Improving
Reading
Comprehension
Grades 3 and 4
Workshop 2
BRIDGES Literacy Project
QUESTION ANALYSIS
1)Which detail explains why the landlord wants the magic stone?
2)What is the best title for this passage?
3)Why does the son put the stone in the rice jar?
4)What does “glinting” mean as used in paragraph 7?
5)Read the following list of events in the story.
What is the order in which these events occurred in the story?
6)How did the landlord find out about the magic stone?
7)Which phrase best describes why the people complain about the chilly spring?
8)Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?
9)What does plagued mean as used in paragraph 5?
10)Read the following list of events:
In which order do these events occur?
11)Which statement best describes the structure of the passage?
12)What does a reader NOT learn about 1816 after reading “Year Without a Summer”?
13)What is the most likely reason the author includes the information in the first paragraph?
14)Which sentence best states the main idea of the selection?
15)What does perks mean as used in paragraph 7?
16)Read the following list of events:
What is the order in which these events took place?
17)Which statement best supports the fact that it is a disadvantage for ski racers to make their runs at the end of the day rather than early?
18)Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the selection?
19)What conclusion can a reader draw about Diana Golden after reading this article?
20)What is the meaning of the word lobbied as it is used in this selection?
21)Which statement below captures the sense of this sentence: Determined not be left behind, Diana began training with the Dartmouth team.”
22)After reading the quotes from Diana Golden, a reader can predict that she
How to Read a Poem (Not every question will have an answer.)
1 / What is the title?2 / Where does the poem take place?
3 / When does the poem take place?
4 / Who is telling the poem?
5 / Who is the audience? Is the poet speaking to someone?
6 / What is happening in the poem?
7 / What is the poet’s purpose? What does the poet want the audience to remember? Here are some ideas to help you get started:
to tell about
to compare
to explain
to describe
to show
to entertain
8 / What are some vivid images or details in this poem?
9 / Does the poet use comparisons (similes or metaphors)? If yes, give examples.
Why Do I Have to Clean My Room?
Why do I have to clean my room
when I would rather play?
The crayons scattered on the floor
are hardly in the way.
I almost never trip upon
my basketball or drums,
and I don’t pay attention
to the cake and cookie crumbs.
Why do I have to clean my room?
I think my room looks nice.
There’s pizza in the corner,
but it’s only half a slice.
I’m not at all concerned about
the gravy on the chair,
my piles of model planes and trains,
my stacks of underwear.
I will admit some bits of clay
are sticking to the wall.
I scarcely even notice them
and do not mind at all.
Beneath my bed there’s just a wedge
of last week’s apple pie,
and yet I have to clean my room . . .
I simply don’t know why.
~~Jack Prelutsky
If I Were In Charge of the WorldIf I were in charge of the world
I'd cancel oatmeal,
Monday mornings,
Allergy shots, and also Sara Steinberg.
If I were in charge of the world
There'd be brighter nights lights,
Healthier hamsters, and
Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower.
If I were in charge of the world
You wouldn't have lonely.
You wouldn't have clean.
You wouldn't have bedtimes.
Or "Don't punch your sister."
You wouldn't even have sisters.
If I were in charge of the world
A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable
All 007 movies would be G,
And a person who sometimes forgot to brush,
And sometimes forgot to flush,
Would still be allowed to be
In charge of the world.
Judith Viorst
Short Answer Practice 1
Caught!
When Tommy came home from school, he was hungry. On the kitchen table he saw a cake. In front of it was a note that said, “DO NOT TOUCH! THIS MEANS YOU!” Tommy stared at the cake. He loved cake! He took a knife and scraped off some icing. He smoothed over the space. Then he ate some more. It was delicious. When he dropped some crumbs on the floor, he rubbed his shoe over them until the stain was almost gone. Then he ate some more cake. As he ate, he took the knife and covered over the empty spots. Soon, the sides of the cake had almost no icing.
Tommy fixed himself a peanut butter sandwich and went to his room. An hour later, he heard his sister yelling. “Who messed with my cake?” Tommy smiled. Two minutes later, his sister knocked on his door.
“You little pest,” she said. “You ate the icing off my cake! I saw your sticky footprints in the kitchen and all the way down the hall!”
“No, not me,” said Tommy, as he waved a hand that had chocolate icing under his fingernails. “I had peanut butter.”
“Yes,” his sister said. “And the knife you used had icing on the handle.”
“No, no,” said Tommy. “You’re wrong.”
“Look in the mirror, Tommy,” his sister yelled.
Tommy walked to the mirror and saw cake icing all over his chin.
