraph 5.

"One education expert says that if schools don’t teach cursive in third grade, “they’re dooming every child to write at a second-grade level.”

Based on the sentence, what does “dooming” mean?

from “The Spider and the Fly”
By: Mary Howitt

“Will you walk into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly;
“Tis the prettiest parlor that you ever did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many pretty things to show when you are there.”

“Oh, no, no,” said the little fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again.”

Said the cunning spider to the fly, “Dear friend, what shall I do
To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my pantry good store of all that’s nice;
I’m sure you’re very welcome.  Will you please to take a slice?”

“Oh, no, no,” said the little fly, “kind sir, that cannot be;
I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see.”

The spider turned him ‘round about and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again;

So he wove a subtle web in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the fly.
Then he came out to his door again; and merrily did sing,
“Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple, there’s a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”

Alas, alas! How very soon this silly little fly,
Hearing his wily flattering words, came slowly flitting by.
Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlor; but she never came out again!

4

What is the meaning of “cunning” in the poem?

4

The poet’s message in this poem is

4

Without the spider’s flattery,

4

The spider will probably

4

The following line from the poem is an example of which poetic device:

“Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”

Part II: Grammar

Directions: Choose the best possible answer for each question.  Be sure to mark your answer on both the scantron sheet and in the test booklet.

4

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

4

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

4

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

4

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

4

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Identify each CAPITAL word as an adjective or adverb.

4

The toddler stayed CLOSE to his mother.

4

The time passed very QUICKLY

4

Walking across her MESSY room was equivalent to walking through a mine field.

4

It is important to practice your TRICKY math facts first.

4

Q3 Reading Comprehension TEST

1. This article is mainly about

Crayola has changed the name of its crayon color “flesh” to “peach” because

What do engineers do when they discover a new color they like?

Which of the following was NOT a new Crayola crayon color introduced in 1993?

The fourth paragraph is about

Which of the following sentences best shows that cursive writing has a long history?

Which sentence best supports the idea that learning cursive has a physical benefit for students?

Which detail best supports the idea that teaching cursive writing in schools might be less important than it used to be?

According to the author, a student with handwriting that is hard to read

Read this sentence from paragraph 5."One education expert says that if schools don’t teach cursive in third grade, “they’re dooming every child to write at a second-grade level.”Based on the sentence, what does “dooming” mean?

What is the meaning of “cunning” in the poem?

The poet’s message in this poem is

Without the spider’s flattery,

The spider will probably

The following line from the poem is an example of which poetic device:“Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

The toddler stayed CLOSE to his mother.

The time passed very QUICKLY

Walking across her MESSY room was equivalent to walking through a mine field.

It is important to practice your TRICKY math facts first.

John speaks English WELL for only living here 6 months.

1. This article is mainly about

Crayola has changed the name of its crayon color “flesh” to “peach” because

What do engineers do when they discover a new color they like?

Which of the following was NOT a new Crayola crayon color introduced in 1993?

The fourth paragraph is about

Which of the following sentences best shows that cursive writing has a long history?

Which sentence best supports the idea that learning cursive has a physical benefit for students?

Which detail best supports the idea that teaching cursive writing in schools might be less important than it used to be?

According to the author, a student with handwriting that is hard to read

Read this sentence from paragraph 5."One education expert says that if schools don’t teach cursive in third grade, “they’re dooming every child to write at a second-grade level.”Based on the sentence, what does “dooming” mean?

What is the meaning of “cunning” in the poem?

The poet’s message in this poem is

Without the spider’s flattery,

The spider will probably

The following line from the poem is an example of which poetic device:“Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

Choose the letter of the sentence written correctly.

The toddler stayed CLOSE to his mother.

The time passed very QUICKLY

Walking across her MESSY room was equivalent to walking through a mine field.

It is important to practice your TRICKY math facts first.

John speaks English WELL for only living here 6 months.

Read this sentence from paragraph 5.

"One education expert says that if schools don’t teach cursive in third grade, “they’re dooming every child to write at a second-grade level.”

Based on the sentence, what does “dooming” mean?

The following line from the poem is an example of which poetic device:

“Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”

Read this sentence from paragraph 5.

"One education expert says that if schools don’t teach cursive in third grade, “they’re dooming every child to write at a second-grade level.”

Based on the sentence, what does “dooming” mean?

The following line from the poem is an example of which poetic device:

“Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”