evaluation of text complexity new york state english ......mus~ leftovers from our e~r-egg hunt....

Evaluation of Text Complexity New York State English Language Arts

Common Core Test

Released Passages from 2016 Third Grade Exam

Anthony Cardinale Third Grade Teacher

Carmel, New York

- ' '

September 2016

Dear Educators and Parents,

The New York State Common Core Exams have been in place since the spring of 2013. I first became concerned with the developmental appropriateness of these assessments once the New York State Education Department listed The Grey Hare by Leo Tolstoy as a sample text for third graders on the Engage NY website. An analysis of this text using the Fry Readabi1ity Graph shows that it is written at a sixth grade level.

Educators have used the Fry Readability Graph to determ ine text complexity for over 40 yea rs. In my 14 years as an elementary teacher, I have found its results to be accurate and consistent with widely used book-leve1ing systems such as the Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Levels and the Developmental Reading Assessment levels.

Using the Fry Readability Graph to evaluate the released passages from the 2016 Common Core English Language Arts exam, I have determined the following:

• • • • • •

One passage was written at a second grade level Two passages were written at a fourth grade level One passage was written on the border of a fourth/fifth grade level Two passages were written at a fifth grade level One passage was written at a sixth grade level One passage was written at a seventh grade level

In my professional opinion as an educator, texts chosen for the purpose of evaluating the reading proficiency of elementary students should range from one grade level below to one grade level above the students being assessed. This range allows both struggling and accelerated readers the opportunity to demonstrate the skills they have learned throughout the year. When students are tasked with readi ng literature too far above developme ntally appropriate levels, their answers to even the most carefully worded questions become unreliable . Educators have no way of knowing if the ir students misunderstood the passage or if they could not successfully execute the skills required to answer a given questio n.

It is my hope that the resu lts shared in this document will continue to spark a conversation across New York that wiU lead to adjustments being made in our state's student testing program .

Sincerely,

~q.

Rwdi()a level = 2nd :_)

Directions Read this story. Then answer questions 1 through 6.

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The Private I's and the Case of the Big Stink by Wendi Silvano

/ / / Iriez brushed some brown hairs from her bedspread. Ivyiluffed up the pink

pill6w on her bed. Then she picked up the green pillow

"A k1" .d I / "Thi ill / 11 I" ..nc . sa1 vy. s p ow sme s.

friei took a whiff "You're right!"

lz / . / h b d/ "H " l · d " , l. 11 d li / . "]:Y-came mto t e e room. ey, S1e sai , w . .uo ro e mys ppers m garbager

/ /. Ivy and Inez laughed.

"I' · kin/ ,, ·a 1 / "S u h ,,, m not JO g. sa1 zzy. me t em.

I~melled the sli~rs. "Yuck! That smells just like my pill~'

"What's goriig ont' said~

"S Lhln/ /.1 . ./ " .d I / ome g smelly .1s going on, sa1 zzy. /'

"But what would make my pillow and your slippe rs stink ?" said Ivy.

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«This must be a case for the Priva te I's;' said Izzy.

'TU get my notebook; ' said Inez.

She wrote: The Case of the Big Stink.

«Any ideas?" she asked.

''Let's see if anything else smells the same ;' said Ivy.

"Great ideal" said Izzy.

Inez wrote: Plan 1: Sniff out the stink.

The Private I's went to the kitchen. Tuey sniffed the counter. They sniffed the table. They sniffed th e garbage can.

"Th b/ · k " . d I / "b · ,.t. ill / d " e gar age can stm s, sa1 . vy, ut not m i:.ue way my p ow oes .

"L _.., h 1· · / " ·d I .,,,-els try t e 1vrng room, sai zzy.

They sniffed the curt~s. They sniffed the lamps. Tuey sniffed the sofu. /

"Yuck!'' said 1vy. «That's the stink, all right."

In{z' wrote: The sefa has the big stink. '' 'Art. d I ,<' ill / 1· / d th / f h . / ?" . :i / ,vu at o vys p ow, mys 1-ppers, an · e so a ave m common. sai<. zzy.

"Tu 11 . k" "d 1 / ey a stin , sai vy.

"H h " ·al / a, a, sa1 zzy.

