Local Assessment Item Bank Reading Grade 4 Literary Text Assessment 5 Student Name: Date: This assessment is designed to provide information about reading comprehension skills. It contains a reading passage with multiple choice, short answer, and constructed response items. Read the passage and then mark the bubble with the correct answer on the multiple choice items. Write responses to the short answer and constructed response items in the box provided. Refer back to the passage as necessary. You may mark up the passage in any way that is helpful in answering the items.
Read this passage about a family in the desert. Then answer the questions. Surviving in the Wilderness Christine Rowan Mr. Ramirez sat on a rock in front of the tent. His sons, Jamie and John, sat beside him. With the tent set up and a pile of firewood ready, they felt prepared for whatever the afternoon would bring. Now, boys, Mr. Ramirez said, the important thing about camping in the desert is to be ready for anything. You never know what kind of emergency might come up, so you have to know what to do at all times. The boys nodded. They wanted to be good campers, and they were eager to learn all they could from their experienced father. For example, the father continued, what would you do if someone fell and broke his leg? Don t move him, Jamie said. Get him to lie down, in the shade if you can. Send someone for help, John added. Get someone to call for an ambulance. Good! Mr. Ramirez said, grinning. Very good. He nodded proudly. But what about this what would you do if you re camping and you run out of water? Try to find a stream, John said. Okay, Mr. Ramirez said, but let s say you can t find one, and there are no other people around. The boys thought for a moment. Then they shrugged. Mr. Ramirez stood up. Okay, let s go. The three of them hiked a short distance across the hot sand. Then Mr. Ramirez reached into his backpack and pulled out a small shovel. He found a level patch of ground and began to dig. You re digging a well? Jamie asked. No, Mr. Ramirez answered, just watch. He dug a pit about two feet deep and three feet in diameter. Then he put a small paper cup in the middle of the pit. He covered the pit with a dark-green trash bag that he had cut open, and he held the bag in place with some stones around the edges. Then, as his final step, he placed a small rock in the center of the trash bag. I don t get it, John said. All we have is a hole covered with a trash bag. Patience, his father answered. Now we wait. Literary Text Assessment 5 1
20 They sat in the shade of a small scrub tree, dozing lazily in the afternoon heat. Then, after two hours or so, Mr. Ramirez got up. He removed the trash bag from the pit and lifted out the cup, which was half full of water! The boys were amazed. How did you do that? they asked. The ground is cool and damp, Mr. Ramirez explained, even though it might not look it. The sun causes the moisture to evaporate from the ground, and it condenses on the trash bag. Then the droplets trickle down that s why I put the stone in the center, to give the bag a low point and they drip into the cup. It doesn't make much, but it will give you emergency water. Water from the sandy desert! John and Jamie smiled and looked up at their dad. They had a lot to learn. 1 In paragraph 20, the word condenses means A rips open. B rises up. C becomes liquid. D turns to ice. 2 The words proudly and lazily have a suffix (ending) that means A the state of being. B one who is. C without. D in a certain way. 4 How does the setting affect this story? A It is not important to the events. B It helps Mr. Ramirez teach his sons how to get water. C It puts the Ramirez family in danger. D It helps the characters learn about pine trees. 5 Which best describes how Jamie and John feel about camping? A bored B nervous C helpless D involved 3 Which words from the passage are synonyms (same meaning)? A paper and cup B ready and prepared C middle and edges D shade and heat 2 Literary Text Assessment 5
6 In your own words, describe the steps that Mr. Ramirez used to make half a cup of water in the desert. Literary Text Assessment 5 3
7 Which sentence best describes what happens when Mr. Ramirez and the boys sit down on a rock? A With their tent set up and firewood ready, the father and sons begin telling stories to scare each other. B Mr. Ramirez decides to test his sons on their knowledge of camping, such as medical emergencies, building a fire, and using a compass. C When Mr. Ramirez quizzes his sons about what to do in a medical emergency, they answer correctly, but they don t know how to find water in a desert. D To show Jamie and John how to find water in the desert, Mr. Ramirez surprises his sons by digging a pit in the hot sand. 9 Why does Mr. Ramirez show his sons how to produce water, instead of just telling them? A He doesn t think Jamie and John are good listeners. B He isn t sure that his waterproducing process will actually work. C He wants Jamie and John to do the work themselves. D He thinks they will learn better by watching. 8 After Mr. Ramirez covers the hole with a trash bag, he places a rock in the center to A keep the wind from blowing the bag away. B help the moisture evaporate. C make a low point from where the droplets can drip. D make the ground damp. 4 Literary Text Assessment 5
10 What can you tell about Mr. Ramirez from his actions? Use details from the passage to support your answer. Literary Text Assessment 5 5
11 The characters, setting, and events tell you that this passage is A nonfiction. B a biography. C science fiction. D realistic fiction. 12 What will Jamie and John most likely want to do next? A go home B learn another survival skill C eat lunch D tell scary stories around the campfire 13 If Jamie and John are faced with an emergency in the wild, they most likely will A argue with each other over the best plan of action. B panic and act without thinking first. C use what they have learned to solve the problem. D get lost while trying to find help. 14 Who tells the story in this passage? A an outside narrator B Mr. Ramirez C Jamie D John 6 Literary Text Assessment 5
15 What is the author s message in this story? Use details from the passage to support your answer. Literary Text Assessment 5 7