March Benchmark Test (main Idea, theme, figurative language)

One dinosaur had a brain that weighed about as much as three pencils.  Its body weighed ten tons and was over twenty feet in length.  As you can guess, this dinosaur did not think too clearly.  It wasn't the world's brightest dinosaur!  What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• How big one dinosaur was
• What one dinosaur's brain was like
• Why one dinosaur had a small brain

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

The range of a bird refers to the area over which it flies.  some birds are able to fly great distances, and range over almost the whole world.  Other birds have a very small range.  they travel over areas smaller than one hundred miles.  What is the main idea?

• Where to find a bird range
• Why birds like to travel
• How bird ranges differ

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

A man from another country counted all the car accidents.  He found out that cars painted pink or any light hade seem to be safer.  The light colors are more easily seen.  Cars of two or three different colors may be even safer.   What is the main idea?

• Which color cars are safest
• How to paint a car
• What colors can't be seen

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Weather reporters have to give out a lot of information. That's why they use pictures. The pictures help them tell us about the weather without using so many words. Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is. They need to know where the warm air is. They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area. Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short. The pictures help weather reporters get the information out in a fast way.
Which sentence best describes the main idea of the paragraph?

• Weather reporters need to know where the cold air is
• Pictures help weather reporters get information out in a fast way
• Their reports need to be correct, but they also need to be short
• They have to know where it is raining and what types of clouds are in the area

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

I can't wait until this weekend! We’re going to my grandparents’ house and my entire family will be there. I will spend most of my time playing games with my cousins. We always have such a good time together! The day goes by so fast, and by the end we are all exhausted... but we still don’t want to leave!
What is the main idea?

• Weekends are times to travel.
• The author enjoys spending time with her family.
• The author's grandparents live far away.
• The author is sad to leave her cousins.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

Carrie loved her phone and her tablet. She was always looking at one or the other. Her parents would try to talk to her about her life, but she would just ignore them or give them brief answers until they left her alone. When she was at school, she'd sneak peeks at her phone under her desk whenever she could get away with it. When she was at parties, she spent more time interacting with the devices in front of her than with the people around her. Even at concerts and sporting events, Carrie seldom removed her eyes from these tiny screens. One day Carrie was walking home from a friend's house and watching a funny video of people slipping on ice. She began crossing the street just after the light changed. She was so into the video that she did not notice the oncoming traffic. She walked directly into the traffic while laughing at the falling people on her tiny screen and was hit by a bus. Carrie sustained mild injuries, but both of her devices were destroyed. As far as she was concerned, her life was over.

• Carrie loves to use her phone, but she needs to balance that desire with the more practical concerns of safety and wellbeing.

• Carrie is rude to her teachers and parents and gets away with it. That is bad for her eyes.

• To much screen time is bad is for your eyes and hurts your eyes. It is never good for you

• Carrie bad girl.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

In his sophomore year of high school, Michael Jordan tried out for the varsity basketball team at Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. But at five feet and eleven inches tall, the coach believed that Jordan was too short to play at that level, so Jordan was cut from the team. Jordan didn’t let this obstacle defeat him. In fact, it pushed him to work even harder. He trained vigorously and grew another four inches the following summer. When he finally made the varsity squad, Jordan averaged 25 points a game and went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in history. all paragraph com from E learning.com

• The theme is to Never give up.

• you should never turn evil.

• The main idea is Never give up.

• Micheal Jordan is cool

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

what is theme?

• the theme is like a tidal wave of thoughts.

• the moral of the story

• the theme is the main idea.

• the story itself

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Mr. Pig and Mr. Dog were hanging out at the food court of the animal shopping mall. Mr. Pig was eating a

huge feast of pizza and drinking a large jug of fruit punch and Mr. Dog was watching him eat. “Hey, Mr. Pig. If

you give me a slice of your pizza, I’ll let you have the next bone I find.” Mr. Pig declined, even though it hurt his

stomach to eat the last three slices of pizza. “I’m sorry, Mr. Dog,” Mr. Pig said, “but I paid for this pizza and it’s

all mine.” Mr. Dog sighed and waited for Mr. Pig to finish, and then they left the animal mall together. On the

way out, a hunter spotted them and gave chase. Mr. Pig normally could have escaped the hunter but since he was

weighed down by such a large meal, Mr. Pig collapsed and the hunter killed him. Mr. Dog easily escaped. Later

that night while returning to the scene, Mr. Dog caught the scent of something delicious and began digging

around a trash can. He found a large ham bone with lots of meat and marrow still stuck to the bone. Mr. Dog

happily ate.

• It is better to share. (sorry out of order)

• Don't be greedy. this is not the answer.

• The theme is Don't be greedy.

• The theme is It is better to share.

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.9

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.8.2

Children and dogs and houses bloom
like crowded flowers,
This is an example of: 

• metaphor
• simile
• onomatopoeia

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5