Open Up - Grade 3 - ELA - Module 1 - Mid Unit 2 Assessment - Formative Library | Library

Read the text using the glossary below to help you. Then answer the questions.

Mongolia

For centuries, people in Mongolia have led a nomadic lifestyle. Many people still herd livestock. They move across the steppe, a vast grass-covered plain, with their herds as they graze. The life of the nomads has not changed very much, but some things are different. In the old days the herders used horses, but today they like to use “iron horses,” meaning motorbikes. Very few people have telephones, television, or access to computers. But most people can read! There is almost no illiteracy in this country.

Jambyn Dashdondog is a well-known writer of children’s books in Mongolia. He was looking for a way to bring books to the many children in herders’ families. These families live scattered across the Gobi Desert. A horse-drawn wagon (as well as a camel) is used to carry books into the desert.

Together with the Mongolian Children’s Cultural Foundation, Mr. Dashdondog was able to obtain a minibus and ten thousand books. Most donations came from Japan. The Japanese books are being translated into Mongolian. Mr. Dashdondog makes trips with the minibus to bring the books to children in the countryside.

The book tour is called Amttai Nom, which means “candy books.” Why? Because before they share the books, the children are given food, including some sweets. After the children listen to stories and choose books, Mr. Dashdondog asks: “Which was sweeter: books or candies?” And the children always answer, “BOOKS!”

“I just returned from a trip to visit herders’ children in the Great Gobi Desert,” said Mr. Dashdondog. “We covered some fifteen hundred kilometers in two weeks. And this was in winter, so it was cold and snowy. We had no winter fuel for our bus. So we had to use summer fuel, and the fuel froze at night, making the bus stall. But we weren’t cold: the stories and their heroes kept us warm!” Mr. Dashdondog has visited nearly ten thousand children in the past two years.

Adapted from: My Librarian ls a Camel by Margriet Ruurs. Copyright © 1994 by Nancy Springer. Published by Boyds Mills Press. Reprinted by permission. 680L

Glossary for pages 20 and 21:
nomad: a person or animal that moves from place to place without a fixed home 
literacy: the state of being able to read or write 
vast: very large in size or area 
livestock: cows, horses, sheep, or other animals raised or kept on a farm or ranch

Reread the section and answer the following questions:
“For centuries, people who live in Mongolia have led a nomadic lifestyle, moving across the steppe, a vast grass-covered plain, with their herds. Many people are still herders of livestock, moving with their herds as they graze.”

Using clues in the text, what do you think steppe means? (RI.3.4, L.3.4a)

a sandy desert

an area of land covered by snow

an area of land with lots of hills and mountains

a large area of flat grassland

RI.3.4

L.3.4.a

What part of the text gave you a clue about the meaning of steppe? (RI.3.1, RI.3.4, L.3.4a)

“... to bring the books to children in the countryside.”

“And this was in winter, so it was cold and snowy.”

“... a vast grass-covered plain …”

“... who live scattered across the Gobi desert.”

RI.3.1

RI.3.4

L.3.4.a

What does nomadic mean? Use the glossary to help you. (RI.3.4, L.3.4d, L.3.4c)

reading books on a wagon

moving from place to place

rounding up cattle

traveling by horse

L.3.4.c

RI.3.4

L.3.4.d

“Very few people have telephones, television, or access to computers. But most people can read! There is almost no illiteracy in this country.”

What do you think illiteracy means? Use the glossary to help you. (RI.3.4, L.3.4b, L.3.4c)

L.3.4.c

RI.3.4

L.3.4.b

What is the main idea of this text? (RI.3.2)

Children of nomads in Mongolia prefer books to candy.

Nomads move with their herds of livestock as they graze on the steppe in Mongolia.

Mr. Dashdondog helps the children of nomads in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia by taking them books.

There is almost no illiteracy in Mongolia because of the minibus.

RI.3.2

Which of the following details support the main idea? Underline all that apply: (RI.3.2, RI.3.1)

“‘I just returned from a trip to visit herders’ children in the Great Gobi Desert,’” said Mr. Dashdondog.”

“He was looking for a way to bring books to the many children in herders’ families. These families live scattered across the Gobi Desert.”

“... Mr. Dashdondog makes trips with the minibus to bring the books to children in the countryside.”

“After the children listen to stories and choose books, Mr. Dashdondog asks, ‘Which was sweeter: books or candies?’ And the children always answer: ‘BOOKS!’”

RI.3.1

RI.3.2

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