READING STAAR PREP

How can the reader tell that attending the picnic is important to Christopher?

• He tries to be very careful when he arrives at school on Friday.

• He invites his friends to sit next to him on the bus ride to school.

• He tells the principal what happened in Mr. Gregg’s class.

• He hasn’t been to the principal’s office this week.

Paragraph 22 is important to the story because it shows that Christopher —

• is hoping the principal is absent again

• has been sent to the principal’s office often

• expects the principal to allow him to attend the picnic

• is willing to explain to the principal what really happened

What does the word misfortunes mean in paragraph 11?

• Demanding jobs

• Difficult decisions

• Confusing messages

• Unlucky events

Read this sentence below.

To make marbles, people used items that could roll such as nuts, fruit pits, or round pebbles. Based on information in this sentence, the reader can conclude that early marbles were —

• difficult to find

• made by children

• much smaller in size than marbles are today

• created from a variety of available materials

Which sentence is an opinion?

• Long ago, people played games that are similar to marble games played today.

• Different types of marbles have been found in places all around the world.

• They were beautiful, and each one was unique.

• Others had swirls of one color or many different colors.

Which phrase in paragraph 11 helps the reader understand the meaning of annual?

Most people enjoy playing marbles just for the fun of it. On the other hand, some marble players take the game very seriously. Some of these experienced and determined players may be good enough to compete in the annual National Marbles Tournament in Wildwood, New Jersey. This competition was first held in 1922. Each year, thousands of competitors attend. Over the course of the four-day event, over 1,000 marble games are played. Winners receive prizes and awards, including college scholarships and national honors.

• fun of it

• very seriously

• This competition

• Each year

In which part of the selection would the reader most likely find information about the history of marbles?

• The introductory paragraph

• The section titled “Marbles through Time”

• The caption under the first photograph

• The section titled “Marble Games”

The suffix –er in the word sender helps the reader understand that the word refers to —

• a person who sends

• an object that is sent

• the sending of something again

• the method used to send things

Read these sentences from paragraph 12 of “Max’s Find.”

“I never knew you looked like that, Dad. It’s really awesome to see pictures of you and some of the things you enjoyed when you were my age,” Max said. Which sentences from “Messages in Bottles” express a similar idea?

• It is a glass bottle, and inside is a rolled-up piece of paper. This message in a bottle may have traveled halfway around the world before landing on this beach.

• They do so for different reasons. Most often it is simply for fun.

• Occasionally someone tries to use a message in a bottle to contact a particular person. In 1914 a British soldier fighting in World War I wrote a letter to his wife.

• The fisherman delivered the letter to the soldier’s daughter, who was an adult by then. She was thrilled to receive the letter and learn more about her father.