TEST NAME: ELA 11/18 TEST ID:1330991 GRADE:05 - Fifth Grade SUBJECT:English Language and Literature TEST CATEGORY: School Assessment ELA 11/18 Page 1 of 9
Student: Class: Date: Read the passage - 'A Laughing Song' - and answer the question below: A Laughing Song A Laughing Song by William Blake When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; When the air does laugh with our merry wit, And the green hill laughs with the noise of it; 5 10 When the meadows laugh with lively green, And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene; When Mary and Susan and Emily With their sweet round mouths sing Ha, ha, he! When the painted birds laugh in the shade, Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread; Come live and be merry and join with me To sing the sweet chorus of Ha, ha, he! Project Gutenberg, 1999. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext99/sinex10h.htm (03/19/2013). 1. How does the speaker describe the events in nature? A. dull and dreary B. witty and weary C. lively and loving D. happy and harmful Read the passage - 'The Swamp Fox' - and answer the question below: The Swamp Fox Marion s Tower ELA 11/18 Page 2 of 9
by Edward Eggleston General Marion was one of the best fighters in the Revolution. He was a homely little man. He was also a very good man. Another general said, Marion is good all over. The American army had been beaten in South Carolina. Marion was sent there to keep the British from taking the whole country. Marion got together a little army. His men had nothing except rough clothes to wear. They had no guns but the old ones they used to shoot wild ducks and deer with. Marion s men wanted swords. There were no swords to be had. So Marion sent men to take the long saws out of the saw mills. These were taken to blacksmiths. The blacksmiths cut the saws into pieces. These pieces they hammered out into long, sharp swords. Marion had not as many men as the British. He had no cannon. He could not build forts. He could not stay long in one place, for fear the British should come with a strong army and take him. He and his men hid in the dark woods. Sometimes, he suddenly changed his hiding place. Even his own friends had to work hard to find him. From the dark woods, he would come out suddenly. He would attack some party of British soldiers. When the battle was over, he would go back to the woods again. When the British sent a strong army to catch him, he could not be found. Soon, he would be fighting the British in some new place. He was always playing hide and seek. The British called him the Swamp Fox. This was because he was so hard to catch. They could not conquer the country until they could catch Marion. And they never could catch the Swamp Fox. At one time, Marion came out of the woods to take a little British fort. This fort was on the top of a high mound. It was one of the mounds built a long time ago by the Indians. Marion put his men all round the fort so that the men in the fort could not get out to get water. He thought that they would have to give up, but the men in the fort dug a well inside the fort. Then Marion had to think of another plan. Marion s men went to the woods and cut down stout poles. They got a great many poles. When night came, they laid a row of poles alongside one another on the ground. Then, they laid another row across these. Next, they laid another row on top of the last ones, and across the other way again. They laid a great many rows of poles one on top of another. They crossed them this way and that. As the night went on, the pile grew higher. Still they handed poles to the top of the pile. Before morning came, they had built a kind of tower. It was higher than the Indian mound. As soon as it was light, the men on Marion s tower began to shoot. The British looked out. They saw a great tower with men on it. The men could shoot down into the fort. The British could not stand it. They had to give up. They were taken prisoners. Project Gutenberg, 2003. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10070/10070.txt (02/21/2013). ELA 11/18 Page 3 of 9
2. Which events show that General Marion was a great fighter in the war? A. He hid in the woods and dug holes inside of forts. B. He attacked and escaped the British and captured a fort. C. He turned long saws into swords and built forts with his army. D. He helped his army build a tower and he captured the British inside. Read the passage - 'The Swamp Fox' - and answer the question below: 3. Which describes how General Marion and his army used the woods for protection? A. They made weapons. B. They hid from the British. C. They built Indian dirt mounds. D. They dug a well to hold prisoners. Read the passage - 'Why the Bean Wears a Stripe Down its Back' - and answer the question below: Why the Bean Wears a Stripe Down its Back Why the Bean Wears a Stripe Down Its Back By Carolyn S. Bailey In a certain village, there lived an old woman. One morning, she gathered some beans from her garden to cook for her dinner. She had a good fire, but to make it burn more brightly she threw on a handful of straw. As she tossed the string beans into the pot to boil, she did not see that one of them fell on the floor, not far from a wisp 1 of straw that had fallen there also. Suddenly, a red-hot coal jumped out of the fire and sat down beside the straw and the bean. They both started away and exclaimed: Dear friend, don t come nearer until you are cooler! What brings you out here? Oh, replied the coal, I jumped out of the fire to save my life, for presently I should have been burned to ashes. Then said the bean: I, too, have just escaped, for if the old woman had put me into the pot, I should have been made into broth. And I, too, should have been burned, said the straw, if I had not managed to slip through her ELA 11/18 Page 4 of 9
