Wonders Weekly Assessment Unit 3 Week 3

Read this sentence from the article.

These trees grow only in the special geology of theslopes of the Sierra Nevadas.

The root of geology is geo, which means “earth.” Geology is the study of

• animals

• land

• peoples

• trees

Read this sentence from the article.

The earth may have been too soggy to hold the shallowroots of the trees.

How does this sentence support the central idea of the article?

• It suggests a reason why two giant sequoias fell in the Sequoia National Forest.

• It gives information about what the Sequoia National Forest looks like.

• It shows how giant sequoias are able to grow as large as they do.

• It provides details about what happened after the sequoias fell.

Read this sentence from the article.

Many of these botanical wonders started growing in the Middle Ages.

The origin of botanical is the Greek word botan, meaning “plant.” Which of the following would a botanist study?

• grass

• buildings

• forest animals

• ancient people

In which paragraph would the following key detail best belong?

"The trees have seen much of our country’s history."

• paragraph 1, page 145

• paragraph 2, page 145

• paragraph 3, page 145

• paragraph 1, page 146

Which key detail best supports the main idea of paragraph 3 on page 145?

• People in wheelchairs should be given access to the trees.

• The trees made a great noise as they fell to the ground.

• Only California’s redwood trees are taller than sequoias.

• Some fallen sequoias have had tunnels cut through them.

Read this sentence from the article.

Watchers were astonished that these enormous treescould topple like babies trying to take their first steps.

What does topple mean in the sentence above?

• fall over

• stand up

• move quickly

• grow to be very tall

How does the author present the event of the two trees falling at the same time?

• as a humorous example

• as part of a chronicle of daily events in the park

• as a list of the benefits of creating national parks

• as part of a review of explanations about the cause

8 Read this sentence from the article.

One explanation was that the summer had been verywet, and the ground was quite hydrated.

The root of hydrated is hydr meaning “water.” Hydratedground is probably

• cracked

• dry

• flaky

• soaked

What is the main idea of the article?

• Not many people have the chance to see a sequoia fall.

• The death of a sequoia is an important natural event.

• It is lucky nobody was hurt when the sequoias fell.

• People should do more to help save the sequoias.

Read this sentence from the article.

It was the time in their life cycle to die.

The origin of cycle is the Greek root cycl, which means “circle.” This suggests that a cycle

• moves very fast

• repeats itself

• is difficult to see

• can follow many paths