The Charm Bracelet by J.P. Saunders

     On the last day of school, Clara's mother let her wear her charm bracelet to school. It had been given to Clara's mom when she a girl, and it had several charms attached to it. Clara had always admired the bracelet, hoping her mother would let her have it. "Someday," her mother said.      "May I wear your charm bracelet to school tomorrow?" Clara asked the night before the last day of school.      "Sure," her mother said. Clara was surprised.      When her mom put the bracelet on Clara's wrist in the morning, she gently said, "Please be very careful with this."      "I promise to be careful." Clara flicked her wrist to make the charms jingle. Her mother smiled.      At the park that afternoon, Clara decided to take the bracelet off while she played soccer with her friends. She was afraid that it would get snagged in someone's shirt. She imagined the bracelet attaching to someone's shirt—and then she imagined that person making a swift move, the bracelet breaking, and charms flying everywhere. Clara's pants didn't have pockets, so she tucked the bracelet under a slide.      That evening, while Clara was helping her mom in the kitchen, her mother noticed that she wasn't wearing the bracelet. She asked Clara, "Did you put the bracelet back on my dresser?"      Clara froze. She felt her stomach do a flip. Looking at her mother, she said, "I left it at the park."      Her mother's face clouded for a moment. "Well, it's dark now. We'll go look in the morning."      At bedtime, Clara had a hard time going to sleep. She was worried she wouldn't find the bracelet.      In the morning, Clara's mom drove her to the park. Together, they walked to the slide. Clara felt great relief when she saw a glisten in the distance. The bracelet was there. "I'm sorry I left it here, Mom," Clara said.      "I forgive you," her mom said. "This is going to be yours someday, so keep an eye on it."

Clara's main conflict is that she

A Game in the Forest

     Paolo, holding a small apple, stood behind a tree, very still in the middle of the forest by his family's home. The birds had suddenly stopped chirping. Paolo listened carefully. It is too quiet, Paolo thought. He knew there was only one reason why the birds would go quiet. With bare feet, he softly crossed the forest floor. His movements were slow and steady. He did not want to meet what was out there beyond the trees.      Suddenly, there was a crunch of leaves. Paolo looked in that direction, but the sound stopped. This is not good. I can't stay out here forever, Paolo thought. Paolo heard another crunch of leaves. This time it was closer than before. Too close. The sound had come from right behind him. Paolo could feel something breathe against the back of his leg. It was faint, but it was there.      "I found you!" said his brother. It caused Paolo to drop his apple. Paolo was startled and sad the game was over. Maybe he will find a better place to hide next time, he thought.

Choose all the correct answers.

Paolo knew why the birds had stopped singing. Which two details demonstrate how this helped move the plot forward?

Andy and the New Neighbor

     Andy was lonely. He had no brothers or sisters. There were no children in his neighborhood. Andy's parents sometimes played ball and rode bikes with him, but Andy wished that he had a boy his age to play with.      The people who lived in the house next door moved away. Andy heard that someone bought the empty house. He hoped the new family would have a boy—someone who would ride bikes and play ball with Andy.      Andy woke up early Saturday. He heard people talking on the street. He looked out and saw a big, white van. A man was opening the back of the truck. Another man got out of the van and walked around to the back.      After awhile, a white car drove up. First, a man got out. Then, a woman got out. They looked friendly, but Andy was worried they did not have a son.      Finally, the back door opened. A kid got out. It was a girl. The girl's mother said, "Carol, as soon as we get your bike unloaded, you can explore the neighborhood."      Later, Andy got on his bike and rode down the street. The new girl was coming toward him on her bike. She waved and smiled at Andy. Andy waved back half-heartedly. He did not stop to talk. He did not want to talk about dolls and clothes.      That afternoon, Andy saw Carol and her dad in their backyard. They were shooting basketball. Andy watched Carol shoot the ball through the hoop. Then, she did it again. Andy was impressed. Maybe tomorrow he would ask her if she wanted to ride around the neighborhood.