"1J 1 ,Ar. · · / ,, ·a r / "A 11 f th h. ft a ,,..,,.h ,, ::iey. vvalt a mmule, sa1 nez. J"UI o ose t mgs are so an cus y. "11 ' · // 1 ,, 'd i ,,-, iats an im portant cue, sai zzy.

In:Z:,rote: Everf(~ g with the big stink is soft and cushy.

"My pillow is the cushiest; ' said Ivy. "That's why I like to lie on if'

"Hmm:' said Izzy. "The pillow and the sofa are things people lie on."

"What about the slippers? " said Inez. "Peop le don't lie on sHppers."

"But Baxter does;' said Ivy. "He sleeps on anything soft."

''And look -b rown hairs on my slippers!" said Izzy. "I suspect Baxter rolled in something stinky."

"How can we check? '' said Inez. "He's gone ·with Mom."

"Let's smell his bed," said Ivy.

"Brilliant!" said Izzy.

They all went to sniff Baxter 's bed.

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Inez wrote: Baxter is spreading the big stink.

"But what is he rolling in?" asked Izzy.

"Let's follow the smell," said lvy.

"Great idea,'' said Izzy:

So Izzy, Inez, and~ went outside. 1bey walked around the yard, sniffing.

"Check out the aa'l bebfud these bushes;' said Iz:;;. "11 ' B / ' f /. /. " 'd I ./ "Th d l · / d iats axters ·avonte nappmg spot; sa1 nez. e groun t 1ere 1s covere

with so ft moss:·

She took a whiff. "It's got the stink, all right"

I~ peeke~r the bushes. "There are two rott~ eggs unckr here. They mus~ leftovers from our E~r-egg hunt. 'They're all crushed from 13~ r rolling in them: ' ,,,,..

lust then, Mom came borne with Baxter.

"S / I · th. l b th'" ·d M "1·--1 ·n1< " omeone ms to give 1s c og a a . sa1 om. :1e st1 s. / / /

Izzy, Lnez, and Ivy la ugh ed.

"C B / t '' 'd l / "L ' . / k d" ome on, ax er, sai zzy. ets get you un-stm e .

In" wrote: The Case of the Big Stink: Solved.

GOON

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BY EDWARD FRY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

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Read this story. Then answer questions 13 through 18.

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Mary Jane and Her Recycled Sticks

by Marcia K. Wasson I {I t I I

Mary Jane woke up excited. She had barely Jlept the figh t before. Todf Y when she got to sch ool, she would turn in her art pr ject . .,Mary Jane went downstairs, walked in~o the kitchen, and noufed the kitd 1en table had been cleaned otf. 111e ice pop sticks and tis ue paper she had left e\lery\.vht!re Lhe night before were gone.

"Good mo/ ning, Mom," Ma' y Jane said. "Thanks for clei ning up my mess: I was g6ing to do it this m1.l ninf' .

1 1 I/ ID

"Good mor~ing, Mary Jane;· Meyn saisf, smiling. ; c:tidn't clean up anything. / 1 thought you put your suJ/pUes away after you finished your art project. Better grab some eggs and bacon . Dad an d Josh will be down any minute."

Mary Jane sat down with her breakfast as her dad and older brother came into the kitchen.

"Dad, Josh, did either of you d ean up the mess 1 Ieft on the kitchen table last night ?" Mary Jane asked.

" It wasn't me;' Dad said

"lt wasn't me either," Josh ad de d with a shrug.

"Well someone cleaned up the leftover tissue paper and broken ice pop sticks;, Mary Jane said. "I didn't, and Mom ~aid it wasn't her. I wonder what happened to them."

Suddenly Smokey, the famil y cat, jumped up on the table. He tried to steal a piece of bacon from Josh's plate.

"Hey!" Josh yelled. "That's mine> Smokey! Get down!"

Smokey meowed and jumped lo the floor with out the bite of bacon.

"Poor Smokey;' Mary Jane sighed.

"Remember when Smokey-would steal my toys when I was little?" Josh asked.

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14 "I remember;' Mom said.

15 :Me too;' ad agree'cL nodding. "He drove you nuts. You would leave your jacks on the floor aft& playGg with them, and Snrokey would take se'\ful and hide them. You would have to find the mis'Slllg jacks when you wante d to play agaG"."

