Name______First Quarter

FIFTH GRADE

READING

COMMON ASSESSMENT

KEY

FIRST QUARTER

Read the following poem and answer the questions.

HABITS

A habit is a sticky thing;

Much good or evil it can bring;

It binds a victim, holds him fast,

And keeps him in a vise-like grasp.

Bad habits grow with extra speed,

Much like a healthy, growing weed.

The roots grow deep, the stem grows stout;

Howdifficult to pull it out!

Good habits are a little slow;

They need a lot of care to grow;

If tended well, they grow more fair

Than any bloom a plant can bear.

Good habits help us all through life;

Bad habits bring us pain and strife;

Our habits, whether right or wrong,

Each day will grow more firm and strong.

  1. What isthe theme of the poem?

To practice good habits because they will help us through life.

2. Based on the poem, how does the author feel about habits? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

The author feels that good habits are what we need in life to help us, “grow more firm and strong”, but bad habits “bring us pain and strife” leading us to wrong.

3. In the following stanza, the author uses a simile to compare what two subjects?

Bad habits grow with extra speed,

Much like a healthy, growing weed.

The roots grow deep, the stem grows stout;

Howdifficult to pull it out!

Bad habits and weeds are being compared because they are both things that we do not want in our life.

  1. Summarize the poem on the lines below.

The poem, “Habits” entertains us with a rhyme about how good habits are what we need in life and bad habits we need to break. It takes a long time to develop a good habit, but bad habits grow with speed. In order to be successful in life, we need to break our bad habits and try to grow our good ones.

  1. Which of these is closest to the meaning of the phrase, “vise-like grasp”?
  1. Firm hold
  2. weak spirit
  3. happy thoughts
  4. exhausted
  1. According to the poem, what is the main similarity between good and bad habits? Please support your answer with evidence from the text.

No matter if our habits are good or bad, “ each day they will grow firm and strong”.

  1. Name two problems the people of long ago had in the beginning? How did they solve it? Fill in the chart.

Problem / Solution
The people grew hungry and died / The crow taught the people how to plant and how to save maize and beans for next season to plant.
There was not enough food through the winter / The crow told them how to store food from a bean and maize.
  1. The author uses figurative language in the form of a simile to describe how

a. hot the summer is

b. hungry the people are

c. black the crow is

d. thick the snow is

  1. The author wrote this story
  2. to entertain the reader with a story of how the crow helped the Woodland Indians
  3. to persuade the children to eat maize and beans
  4. to inform the reader about a real event that happened to the Woodland Indians
  5. to describe how to plant maize and bean
  1. Please provide an example in which the author uses personification in the story.

A wise crow spoke to the tribe and taught them how to plant food for the winter

  1. What genre is this story?
  1. drama
  2. fairytale
  3. legend
  4. fable
  1. Is the following statement a fact or an opinion?

“In the warm summer months they picked berries from bushes, and in the fall they gathered nuts to eat.” Fact

  1. You know that the Great Father is wise because he
  1. plants food for his people
  2. makes his people work very hard for their food
  3. educates his people so they won’t ever be hungry again
  4. has a crow that talks

Rubric

Multiple Choice (1 point)

*Short Constructed Response (2 points)

2 points- Answers question and provides details from text to support it.

1 point- Answers the question, but does not provide details to support it.

0 points- Does not answer question and/or demonstrates no understanding of concept.

* Medium Constructed Response (3 points)

3 points- Answer questions above and beyond and provides several details to support it.

2 points- Answers questions and provides few details to support it.

1 point- Answers the question, but does not provide details to support it.

0 points- Does not answer question and/or demonstrates no understanding of concept.

