Science Stem Question Grid for Grade 3, Avenues Level D, Volume 2

Prepared by Debbie Barr for Guilford County School System ESL Department, October 2009

Student
Page
Number / Stem Question and Foils / Goals
and Objectives / Flesch Readability Score * / Correct Answer
Unit 5
Deserts
249 / Many deserts have ___ soil.
A. loam
B. red clay
C. sandy / 2.03, 2.04
textbook C15 / 112.7 / C
Deserts
250 / Sand dunes are a type of fast erosion. They are made by ___.
A. wind
B. water
C. birds / 2.01, 2.04
textbook C74 / 110.1 / A
Deserts
252-253 / It does not rain much in the desert. Desert plants ___ water.
A. share
B. compete for
C. do not need / 1.01, 1,02, 1.03
textbook B42 / 110.6 / B
Deserts
253 / When there is enough rain, seeds that have been ___ in the desert for years may start to grow.
A. dead
B. active
C. waiting / 1.01, 1.02, 1.03, 1.06
textbook A26 / 110.4 / C
Deserts
256 / Animals' needs must be met in order for them to survive. What need do cactus plants meet for some desert birds?
A. place to live
B. food
C. air / textbook A40 / 99.8 / A
Lost
276-277 / The girl and her dad looked for Flag in a canyon. A canyon is...
A. flat land with steep sides
B. a narrow valley with steep sides
C. wide, flat land / textbook C55 / 108.8 / B
Lost
279 / The girl was studying astronomy at school. This means she might read about:
A. sun, moon, stars
B. eyes, ears, nose
C. dogs, cats, mice / 3.02, 3.05, 3.06 / 107 / A
Make a Food Chain
291 / In a desert food chain, which would be a producer?
A. green plant
B. snake
C. fungi / 1.02, 2.05, 2.06
textbook B16-19 / 98.9 / A
Make a Food Chain
291 / In a desert food chain, which would be a consumer?
A. green plant
B. snake
C. fungi / 1.02, 2.05, 2.06
textbook B16-17 / 98.9 / B
Rattlesnake and Jackrabbit
292 / The snake wanted to eat the rabbit. A snake is a ___.
A. herbivore
B. carnivore
C. omnivore / textbook B20-21 / 100.4 / B
Unit 6
A Picnic in October
305 / Lady Liberty's birthday is October 28. On this date, New York City is in the ____ season.
A. winter
B. spring
C. fall / 3.02
textbook D38-39 / 99.3 / C
A Picnic in October
308 / The Statue of Liberty is on an island in New York's Upper Bay. A bay is _____;
A. a part of the ocean that extends into land
B. a body of water with land all around it
C. where the ocean meets the land / textbook C55 / 101.3 / A
A Picnic in October
314 / The family lugged a lot of picnic stuff when they all got off the ferry boat. Which two body systems worked together when they did this?
A. excretory and immune
B. digestive and nervous
C. skeletal and muscular / 4.02, 4.05 / 78 / C
A Picnic in October
316-317 / The picture on pages 316-317 shows that the family has a plastic soda bottle in their picnic basket. What should they do when the bottle is empty?
A. recycle it
B. put it in a trash can
C. throw it off the ferry boat into the water / textbook C44 / 98.1 / A
A Picnic in October
317 / The cold ginger ale burned Tony's throat when he swallowed it. The throat is part of the ____ system.
A. immune
B. digestive
C. circulatory / textbook R28 / 90.9 / B
A Picnic in October
320-321 / It was hard to light the candles on the birthday cake because the wind was blowing. Strong winds can play a part in changing rocks into ___.
A. trees
B. soil
C. water / 2.04
textbook C60 / 111.5 / B
Respectfully Yours, Eve Bunting
340 / Eve Bunting's father was a farmer. ___ is NOT a renewable resource that farmers use.
A. water
B. soil
C. coal / 2.01, 2.02, 2.03, 2.04, 2.04
textbook C40-41 / 86.5 / C
Respectfully Yours, Eve Bunting
348 / Migrant workers pick crops. All crops are ____.
A. producers
B. consumers
C. decomposers / 1.02, 2.05, 2.06
textbook B16-19 / 71.5 / A
Respectfully Yours, Eve Bunting
348 / Which is NOT a way that crops may reproduce?
A. tubers
B. bulbs
C. eggs / 1.03
textbook A 30 / 102.3 / C
Respectfully Yours, Eve Bunting
350-351 / Eve Bunting's son wanted his helper to pull the weeds. Weeds are unwanted ___.
A. producers
B. consumers
C. decomposers / 1.02, 2.05, 2.06
textbook B16-19 / 85 / A
Unit 7
Good for You!
364 / Which food group should we eat the most servings from each day?
A. milk, yogurt, cheese
B. bread, cereal, rice, pasta
C. vegetable / textbook R27 / 95.5 / B
Good for You!
364 / Which food group should we eat very few servings from each day?
A. fats, oils, sweets
B. fruits
C. meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts / textbook R27 / 107 / A
Good for You!
365 / Which is NOT a healthy habit?
A. exercise
B. drink plenty of water
C. smoke / textbook R26-27 / 93.6 / C
Mice and Beans
373 / What food group does birthday cake belong to?
A. milk, yogurt, cheese
B. fats, oils, sweets
C. fruits / textbook R27 / 104.5 / B
Mice and Beans
373 / What happened when Rosa Maria turned off the light?
A. The light switch opened the electric circuit.
B. The light switch closed the electric circuit.
C. nothing / textbook F72-73 / 99.5 / A
Mice and Beans
377 / What food group do tortillas belong to?
A. meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts
B. fats, oils, sweets
C. bread, cereal, rice, pasta / textbook R27 / 95.5 / C
Good Enough to Eat
408 / Eating healthy foods helps the ___ system fight germs.
A. nervous
B. immune
C. digestive / textbook R34 / 91 / B
Good Enough to Eat
409 / What mineral helps the body heal wounds?
A. calcium
B. zinc
C. iron / textbook R37 / 93.6 / B
Good Enough to Eat
410 / Vitamins, water, fats, and proteins are four of the six ___.
A. treats
B. food groups
C. nutrients / textbook R35 / 104.5 / C
Good Enough to Eat
413 / Where does digestion start?
A. stomach
B. mouth
C. small intestine / textbook R28 / 81.5 / B
Good Enough to Eat
414 / Which sentence is NOT true?
A. Digesting food uses up calories.
B. We get calories from all the foods we eat.
C. We should get most of our calories from fat. / textbook R39 / 91.2 / C
Good Enough to Eat
416 / It is ___ important to drink a lot of water each day.
A. not
B. very
C. somewhat / textbook R28 / 95.1 / B
Good Enough to Eat
417 / What part of the body needs the most calcium?
A. bones
B. lungs
C. skin / 4.01, 4.02
textbook R37, R20 / 119.2 / A
Unit 8
Faraway Home
436 / Desta's father told her to think about fog. Fog is...
A. water vapor that has been heated
B. a cloud that is near the ground
C. drops of liquid water that fall to earth / textbook D14, 18-19 / 101.6 / B
Faraway Home
436 / The sound of wind chimes could NOT be heard...
A. if there were no air
B. under water
C. through a solid object / textbook F65 / 106.5 / A
Faraway Home
438 / Desta's friend said Africa is hot. Her father said the nights are cold. They are talking about ____.
A. wind
B. the water cycle
C. air temperature / textbook D8 / 93.3 / C
Faraway Home
441 / Desta's father said that sugar cane tastes sweet. What part of the tongue can taste sweet?
A. sides
B. front
C. back / textbook R33 / 107 / B
Faraway Home
442-443 / Desta's father gave her a mule ride. Which two body parts worked together to let him to do this?
A. bones and muscles
B. bones and skin
C. muscles and ears / 4.02, 4.05 / 100.6 / A
Faraway Home
444 / Desta's father said the moon and stars lit the night. The ____ reflect(s) light from the sun.
A. stars
B. stars and moon
C. moon / 3.01, 3.02
textbook D48 / 124.8 / C
The Gift of Words
464 / The poet said that Mita's stories are like the songs of crickets. In a food chain, crickets are:
A. producers
B. consumers
C. decomposers / textbook B16-17 / 85.6 / B
The Gift of Words
466 / Which of the senses let the poet know that Grandpa had slipped a coin into his palm?
A. sight
B. hearing
C. touch / textbook R32-33 / 113.9 / C
The Gift of Words
470-471 / The poem talks about pancakes, chicken, pork chops, and cream. Which of these is in the food pyramid group that we should eat the most servings from each day?
A. pancakes
B. cream
C. pork chops / textbook R27 / 106.7 / A
The Gift of Words
472-475 / A bricklayer uses his hands and fingers to do his work. What type of joints are in the fingers?
A. ball and socket
B. hinge
C. pivot / 4.03
textbook R22 / 105.1 / B

*The Flesch Readability Score is a number from 0 to 100. The higher the number, the easier the text is to read.

• Scores between 90.0 and 100.0 are considered easily understandable by an average 5th grader.

• Scores between 60.0 and 70.0 are considered easily understood by 8th and 9th graders.

• Scores between 0.0 and 30.0 are considered easily understood by college graduates.

Key:

90-100: Very Easy

80-89: Easy

70-79: Fairly Easy

60-69: Standard

50-59: Fairly Difficult

30-49: Difficult

0-29: Very Confusing

Target range for this project: a score greater than 100.

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