16 "Maybe Sm 6key took my left~ art p~1 scraps;' Mary Jane said. "Josh, what did he do with your toys when he Look Lhem ?"

17 "He would hide them behfud the big, usG brown chair in the livkg room ;' Josh said .

18 "That c air is not ugly!" Mom sc~e d.

19 "o{ Mom;' 1v1.r{y Jane groaned. 'Tm go~ to seeJf my scraps are behind it." She hopped out of her seat and ran into the next room. With a grunt, she slowly pulled out the heavy chair . "My stuff is here!" she gasped. "And here are some hair ribb ons I thought I had lost along with a wash cloth I remember dropping the other day."

20 Josh poked his head into theliving room. "Look, Josh;' Mary Jane continued, ''Smokey made a bed with the pieces of tissue paper and the wash doth. The leftover ice pop sticks and my missing ribbons are on the floor around the bed He probably plays with those~' She laughed. "It's sort of funny when you think aboutit."

21 ''What's funny?" Josh asked.

22 «My assignment was to reuse or recycle everyday objects and make an art project out of them. I recycled and painted the ice p op sticks and I reused the colored tissue paper to make a stained glass window. The ice pop sticks are the borders and the colored tissue paper is the glass~'

23 "I still don 't see why that's flmny;' Josh said.

24 "Sn<okey rec(cle d and ret j(ed my lefto?e';s !'' 1fuv Jane expl ah ed. "He __. //. .,. J# .,,....- _ .,.. .r

recycled the tissue paper and sti~ that I was going to throw ~Jl He reu~)i the wash cloth as bedd fug. T ne ver thought ab6ut anifuars'recycling and reusing."

25 «Tha.!Js fu~;' Dad called from thel<itche n. "Now move the chair back and let's finish breakfast."

26 ¥a(y°J ane pushej...the chair back in pl.5ce and sat back down at the table. Smokey walkej over and)al next to Mary Jane's ch~ and looked up at her. She leaned over and patted his head. "Thanks, Smokey," she said. '(This will be a funny story to tell my teacher. And it's a great idea for an other class pr ojectwhat does your pet recycle and reuse?"

GOON Page 12

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GRAPH FOR ESTIMATING READABILITY-EXTENDED

BY EDWARD FRY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

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Directions Read this passage. Then answe r questions 25 through 31.

Start Your Engines! by Ari lvfahler

/ / / / /. / An empty highway stretches for miles ahead of you. The engine h ums. The car

hugs the road. What a sweet ri<le.

Now i.m-fgine a world wit&out cars. f t's hard! The inV:fuion of cars changed how and where we live. Take a drive back through time to see how.

The Need for Speed / / // /// /

Before cars, people used their ow~ee t o;.3.nimals for transportat~. People walk~. They rode ho(s°es cai:iie~ even elephants. ~ they drove wagons, carrfuges;,9:1' sleds. Anfn5als pr6vided the cfwer. Travel was slow and ~ t.

People rarely went far. They couldn't carry m~y goods with them.

Jnveft"ors began to dream. What could go faster? What could haul heavier loads? Could they build a vehicle with its own source of power?

Full Steam Ahead

/// // //. / / . / In 1769, an inventor n~e d Nicolas Joseph Cugnot found an an wer. He was

a sol~ in the Fre~ army. He watche<.lh.ofu slowly move weapons to the battl€ifef d. one cannon at a ti.me.

/ / / / / Cugnot had a better idea. He bl~t a carriage. It rolled on three wooden wheels.

On.J..1-e front, he rut a big n~ b~r. 1t l~ ked like a gicint, black te§"ett1e attached lo a tricycle. 1he boiler heated water. That made steam. Pressure from the steam forced the front wheel to roll.

~gfiot had built the fust aut~~ ile, or car. Ai~ means "self' Mobile means ~ "moving." Cu~t's invention could move all by itself. -:--. .J. \~.6

Cugnot's car was stronger than any horse. It was powerful enough to pull a few :fl' 1

cannons at once. But it wasn't perfect / \ l\ 1 Its top speed was about 4 kilomelers (2.5 miles) per hollf. It had to stop every SI.\\\ ,,.

