Reaching for the Moon

Directions: Choose the word or word group that has about the same meaning as the underlined word.

The coach admired the team’s determination to finish the game even though it was cold and raining.

• will

• idea

• respect

• promise

Tags

CCSS.L.4.4A

CCSS.L.4.5C

At the end of the school year, the students celebrated their independence with a picnic.

• middle

• memory

• freedom

• instruction

Tags

CCSS.L.4.4A

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.4.4

The veterinarian explained that she specialized in large farm animals.

• grew

• found

• played

• focused

Tags

CCSS.L.4.4A

CCSS.L.4.6

CCSS.RI.4.4

He struggled to reach the top of the hill.

• fast movement

• calm confidence

• pleasant experience

• difficult effort

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

Which word is a synonym for confidence in the sentence below?

It was with great confidence that Diana announced she would run for class president.

• certainty

• shyness

• progress

• helplessness

Tags

CCSS.L.4.4A

CCSS.L.4.5C

CCSS.RL.4.4

Directions: Read the selection and answer the question.

A New World

We had just moved from Las Vegas, Nevada, to San Manuel, Costa Rica. My mom had a new job in this little country in Central America. It was even farther south than the beach towns we had visited in Mexico one summer. It was July, which back in Las Vegas means hot and dry. I mean, last July it was so hot in Vegas that my buddy Dan actually fried an egg on the sidewalk. Rain wasn’t something we saw too often there; I’m not sure if anyone I knew even owned an umbrella. The first thing I did when we got to our new house was start exploring. The tile floors and bright walls were like the ones in the old house, but boy, did the scenery outside look different! The view out my window in Las Vegas was of some rocks, a cactus, and sand. But here, everything was so green. There were palms trees to my left and to my right, and did I just see a monkey? The sun was shining brightly, but our neighbors had told us that it was the rainy season. I was thinking about taking a walk to the beach with my older sister, Linda, so I headed to her room to ask her if she wanted to go. Suddenly the house got very dark, and it sounded like someone was pounding on the roof. I ran to look out the kitchen window—it was pouring. I mean it was raining buckets. I had to go outside. I had never seen rain like this before. I was soaked in a second. But then the rain stopped almost as suddenly as it had started. The sun broke through the clouds and glistened in the raindrops on the green leaves. We had been there only a few hours. What else would I experience for the first time in our new home?

Directions: Read the question. Choose the best answer.

The author’s purpose in writing this selection is to —

• let the reader know he saw a monkey

• explain he has never seen a lot of rain

• tell the reader what his new home is like

• persuade the reader to move to Costa Rica

Why do you think Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left a plaque stating “Here men from the planet Earth first set upon the moon?”

What kind of person is Buzz Aldrin? What in the story tells you this?

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.1

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.W.4.9B