ELA 4th TEST PREP-Texts Types & Context Clues

A snail and a grasshopper decided to race. Grasshoppers are fast, and snails are slow, so the grasshopper was sure he would win. Soon after the race began, the grasshopper thought he had plenty of time. So, he sat down by a tree to watch the snail try to run. He laughed and laughed as the snail crawled down the road.The snail moved slowly, but he kept going. Before he knew it, he was almost at the finish line. The grasshopper saw he was about to lose the race. “Oh no!” he cried. He hopped to his feet and ran after the snail, but it was too little, too late. The snail crossed the finish line and won the race!​​

Question: What is the theme of this story?

• Snails are faster than grasshoppers.

• Persistence and hard work wins over rushing and carelessness.

• Don't compare yourself to others.

• Be honest with yourself and others.

Billy stretched and opened his eyes. Where was he? He was in a fancy bed in a huge room that was definitely not his own! Suddenly, a young man walked in with breakfast on a tray.

“Your majesty!” he said.

“Umm . . . who are you, and why did you call me ‘your majesty’?”

Calmly, the man answered, “I am Lionel, your servant, and you, of course, are King Cedric of Cantoon.”

Billy jumped out of bed, knocking over the tray. “I am not! Where are my parents? What have you done with them!” he yelled and ran out of the room.

At the bottom of a staircase, Billy found two servants who curtsied.

Billy said, “Can you help me find my family?” The women looked at him strangely.

“Oh, never mind,” Billy said. He sat down on the bottom step, closed his eyes, and cried big salty tears. He had never felt so homesick.

When he opened his eyes again, Billy woke up back in his own cozy bed!

“Surprise!” his father said as he walked in carrying a tray. “I brought you breakfast!”​​

Question: 

What happens at the conclusion of this story?

• Two servants curtsy to Billy.

• Lionel brings Billy breakfast in bed.

• Billy wakes up to his own bed at home.

• Billy wakes up to find that he is King Cedric.

This passage is a story and not a poem because _____.

• The lines of the passage uses rhythm and rhyme.

• The lines are grouped into verses and stanzas.

• It has characters and is written in paragraphs.

• It has a cast of characters and stage directions.

He walks along a country road,

the boy from Londonderry,

and on his back,

a heavy loadeach day he has to carry.

He wanders far and wide, you see,

the boy from Londonderry,

in hopes of selling his coffee and tea

to John or James or Mary.

And when the country people see

the boy from Londonderry

they buy all they can of his coffee and tea

so he will have less to carry.​

Question: This poem has 3 _____.

• lines

• paragraphs

• characters

• stanzas

How would this passage be written differently if it were a story?

• It would be written in dialogue.

• It would have more stanzas.

• It would have more rhythm.

• It would have text features.

Sammy is writing a play that takes place in the autumn. The play will be different from this poem because it will ____.

• make use of rhythm and rhyme.

• be written in paragraphs

• use imagery to express emotion

• have a cast of characters

Leslie’s Birthday

Characters

DAD AUNT HILLARY CHRIS, 7 years old

ACT ONE

[Chris and Aunt Hillary are in a hospital waiting room. Hillary is reading a magazine while Chris is staring at a doorway with a worried look on his face.]

AUNT HILLARY: (looking at the magazine) I am sure everything is fine, Chris.

CHRIS: My dad hasn’t come out for a while, though . . .

[A man walks out of the doors. Chris sits up taller, and then sinks down in his chair.]

AUNT HILLARY: (puts down the magazine) I am sure he will come out as soon as he can, honey.

CHRIS: I can’t take it anymore! When is someone going to tell us what is happening?

Dad comes through the doors smiling.]

DAD: Leslie is here, and she is the most perfect baby you have ever seen!

[Chris and Dad hug happily while Aunt Hillary looks at them. Curtain.]​

Question: How is this passage different from a story? (2 Answers)

• It has stage directions.

• It has a moral or theme.

• It is told using a narrator.

• It is told using only dialogue.

• It has sentences that rhyme.

Read the following paragraph.​

The waves were gentle now, so he started relaxing after paddling so hard for so long. “I can walk to the shore from here,” he said to himself, “but I think I’ll sit here in the kayak and enjoy the sunset.” ​

Which of the following best explains what a kayak is?

• a type of car

• a type of bed`

• a type of chair

• a type of boat

Read the following paragraph.

Long ago, when steel mills ruled the landscape in the western hills of Pennsylvania, great billows of smoke would rise out of the towering, industrial-sized chimneys, hanging in the air until finally surrendering to the wind that would blow it away from town.

Question: Which of the following best describes what the word billows means?

• clouds

• flags

• giants

• waves

Read the following paragraph.​

Balloons hung from the ceiling and the tables were all set with silverware and glasses and napkins. Finally, she thought, the preparation for the party was completed.

Preparation means ______.

• in advance.

• without any thought.

• at the last minute.

• very carefully.