Grade 3
Reading Common Assessment #6
WHEN ANSWERING QUESTIONS IN THIS TEST BOOKLET
CORRECT MARK / INCORRECT MARKS· Use only soft black lead pencil (No. 2).
· Do NOT use ink or ball point pen.
· When marking your answers to multiple-choice questions, mark heavy, dark marks that completely fill the circle. Mark one answer for each question.
· Erase completely any marks you wish to change.
· Make NO STRAY marks on any page of your test booklet.
· For the open-response and short-answer questions, be sure you write your answers on the lines and spaces provided. Answers or parts of answers written outside the boxed areas cannot be scored.
Kentucky Open-Response Question
General Scoring Guide
Kentucky Short-Answer Question
General Scoring Guide
READING
This test section contains one or two reading selection(s) with several multiple-choice, open-response, and short-answer questions. Please mark your answer for each multiple-choice question by filling in the circle completely for the correct answer. Mark only one answer for each question. If you do not know the answer make your best guess.Read the following articles about penguins.
Penguins in Motion
Penguins live only in the southern hemisphere, in places like Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands. They are birds but they cannot fly. But that doesn’t mean they don’t get around!
Waddling On Land
To walk, penguins waddle across the ice, bobbing left and right, inching their way forward. Their webbed feet loop out to the side with each step. They use the little flaps on their sides to help steady themselves. They can go a little faster if they flop down on their bellies and slide along the ice and snow.
Zipping Through the Water
Penguins look clumsy on land but it’s a different story when they are in the water. When swimming they have more amazing moves than an Olympic gymnast. Put a penguin in the water and let the action begin!
They zip around the icy Antarctic waters like torpedoes with tuxedos on. The little wing flaps and the webbing between their toes help move them through the water at high speeds. Penguins have been clocked as fast as 27 miles per hour.
Birds that Can’t Fly
Penguins are birds, but they look very different from the birds in your backyard. And we know they can’t fly like the birds that come to your bird feeder. But why are they still called birds? Like all birds, penguins have light, air-filled bones and a beak with no teeth. Penguins have feathers and must comb them with their beaks. And they lay eggs like all birds do.
Maybe penguins can’t fly through the air like a robin or an eagle but they sure can fly when they are under water!
The Birds that Swim Instead of Fly
Emperor penguins are birds. But they cannot fly. Instead, they swim. They use their “wings” as flippers to move through the water. They swim in the icy seas around Antarctica. When they are in the water, they stay in big groups. They call to each other to find the fish, krill, and squid they eat. Being in a group helps keep them safer from the leopard seals that want to eat them, too.
Adult emperor penguins are about the same size as you. They are about 4 feet tall and weigh about 70 pounds. When penguins are on shore, they cluster together in big groups called rookeries. Rookeries may have thousands of penguins. There the penguins pick their mates.
In the winter when it is dark and very, very cold, each mother penguin lays one egg on the ice. The father quickly pulls the egg into an opening near his feet called a broodpouch. Then the mother goes to find food. She stays out at sea for two months. During that time all of the fathers stay close together to keep from getting too cold. They also have a layer of fat to keep them warm. They must stand over their eggs for two months without ever leaving them. They eat no food. They must live off their body fat.
After the egg hatches, the chick stays in the father’s broodpouch. This keeps it warm. At last the mother returns with food for the chick. She spits up food she has eaten. She spits the food into the baby penguin’s hungry mouth. Then the mother tucks her chick into her own broodpouch. After four months, the chick can swim and get its own food.
Below: The male Emporer Penguin holds the egg in his broodpouch.
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READING MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Please mark your answer for each multiple-choice question by filling in the circle completely for the correct answer. Mark only one answer for each question. If you do not know the answer, make your best guess.1. / What animal wants to eat the Emperor penguin?
a. fish
b. leopard seal
c. krill
d. squid
2. / What happens last?
a. The baby penguin hatches.
b. The father keeps the egg warm.
c. The mother penguin goes out to sea.
d. The mother penguin lays an egg.
3. / How are penguins like most birds?
a. They live in Antarctica.
b. They build nests.
c. They lay eggs.
d. They fly.
4. / When do penguins move the fastest?
a. in the air
b. in the water
c. on the ice
d. in the snow
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5. / A word that is an antonym of cluster isa. scatter.
b. gather.
c. run
d. sleep
6. / What does the male Emperor penguin probably do when his mate brings food for the baby?
a. keeps the baby in his broodpouch
b. attacks his mate
c. steals the baby’s food
d. goes to sea to get his own food
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READING OPEN-RESPONSE QUESTION
Read all parts of each open-response question before you begin. Write your answers to the open-response questions in the space provided in this test booklet.Write your answer to question 7 in the space provided on the next page.
Penguins
7. / Both of the articles that you read are about penguins.
A. Describe 2 ways the articles are alike.
B. Describe 2 ways the articles are different.
Do not write on this page. Please write your
answer to this open-response question in
the space provided in this test booklet.
PLEASE GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE è
Do not write outside this box.
READING SHORT-ANSWER QUESTION
Write your answer to question 8 in the space provided on the next page.
Penguins
8. / A. Tell one way penguins are like other birds. Use details from the passages in your answer.
B. Tell one way penguins are different from other birds. Use details from the passages in your answer.
Do not write on this page. Please write your
answer to this short-answer question in
the space provided in this test booklet.
PLEASE GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE è
Do not write outside this box.
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Bourbon County Schools
Common Assessment #6
Grade 3
Reading
Multiple Choice
Question / Ky. Common Academic Standard / Answer1. / 3.RI.1 – Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. / B
2. / 3.RI.3 – Describe the relationship between a series of steps in a text, using language that pertains to sequence. / A
3. / 3.RI.1 - Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. / C
4. / 3.RI.1 - Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. / B
5. / RD-EP-1.0.2 – Students will apply knowledge of synonyms, antonyms, or compound words for comprehension. / A
6. / 3.RI.7 – Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text. / D
Open-Response Scoring Guide
Ky. Common Academic Standard: 3.RI.9 – Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
SCORE / DESCRIPTION4 / 2 points – Student describes 2 ways the articles are alike.
Both are about penguins, both tell where they are found, both tell how penguins move
2 points – Student describes 2 ways the articles are different.
Article 1 tells how penguins are different from other birds, Article 2 mainly describes Emperor penguins and how they take care of their young.
Article 1 tells ways penguins move, Article 2 describes what they look like.
3 / Student scores 3 of the 4 points possible.
2 / Student scores 2 of the points possible.
1 / Student scores 1 of the points possible.
0 / Student’s response is totally incorrect or irrelevant.
Blank / No student response.
Short-Answer Scoring Guide
Ky. Common Academic Standard: 3.RI.10 – read and comprehend informational texts at the high end of the grade 3 spectrum text complexity band.
SCORE / DESCRIPTION2 / Student lists one way penguins are like other birds and one way they are different from other birds, using details from the passage.
1 / Student lists only one way they are alike or one way they are different.
0 / Student’s response is totally incorrect or irrelevant.
Blank / No student response.
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