20 minutes to build up new steam. Steam engines also were heavy and noisy. They had a strong odor, too. And people worried the boiler might explode.

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Battery Power / // // / / // //

Other car inve11tors had a different idea for po;Y.er. Wou,lectric batteries work? The first el~ ic car was .19Y'1'ed in the f«~i n Scotland. By 1900, ele'Cfuc cars were the most po~ar kind of car in the U.S. Tuey were q(fk t. They di~ sme ll as much.

,,,,, / / / / /// Yet they had drawbacks, too. Most could only go about 30 to 60 kilometers

(20to 40 mil {s) . Then the batfury died. Pla~s to plug in and rech (r ge the bafte'ry were sca rce.

// / / / _,. Electric cars didn'tliave enough /ow ;> to push thr~ ugh muddy roads . And

most were slow. Toe New York City police used bi~ les to catch "speeding" m oto.rists!

Hitting the Gas

In the 1880s, tw o German invent ors had an idea. It changed cars forever. Working separate ly, they each built a car powered by a gasoline engine . Gaspowered cars could go faster. Plus> the cars had fuel tanks to store extra gasoline. Cars could now travel longer distanc es.

Tue first gas-powe red cars cost up to $2,000. rlliat was a lot of money in 1900. It took a typical person in the U.S. four years to earn that much. Only ·the richest people could afford these cars.

/' / /~

Henry Ford changed that. He buQt a car that sold fa $260. He sold cars so cht.i'ply becaii'se he had a fasr;;r way to make them.

In/..d hi ,(.'. ,,.,:,, h /k . / ll d ...:I :.a' // 'Th / k d s1 e s :iactory, eac wor er msta e a ll.Ll1erent car. part. e \'vor ers stoo / // . ~ ..,/'/

along an assembly line. The car mo~ed 1hro~ the f~ tory on a con~,p 6e t. ~ got a part from eagi worker. Within one hour, worl<ers could put together all 700 parts of Ford's M6ctel T car. ...

/ /. / ~~ /. /// / Now many ID1dd.le-class families could afford to buy a car. By 1927, mo re than

~ ~ ~4 15 million Model Ts had rolled off the assemo ly line and chugged their way ont o Americas roads.

GOON --------------------------------------------------------------~-----------------------------------------

Bool< 2 Page 3

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The Re(l(/i11$ Teacher's Book of Lists, Fourth F.dition, © 2000 by Prentic e Hall

GRAPH FOR ESTIMATING READABILITY-EX TEN DED BY EDWARD FRY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, RUTGERS UNIVERSIT Y

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Directions Read this passage. Then answer questions 32 and 33.

Excerpt from How To Convince Your Parents You Can ...

Care For A Kitten by Stephanie Bearce

l Would you like a tufry pet that likes to j ump, play, cu dle, a~ pu rr? Lf so, a kittrr; could beJhe peifectyet for you. Baby cats are called kittens, a~ they like to be with pe6ple. ~lli, enjoy playing games, chasing string, a~.9 batting balls witp their paws. Kittens love silrfug ~ ape }9u's lap and being petled. They are small and like to live inside with pe6ple. Kittens make great pets.

2 I lave your p~ts ~ d that a pet woulc.~e too me<s; in the house? Kitte-;:;s are neat and tiify anifnals> They do not often need a bath because they use their tongues and paws to clean their fur. Kittens are also tidy about their bathroom habits and quickly learn to use a litter box.

3 Do your parents say that a pet needs lots of room? Are they worried about exercising a pet? You can tell them that kittens do not need a lot of space. They are happy living in small apartments and are good pets for people who live in towns and cities. Kittens do not need to go to the park for exercise, and they do not need to be walked on a leash. They exercise by jumping and running around the house. Because they are so active, it is important to keep their play space clean and free from objects that could hnrt them . Kittens must be supervised to ensure they don't tear up things they shouJdn't-like forniture, carpets, or curtains .