Explain why Tommy’s sister concluded he had eaten the cake icing. (4)
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Short Answer Practice 2
Aunt Betty Finds Out
I’m going to run next door for a minute,” said Aunt Betty. “Whatever you do, do not let the dog in the house. I’ll know if you do.”
As soon as Aunt Betty left, Josh and Jed let Frisk in the house. Frisk slid down the hall and left long scratches. The boys took him to the family room to watch television. Frisk didn’t want to watch cartoons. Instead, he chewed on the leaves of Aunt Betty’s lemon tree. Soon the tree had only four leaves.
The boys weren’t watching the dog and didn’t see him grab a cushion and chew a huge hole in the corner.
After a while, the boys were hungry. They fixed cereal and gave Frisk a bowl. Frisk chomped his cereal and part of Jed’s. Then the dog began to whine and scratch at the door.
The boys were watching television and not the dog. Suddenly, a bad smell filled the room.
“Oh no,” Jed said. “I was afraid that would happen.”
The boys let Frisk out and quickly cleaned up the mess and threw the rags in the garbage can behind the house.
In a few minutes, Aunt Betty came home. “Boys,” she squeaked, “there’s a bad smell in here. Why did you let the dog in the house?”
“We didn’t,” said Josh and Jed.
Aunt Betty frowned. “Boys,” she said, “he left several clues.”
Explain how Aunt Betty determined that Frisk had been in the house. (4)
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Short Answer Practice 3
Late for School?
Susie looked at the clock. It was 7:15 a.m. “Oh no,” she thought, “my mom forgot to wake me up. My mom never forgets to wake me up. I’m going to be late for school.” She jumped out of bed and ran to the shower. “I have to hurry,” she said. “I’ll just eat breakfast at school.”
Before Susie chose what to wear to school, she checked the thermometer outside her window. It was 18 degrees. “Wow, it’s cold. I think I’ll wear a turtleneck and a sweater.” As she looked out the frosty window, Susie didn’t see many cars on the road. “Well,” she said to herself. “I guess other people overslept this morning.” Those cars she did see were moving slowly.
As she was getting dressed, she could hear the television in the living room. “That’s strange,” she thought. Her mom usually wouldn’t let her brother and sister watch cartoons in the mornings.
Susie zipped her heavy coat and put on her mittens. She grabbed her bookbag and raced down the hall. It was 7:45—time to leave for school!
“Morning, honey,” her mom called. “Where are you going?”
“What do you mean,” Susie asked.
“Today is a snow day,” her mom said.
Explain how Susie could have known it was a snow day before her mom told her. (4)
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Short Answer Practice 4
Unwelcome Visitors
One Saturday Josh and Jed were bored. In the woods behind their grandparents’ barn was an old house. The boys had been told not to go there. Josh and Jed decided to go anyway. The front door was stuck, but they pulled and pulled. Finally, they got it open. As they tiptoed through the door, they heard a rustling sound.
The walls had rotted, and some berry bushes had spread into the house. Something had been eating the berries. It looked as if something had pulled off big pieces of the bushes and eaten berries right off the vines. As they started across the floor, Josh tripped over part of a honey comb. Suddenly they heard what sounded like toenails scratching in one of the back rooms. Josh told Jed it was just a tree branch rubbing against the side of the house.
The windows were broken, and the cold wind blew through the house. Above the sound of the wind, the boys could hear something breathing loudly. Jed told Josh he hoped it was just the wind.
The boys wanted to go upstairs, but were too afraid. As they stood at the bottom of the steps, they heard steady growling. The boys scurried out the door.
They jumped on their four-wheeler and looked back to see a black bear sitting on the porch.
Explain how the boys could have figured out the bear was around before they saw it on the porch.
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Short Answer Practice 5
Hard Work Pays Off
Josh and Jed did not like Saturdays. They had to clean their rooms before they could play. They also had to take out the garbage and clean up the yard. They did not like to work.
Last weekend Josh and Jed cleaned their rooms without being told. They raked the leaves. They took out the garbage without arguing about whose turn it was. They even mowed the yard and told their dad he didn’t have to pay them.
On Saturday morning, they had breakfast on the table when their mom and dad got up. After they ate, Josh and Jed offered to help with the laundry.
Their dad wasn’t surprised on Sunday afternoon when they asked him to take them to the Fargo Fall Festival in a town about two hours away.
Because the boys had worked so hard, their dad took them to the Festival. He also gave them $20 to spend.
