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Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.

A Lens into the Past

Characters
JUDE: A nine-year-old boy
MOM: Jude's mom
GRANDPA SAM: Jude's grandfather
STORE OWNER

ACT 1
[JUDE, MOM, and GRANDPA SAM are in an antique store. Everywhere JUDE turns, there are shelves filled with strange, old things.]

JUDE: [Sniffs. ] It smells weird in here.

GRANDPA SAM: This is one of my favorite smells, Jude! Old stuff. Antique stores always smell like this.

MOM: Jude, is it fine if I leave you here with Grandpa Sam?

JUDE: I guess so. Are you going to be gone long?

MOM: Not too long, but I really must get these errands done. Grandpa is doing me a big favor by spending the day with you.

GRANDPA SAM: Wouldn't it be fun to do something together? It's been a long time since we spent time, just the two of us. We can explore the store together.

MOM: Try and have some fun, Jude! I'll be back soon.

[MOM exits.]

GRANDPA SAM: Do you want to look around?
 
[JUDE shrugs.]

GRANDPA SAM: Are you sure? You might see something peculiar you can't see anywhere else, like baseball cards, weird furniture, or old postcards.

JUDE: No, thanks. I'm not really interested in any of that stuff. I'll just sit here and wait for Mom.

GRANDPA SAM: OK! Give me a shout if you need me.

ACT 2

[JUDE sits on a bench near the store entrance with his head in his hands. He sighs and starts looking around the antique store.]

JUDE: Grandpa Sam?

GRANDPA SAM: Over here! Come look at this!

[JUDE finds GRANDPA SAM looking at a display on the other side of the store. GRANDPA SAM picks up a dusty black box with a dial like a wind-up toy on one side and a short tube on the front.]

JUDE: What's that?

GRANDPA SAM: This is an old home movie camera. When I was about your age, my parents had a film camera just like this. It was a lifetime ago when I last saw one of these.

JUDE: That's a camera?

GRANDPA SAM: It is! Can you believe it?

[JUDE looks at it and raises an eyebrow.]

JUDE: How does it work?

GRANDPA SAM: Come over here and look. In the past, people used film to take videos. They used a camera like this one. They would put in the special film and then—

[GRANDPA SAM winds up the dial on the side of the camera. When he lets it go, the camera whirs and clicks.]

GRANDPA SAM: It takes a video!

JUDE: Can I see?

GRANDPA SAM: Of course!

[GRANDPA SAM gently hands JUDE the camera. JUDE examines it while GRANDPA SAM watches with a smile.]

GRANDPA SAM: I bet I have some old film from when I was younger back at home. I can show you sometime.

JUDE: Yes, please, Grandpa! I wish we could go look for it right now! [JUDE jumps up and down impatiently.]

ACT 3

[MOM enters the store carrying shopping bags.]

MOM: Jude?

JUDE: Over here!

MOM: Ready to hit the road?

JUDE: I guess so.

MOM: Did you see anything interesting?

JUDE: Grandpa and I found this old home movie camera.

MOM: I'm glad you had a good time. Can I see it? Where's Grandpa?

[JUDE looks around for GRANDPA SAM. He sees him at the cash register talking to the STORE OWNER. He has the old camera in his hand and is paying.]

GRANDPA SAM: Here, Jude. This is for you.

JUDE: Wow, thanks! I had a great time with you today.

[Curtain.]

Read the next two selections. Then choose the best answer to each question.

Passage 1:
Rachel is visiting her grandmother while her sister Claire is at sleepaway camp. Grandma gets Rachel out of bed to show her something in the woods nearby.

from A Forest Full of Stars
by Noah Weisz

Outside, the darkness is thick. Grandma switches on a flashlight and starts walking. Her sneakers make a shh-shh sound in the grass.

"Where are we going?" Rachel asks, a little nervous.

"You'll see," says Grandma.

They reach the edge of the woods behind the house. Grandma smiles at Rachel, then steps into the forest.

Rachel squeezes Grandma's hand. The trail is soft with soil and moss. Somewhere an owl keeps hooting, as if it's asking the night a question.

A few pricks of light appear out of the darkness. They flicker, then vanish.

"What are they?" Rachel breathes.

"They're little beetles," says Grandma. "Fireflies."

They follow the lights deeper into the woods. Then, suddenly, they reach a clearing, and Grandma turns off her flashlight. Fireflies are everywhere. They flash on and off, floating and climbing, darting and dancing. The forest shimmers as if it's full of stars.

"They're talking to one another," Grandma says. "They talk with light."

"What are they saying?" Rachel asks.

"I really don't know," Grandma says. "It's a secret language. Spend enough time with them, and maybe you'll figure it out."

Rachel looks up at Grandma and sees that she is smiling.

For a long while, Rachel watches the lights. She imagines this clearing is the state of New York. She and her sister are two of the fireflies. They are flashing each other messages. They are telling each other secrets. They are connected.

Walking back to Grandma's house, Rachel feels wide awake. She starts writing a letter in her head.

Dear Claire,

Tonight, Grandma showed me the most incredible thing. A million fireflies talking in the forest. I can't wait to show them to you next time we visit Grandma!

"A Forest Full of Stars" by Noah Weisz from HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, Highlights for Children, Inc. © 2018

Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.

Digging on Dirt
by Rena Korb

Dirt or Soil?

Put on your boots, go outside, and dig. What do you find?