4 Do your p~ls think it costs too much for a yet? You t.:an lelJ them that kittfu are not too ex~ve. You can adop t kitiens from ~ al si<efters. or you can loo in the ne£pape r lo fini te c(p°le who are giving away kit'furts for free. Kittens).!» not nee~ts of expe5sivefood. Mo~ kifus like tO./eJ,t dryy t food. They_ only need about a cup of food a day. Kittens do need regtflar visits t~e vet~fian. E ~ Y}~! your kj!f{o will need sllots to keep him or her healthy. This can cost over $166!Sometimes kim<ns can become ill, and they may need medicine from a veterinarian. This is another cost of having a kitten for a pet

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When kittens are happy they will purr. Purring is a deep rumbling sound in the kitten's chest. It is fun to pet a kitten and make it purr.

Petting a kitten can also make you feel better when you have had a bad day. Doctors have found that whe n people sit quietly and pel a kitten, their hearls beat slower. That makes their blood pressure lower, and low blood pressure is a good thing. You can tell your family that having a kitten will be good for their health.

Kittens are fun to watch. They are great athletes. This is because they have a good sense of balance. If they jump or fall, they usually land on their feel They have special muscles thal help them !"Wist their bodies in the air. Kittens have strong leg muscles. They learn to climb and jump when they are very young.

Kittfu are smart and Jove to learn. Som~es p4e think that you ca~ teach a kitfen tricks. That is be ~e ki~ are indej)ertcknt. They llke to expl~ on their own and do what they want. But ki ~s can learn rules and how to obfy. You can teach your kin~ to come and si4 to lie down, and maybe evenho w to ring do6rbells and flush toilets.

Tod-(' kit~ .are some of the mo~ po~a r pets in tl1e wo~ You can find the1nin apartments in New York City. Yoll can see them in Paris, France, or on farms in Nlis<ouri. Almost anywhere there are people~ you will find kittens.

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The Readi11s Tearh er's /Jook of Lis ts, Fourth E.dltion , © 2000 by Prentice Hall

GRAPH FOR ESTIMATING READABILITY-EXTENDED BY EDWARD FRY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

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D irections Read this story. The n aoswe r question 34.

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Emma misses her fathe r; who is working in Turkey. In addition. her best frie nd. Tem. will be moving away at the end of the school year. Emma has told her teacher that she and Tem will work together on a report about No rth Dakota. the state where E mma~· parents were born.

Excerpt from Leaving Emma by Nancy Steele Brokaw

/ . / / I~ok Tern and me two weeks to finish with ~ rth Dakota. We had to

resea;:ch the oflilihl state thin gs like the bird, flower, and _~yg, as well as the state his~ and whatim {6r tant pe61)1e came from North Da1(ota. r drew a page-size vers10n of the state flag that we used as a re~ t cov:;. / /

We got gµt a ruJ~ d ~a~d.~ he dis~e from Fargo, N.~ to Grand Forks, N. D., w~ ev'e1i'tyJive nilles~Thal was the same ~e clis nee from my house in Chatnpaign to Tern's new house, which they hadn't even bought yet, in

Kankakee. We'd driven throttgh North Dakota Ch . d K k k before, to visit my grandma. It was like driving t ampa_,gnthanst tan falll~e ~Ire

h owns in . e a e o mos

across t e moon.

The leaves were really falling, since it was tl1e end of October. It was snowing in colors. Dad and I had always raked the leaves together. Now Mom said deaning up the leaves was my job.

"Hey, Mom;' 1 said, "since you want me Lo do the leaves, l was wondering if you'd mind typing our North Dakota paper? It's worth extra credit."

Mom was always up for typing. Before I was born, she worked as a secretary at Caterpillar, wh.kh 1 th.ought was a goofy name for a big factory.

"Sure," said Mom.

"Wanl to try it on the computer?" I asked.

"I wish I knew bow;' she said. 'Td love to be able to move words around and add graphs and pictures. One of these days I'll learn."

"You sh ould," r said "Anyway, I'll do the leaves and you do the typing."

"That's a deaJ:' s.tid Mom.

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/ / / I gf Tern o l~ lp me. We raked Lh5Jeav~ into little ~es, and then we raked

the liftle piles info bigfer pil{s and firiaUy into one big pile that we jumped in.

Somet~s ~1en we raked, 1 could ~ my dad raki{g alo1~ de us. No the way yous ~ people in ~ We or on TV, b? a difterenr way, sort of inside my head. I needed to remember t9 tell Dad about this when he called. /

That night I found a half-/n{pty not~o k and glued a piece of white paper on the co,t.71 drew a border of pens, pencils and markers. Ln the center, in cursive, I wrote Day by Day. At first I was going to call it Emma's Journal, but I thought "Day by Day" sounded a lot better. J didn't want to write a bunch of words, so that night T wrote just one: leaves. If T read that one word, I cl remember the rest and be able to tell Dad.

