Author's Purpose Quick Check

Teachers are some of the hardest workers in the world. People think they only work from nine to three. But when they're done with school, they still have mountains of papers to grade. After they have graded all those papers, they have to prepare for the next day's lessons. This takes forever! And then they still have to eat dinner and play with their kids.

Based on word choice, how does the author feel about teachers?

• The writer pities teachers, based on "then they still have to eat."

• The writer admires teachers, based on "hardest workers in the world."

• The writer feels impatient with teachers, based on "This takes forever!"

While researching sloths, a student found the following information in a science textbook:

Sloths live in trees and hang from branches by their long legs. They eat, sleep, and move upside down for their whole lives. They move incredibly slowly. Sloths often have plantlike growth called algae in their long hair. The algae helps the sloths blend in with their environment. Sloths do not want to be seen. They just want to be left upside down. Most sloths move so slowly that predators do not detect them."

The purpose of the excerpt above is to _____.

• give information about a subject

• give a reason for reading about the subject

• tell a story about the subject

• persuade the reader that the subject is interesting

Read the text. Use the words in the box below to help you understand it.

reaction — something that happens in response to a situation or event diameter — a straight line passing from side to side through the center of a body or figure quantities — a certain amount or number of something.

Cork Races

Did you know that you can use the reaction between baking soda and vinegar to create a racing game? Here's how!

Supplies:

Two clear plastic tubes about 3 feet long and 1 inch in diameter. Painted cork balls about 3/4 inch diameter or small enough to pass easily through tubes. Vinegar Dishwashing liquid Baking soda Measuring spoons and cup Small container with pour spout Tape Baking sheet or tray

What To Do:

Step 1: Tape up one end of each tube to be the bottom.

Step 2: Stand tubes up on a baking sheet or tray and pour one tablespoon of baking soda into the tubes.

Step 3: Drop a cork into each tube.

Step 4: Make a mixture of 1/2 cup of vinegar and some dishwashing liquid in the spouted container.

Step 5: Pour the mix carefully into each tube and watch the corks ride the suds to the top. See which cork makes it to the top first!

Caution: Keep your face away from the top of the tube to avoid being splashed!

What Happens: The baking soda reacts with the vinegar in the mixture and produces carbon dioxide gas (CO₂). As the gas is released, it bubbles through the dishwashing liquid, creating the suds that push the cork to the top.

Other Things to Try:

Experiment with different amounts of vinegar, baking soda, and dishwashing liquid, then have races to find the mix that makes the fastest cork. Mark the tubes about 2/3 of the way to the top. Experiment with mixes and quantities to get the cork to stop closest to the mark. Instead of cork balls, use a wider tube and drop in table tennis balls.

Copyright 2004-2014, Renaissance Learning, Inc.

The author included the section titled "Other Things to Try" in order to—

• tell ways to make the game safer

• show how dangerous this game can be

• suggest ways to change the game

• explain what causes the gas

Garry wants to inform people about great white sharks.

What would probably be the best way to do this?

• write an article

• write an advertisement

• write a poem

The hillsides above the Upper Mississippi River are covered with thick forests. Red fox, deer, woodchucks, and wild turkeys live within these forests. The river itself is filled with beautiful fish. Ducks and geese fly overhead. Eagles rest in the upper branches of the cottonwood trees.

The main purpose of the paragraph is to _____.

• persuade readers to visit

• describe the area

• teach about animals

Older than Dirt

Have you ever found a rock so interesting or beautiful that you just had to pick it up? Did you keep it? If so, you are a rock collector! People collect, or gather, many things. Some people collect stamps while others collect bottles, shells, or coins. Some people like to collect only old things. Did you know that the oldest things you can collect are rocks? Most of them are millions and millions of years old. Long ago the Romans built roads out of rocks. The roads are still used today. Things made with rocks last a long time.

What is a rock? Most rocks are made of minerals. Minerals are natural (not made by humans) solid substances. A rock is a mixture of one or more minerals. Rocks are everywhere because the earth is made of layers of rock. There are so many different types of rocks to be found, that you will never be bored.

