STAAR® BLITZ: TEXT STRUCTURE AND FEATURES, DAY 5

The author wrote this selection most likely to -

• explain what plants grow in the rainforest

• describe each layer of the rainforest

• list the different animals that live in the rainforest

• explain what birds live in the rainforest

Which details in the selection are best supported by the graphic below paragraph 3? Select TWO correct answers.

• The understory gets more sunlight than the forest floor.

• Snakes live in the canopy layer.

• Very few animals live in the rainforest.

• Light to the floor is blocked by trees.

• The rainforest is actually very dry.

Which highlighted detail from the text is best supported by the graphic? Select ONE highlighted sentence in the passage.

• Detail A

• Detail B

• Detail C

• Detail D

Which idea is best supported by the details found in the section The Canopy?

• It is the lowest layer of the rainforest.

• Not many animals live in this layer.

• It gets the least sunlight in the rainforest.

• It is a shield to the lower layers.

Based on the information in the selection, what happens when the birds make it to the top of the emergent layer?

• A. They look for sunlight and warmth.

• B. They search for food and make a home.

• C. They often get stuck in the trees.

• D. They move back to the understory layer.

Based on the information in the section The Emergent Layer, what can the reader infer?

• Many animals live in this layer because they enjoy the sunlight.

• Most trees do not grow tall enough to make it to this layer.

• This is the darkest part of the rainforest because it is blocked by trees.

• Birds cannot survive in this layer because there is no water.

Use the text to answer the following questions. Read the sentence from paragraph 4. The canopy acts as a giant umbrella. The author most likely uses this sentence to help the reader -

• A. understand the purpose of the canopy layer

• B. understand the many layers of the rainforest

• C. understand that the canopy layer is at the bottom of the rainforest

• D. picture the umbrellas people use in the rainforest

What change should be made in sentence 1?

• Change It’s to Its

• Change always to all ways

• Delete the comma after warm

• Change and to so

The author would like to add a concluding sentence. Which sentence should be added after sentence 3?

• It has a very bad smell.

• It’s like a recycling center, where nothing goes to waste.

• Bugs like to eat this food.

• Many types of beetles live in the rainforest.