Expository Writing Rubric

Categories / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Planning / Effective detailed plan uses words/ phrases / Complete plan uses words/ phrases / Incomplete plan OR plan resembles a draft / Required plan is disorganized or extremely incomplete
Ideas/ Organization / Meets ALL requirements of prompt/assignment
Fully focuses on topic
Includes relevant information
An inviting introduction, elaborate body, effective conclusion
Provides big ideas and specific elaborate supporting details.
Clear sequence using sophisticated transitional words/phrases as needed / Meets MOST requirements of prompt/ assignment
Mostly focuses on topic
Includes mostly relevant information
A recognizable introduction, body, and conclusion
Provides big ideas with some supporting details
Transitions between ideas varied and effective / Meets SOME requirements of prompt/ assignment
Addresses a broader topic OR focuses on trivial points
Provides sketchy information/ lists/ repetitive
Abrupt beginning/ end, body not developed
Big ideas weak; support not obvious or repetitive
Transition obvious or overused (first, second, next) / No requirements met
Severely digresses from topic
Information irrelevant
No organization evident/ random
No clear big ideas or support
No transitions connecting ideas
Word Choice/ Voice / Highly engaging paper
Accurate, precise, natural sounding vocabulary, takes risks
Active, precise verbs that paint pictures
Uses figurative language, sensory details, imagery effectively
Fluent, easy to read
Effective variety of sentences beginnings, structures, lengths
Writer’s voice shines throughout paper. / Mostly engaging paper
Accurate, general vocabulary, attempts some interesting words
Mixes active/passive verbs
Some figurative language/ sensory details
Generally fluent with occasional choppiness
Some variety in sentences beginnings, structure, lengths
□ Writer’s voice evident in some places. / Difficult to engage
Obvious vocabulary; may be repetitive
Mostly passive verbs (is, has, goes)
Familiar vocabulary/ phrases
Rambling or choppy sentences; run-ons
Many sentences begin the same way; little varied in structure
Little evidence of writer’s voice / No engagement
Incorrect vocabulary; boring or not age appropriate
Passive, repetitive (is, is, is)
Vague language
Hard to follow, makes no sense
No evidence of voice
Conventions/ Presentation / No errors
Presentation Perfect/ special (typed) / Very few errors
Very readable, neat / Errors occasionally impede meaning
Readable, but sloppy / Error-laden making meaning impossible
Illegible

Name______First Quarter

FIFTH GRADE

WRITING AND GRAMMAR

COMMON ASSESSMENT

KEY

FIRST QUARTER

PLANNING

Use this page to plan your writing to help you organize your writing.

You will receive credit for planningyour writing.

Use this portion for your planning

Writer’s Checklist.
Does your writing have all of the following?
? words that are capitalized correctly
? paragraphs that are indented
? words that make your writing interesting and fun to read
? words that are spelled correctly
? punctuation marks that are used correctly
? subjects and verbs that agree
? modifiers that are used correctly

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  1. Blaine compliments the teacher in the hopes of getting good grades. The rest of the class is ______by this behavior.

Which of the following words suggests that the class is fed up with Blaine’s behavior?

  1. disgusted
  2. bewildered
  3. distressed
  4. crushed
  1. What type of sentence is this?

My pet zombie likes to eat brains.

  1. declarative
  2. interrogative
  3. exclamatory
  4. imperative
  1. Find the sentence that has no capitalization errors.
  1. Julius Ceasar ruled the roman empire until the was assassinated.
  2. Julius Ceasar ruled the Roman empire until he was assassinated.
  3. Julius Ceasar ruled the Roman Empire until he was assassinated.
  4. Julius ceasar ruled the roman empire until he was assassinated.
  1. Which contraction replaces the group of underlined words?

Julian and Charles put on winter coats because they are going outside today.

  1. their
  2. they’re
  3. they’ear
  4. the’re
  1. Which sentence is punctuated correctly
  2. “I cannot wait until my party!” exclaimed Paloma.
  3. Danika asked, Are you going to invite me to your party?”
  4. A party with many people will be fun, declared Tomas
  5. Jamal replied “It sure will.
  1. Chose the correct word to complete this sentence.

The Colorado landscape is filled with mountains and ______

  1. vallies
  2. valleys
  3. vallyes
  4. valleyes
  1. Read these sentences and then choose the word that best completes both sentences.

My sister will ______her automotive at the lot by the school.

The ______was closed for the concert.

  1. leave
  2. take
  3. park
  4. gym
  1. Choose a word that is a synonym for weeping.
  1. walking
  2. laughing
  3. crying
  4. mocking
  1. Find the complete predicate in the following sentence.

Sam will be attending the award ceremony.

  1. will be
  2. will be attending
  3. Sam will be attending
  4. will be attending the award ceremony
  1. Choose a word that is a verb in the following sentence.

Michael stayed at his friend’s house last night.

  1. last
  2. house
  3. his
  4. stayed

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