I wrote down soccer, too, because I had sort ot: almost, scored a goal, and l figured Dad would want to know. Dad liked soccer a lot more than I did.

~ my bath f shut the door and climbed up on my bed)J1eld Dad's po~ watch in my haml It tell smooth and solfd and the right amount of11eary, like a good rockj )ear\i the se&nds ticking out the time. Time was fallmga~ like leave blowing to the ground. When I Wltund Lhe watch, 1 thought about bow 1 wauted time to speed up to bring .39 d home, and I wa~ time to slow down so Tern could be my best friend longer. -:1

It was Jive in the mohring in Tufke{ Dad would still be sleeping. I wrapped the watch in a bandanna and set ii on my nightstand I heard it ticking. J heard the wind blowing. Winter was coming, my last winter with Tem.

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Leve/ D irections

Read this story. Then answer questions 35 and 36.

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A Stinky Plant Hike by Anne Esenther / /

"E-e-e-w. what stinks?" Mary exclaimed. / / . // / //

Mary wa~g with her friend, Roger. Mary liked hiking with Roger because he knew about plants.

It was early sppg. They walked al4a narfuw trail through wet, swafury land.)\ slow-moving stream wound beside the path. On the ban~ Mary saw pur,~lisb-br6'1 , leaf-l~hoods pokfug up from the soil. ~ one wr8£ged aro d a yellow, p~ blob. To Mary, they seemed like allefu from another pl net She was curious and inched c16r.

"You'll be sofry;' said R~ .

Ma{y leaned down. She poked one with a stick. Afoul od?mether nose. <•These smell Hke skunk," she said.

"Congratulati ons;' said Roger. "You've discovered skunk cabbage. TI1e purple part is called the spathe. The yellow is the flower."

"Bat why does it smell so bad?" Mary asked.

«What do you thinkt ' Roger replied.

Mary thought for a moment. "To keep people away," she said.

"Think;' said Roger. "and look again."

Mary gazed at the strange-looking plants. Upon careful examination, she noticed flies, butterflies, bees, and beetles.

"To attra ct insects!" she said triumphantly .

"But why?" asked Roger.

~ criokkd her eyebfuws and frowned sli~y while she po{aered his question. Slo<i y, a smil~ crept acfuss her face. "I kuow;' she said, "poll~ »

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15 "Ri ht," R / "d "S . / t ~ l . TI t // d t g ager y 1 · . ome insects ea rotting t ungs. 1ey are a tracte o sti'.hkx smeHyecause to them it m,911s th~ 's food nefuby. \A/hUe Lbey ~w]

around lool6ny.for fooj they collect pollen. When they fly or crawl away. they bring the poll ~ to other plants.''

16 "So, the stinky smell of skunk cabo{ge fools them," said Ma~

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1g t agam, sa1 .n.o__ger. e s see w 1at e1se we can n // . I' / /

111ey continued hikmg. Soon, Mary and Roger came to an open, grassy field with sand y soil. As they walked along, th ey noti ced t all, gr ass-like plants dottin g tbe landscape.

"E-e -e-w, wha t stink s?" Mary asked again . Her sh oe accidentally cr ushed a plant The smell m ade tears come to her eyes.

"This sm ells like garlic," she said.

"It is wild garlic;' said Roger. "How is iL difterent from skunk cabbage?"

"It smell s different;' said Mary.

"Goo d, wha t else?" Roger asked .

"The leaves are different," Mary said.

"Wha t else?" Roger asked again.

Mary wiped her eyes and peered at ·the pl ant She looked an d looked bu t couldn't think of anythin g.

"N . / '' .d R / o msects , sai ager.

"Why?" Ma(y' asked.

"1l1e leaves of V\rild garlic con"fuin sulfu-tfe compo unds. They are relfued when tl}e leaf is crushed. Tuey are what make you cry. They alfu pr6'ct the plant by keeping insects from chewing on the leaves; ' Roger explfuied.

1hen, Rf r grinned. "Lees go home and have some gfuiic bread," he said.

M/cy smiled . "lhat stinks;' she said.

On the way back, ~ re~ed whatp- e lea~d on ~ir st~ plant hike. Plan, stink for diffet5Pt, SOIJl.etimes JPPOSite reason;. Certain plants, lli<e skunk caboage, stink to attract insects. Other plants, like Wild gfilic, stink to keep the m away.

GOON Book 3 Page 3

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D irections I~ Leve' Read this story. Then answer questions 37 and 38.

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Julia and her father are cleaning the dinn er dishes when fidia's classniate, Patri ck, kn ocks on the door.

Excerpt from Project Mulberry by Linda Su e Park

}'Ye were a.Info'st done when Pal~ ck knocked at the door an came in. He wasn't? mefuber of the fall1ll~ ~ he kn.9cked, but he was <ill ost a meh1ber of the fanfily, so he came in with 6ut w~ting for an{6ne to a w7.. He yelled hi as he went up to my room to gethis backpack, then came down again.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"It's ok{y; Patr( k, we're a1nfust fini~ ed;' my dad said. /

Pattkk sat at the table and op/n ed his back{ack. Just then my mom came into the room.

"I thought of a pr6ject you might be atie to do;' she said quietly;

"Really?" I said at the same time that Patrick said, "\Vhat is it?" I stopped scraping the plate I was holding.

My mom's eyes twinkled at me .

"Worms;' she said.

1 stared at her for a second. "v\Torms?" r said.

My mom nodded.

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11 "We'd raise worms?" I said. "You mean , like, for fishermen to use as bait ?"

12 Right aw~ a whole bunch of tho ughts sta&d jo~g aroiind in my mind. I turned to Patfkk. "lvlaybe we could have them in an aqt{afilim, but filled with dirt inst€ad ofw{ter, and thatway you could see them through the glass."

13 Patfid< looked doubtful. "Worms;' he said slo~ "I don't know .. . .'>

14 Then he stafud talk~ tas'1-. "I read a book a while a{o. There was tl:1is part where the pe'ople released bags ~ bags full oflad ~ $ on a farm be6iuse they we~od for the plants. Or something like that. Some~ dy haa to raise those ladyougs to get so many bagfuls , didn 't they? Maybe we could raise ladybugs- »

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My mom laughed and held up her hand. "Slow down, you two. I wasn 't thinking of earthworms. Or ladybugs:'

I said, "Well, what other k ind of worms ... Oh, like caterpillars, you mean? '1he Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly or something?"

I didn't mean to souud impatient-I knew my m om Wi ggle = a club for

was only trying to help . But raising caterpillars was more schoo l-aged kids like a science-fair project, not a Wiggle project.

"So.rt of. No, not exactly." My mom took the plate out of my hand and gave it to my dad. "I was thinking you could do a silkworm project.»

I stared at her with my mouth half-open.

"My grandmother raised sillnvorms in Korea," my mom said. "I used to help her. It's really quHe interesti ng, and ifs not like butterflies. I mean, it is in some ways, but it's more than that. Because at the end you get an actual product-the ilk))

s .

"It's sor t oflike sheep;' Patrick said. "Only instead of sheep and wool, it's caterpillars and silk .... "

I was pretty sure Hi already known that silk came from silkworms. But I'd never really thought about it before.

''Exactly;' my mom said. "It would be on a small scale, of course - you wouldn't end up with eno ugh silk to make fabric . But you might get enough for some thread."

"1hread?" Patr ick opened his eyes wide. [-le took a deep breath, swallowed, and sort of shook himself Then he stood up ~ started pacing around the kitche n . "Jules, we can raise the-the cateip"ruars, and get th;:9d from them , and then you can seiyoniethjqg with the thr,2 0, an. d we can enter the pro'(e'ct in two caregot<e's- AlAfnalHuili"andry and Do~t ic Arts!"

He looked al me, his face all bus~. "l'{get stafud on th~/~ t-oh, wail/ he said, and frowned at his watch, "It's not evrn'sefu -iliirty. I can't do it

~~ / P /k 1 C. L{. , /. . K / h / / / il 'gh atrrck J.mew our 1auli1ys evening rnutme. enny got t e computer unt e1 t

ocl{ck, and I got it affur that

"11 / k fi // ,, 'd -J.onfewor · comes · rst anyway, you. two, my mom sai .

I went to get my backpack, wondering when Patrick would notice that I was not one bit excited about doing a silkv1orrn project.

GOON --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 6 Book 3

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Grade

D irections Read this passage . Then answer questions 39 and 40.

In 1939, Oscar Chapman learned that a y oung African-American woman named Marian Ander son was not allowed to sing at Constitution Hall in Washington, D .C., because of the color of her skin. He and his friend Walter White worked together to give her the opportunity to have a concert ac the Lincoln Memorial instead.

Excerpt from Sweet Land of Liberty

by Deborah Hopkinson / /// / / / / /

~e Lincoln Mem orial had never been used for a publi c gath e~g. But Oscar wasn'; ab6ut to let that stop ~· 0 ~ wen t ro see hi s bo ss, Ha rold Ickes, wh o agreed to talk to his boss: Pre si& nt Frank lin Ro&€v elt!

0 / db ./ /. 1 Ick ll dP /.ef" R. // 1 l hi //. scar sto o yanxi ottsy as es ca e res1uent oosevett o aS< sperm1ss10n.

"Tell Os~ to let effu1 An ~ nsing at th e toI:JJ the Wasn'i£gton Moniffue nt if sh e wan ts to," Pre~d€n t Rot<s6 elt said. «Ifs a won &r ful id~"

Os~ h ad a big job ah'fad of him. He wafu d to make sure pebple in the govern ment sh owed their su~ r t for M<rrc(o. He knew some woul dn 't want to come . Like the schoo l b oard members back in Oscar 's hometown, they didn't believe in eq ual rights.

Oscar de cided to put them on the spol. He senl invitat ion s by telegram to every imp ortant government official, senator, and representative. Not o.nly that, he asked the messenger to brlng back a signed receipt for each one . No one would be able to claim he didn 't get an invitati on!

''One man wadded up the telegram and thr ew it down;' th e mes senger to ld Oscar. ''He said, 'That squirt Oscar Chapman is stirring up trouble." '

Oscar laugh ed. Stir ring thin gs up was exactly what he aim ed to do.

On Easter Sunday, Apr il 9, 1939, people gather ed ear ly near th e Lincoln Memor ial. Thousands came in buses fro m Philadelphia, Mar ian Anderson's hometown. ~ ,./

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/ / At first the day was cold and cloudy. But soon the sky cleared.~ five o'clock,

when the co~rtwas set to begin, the crowd slretchedfrom the Lincoln Men<"orfaf to the Washington Momifuent.

/./ /. // // /// Coostn ution HaJ!Y-where Manan An_jerson had hoped to sing, could seat 4,000

people. But now 75,006 people of all ages and rafu would hear her.

When Mafia:(i' stepped forw°'ar;!, she looked out on a vast sea of fafu. She could feel a great wave of good will pouring out from eve~ e. She took a deep breath, and sa~ from her heart.

Marfan chose to be{ui by singing not just about, but to the country she loved, changing the words of a beloved old song. A hush came over the crowd as her powerful voice rang forth.

J.1y country, 'tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, To thee we sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountainside Let freedom ring!

As the concert ended, Walter White caught sight of a young girl in the crowd. He saw her stretch out her bands toward the great singer. Tears streamed down her face and hope gleamed in her eyes. Walter remembered that girl for the rest of his life. /

'ftiousands of people heard Marifui An£efson sing ~t da:y. [ t was the lar~ concert crowd the c.ipftal had ever seen, and the first major gatl<efmg at the feet ol Abl"al(fun Li.rr€oln for the cause of cMl rights.

But not the last. Twenty-f6uryea rs lafur, Martbl Lutfu King J{, made his most tanr6us speech in the same place.

/ / An d Oscar Chapman?

W<;}J)),e set ap~ openfup arks and swiI<roingp ools in Wasnfu: on, D.t., to everyb~ y, wh"atfver the color of his or her skin.

0~ Chafrn an w2 a man who liked to keep sli~g Lhings up. Affur all, sometimes that's the only way to get things to change.

GOON ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bo ok 3 Page 9

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