Day 5 STAAR® Blitz Assignment: Text Structure and Features

The author organizes the selection by -

• comparing whooper chicks that are hand-reared by scientists to whooper chicks that live in the wild
• providing a chronological account of the events leading up to the scientists’ decision to hand-rear the whooper chicks
• presenting the problems that occur when scientists hand-rear whooper chicks and then the solutions to those problems
• discussing the advantages and disadvantages of hand-rearing whooper chicks

What is the primary purpose of the photos beneath paragraph 3?

• To show the difference between the puppets and real whooping cranes
• To provide visual images of the scientists working with the whooping cranes
• To illustrate the size of the whooper chicks
• To contrast the differences in the way each scientist cares for the chicks

What is the author’s main purpose for writing this selection?

• To criticize the scientists for wasting time and money on hand-rearing whooping cranes
• To analyze the hand-rearing methods the scientists use to raise the whooper chicks
• To inform the reader of the methods scientists use to raise whooper chicks in captivity
• To explain why whooper chicks need to be raised in captivity

How do the photographs support an important detail in paragraph 3?

• By demonstrating the way the scientists peck at the ground and forage for food
• By highlighting the pleasant weather conditions at the research center
• By providing a visual image of the number of scientists who work with the whooper chicks
• By showing the costumes and puppets the scientists use when working with the chicks

Part A Which statement best expresses the thesis of the article?

• Whooper chicks are often aggressive, and scientists must go to great lengths to protect themselves when raising the chicks.
• The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has strict rules for the scientists who work with whooper chicks.
• Handlers at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center work with whooper chicks to teach them how to eat.
• Scientists at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center work hard to raise whooper chicks in an environment close to what they would experience in the wild.

Part B Which quotation from the article best supports the answer to Part A?

• Fostering the whooper chicks at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland proved to be a full-time job. (paragraph 1)
• Some young whoopers would attack their keepers, aggressively defending their territories from them. (paragraph 2)
• The handlers were silent when working with the chicks—no talking, sneezing, or coughing! (paragraph 4)
• The food is crushed and crumbled onto the wet model beak so that it will stick. (paragraph 6)

Based on the article, which conclusion can be made by the reader?

• Whooping cranes need help from humans to increase their population.
• The whooping crane population is thriving in the wild.
• Whooping cranes prefer to live with humans and make good pets.
• The whooping cranes raised in captivity do not need to learn how to survive in the wild.

Which word from paragraph 5 means “made to look genuine”?

Select the response that corrects the spelling error in sentence 3.

• heirarchy
• hierarcky
• heirarky
• hierarchy

Which sentence in the paragraph is extraneous and should be deleted?

• Sentence 1
• Sentence 2
• Sentence 3
• Sentence 4