fingers just as she was putting me in the fire. What shall we do now? asked the coal. I think, answered the bean, that as long as we have been so fortunate as to escape, we may as well travel together to some more friendly country. The three agreed to this, so they started on their journey. Very soon they came to a brook, and, as there was no bridge, they did not know how to get to the other side. Then the straw said: I will stretch myself across the brook, and you can walk over me, as if I were a bridge. So the straw stretched itself from one bank to the other, and the coal walked out very boldly upon the newly built bridge. All went well, at first, but when he reached the middle of the stream and heard the water rushing under him he stood still and dared not move a step. Then a sad thing happened! The straw began to bend from the weight of the coal, and fell into the brook. And, with a loud splash, the coal slid into the water, too! The bean had stayed behind, on the shore, and when she saw what had happened she laughed so heartily that she burst! Now, she would have been worse off than her comrades had not a tailor, who was traveling by, stopped to rest by the brook. He noticed the bean, and, taking pity on her, took a needle out of his pocket and sewed her together. She thanked him for his kindness; but, ah! He had only black thread with which to sew her up. Ever since that day some of the beans have worn black stripes down their backs. 2 1 2 wisp: a piece or strand comrades: group of close friends Internet Archive. http://archive.org/stream/forchildrenshou03bailgoog#page/n80/mode/2up (03/21/2013). 4. Based on the selection, how was the boiling pot different from the brook for the characters? A. They all got lucky escaping the dangers of the boiling pot. B. They all got lucky escaping the dangers of the brook. C. They all had help surviving the boiling pot. D. They all had help surviving the brook. ELA 11/18 Page 5 of 9
5. Which describes the difference between the straw and the bean? A. The bean is happy, the straw is sad. B. The bean is brave, the straw is timid. C. The straw helps others, the bean is selfish. D. The straw is humorous, the bean is serious. Read the passage - 'Adapted from Meet Mark Jones, Bear Biologist' - and answer the question below: Adapted from Meet Mark Jones, Bear Biologist Adapted from Meet Mark Jones, Bear Biologist by Rodney Foushee Mark has been working for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for nearly six years. As the state s black bear project leader, he examines wild bears in North Carolina to make sure they are doing well. With 9,000 bears spread across 54 counties, that s a lot to keep up with. As a kid, I grew up in the Virginia mountains where there were plenty of bears. As long as I can remember, I loved the outdoors and wildlife, but I never knew there was such a job as a wildlife biologist until I got to college. As soon as I learned about this, I knew this was the job for me! I like the thought that what I do may make sure that bears are around in North Carolina for future generations. How Does a Biologist Monitor a Bear? Basically my job is to examine North Carolina s bear population and make suggestions on how to take care of these animals. It is important to have bears around, but sometimes there can be problems when there are too many people living in the same area with bears. Hunting provides one way to keep a bear population at a level where people and bears can live together. A bear sanctuary, on the other hand, provides a safe place for female bears to raise their cubs. Sometimes, Mark traps live bears in the woods and even crawls into their dens while the bears are sleeping to check on them. Now that s exciting! Bears are normally secretive, shy animals, so catching one is not easy. First, you have to study what habitat they like. Bears prefer large, unbroken forests that provide food and plenty of cover. In the mountains, you might find them in a mature hardwood forest. At the coast, bears prefer swampy, bottomland forests and pocosins. Once I trap a bear, I give it a drug to keep it still. Then, with the help of other biologists, we weigh the bear, check its body condition, find its age, and take a little blood for testing. If the ELA 11/18 Page 6 of 9
bear has an illness, we give it medicine to help the bear get well. We also put a tag in the bear s ear to keep up with it if it is recaptured. Finally, we give the bear another drug that allows the bear to move again so it can return to the wild. Questions and Answers What does a bear feel like? Its hair is coarse, like that of a dog that stays outside most of the time. A bear is also warm when you touch it because its body temperature is higher than a person s. Are you scared of bears? No, I m not afraid of bears, but I respect them. You have to respect a wild animal that is as large and powerful as a black bear and you have to give it its space. What if I see a bear in the woods? If you see a bear, don t panic. Just stand upright and back slowly away from the bear. Whatever you do, don t try to feed bears even if they seem tame. And don t play with bear cubs if you happen to find one. Their mother is likely nearby, and she can take care of them just fine. 6. Which title summarizes the selection? A. A Bear Biologist: All in a Day s Work B. Problems With the Bears: What Are Solutions? C. Facts to Know: Bear Habitats D. Becoming a Bear Biologist: How to Prepare Read the passage - 'The Swamp Fox' - and answer the question below: 7. How did General Marion s men outsmart the British? A. They made swords from saws. B. They dug a well inside the fort. C. They built a tower on a mound. D. They used many guns and cannons. Read the passage - 'Adapted from Meet Mark Jones, Bear Biologist' - and answer the question below: ELA 11/18 Page 7 of 9
8. Which sentence from the selection summarizes Mark Jones career as a bear biologist? A. Mark has been working for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for nearly six years. B. He examines wild bears in North Carolina to make sure they are doing well. C. As soon as I learned about this, I knew this was the job for me! D. You have to respect a wild animal that is as large and powerful as a black bear. Read the passage - 'Adapted from Meet Mark Jones, Bear Biologist' - and answer the question below: 9. Which describes the two main ideas found in the selection? A. Mark traps live bears in the woods and crawls into their den while they are sleeping. B. Mark examines wild bears in North Carolina and makes suggestions on how to take care of them. C. Mark grew up in the Virginia mountains and never knew there was such a job as a wildlife biologist until college. D. Mark has worked for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for nearly six years and loves wild bears. Read the passage - 'A Laughing Song' - and answer the question below: 10. Which line from the poem describes the speaker s point of view toward nature? A. our merry wit B. the noise of it C. lively green D. in the shade Read the passage - 'A Laughing Song' - and answer the question below: ELA 11/18 Page 8 of 9
11. Which statement describes how the speaker feels about Mary, Susan, and Emily? A. The speaker regrets that they won t join him for cherries and nuts. B. The speaker dislikes them because they laugh so much. C. The speaker makes fun of them by singing a song. D. The speaker likes them and enjoys their singing. Read the passage - 'A Laughing Song' - and answer the question below: 12. Based on the selection, which describes the author s view of the events described in the poem? A. silly about nature B. joyful about nature C. serious about nature D. sorrowful about nature ELA 11/18 Page 9 of 9