Summer Camping. 1. What is the story mostly about? 2. What did Tony and his family do when it got dark? 184 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

Transcription

1 Summer Camping Last summer, Tony and his brother went camping with their mom. They drove around the park for a long time. Finally, they found the perfect campsite. They decided to set up camp on a quiet spot surrounded by tall trees. Their tent was shaped like an igloo. It was big enough for the three of them. It was made of thin red nylon cloth. It had a door that zipped and unzipped as they went in and out. It also had three windows covered with netting. There were lots of bugs in the woods. The windows stopped the bugs from coming in. For cooking, they had a little stove. Mom set the stove at the end of a picnic table. Finally, they were ready for their first picnic under the trees. They had a tasty meal of barbecued chicken and boiled corn. Then the boys helped clean up. When it got dark, they made a fire. They toasted some marshmallows, told stories, and sang songs. It was nice to be together under the stars. 1. What is the story mostly about? 2. What did Tony and his family do when it got dark? 184 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

2 The Saturday Morning Project One Friday night, Julie slept over at Grandma s house. She was excited. She did not know what to expect. Grandma always surprised her. The next morning, Grandma said they mak pancakes. First, they sifted flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl. Next, Julie beat eggs in another bowl. Grandma melted butter in a pot. She added the melted butter and milk to the eggs. After that Julie added the dry ingredients. Then she stirred everything together. The best part came next. Grandma. just any old pancakes. They were in the shape of melted butter in a pan. Then she drew a J with some butter. Next, Grandma drew a U, then an L, then an I, and then an E. Grandma made one pancake for each letter in Julie s name. Grandma put the five pancakes on a plate. They spelled J U L I E. Julie got to eat her own name for breakfast. She ate her name with jam! It was a great breakfast! 1. What was special about Grandma s pancakes? 2. How did Julie feel about staying at Grandma s house? 182 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

3 An Old Way of Life The Eskimos are a people who live near the Arctic. It is very cold there. For thousands of years, the Eskimos found ways to live in the cold. Most of them lived near the sea. The sea gave them food. They hunted seals and whales. They caught fish. On land, they hunted a kind of deer called the caribou. The Eskimos made clothing from the skins of animals they hunted. In summer most Eskimos made tents of animal skins. They sailed in boats made of animal skins. In winter, most Eskimos lived in houses made of snow or sod. In the coldest places, some Eskimos lived in houses made of snow all year long. Eskimo life began to change in the 1800s. People from Europe started hunting for whales where the Eskimos lived. Fur traders arrived. The Eskimos worked with the whalers and fur traders. Soon many of the animals that the Eskimos needed were almost gone. Today most Eskimos live in towns. They live in modern houses. They buy food at stores. But they always remember the old ways. 1. How did Eskimos use animal skins? 2. Why did life change for the Eskimos in the 1800s? 194 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

4 Let s Go Skating You can have fun and get lots of exercise with in-line roller skates. In-line skates have all their wheels lined up in one row. Many people think that in-line skates are easier to move around on than skates with four wheels. Balance is the most important thing. The hardest part is learning how to stop. Before you try in-line skating, get equipment to protect yourself. Wear elbow pads and knee pads. You should wear wrist guards, safety gloves, and a helmet as well. Find a smooth, flat surface to begin learning. Be sure you are away from traffic and away from people on foot. Learn how to stop before you begin rolling. Put your arms out in front of you for balance. Then, slide one foot forward and press hard on the brake pad under that heel. Now you re ready to try in-line skating. Start off in a slight crouch position. Then, put your weight on one foot and push off with the other foot. You should push off to the side. Go slowly and get into the rhythm. Soon you ll be having so much fun you won t want to stop. 1. According to the passage, what is the hardest thing to learn with in-line skating? 2. What is the author s opinion of in-line skating? 204 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

5 A Special Honor Sometimes, many people admire a person. They want to honor that person. One way to honor a person is to put picture on a stamp. The United States printed its first postage stamp in The first five-cent stamp showed Benjamin Franklin. The first ten-cent stamp showed George Washington. Stamps honor all kinds of people. They honor artists and writers. They honor soldiers and teachers. Do you have sports heroes? How about people in music? They may be on stamps. Anyone can ask the Post Office to honor someone with a stamp. Is there someone you would like to honor? Write a letter. Send the letter to the Postmaster General. Give the person s full name. Tell when the person was born. Also, tell when the person died. The person cannot be alive. Tell why you admire the person. A group of citizens reads the letters. They may have to read thousands of them. The group talks about the people. They tell the Postmaster what they think. He or she picks the person. Who knows? It will take at least three years. But perhaps your person will be chosen for a stamp. 1. What is the passage mainly about? 2. How are people chosen for the special stamps? 196 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

