Pink ELA Practice

Read the opinion draft about school uniforms and answer the question that follows.

Students should not have to follow a dress code at school. Even though most schools require a dress code, many students don't follow it. Requiring students to wear certain things to school can get expensive for parents. It forces them to buy two sets of clothing; their "normal" clothes and their "school" clothes. Moreover, the stores in Corcoran don't sell the clothing required for dress code, so our parents have to go out of town to find them, which is another cost. For these reasons, I think the school should get rid of its dress code policy.

Choose two more exact words that the student could use in place of the underlined/red word above.

• Also

• First

• Furthermore

• However

• Meanwhile

Find the prepositional phrase below.

Yesterday, our class had a great time on our field trip, learning about Native Americans.

• Yesterday

• our class

• had a great time

• on our field trip

• learning about Native Americans

People typically think that bears harm humans on purpose. Unless you are watching a movie where the bear is the villain, this is just not true. Bears are very curious animals. They like to check out their surroundings and eat our leftovers. Bears have hands to touch and hold the things they investigate and they use their teeth to tear into our food wrappers. In many cases, bears will confuse a human for another animal. This may sound silly to you, but if you are walking towards a tree or a tent looking for food, you might see how it can be confusing.

What would be the best introduction sentence for this paragraph?

• Bears are dangerous creatures that often attack humans.

• Bears do not make good pets and should not be held captive.

• Bears are scary creatures from the forests.

• Bears are quite often misunderstood animals.

(1) The recycling program in my town has started to make some changes. (2) People used to have to separate all the different materials. (3) For example, glass went into one container, while paper went into another container. (4) Luckily, my family does not use a lot of paper, so that was not a problem. (5) Now, however, the town has started collecting everything all together. (6) Now, people can just throw all of their recyclables in one big bin, and the city collects it like that. (7) This is much easier for people, and the amount of recycling has gone up because of it.

Which sentence should be deleted because it does not stick to the main idea of the paragraph?

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

• 5

The height of a building can be important to its beauty. Despite this, height is not the only factor. Some of the tallest buildings in the world are the most beautiful. This is because of their interesting shapes. They can appear to be twisting and bending, all because of their height. The Shanghai World Financial Center, in China, looks like it is twisting around itself. Taller buildings can make more interesting shapes. Shorter buildings can be just as beautiful because they are so simple. These buildings can have an emotional impact. The Pantheon, in Rome, is a maze of simple columns and arches. Even though it is not very tall, many people think it is very beautiful. Both tall and short buildings can be beautiful in their own way. Remember, height does not always matter when it comes to the architectural beauty of a building.

Choose the BEST word or phrase to connect the underlined sentences.​ (a)  

• However,
• In the meantime,
• Next,
• This means,

A student is writing a story for the teacher about their favorite park. Read the draft of the story and complete the task that follows.

I have always enjoyed going to the park. My favorite park is just around the corner from my house so I am able to walk there whenever I want. I go to the park with my family, my dog, and my friends. It is extremely fun when all of my friends can come play. When there is a large group of us we love to play hide and seek. I always have the best hiding spots because I can climb up the immense trees. I love to be outside, and I would go to the park every single day if I could.

The student wants to replace the underlined word to make the meaning clearer. Which TWO options would make the BEST word choices?

• large

• wide

• many

• small

• tall

A student is writing a report for class about crows. The student wants to revise the draft to have a better conclusion. Read the draft of the report and complete the task that follows.

Crows are very smart birds. They communicate with each other, and they have strong memories. They can remember places to find food and things that people do. For example, if a person scared a crow, the crow would know to stay away from that person. The crow would also tell all of his friends to stay away from that person.

Choose the concluding sentence that is MOST CLEARLY related to the information presented in the report.

• These actions show how smart crows really are.

• This is why people really should be careful around crows.

• People can also teach crows how to talk and to do tricks.

• So the next time you see a crow watch, what it does.

Moving from California to Texas and starting over at a new school was very scary.

Kelly looked up the word scary in the thesaurus and found this entry.

Kelly wants to replace the word scary with a synonym. Which word BEST replaces the word in the sentence?

• spine-chilling

• creepy

• eerie

• intimidating

David has a few more Takis in his bag.

What is an ANTONYM for few as used in the sentence above?

• many

• least

• little

• some

Zayden has written a story for his classmates about his adventure at the zoo over the weekend. Zayden needs to revise his story. Read the draft of his story and complete the task that follows.

I had an exciting time at the zoo on Saturday. (1) My dad took my sister, Latasha, and me, and we had so much fun. (2) We saw lots of animals, and we were even allowed to ride a train! (3) The first exhibit my sister wanted to see was the zebra exhibit. (4) On our walk to the zebras, we saw elephants, giraffes, and even a rhinoceros eating his breakfast. It was amazing to see how much hay he was able to consume in just one bite. (5) Right before we went home, Dad bought Latasha and me ice cream cones. (6) After we left the zebra exhibit, we went to the aquarium section of the zoo. (7) I have never seen so many fish all in one place. (8) I even saw some sharks! (9) After we saw a bunch of other animals, I was ready to ride the zoo train. (10) Dad bought our tickets and Latasha and I waited in line. (11) The line was really long, but at last it was our turn. (12) ​ I chose to ride in the very front, and the train conductor even let me ring the bell. It was awesome.

Which sentence does NOT belong in the narrative because it does not follow the order of events in the rest of the story?​ (a)  

• 5
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9