School District of Palm Beach County Elementary Curriculum Spring Practice Grade Four Reading
Grade 4 Read Desert Dwellers and then answer questions 1 through 5. Desert Dwellers If you go to Arizona today, you will find the city of Phoenix. It is located in a valley that years ago used to be the home of the Hohokam people. No one knows much about the Hohokam. By the time Europeans arrived in Arizona, there was nothing left of them but the ruins of their towns. Even the Native American people who lived in nearby valleys don t remember much about the Hohokam. In fact, the Native American name Hohokam means those who have gone. All that we know about the Hohokam comes from studying the homes and personal objects they left behind. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of Hohokam towns in the valley. The Hohokam lived in small, one-room buildings called pit houses. They were made of strong wood and clay. These houses could be warmed easily in the winter by small fires. During the summer, the thick clay walls of the houses kept the interior cool, even in the hot desert! Even though the Hohokam lived in a hot, desert valley, they were very good farmers. This is surprising because not a lot of food can survive in a desert s hot climate. Because water was not plentiful, the Hohokam learned to dig long ditches, or canals, that carried water all over the valley. This let the Hohokam irrigate their fields. Irrigation provides a source of water for crops. They dug hundreds of miles of irrigation ditches. These irrigation canals were so well made that, when Europeans resettled the valley, they were able to reuse some of the canals to grow their own food. Go On
The Hohokam people were also great artists. They made beautiful ornaments out of shells that came all the way from the Pacific Ocean. They also made pottery and drew pictures about their lives on mountain walls. Though the Hohokam people are gone, many signs of them are left in the Arizona desert. Even today, you can go to the sites of their largest villages and walk through the remains of their wonderful buildings. Go On
Now answer numbers 1 through 5. Base your answers on the passage Desert Dwellers. 1. Read this sentence from the passage. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of Hohokam towns in the valley. What is the base word for the word discovered? A. cover B. disc C. over D. red 2. Read this sentence from the passage. These irrigation canals were so well made that, when Europeans resettled the valley, they were able to reuse some of the canals to grow their own food. Which word has the same base as reuse? F. because G. refuse H. reunion J. useful 3. Read this sentence from the passage. These irrigation canals were so well made that, when Europeans resetted the valley, they were able to reuse some of the canals to grow their own food. If settle means stay, what does resettled mean? A. can t stay B. did stay C. stayed again D. never stayed Go On
4. Read this sentence from the passage. These houses could be warmed easily in the winter by small fires. What is the base word for the word warmed? F. arm G. armed H. war J. warm 5. Read this sentence from the passage. Even today, you can go to the sites of their largest villages and walk through the remains of their wonderful buildings. If large means grand, what does largest mean? A. not grand B. less grand C. more grand D. most grand
Grade 4 Read Wild Horses and then answer questions 1 through 4.
Source of passage: Grade 4 Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Treasures (reprinted with permission)
Now answer numbers 1 through 4. Base your answers on the passage Wild Horses. 1. The author organized the passage by A. comparing and contrasting wild and tame horses. B. listing the ways people threatened the habitat of wild horses. C. identifying the ways predators and disease killed early horses. D. describing how events that caused wild horses to be in danger led the government to pass a law to protect them. 2. How does the author BETTER help the reader understand that wild horses have been around for many years? F. by explaining events in history that have affected the horses G. by listing why people killed wild horses H. by comparing wild horses to cowboys J. by telling where wild horses lived 3. What is the theme of the passage? A. Laws can help wild animals from becoming extinct. B. People can become friends with animals. C. People don t appreciate what they have. D. Time changes everything. 4. What is the purpose of the illustrations in the passage? F. to show what wild horses eat G. to show different types of wild horses H. to show how the number of wild horses has increased over time J. to show what happened after the wild horses lost the land they lived on