Selection: HiE-30

HiE-30

Grade level: 5

Word count: 1520 words

Author: Phyllis Wilner

Synopsis: Two organizations, MADD and SADD, continue to lead the fight against drunk driving.

Excerpt: Together with a group of high school students, Robert formed a group called Students Against Drunk Driving, or SADD. SADD's goal was to make the kids themselves face up to the dangers of drunk driving, and to do something about it.

Today, SADD stands for Student Against Destructive Decisions. It addresses other important issues such as drug use and peer pressure in addition to teenage drinking and driving. There are now more than 10,000 chapters in middle schools, high schools, and colleges throughout the country. The students organize and run each new SADD chapter. They get help from an adult adviser.

Question: SADD was originally formed to help students understand the dangers of drunk driving. Which two sentences in this excerpt best explain the change and growth in the ongoing mission of SADD?

Selection: HiE-13

HiE-13

Grade level: 5

Word count: 1724 words

Author: Mike Buchanan and Diane Lang

Synopsis: The Megalodon was the biggest and fiercest shark that ever lived. It could easily swallow a great white shark whole!

Excerpt: So far, his plastic bag held fossil horse teeth, whale ear bones, and shark teeth. But these were fairly common finds. He would probably give what he had found so far to the science teachers at the local school.

As he thinks about all this, he suddenly feels the presence of another animal. And unlike the dead bones he had found, this animal is very much alive. His light shines on the particles of dirt in the water as he turns the beam to his left. Then he sees it -- a gray object floating just above the bottom of the river, and only an arm's length away. It is a giant catfish. It's at least four feet long, and its whiskers are curled back by the strong current. He is even with the creature's eye and they lock vision. In a flash, the catfish swims away.

The sudden movement of the catfish sends mud and sand rushing away from the river's bottom. It also sends his heart racing. As the bottom clears and he calms down, that's when he sees it. It's a gray and black tooth, shaped like a triangle and lying flat against the sand, uncovered by the rushing catfish. But this is no ordinary tooth. Unlike the other teeth he has found, this one is as big as his hand. He runs his finger over the smooth, raised surface. It has to be at least four or five pounds.

A tooth like this can come from only one creature: the largest and most deadly shark that ever lived. "Yes!" the diver thinks. "It's a giant Megalodon tooth!"

Question: This selection begins with a diver in the water. Put these events in order from first to last.

1. The diver has a plastic bag with fossil horse teeth, whale ear bones, and shark teeth in it.
2. The diver feels the presence of another animal.
3. The sudden movement of a giant catfish clears away mud and sand at the bottom of the river.
4. The diver finds a giant Megalodon tooth.

Selection: HiE-59

HiE-59

Grade level: 5

Word count: 1379 words

Author: Dorinda Makanaonalani Nicholson

Synopsis: A woman who lived in Pearl Harbor describes her family's experience in the months and days following the attack on her home.

Excerpt: No excerpt is available for this question.

Question: This selection is best described as

1. an autobiography.
2. a biography.
3. realistic fiction.
4. science fiction.