4th Grade Winter CASE Review

Which choice provides a summary of the text?

• A The ancient Maya of Tikal were creative and clever farmers. Although they did not have metal, they made tools from stone and wood. They sweetened food by keeping bees in hives and using their honey. They even used the sap of the special trees for chewing gum.

• B Tikal was an ancient Maya city located in the Yucatán. In order to farm in the rainforest, farmers cut down trees and burned them. Food could be grown in the cleared areas for a few years before the farmers moved on and cleared new areas in which to farm.

• C The ancient Maya who lived in the city of Tikal got their goods from a busy market. Local villagers traded clothing, pottery, and tools. Maya farmers brought crops to the market to trade. The most important crops of the day were corn and beans.

• D Tikal was an ancient Maya city. The Maya people in and around the city had many different jobs, but most were farmers. The farmers were able to find ways to farm near the coast, on hillsides, and by clearing forests in order to grow the food needed for the kingdom.

2. For which two reasons was salt important to the Maya?

• Salt was used to make tools for farming.

• Salt was used to trade for other goods.

• Salt was used to improve the soil for farming.

• Salt was used to help meat and fish last longer.

• Salt was used to make vegetables taste better.

What can the reader infer about the farmers of Tikal based on the text?

• The farmers of Tikal preferred growing only a couple of types of crops at one time in order to keep the soil healthy.

• The farmers of Tikal used homemade tools to work the land until traders brought better tools.

• The farmers of Tikal faced many challenges when growing crops but found ways to overcome them to be successful.

• The farmers of Tikal worked in small groups to grow all the crops needed for the large city.

How does the author support the point that growing and trading food was important in Maya culture?

• by describing the different foods that the Maya ate

• by explaining that nearly all of the Maya were farmers

• by listing the foods that the Maya gathered from the forest

• by providing details about the land on which the Maya farmed

What text structure does the author use in paragraph 14?

• The author uses cause and effect to explain how the Maya used floodwaters to help improve farming.

• The author uses chronological order to explain that the Maya have changed the ways they farmed their lands over the years.

• The author uses compare and contrast to explain that the Maya farmed the seacoasts differently than the mountains.

• The author uses problem and solution to explain how the Maya overcame the difficulties of farming very wet areas.

How does the illustration help the reader understand the text?

• The reader can see how the Maya farmed on the mountains.

• The reader can see where the Maya farmed most of their crops

• The reader can see that the Maya used tools made of stone and wood.

• The reader can see why the Maya needed to cut steps into the hillsides.

Part A

10. What is the main idea of the text?

• Mantella frogs are colorful frogs that are being studied by a small team of scientists to see how their different colors protect them from danger.

• Mantella frogs are poisonous frogs that are being studied by scientists to learn more about the poison of the frogs and how they make it.

• Mantella frogs are interesting frogs that have a special way of hiding from predators that hunt in the jungle during the day.

• Mantella frogs are poisonous frogs that are covered in a smelly liquid that tastes bad to any creature that tries to eat them.

Part B

11. Which quotation from the text best supports the answer in Part A?

• “The frog in Dr. Val’s hand is a Madagascar poison frog. It’s small, only about an inch (3 cm) long. Its mostly black body is decorated with splashes of bright green, orange, and yellow.” (paragraph 2)

• “Most frogs are nocturnal, which means they are awake at night. But mantella frogs are active during the day when hungry animals can see them. So they have a way to tell predators to stay away.” (paragraph 3)

• “The warning is no bluff. Mantella frogs ooze a poisonous liquid through their skin, like sticky sweat. In fact, many frogs can do this. Mantella frogs have enough toxin (poison) to smell and taste bad to predators.” (paragraph 4)

• “So what is it that makes these frogs taste so nasty? Where do their toxins come from? And why do some frogs have more poison than others? These are the mysteries Dr. Val and her friends are trying to solve.” (paragraph 5)

Which two quotations from the text support the author’s point that scientists have learned important information about mantella frogs?

• “Deep in a steamy rainforest, a researcher carefully holds a colorful frog. She searched for hours to find it, pushing her way through tangled undergrowth and combing through leaf litter.” (paragraph 1)

• “The frog in Dr. Val’s hand is a Madagascar poison frog. It’s small, only about an inch (3 cm) long.” (paragraph 2)

• “If it doesn’t smell too terrible, then she touches the tip of her tongue to the frog. Poisons taste very bitter. So she saves the worst-tasting frogs for closer study.” (paragraph 7)

• “Dr. Val and her team tested bad-tasting frogs from all around Madagascar. And what did they discover? More than 80 different kinds of bitter-tasting chemicals called alkaloids cover the frogs’ skin.” (paragraph 8)

• “Dr. Val’s team made another interesting discovery—frogs living far away from people are more poisonous than frogs that live near roads and farms.” (paragraph 12)

What text structure does the author use in the “You Are What You Eat” section?

• The author uses problem and solution to explain how mantella frogs are able to find enough food by eating bugs that other animals do not eat.

• The author uses compare and contrast to explain the similarities

• The author uses chronological order to explain that mantella frogs found in the wild make less poison today than they did in the past.

• The author uses cause and effect to explain how the diet of mantella frogs impacts the amount of alkaloids in their bodies.