6 New Products for People People create ideas for new products all the time. Some new products are made just for fun. Others improve people s quality of life. A big company now makes swim goggles without straps. You stick the goggles on your face. There are two separate lenses. You stick each one over an eye. They stay in place even when you dive. Speed swimmers use them to swim even faster. Another company makes a new kind of toothbrush box. It has a special kind of light. The light kills germs. Just leave your toothbrush inside. You can be sure it will be really clean. Do you think watermelons are too heavy? Plant scientists have now come up with a smaller watermelon. It weighs only 4 to 6 pounds. It tastes sweeter than big watermelons. Now you won t have to carry heavy watermelons to picnics anymore. You can take small, light ones instead. Do your shoelaces keep coming loose? Now you can get rubbery tubes to keep them tied. They are easy to put on the laces. They also last until your shoes wear out. Do you have an idea that will develop a new product for people? What is your idea? 1. What is this passage mainly about? 2. Why do people develop new products? 202 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

7 Making Perfume Lin loved lots of smells. She loved the smell of flowers. She loved the forest smell of pine needles. She loved the smell of oranges and lemons. Lin wondered how people made perfumes. How did they get smells out of things in nature? Her mother took her to a perfume factory to see. A tour guide told them lots of things about perfumes. The guide said that perfumes are made from oils. The oils once all came from nature. They came from flowers, leaves, fruits, roots, and seeds. Oils from these sources are still used. But scientists can now make many of the same smells in their labs. They also make new smells that are not in nature. Lin watched people getting oils out of things. Some people squeezed them out. Some people boiled them out. Some people were putting flower petals on big, flat trays. They covered the petals with pork fat. The fat would pull out the sweet smells. The guide said that as many as 300 different smells can go into one perfume. People who make perfumes must have a good sense of smell. They must know how to put different kinds of smells together. Lin thought about her sense of smell. How good was it? She wondered if some day she might make perfumes. 1. What are some ways in which people get oils for perfumes? 2. Why is Lin interested in perfume? 216 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

8 Plant Art Topiary is a garden art. The artists do not use paintbrushes. They use clippers. To make a topiary sculpture, the artist cuts away leaves and twigs. After a lot of clipping and trimming, a shape will form. The shape might be a ball. It might be a cone. It might be an animal. It might look like a bear or lion. It might be shaped like a seal. Some animal shapes are made with wire frames. First, the artist puts a plant into dirt at the foot of the frame. Then, the plant grows up over the wire. After a long time, the plant covers the wire. The artist now trims it to look like an animal. Topiary artists use many different kinds of plants. They use ivy and box hedges. Some even use daisy bushes. The kinds of plants that work best are thick with leaves. The leaves hide the branches. That way the shape is leafy green. You can practice this old art. Many garden shops sell wire frames. You can choose from a variety of shapes. Today, you may see big green sheep at a shopping center. You may see a green horse at a hotel. Think about how much time an artist has spent making these animals. 1. What is this article mostly about? 2. What kinds of shapes do topiary artists create? 212 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

9 Water Slides They are fun. They are wet. They can make you scream. What are they? They are water slides. You may have gone on a water slide in a water park. What goes into the design of one of these slides? First, the designer thinks about safety. A good water slide thrills its riders. But it has to be safe. The designer also thinks about how high the slide is from top to bottom. He decides the number of curves, turns, and drops. He figures out much water flows down the slide per minute. Water slides are made in sections. Strong fiberglass is molded into hundreds of pieces. The pieces are sent to the water park. There they are put together. On most slides, the rider never goes faster than 20 miles per hour. In a car that would feel slow. On the slide it feels fast. That s because the ride keeps changing. First, there may be a drop. Then, you may hit a curve. Next, you may go into a banked curve and feel like you are moving sideways. There may be a sudden, steep drop. Finally, you splash into a pool at the bottom. When you ride on a water slide, always go feet first. Stretch out flat with your legs in front of you. Then go! 1. What is this passage mostly about? 2. Why does it feel like you are going very fast when you go downa water slide 226 Fluency Assessment Grade 4

10 Adventure on the River Paco had never done anything like whitewater rafting. Even though he was a good swimmer who loved adventure, he knew this trip would be very different. Paco was feeling scared. Ready yet? said his dad. Yes, said Paco. But he didn t look very sure. Paco and his parents put on safety gear. Then they climbed into a small boat filled with air. This was the raft. Their guide handed them paddles. They began moving down the river. The waves were gentle here. Up ahead, though, things would be very different. Get ready, the guide said. Paco heard a loud roar. Around a bend, he saw big rolling waves. The water seemed to be turning white. The guide steered through the waves. Water splashed into the boat. The waves threw them from side to side. Hold on! shouted the guide. Just then, they hit a wave hard. They took a big bounce. Paco seemed to fly up and out. Suddenly, he was in the water. For a moment, no one could see him. Time seemed to stand still. Where was he? Then his head popped up out of the water. The guide steered over to him. He pulled him on board. That was great! laughed Paco. This is fun! Everyone laughed. Now Paco knew he could handle the next big wave and the next. He was having the time of his life. 1. What is this story mainly about? 2. What made Paco fall out of the raft? 232 Fluency Assessment Grade 4