Did you say dirt? That's true. But you could also say soil. Soil is the word scientists use for dirt.

Soil All Around

Soil covers most of Earth's land. It stretches under grass and in gardens.

Soil also lies beneath sidewalks and roads. Sandy beaches are a kind of soil. So are muddy riverbanks and forest floors.

Life-Giving Soil

Soil brings life to Earth. Plants dig their roots deep down to find water and food.

Many animals live in soil, too. Wriggling worms and burrowing groundhogs could not live without it.

You couldn't live without soil.

Plants need soil to grow. Animals eat plants. Without soil, there would be no food!

Soil's Ingredients
So what are the magic ingredients in soil?

Soil is made up of rocks, air, and water. Soil is also filled with what's left over of dead plants and animals after they've rotted away.

Falling leaves, twigs, and dead bugs land on the ground. As they rot, they change into rich, black humus.

Humus might not sound tasty to you, but it's like food for plants!

But most of the dirt that slips through your fingers is actually tiny bits of rock. At one time, these tiny rocks were parts of big rocks.

How Soil Forms

Rain, snow, ice, and sunlight break the big rocks down into tiny pieces of rock. This can take thousands of years. Then the rock pieces mix with the humus to form the soil you see.

Sand, Silt, and Clay

Three kinds of tiny rocks make up soil. They are sand, silt, and clay.

A piece of sand is not much bigger than the head of a pin. Silt and clay are smaller still.

Kinds of Soil

Sandy soil is coarse and loose. It won't hold much water.

Smooth, sticky soil has lots of clay. When this soil dries out, it becomes as hard as concrete. Plant roots can't grow.

On the other hand, soil with a lot of silt dries out. The soil might blow away in a cloud of dust.
So what kind of soil is just right for growing plants? It has more sand and silt and less clay. It has the same amount of air and water. And it is rich in humus.

Go outside and dig again. Is your soil dry and dusty or wet and muddy? Do you see worms and bugs in your soil? What is the soil like where you live?

Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.

Chun wrote this paper about her favorite children's author. Read Chun's paper and look for the revisions that she needs to make. Then answer the questions that follow.

A Favorite Author

(1) Tomie dePaola was born in Connecticut in 1934. (2) His mother shared her love for books with him. (3) The young boy was soon in love with books himself. (4) At just four years old, he knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. (5) He wanted to write stories and create art for books.

(6) The young boy began to draw pictures for the books his mother read to him. (7) Within a few years, he was writing books for his younger sisters. (8) The little boy had a fun thought, so he kept writing and drawing. (9) His hard work eventually paid off. (10) Now he is famous.

(11) Elementary school libraries usually include some of dePaola's books. (12) Most students in Texas have read The Legend of the Bluebonnet. (13) Many have heard of Strega Nona or The Cloud Book. (14) DePaola has written more than 270 books. (15) He has even won for some of his books awards.

(16) Tomie dePaola's books cover many different topics. (17) Some tell about his own life experiences. (18) The Art Lesson describes his first art class. (19) Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup is a story about his Italian grandmother. (20) A series of chapter books called 26 Fairmount Avenue is based on his childhood. (21) Readers learn a great deal about dePaola's life from the books he has written.

(22) DePaola also includes special art in his books. (23) The art has its own style.
(24) He draws simple and colorful pictures. (25) He wants his drawings to help tell the story. (26) Some people can recognize one of dePaola's books just by looking at the pictures.

(27) Most children think about what they will do when they grow up. (28) Tomie dePaola did too. (29) He spent many hours learning and practicing. (30) He wanted to make his dream come true. (31) Now children around the world are able to enjoy his creative books.

Read the selection and choose the best answer to each question.

Archie recently learned to cook something new. He wrote this paper to tell about his experience. Read Archie's paper and look for revisions he needs to make. Then answer the questions that follow.

Making a New Kind of Pizza

(1) Have you ever had a Mexican pizza? (2) This special dish is put together just like a pizza. (3) It tastes more like a taco. (4) I learned how to make one last week. (5) It has quickly become one of my favorite foods.

(6) Friday night at my house is usually pizza night. (7) Last Friday, we were out of both pizza sauce and dough. (8) Mom had another idea. (9) "Let's make Mexican pizzas tonight," she said. (10) "They are healthy and delicious. (11) I made them with my mom when I was a little girl." (12) I wasn't sure about this idea, but I was willing to give it a try.

(13) I asked my mom what we should do first. (14) She told me to open the refrigerator and take out all my favorite taco ingredients. (15) Then we cooked some ground beef on the stove. (16) Finally, we got some flat tostada shells out of the pantry. (17) We would use these for our pizza crust.

(18) We started working. (19) We put the tostada shells on a pan and spread salsa on them. (20) It was just like spreading tomato sauce on a pizza crust. (21) We added the ground beef and shredded cheese. (22) Then we popped our creations into the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. (23) Finally, we put a little lettuce and tomato on top of the warm pizzas.

(24) I took my first bite with caution. (25) I was pleased to learn that my Mexican pizza was fine. (26) And Mom was pleased to inform me that it represented many of the food groups. (27) I had found my new favorite food. (28) I made a second pizza as soon as I finished the first!

(29) I really enjoy making Mexican pizzas because I can make them different every time. (30) I've tried ground turkey, refried beans, and even avocado on my pizzas. (31) There are so many foods I can use. (32) I'm glad Mom shared this family recipe with me. (33) Now I am able to prepare something really tasty all by myself.