Grade 5 Unit 5 Reading Comprehension Practice

Name: ______Date: ______

Grade 5 Unit 5 Reading Comprehension Practice

Question Number / Code / Standard / Score
1 / RI.5.3.
W.5.2.
W.5.9. / Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical text based on specific information in the text.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. / ______/ 2 points
2 / RI.5.3.
W.5.2.
W.5.9. / Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical text based on specific information in the text.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. / ______/ 2 points
3 / RI.5.5.
W.5.2.
W.5.9. / Compare and contrast events or information in two or more texts.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. / ______/ 2 points

North America: The Mexican War of Independence

Used with permission by ReadWorks.org

Read the passage. Then answer question 1 in the space provided.

1In the early nineteenth century the Mexicans wanted freedom from Spain. A leader of the Revolution was a priest named Miguel Hidalgo. The Spanish government found out about the revolt. They ordered the arrest of Hidalgo. When Hidalgo heard about this, he called a meeting at his church. He rang the church bell on the night of September 15, 1810 to call his congregation.[1] When all the people arrived Father Hidalgo gave the speech that is now called the Grito de Dolores. He said “Viva Mexico” and “Viva la independencia!” These words mean “Long live Mexico!” and “Long live independence!” These famous words he said have been remembered. They are said each year at the Independence Day celebrations.

2Before the year was over, Father Hidalgo was captured and executed.[2]Other people continued to fight for Mexican independence. Father Hidalgo’s Grito de Dolores became their battle cry. The people fought for eleven years before they finally won their freedom. When they finally did, they designed a flag for their new country. Each color- green for independence, white for religion, and red for union- now reminds Mexicans of an important part of their history.

3Today Independence Day is a big celebration in Mexico. The celebrating begins the night before, on September 15. Crowds of people gather in the centers of cities, towns, and villages. The people watch the time. When the clock strikes eleven o’clock the crowd gets silent. In Mexico City, on the last strike of eleven, the president of Mexico steps out on the palace balcony. He rings the old liberty bell that Father Hidalgo rang. Then the president gives the Grito de Dolores. He shouts “Viva Mexico,” “Viva la independencia” and the crowd shouts back. People do this at the same time all across Mexico. While the crowd says this they fill the air with confetti[3] and streamers.

4The actual day of September 16 is like July Fourth in the United States. There are rodeos,[4] parades and bullfights. The people eat, recall Hidalgo’s speeches and decorate statues of their hero with red, white, and green flowers.

Answer question 1 in the space provided below.

Score / Response Features
2 / • Valid inferences and/or claims from the text where required by the prompt
• Evidence of analysis of the text where required by the prompt
• Relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Sufficient number of facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text as required by the prompt
• Complete sentences where errors do not impact readability
1 / • A mostly literal recounting of events or details from the text as required by the prompt
• Some relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Incomplete sentences or bullets
0 / • A response that does not address any of the requirements of the prompt or is totally inaccurate
• A response that is not written in English
• A response that is unintelligible or indecipherable

The Pueblo Revolt

by Jesse Kohn

Used with permission by ReadWorks.org

Read the passage. Then answer question 2in the space provided below.

1New Mexico was a Spanish settlement founded in 1598. The first capital was San Juan de los Caballeros, and a few more towns were founded in the region in the following decade. However, the Spanish colony of New Mexico was relatively small, and only about 3,000 people lived there a century after its foundation. In 1675, the governor of New Mexico ordered the arrests of 47 Native American medicine men, religious leaders, and healers from the surrounding pueblos, or villages, where they lived. Of the four sentenced to death, only three faced the hangman—the fourth took his own life while waiting for his sentence to be served.

