Warm up 2

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich is an everyday food for some kids. But for other kids, the sandwich can be a killer. That’s because some kids are highly allergic to peanuts. In severe cases, even the presence of peanut particles in the air can cause a life threatening allergic reaction. An estimated 5 million people in the United States suffer from food allergies, according to the Food Allergy Network. Of these, about 2 million are kids. And of all the allergies kids can have, peanuts are among the most dangerous. That’s why many schools have taken anti-peanut measures. Some schools just restrict the use of peanuts and peanut butter on campus. But other schools have taken the drastic step of banning peanut products altogether. That means absolutely no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches allowed!

What is the best title for this story?

• “Peanut Alert”

• “A Great Sandwich Gone Bad”

• “A History of Allergies”

• “Peanuts Everywhere”

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

Many foster children are forced to move three or four times during their childhood years. When 13-year-old Aubyn Burnside learned that most of these kids had to use plastic garbage bags to move their possessions from place to place, she decided to do something about it.

In this article, the word possessions means

• clothes

• homework

• belongings

• brothers and sisters

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

Puerto Rico’s El Yunque rain forest is the only rain forest in the U.S. national forest system. That’s one reason to visit it. A better reason is that it’s very beautiful. More than 240 kinds of trees and 1,000 kinds of plants live in El Yunque. It also is home to over 60 kinds of birds. What makes it such a great home for these living things? It has a lot of water. El Yunque receives over 200 inches of rain each year. Plus, six major rivers trace their sources here. Besides plants and animals, what else is there to see in El Yunque? There are several spectacular waterfalls, including La Coca Falls and La Mina Falls. And then there is the mountain of El Yunque itself. This mountain rises over 3,500 feet above sea level. According to legend, El Yunque was the home of Yukiyú, the Taino Indians’ protecting spirit. Tainos were the original inhabitants of Puerto Rico.

The purpose of this story is to

• describe the island of Puerto Rico

• explain how rain forests work.

• persuade you to visit El Yunque.

• tell the history of the Taino Indians.

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.9

CCSS.RI.7.6

CCSS.RI.7.9

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

merciless enemy

• evil

• compassionate

• helpful

• showing mercy

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.4

The underlined word most likely means...

She had a bewildered look on her face after hearing the surprising news.

• carefree

• confused

• cautious

• quick

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RL.7.4