ELA Milestone

Which sentence uses commas correctly?

• The dog, that my sister takes care of, is part German shepherd.

• Jordan, who I know from summer camp, wants to join the book club.

• To run a half marathon, I need shoes, that fit well and are comfortable.

• The report card, that I was expecting, arrived more than a week late.

A student is writing a personal essay about riding in the car . Read the draft of the essay .

1 When my brother was a baby, I used to wear earplugs on car trips so that I wouldn’t have to listen to him when he screeched and chattered . 2 Once he grew up a little bit, I could play cards or other games with him . 3 Now, I often use earbuds and listen to music . 4 This usually works fine, but sometimes my brother gets lonely . 5 My dad wants me to talk to them . 6 It isn’t always easy, but I try to make an effort to join in the conversations and put my music away sometimes.

Which change would correct an error where the pronoun and antecedent are unclear?

• Change sentence 1 to “When my brother was a baby, I used to wear earplugs on car trips so that Iwouldn’t have to listen to my brother when he screeched and chattered.”

• Change sentence 1 to “When he was a baby, I used to wear earplugs on car trips so that I wouldn’thave to listen to my brother when he screeched and chattered.”

• Change sentence 5 to “My dad wants me to talk to him and my brother.”

• Change sentence 5 to “My dad and my brother want me to talk to him.”

Marcus and ___________ are neighbors, and we take the bus to school each day.

• I

• Me

• Us

____________ are in different classes, but we like to talk to each other at the bus stop.

• He and I

• He and me

• Him and me

Which of the sentences below should be revised?

• She taught me how to make special breakfast foods, like French toast.

• Last Winter, I spent every Saturday morning with my Grandma.

• Next, the buttered bread is put on a hot skillet which is an electric pan.

• The breakfast looked delicous and the kitchen smelled of vanilla and cinnamon.

What is the MOST credible source for information about safe food handling practices for restaurant

workers?

• a blog post about safe food handling from a former restaurant employee

• a note from a restaurant manager listing her top three tips for handling food safely

• a list of guidelines for safe food handling on a state’s health department website

• an article in the newspaper about illnesses that result when food is not handled safely

Read the draft of an announcement for school.

1Yesterday the girls’ basketball team played very well in regionals. 2Last night’s game had everyone on the edge of their seats, but the Tigers pulled through with a last-minute upset over the Vikings, putting the final score at 40 to 39. 3Special mention goes out to Alyssa McNamara for scoring the most points and also to Tonya Demming, whose great defense earned her the title of Tigers’ Player of the Day.

4Stay tuned as the team heads to the state contest!

Which sentence would BEST replace sentence 1 to make the purpose of the announcement clearer?

• Tryouts for the girls’ basketball team will happen in late spring.

• Congratulations to the girls’ basketball team for winning the regional championships!

• Even though the Vikings were favored to win, the Tigers beat them in a game last night.

• It is with great excitement that we tell you some news about the Tigers game!

Choose the most precise word or phrase to complete the sentence.

Braille is _________________ of raised dots that people who are blind can read with their fingers.

• a communication system

• an arrangement with lots

• a structure of tons

Choose the MOST precise word or phrase to complete the sentence.

This method is name after Louis Braille, who _____________ Braille in 1824 when he was only 15 years old.

• thought of

• invented

• came up with

A student is writing a report about whether the United States should continue making the penny. The student took notes from a source.

Choose TWO notes from the list below that are MOST relevant to the research question.

What are some reasons the United States should discontinue making the penny?

• The United States government produced 8.15 billion one-cent coins in 2014.

• In 2015, the average cost for the government to create a penny worth one cent was 1.43 cents.

• Canada and other countries have stopped producing low-value coins such as the one-cent coin.

• Because they are made with zinc, pennies cost the government more to make than they are worth.