When some people think about Texas, they think of cowboys on the open range-herding cattle up a dusty trail. However, Texas has much more than open prairie with large herds of cows. There are the mountains of West Texas, the piney hills of east Texas, and the emerald waters off the coast of Padre Island. Texas also has large coastal harbors with numerous sailboats, powerboats, inland lakes, rivers, swamps of southeast Texas with alligators and other exotic wildlife.

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Tomorrow is Jill's birthday. She is excited because she gets to pick where she will eat dinner. Will it be Mexican food at the Big Enchilada House? Or will it be fried chicken at the Chicken Shack, or a big cheeseburger at Al's Hamburger Palace. She just couldn't decide. Then there was always the Pizza Shop with that great pepperoni pizza. How would she ever decide? Maybe she would just flip a coin.

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It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now.

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Right now Jason was playing right field. He really wanted to play third base. Earlier this year, coach had put him in left field and second base in a game, but never at third base. Once in practice, coach let him play third base, but he kept missing ground balls. When he did stop one, he made a bad throw to first base. Maybe if he kept practicing, Jason would be good enough to play third base. That was his dream.

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For the walls, Jenny thought she would use a bright yellow paint. She would pick a border that had mostly bright red and green colors, and maybe a little bit of blue. She already had found some curtains that were sky blue with streaks of red, blue and yellow that she thought would go great with the walls. And finally, she had picked a carpet that was mostly blue with specks of red and yellow. Jenny couldn't wait till she was done decorating her room. It was really going to look awesome.

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Jake is Cassie's older brother. One day they are walking home from school when a cold front rolls in and the temperature drops 20 degrees. Jake is dressed more appropriately for the weather than Cassie. He takes off his hooded sweatshirt and offers it to her. She gratefully accepts. Jake is now colder, but he is happier.

What character trait does Jake show?

Alex shut the lid to his laptop with a loud clap. Some of the people sitting at the tables near him looked up from their books and gave him annoyed looks. Alex realized that he had disturbed them and held up his hand apologetically. The librarian turned toward him and shushed him loudly, perhaps louder than the noise that he had made. Alex put the laptop in his bag and began walking toward the door. He held his head down low.

Which of the following choices is evidence that the setting is a library?

Jenny told me about the movie she saw, but she did not reveal the ending because she knew I was going to see it too.

The word reveal means:

After about an hour, the fireman concluded his talk by reminding everyone to check their smoke alarms as soon as they got home.

The word concluded means:

Amelia rarely paid attention in class. By contrast, her best friend tasha was always very attentive and listened carefully to everything the teacher said.

The word attentive means:

What an extraordinary day we had! First we found buried treasure in the backyard and then we were interviewed on television!

The word extraordinary means:

Becky had waited all week to go to the beach. She was so eager to leave on Saturday morning that she woke everyone up at 6:00!

The word eager means:

Freddie's parents bought him a new bicycle on his birthday. His dad taught him how to ride it. Freddie learned quickly. He could ride the bicycle well. Freddie's dad told him to be careful while riding the bicycle, but Freddie would not listen. Sometimes, he would ride too fast.

What does the illustration tell you about Freddie's dad?

Rory wanted to build a large sand castle at the beach. He wanted to show his sister, Christy, how talented he was. But no matter how hard Rory tried, his sand castle kept breaking! Christy saw Rory struggling and decided to help him out. They built a beautiful sand castle together.

What does the illustration tell you about Rory and Christy?

Baxter was excited to be invited to the birthday party. He took a bath and got nice and clean before he left. At the party, he danced and had so much fun. Then he saw the cake. He went straight for it. It tasted so good!

What does the illustration tell you about Baxter?

Roger was a hero! He saved the neighborhood from those mean old raccoons. The other dogs worked very hard all the next day. They put together a dinner-time feast! They had so many good things to eat. Roger got to sit in the seat of honor, next to the pretty, pink poodle named Miss Fluffy. Everyone had a wonderful time!

What does this illustration tell you about Roger?

Betsy was scared. She did not want to go in the haunted house, but her brother Barry made her. They walked down a dark hallway. Just as they were peeking in a door, a spider dropped down in Betsy's face!

What does the illustration tell you about the spider?

Mario is a very kind character. What information could help us infer he is a kind character?

While no one was looking, Emma took her brother's toy and put it in her backpack. What could be a character trait for Emma?

Manny was not afraid of anything. He tried new things all the time and would stand up for what he thought was the right thing to do. What could be a character trait for Manny?

A polite character would:

A calm character would: