Hummingbirds: Small and Special

Lexile: 620L

Teacher Guide & Answers

1. B - less than half the weight of a sheet of paper

2. B - They can hover, fly backwards, and even fly upside down.

3. C - They need a lot of energy.

4. C - Hummingbirds move pollen from one flower to another flower which helps the

plants make new seeds.

5. A - Hummingbirds are small special birds that can fly in different ways and help plants

make new seeds.

 Afternoon on a Hill - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

1. What does the speaker look at in this poem?

A. the sun and moon
B. cliffs and clouds
C. bugs in the grass

2. Which of these phrases from the poem describes part of the setting?
A. "which must be mine"
B. "with quiet eyes"
C. "a hundred flowers"

3. The speaker of the poem wants to enjoy nature without hurting it in any way.

Which evidence from the poem best supports this conclusion?

A. I will touch a hundred flowers / And not pick one.

B. I will mark which must be mine, / And then start down!
C. I will be the gladdest thing / Under the sun!

4. Where is the speaker of the poem spending an afternoon?

A. on a hill
B. in a forest
C. in a town

5. What is this poem mostly about?

A. enjoying nature without leaving a mark on it
B. the effects of wind on grass, cliffs, and clouds
C. travelling from a hill down to a town

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 Afternoon on a Hill - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

6. Read these lines from the poem:

I will look at cliffs and clouds

With quiet eyes,

Watch the wind bow down the grass,

And the grass rise.

Why might the poet have described the speaker's eyes as "quiet" in the second line of
the stanza?

A. to hint that the speaker cannot hear or speak at all

B. to show that the speaker was not making any noise
C. to suggest that the speaker's mouth was not staying quiet

7. Read this stanza from the poem:

I will look at cliffs and clouds

With quiet eyes,

Watch the wind bow down the grass,

And the grass rise.

Which of these lines means the same thing as the last line in this stanza?

A. And the grass rises quietly.

B. And the grass might rise.
C. And watch the grass rise.

8. What are three things the speaker will see during the afternoon on the hill?

Answers may include any three of the following: flowers, cliffs, clouds,
grass, lights from the town. The sun and the wind are also acceptable
answers, although less explicitly seen.

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 Afternoon on a Hill - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

9. What are two things the speaker will do while spending time on the hill?

The speaker will touch a hundred flowers without picking any. The
speaker will also look quietly at cliffs, clouds, and the wind bending the
grass.

10. Based on this poem, how does the speaker feel about spending time in nature? Use
evidence from the poem to support your answer.

Answers may vary, but all students should recognize that the speaker
clearly enjoys spending time in nature. This is evident in the first line of
the poem, "I will be the gladdest thing." The speaker's actions indicate
that he or she strongly appreciates the beauty of nature, including the
cliffs and clouds and the way the wind makes the grass bend. Students
may also recognize that part of the speaker's enjoyment and appreciation
of nature is in just watching and touching elements of nature, but not
affecting nature in any way. For example, the speaker will "touch a
hundred flowers / and not pick one" and "will look at cliffs and clouds /
with quiet eyes."

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 Haiku
Lexile: 540L

Teacher Guide & Answers

1. B - a short poem with three lines that is usually about nature

2. A - haiku poems

3. C - Haikus written today can be about different topics, not just nature. They are also

written by people from different places, not just Japan.

4. B - They both have the same number of lines and syllables, but one is about nature

while the other is about writing haikus.

5. C - Haikus are short poems with three lines that express a lot using just a few words.

Nature is a popular topic in haikus.

 Seeds Need to Move - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

1. What do seeds need to do to become a plant?

A. stay near other plants
B. make new seeds
C. travel away from other plants

2. What kind of seed does this passage describe in detail?

A. sunflower seed
B. hitchhiker seed
C. an animal's seed

3. Some plant seeds are made a certain way so that they will be able to travel.

What evidence from the text supports this conclusion?

A. If a seed falls to the ground too close to its parent plant, it may not grow.
B. Not every seed grows into a plant, because a seed needs to travel to become a plant.
C. Hitchhiker seeds have tiny hooks so they can stick to animal fur or bird
feathers.

4. Why might a seed not grow if it falls to the ground too close to its parent plant?
A. The parent plant might take up all the sunlight and water that the seed needs to
grow.
B. The seed might not get pushed into the soil if it falls too close to the parent plant.
C. The parent plant might give the seed all of its water, which is not good for the seed.

5. What is the main idea of this article?

A. A seed has to move far away enough from other plants to become a plant
because seeds need room to grow.
B. Hitchhiker seeds can travel for miles on an animal's body, then fall off and grow into a
plant.
C. All seeds grow into plants, but only some plants are able to make new seeds.

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 Seeds Need to Move - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

6. Read these sentences from the text.

"But some plants depend on animals to move their seeds. Those seeds are called
hitchhiker seeds. They travel on something else that moves!"

What does the phrase "depend on" most nearly mean in these sentences?

A. move
B. need
C. hold

7. Read these sentences from the text.

"Of course, wind can spread the seeds for many plants. But some plants depend on
animals to move their seeds."

What does the word "their" refer to?

A. some plants
B. animals
C. the wind

8. What are hitchhiker seeds?

Hitchhiker seeds are seeds that travel on something else that moves.

9. Why do seeds need room in order to grow?

Seeds need room to grow so that they can get the sunlight and water they
need.

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 Seeds Need to Move - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

10. Read these sentences from the text.

"Hitchhiker seeds can travel for miles on an animal's body. Then they fall off or are
removed. If they fall in a place that is good for growing, the seeds will grow into plants,
too!"

What would a place that is good for the hitchhiker seed to grow be like? Use evidence
from the text to support your answer.

Answers may vary slightly, but should resemble the following. Seeds need
to be far enough away from other plants so that they can get the sunlight
and water they need to grow. For this reason, a good place for the
hitchhiker seed to grow would be sunny, would have water, and would not
have many other plants nearby.

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ReadWorks.org How Not to Save a Sand Castle

THE SOLUTION TO READING COMPREHENSION

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 How the Little Frog Got So Loud
Lexile Pending

Teacher Guide & Answers

1. B - a tiny frog

2. C - the coquís and one story that the Taino people told about them

3. B - Normal people had relationships with gods in their stories.

4. A - It said that a goddess taught the frogs to sing the name of her lost love.

5. A - Long ago, the Taíno told stories about the coquí to explain its loud voice.
 Teacher Guide & Answers: Playgrounds for Everyone

Teacher Guide & Answers

Passage Reading Level: Lexile 730

1. A playgrounds

2. A People raised money to build playgrounds where all kids can play.

3. B "Children in wheelchairs and kids with vision or hearing problems found it difficult to get around a
playground."

4. C The changes have made it easier for children to get around playgrounds.

5. B New playgrounds have been built that allow all children to have fun.

6. C join in

7. B because

8. Suggested answer: Playgrounds were not safe places for children in wheelchairs and kids with vision
or hearing problems.

9. Suggested answer: Students may name any of the changes mentioned in the article: low steps,
ramps, handrails, drums, chimes, other instruments, and rain wheels.

10. Suggested answer: Answers may vary, as long as they are supported by the text. For example,
students may respond that low steps have made playgrounds safer. One reason playgrounds used to be
unsafe is that they made it difficult for some kids to get around. Low steps have made it easier for kids to
get around and play safely.

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 A Lion in the Bedroom - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

1. What does James find in his bedroom?

A. a tiger
B. a lion
C. Trixie, his old cat

2. How do James's parents change in the story?

A. At first they don't believe there is a lion in their house. Then they become scared
that there might be a lion in their house.
B. At first they are scared that there might be a lion in their house. Then they don't believe
there is a lion in their house.
C. At first they don't want James to have a lion, and then they change their minds.

3. When James tells his parents that he has a lion, they do not believe him. Which details
from the passage support this conclusion?
A. James's father grabs a mop and goes to look in James's room.
B. James's mother wants to call the police or animal control.
C. James's mother says, "That's nice," and his father makes jokes.

4. Read the following sentences:

"'James,' he said. 'I need you to be completely, 100% honest with me. No make-believe, no
story-time? Can you do that?'

"James nodded. 'Sure I can.' He noticed a droplet of sweat dripping down his father's
forehead.

"'OK, great,' said his father, in a strange, small voice. 'James. Is there a lion...a real lion...in
your bedroom?'"

How does James's father feel at this point in the story?

A. annoyed
B. frightened
C. happy

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 A Lion in the Bedroom - Comprehension Questions Answer Key

5. What is this passage mostly about?

A. James finds a lion in his bedroom and tells his parents.
B. James misses his cat Trixie, so his parents buy him a lion named Trixie II.
C. James is scared of the lion in his bedroom, and his father hits it with a broom.

6. Read the following sentences: "'It's not sarcasm,' his father said. 'I'm being funn-'
James's father didn't get to finish his sentence. It was interrupted by an ear-splitting roar,
coming from James's bedroom."

In this sentence, what does "interrupted" most nearly mean?

A. became louder
B. kept going
C. stopped

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

James tells his parents that there is a lion in his bedroom, _______ they do not believe him.

A. but
B. so
C. because

8. How does James feel about the lion in his bedroom?

James feels proud/excited.

9. What does the lion do at the end of the passage?

She comes to the front door of the house and speaks, asking everyone to be
quiet.

10. What makes this story unrealistic, or unlike real life?

Answers may vary and should be supported by the passage. Students may
say that this story is unrealistic because it is not likely for a young boy to
wake up with a lion in his room, and lions cannot speak like the lion in this
story does.

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