2Ever since the Spanish colonists arrived in New Mexico in 1598, they had been working to suppress the ancient religion practiced by the Pueblo people. The colonial government had already outlawed festivals like the Kachina dances, where tribal members wore costumes of holy spirits. The Spanish took religious objects such asKachina dolls, ceremonial masks, and prayer sticks and destroyed them. These traditions and traditional objects were essential to the lives of the Pueblo people. For the Pueblo people, to be forbidden from practicing their religion was like being separated from their own families and ancestors. The medicine men were the Pueblo people’s most direct connection to their religious life. The Pueblo people mainly suffered peacefully as the colonists tried to force the Roman Catholic religion on them. However, they reached a breaking point.

3Several warriors banded together from the different pueblos surrounding Santa Fe and marched upon the capital to demand the medicine men be set free. Because the governor was afraid of a revolt, he agreed to free the prisoners. But it was too little, too late. The damage had been done, the seeds of revolt already sown.

4One of the 47 medicine men imprisoned by the governor was a man named Popé. Popé was from a pueblo north of Santa Fe called OhkayOwingeh, which means “place of the strong people” in the Tewa language. Not only was Popé strong, he was also intelligent and charismatic. Angered by his unjust imprisonment, the deaths of the four medicine men, the tortuous treatment of prisoners, and most of all, the general destruction of his people, Popé resolved to confront the violence of the colonists with violence of his own. After being set free from prison, Popé relocated to the Taos Pueblo and from there began to organize a large-scale revolt.

5The Pueblo people were not a single unified group. The so-called “Pueblo Indians” were made up of many different nations, including the Tewa, Tiwa, Hopi, and Zuni. Each nation had its own language and customs. This disunity had long prevented the different Native American groups from successfully rising against the Spanish colonists. Individually, each tribe was too small to stand a chance in a conflict with the well-armed settlers. Popé recognized that only by working together could the Pueblo people challenge the colonial government.

6Popé reached out across nations, spoke across languages, and summoned over 2,000 Pueblo warriors. They were united in their common desire to overthrow the colonial government and rid the unwelcome Spanish influence from the land. It took Popé five years to organize his plan. By August of 1680, the flame that Popé had ignited could not be stifled.

7On August 10th, Popé declared a revolt, and the united Pueblo people unleashed their forces. They struck the small, thinly populated settlements first; each Pueblo tribe attacked the settlements nearest to it. By August 13th, every Spanish settlement in New Mexico had been destroyed. The Pueblo tribes joined together to invade the capital. Even in Santa Fe, the Spanish were largely outnumbered. They surrounded the Palace of the Governor. About 400 Spanish men, women, and children were killed. The rest were driven from the land. The victory of the Pueblo people was quick.

8Popébecame the new leader. His goal was to restore conditions to what the Pueblo people were accustomed to before the Spanish arrived. He outlawed the religious and agricultural practices the Spanish had developed. Even though many Pueblo people had embraced parts of the colonial lifestyle, Popé enforced his vision upon everyone. He ordered the burning of crucifixes, the destruction of livestock, and the upheaval of Spanish crops. Twelve years later, the Spaniards returned to recolonize a drought-impoverished and hunger-stricken land.

Answer question 2in the space provided below.

The following question refers to both of the previous passages. Reread them and answer question 3 in the space provided below.

ANSWER KEY

Score / Response Features
2 / • Valid inferences and/or claims from the text where required by
the prompt
• Evidence of analysis of the text where required by the prompt
• Relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Sufficient number of facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text as required by the prompt
• Complete sentences where errors do not impact readability
1 / • A mostly literal recounting of events or details from the text as required by the prompt
• Some relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Incomplete sentences or bullets
0 / • A response that does not address any of the requirements of the prompt or is totally inaccurate
• A response that is not written in English
• A response that is unintelligible or indecipherable

[1] congregation- a group of people who belong to a church together

[2] executed- put to death or killed by the government under a law

[3]confetti- small pieces or streamers of colored paper that are scattered around during festive occasions, like a parade or New Year’s Eve.

[4]rodeos- shows in which cowboys ride “bucking broncos” (wild horses) and rope cattle.