Most rocks come from other rocks. There are three basic types, or classes, of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous means made by heat. An igneous rock forms when hot, melted rock called magma cools and becomes solid. Magma is deep in the earth. When a volcano erupts, magma can come to the surface of the earth. Then magma is called lava. When lava cools quickly on top of the earth, it forms volcanic rock. Sometimes magma cools slowly inside the earth. It forms plutonic rock, a type of igneous rock. Granite, quartz, and basalt are all examples of igneous rocks.

The earth's surface is mainly sedimentary rock. Sedimentary means made of layers of sediment, or deposited materials. The layers can be fragments of shells, stones, or plants. Over millions of years, the weight of the upper layers of sediment squeezes the bottom layers until the fragments and layers stick together and form solid rock. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock that is made of sand, mud, and pebbles. Limestone is another sedimentary rock. It is made of the shells of animals that lived millions of years ago. Sometimes you can see the outlines of shells or plants in limestone. We call these outlines fossils. The Egyptians built their pyramids out of limestone thousands of years ago. Today, limestone is used to make cement.

Metamorphic means changed. By heating or squeezing rocks over long periods of time (longer than your lifetime!), igneous and sedimentary rocks can change into metamorphic rock. Slate is an example of a metamorphic rock. At first, slate was shale, but over millions of years, many tons of rocks pressed on it. The pressure made the shale very hot. The squeezing and heat changed the shale into slate. Other metamorphic rocks are gneiss, which used to be granite, and marble, which used to be limestone.

Another name for a rock collector is a rock hound. Rock hounds collect rocks by class. They also collect rocks by color or shape. Rock hounds are always looking for rare rock specimens. They add samples of beautiful or unusual types of rocks to their collections. To a rock hound, an interesting or unusual rock can be as valuable as a jewel. In fact, jewels such as diamonds are really rocks. The diamond is the hardest rock on earth. No matter what sort of rock you collect, however, one of the best things about rock collecting is that you can do it anywhere and anytime. Everywhere you walk, you are walking on rocks.

Copyright 2004-2014, Renaissance Learning, Inc.

The author of the passage would probably agree that _____.

• being a rock hound requires a great deal of training

• you need to be a student to be a rock hound

• you need to live near volcanoes to be a rock hound

• being a rock hound is an interesting hobby

Changes in the world have always affected family life. For thousands of years, family members usually lived together. However, in the 1800s, many young people left home. They took factory jobs in faraway cities. In the twentieth century, cars and planes made moving away easier. Families spread out even farther. Happily, this is changing back. Many retired older adults can afford to move closer to their children and grandchildren. Some adults have moved back in with their parents. All family members can support each other.

Which is the author's opinion?

• It is unwise to live near parents or grown children.

• Families should stay located near each other for support.

• Everyone should move to places where they can find jobs.

Cities can be unpleasant places to live. People are frequently crowded together. Often, there is too much noise. Still, many people enjoy living in the city.

I think the country is better. In the country, the air and water are clean, and one is closer to nature. When I visit my cousins in the country, I realize country living is great.

What is the author's purpose in writing this paragraph?

• persuade

• entertain

• inform

• describe

Which statement shows the author's bias?

• There are four kinds of forest fires.

• The worst fire is a crown fire, which burns everything.

• Surface fires burn undergrowth and surface litter.

• Starting a forest fire is the worst kind of crime.

The echidna, sometimes called the spiny anteater, is an animal with a great way to defend itself. Its body is covered with fur and quills. Quills are long, hollow spines that look like big needles. An echidna has short, powerful legs that help it dig holes quickly. When threatened, it digs a hole and then curls up. Those quills make it look like a pincushion. Animals that want to eat it will go away.

What is the author's purpose for writing this passage?

• to share feelings about echidnas

• to explain how the echidna defends itself

• to entertain the reader with a story about an echidna