Explain why the boys’ father was not surprised when they asked him to take them to the Fargo Fall Festival. What had the boys been doing? (5)
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Here’s the Answer – What’s the Question
Josh, in “On a Roll . . .ercoaster,” learns that riding a rollercoaster is far less scary than he thought it would be. This story illustrates the theme perfectly. As Josh stands in line for two hours and watches, the ride gets bigger and taller. At first, he thinks the ride goes 10 feet high. Every time he caught a glimpse of the ride or the track or the dips, he becomes a little more scared. The ride keeps growing in his mind, at least, and he finally thinks it is 50 feet high. His friends and cousins make him more scared. They tell him stories about people falling out of rollercoaster cars and mention some stories about people getting hurt or killed. He comes to believe that the cars do go airborne at times, that the safety bars can break, and that when the cars start down a hill that your body may actually rise from the seat. Once he finally rides the rollercoaster and hangs on for dear life, he learns that what something appears to be is not the reality.
Jenna, in the poem “Words Can Hurt You,” has an experience similar to Josh’s ride. She has to give a speech in front of her class, and she is terrified. Jenna, too, learns that something she thinks is true is false. Her sisters and friends in older grades have convinced her that giving a speech is the most painful experience ever. Because of them, she thinks she will forget everything she plans to say. She thinks she will shake, shiver, cry, or possibly even throw up. She is also convinced that everyone in the class will make fun of her. When she finally gets up to give her speech, and she gets through it, she realizes that how something appears to be is not always real. Both Josh and Jenna realize that actually doing something they dread is not the horribly painful, embarrassing experience they expected it to be.
Here’s the Answer – What’s the Question
First, animals become extinct when their habitat is destroyed. Humans are the most common cause of destroyed habitat. When species lose food, water, and shelter, they eventually die. Roads, pipelines, and transmission lines can ruin animals’ homes. Land cleared for homes or agriculture also destroys habitats.
Another way humans make animals become extinct is to introduce a new species. When a species has never before been found in a food web area and has no natural predators, it will crowd out native species and eventually make them extinct.
A third way animals become extinct is through overharvesting by humans. Fishing and hunting, whether for recreation or food, reduce many animal populations each year. When humans destroy more animals than are being produced, that species will become extinct. The disappearance of the Passenger Pigeon is an example of overharvesting.
Here’s the Answer – What’s the Question
A baby elephant is amazing. Unlike a human, within an hour of being born, a baby elephant is ready to move with the herd. Another difference is elephants can go a long time without water, even as long as three days. Elephants are herbivores and their diet mainly includes grass. They also eat leaves, bark, fruit, twigs, water plants, and seeds, depending on their habitats. An elephant’s tusks are incisor teeth, and they grow continuously throughout its lifetime. A human’s teeth stops growing. Baby elephants are born with milk tusks, similar to human baby teeth. These fall out when they get older, at around six to twelve months.
Elephants do not have sweat glands like we do to help them stay cool. Instead, they stay cool by spraying water on themselves and wallowing in mud. An elephant’s sense of smell is stronger than a human’s. Elephants depend on their sense of smell more than humans do. Elephants wave their trunks in the air to smell food or to sense the presence of enemies. They can smell odors from more than 1 mile away.
Make It a “4”
The Birth of Blue Jeans (text on following page)
Levi Strauss was a pragmatic man, who believed that good things could become better. Explain how Strauss adapted and changed his jeans to meet the needs of his customers.Strauss changed from canvas to denim. He changed the color of his pants. He put rivets on the pockets. Then later they took the rivets off.
Extended Response Question Text
Levi Strauss was a pragmatic man, who believed that good things could become better. Explain how Strauss adapted and changed his jeans to meet the needs of his customers.
Clothing was a particular problem for miners. They spent long days kneeling in dirt, scrambling over rocks, and squatting in water. Under these conditions, pants wore out quickly. Miners complained about how easily their pants ripped or the seams pulled out. As one miner put, it “pants don’t wear worth a hoot up in the diggin’s.”
According to legend, one miner mentioned this problem to a merchant named Levi Strauss. After hearing the miners’ clothing complaints [pants that ripped too easily], Strauss decided not to use his canvas to make wagon covers or tents. He used the canvas to make up some pants for miners. Calling them “waist-high overalls,” he sold them for 22 cents a pair. The miners loved “those pants of Levi’s” or “Levi’s” for short. . . .The brown pants were homely, but they wore like iron.
Strauss sold his pants as fast as he could make them. Still, he constantly worked to improve his product. He switched from canvas to French denim, a cotton twill material even stronger and more durable than canvas. Later he also changed the dye color to a dark indigo blue because it didn’t get dirty as quickly. Because of the new color, some people began to call their Levi’s “blue denim’s” or “blue jeans.”