Which sentence from the selection shows that Andy is not excited about Carol when she first moves in?

 Shel Silverstein wrote the poem “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout.” It is about a girl who will not take the garbage out. She pollutes the world with leftovers from consumption. Miss Stout does not realize that she is right to keep her garbage. Instead of letting it pile up, however, she should recycle her peach pits, orange peels, brown bananas, coffee grounds, and so forth. Fruit and vegetable waste, eggshells, shredded newspapers, dryer lint, and even pet fur can be thrown in the garden. All this "garbage" is good for the soil. Compost works as a natural pesticide, too. This is a good thing because organic gardeners cannot use bug spray. As for yard waste, Miss Stout could add shrub clippings, leaves, and straw. She just needs to be sure that there is a nice mix of waste, not too much of one thing. Chopping materials into smaller pieces will help them break down faster. These materials will decompose and make the ecosystem thrive.

Which underlined word from the passage means "to use again"?

  On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 Moon mission launched from Florida. Three men were on this rocket: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. These men were American astronauts who had trained for years to travel through space and walk on the Moon.      The Apollo 11 spaceship reached the Moon in four days. Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon. Collins stayed in a capsule above the Moon. Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Aldrin was right behind him. There is no oxygen to breathe on the Moon, and it is very cold. So, both men wore large space suits. The two men were on the Moon for about a day. However, Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the Moon for less than three hours. They took rocks from the Moon to bring back to Earth.      Later, Armstrong and Aldrin went back to the capsule. They met with Collins. The three men orbited around the Moon before traveling back to Earth. Their space ship landed in the Pacific Ocean with big parachutes. The mission was a success!

Based on the passage, the word orbit most likely means

Volcanoes

     A volcano is a mountain-shaped opening on the Earth's surface. It allows hot magma to come up from the ground. The word volcano comes from the name of the Roman god of fire. His name is Vulcan.A long time ago, there were different ideas that were widely believed. Some ancient groups thought gods and goddesses caused natural events, such as volcanic eruptions. The Romans thought the god Vulcan's anger caused volcanoes to erupt.

How might this diagram help someone who is reading this article about volcanoes?   

 Recycling is growing all over the USA. People used to just throw all of their trash away. The dumps and landfills where the trash went were getting too full. There was just too much trash. People also noticed that the earth was running out of a lot of the natural resources that are used to make things we use, such as notebook paper, soda cans, cars, and even houses. Recycling is part of the answer to both problems.     Recycling programs are growing across the United States. More and more people feel that it is an important thing to do. In the 1960s, only 6% of trash was recycled. The number has steadily grown. Today, 31% of trash is recycled.

What information in the bar graph is not in the article?

 Eli loved his school colors, which were blue and white. He loved them so much that he wanted to know what the other school colors were around the state. Eli found that most schools used the same colors, but some were more popular than other colors. Below are the results that Eli found.

Which is the most popular school color?

Passage 1      Birch trees grow mainly in North America, Europe, and Asia. Birches are popular because of their bark, which can easily peel off. Birch bark is often white, but it can also be yellow, red, or black. The Paper Birch is the state tree of New Hampshire. In Russia, there is a well-known folk song about a birch tree.

Passage 2      Redwood trees have a reddish-brown bark. They grow in many parts of the world but especially California. Redwoods often grow to be very tall and very large. Some redwoods are large enough to walk through or even drive through. One redwood tree named General Sherman is the largest tree in the world.

In what way are these two passages similar?

Passage 1      Birch trees grow mainly in North America, Europe, and Asia. Birches are popular because of their bark, which can easily peel off. Birch bark is often white, but it can also be yellow, red, or black. The Paper Birch is the state tree of New Hampshire. In Russia, there is a well-known folk song about a birch tree.

Passage 2      Redwood trees have a reddish-brown bark. They grow in many parts of the world but especially California. Redwoods often grow to be very tall and very large. Some redwoods are large enough to walk through or even drive through. One redwood tree named General Sherman is the largest tree in the world.

How are these two passages different (contrast)?