Countdown to the Reading LA STAAR Series 1

Why did the guru change the little mouse into a human girl?

• To save the mouse from the river's dangerous waters

• To have the daughter that he and his wife had always wanted

• To trick the great Mouse King into getting married

• To protect the little mouse from dangerous predators

Read these sentences from paragraph 16.

"You are like no other human I have ever met," the king said to the girl. " You and I share the same spirit."

The Mouse King's words support the idea that-

• our outward appearance may hide our true nature

• those things most beautiful are often the least powerful

• the wisest among us are often the least powerful

• nobody can really tell what the future holds for us

Why does the guru's daughter reject the idea of marrying the Sun God, the Wind God, and the Mountain God?

• She is really a mouse and doesn't want to marry a king of any sort.

• She is worried that her choice of a husband will make her parents unhappy.

• She does not want to spend her life with a husband that makes her uncomfortable.

• She knows that she is in love with the Mouse King

The guru's daughter only agrees to marry the Mouse King after-

• meeting other men that her family has presented for marriage

• presenting the king with a riddle that is impossible to solve

• she realizes that she will never please her father and mother

• thinking carefully and getting to know him well

Which line from the story best shows the Mouse King to be thoughtful and smart?

• "Daughter, she said, "the mice have a great king known for his strength and kindness."

• For as long as she thought, she could think of no reason not to marry the king of the mice.

• She listened to his careful answers and laughed at his clever jokes.

• Everyone was delighted when the Mouse King and the guru's daughter agreed to marry each other

Which plot elements help the reader understand that this story is a folk legends?

• The story's setting along India's Ganges River

• Magical transformations and animals that speak

• Interesting characters like an Indian guru and his wife

• Characters that live together as a happy family

Question 20

The details in paragraph 6 help the reader understand that the National Prairies Association of Texas is working to-

• identify new species of prairie dogs

• learn more about the grassland food web

• conserve and improve native Texas grasslands

• increase farming production on Texas prairies

Question 21

The author structured the information is paragraph 4 as a --

• group of facts that describe a prairie dug burrow

• list of problems with some suggestions for improving grassland habitat

• sequence of events describing the construction of an underground den

• set of cause/effect relationships in a prairie dog colony

Question 22

Together, the graphics in the article best support the information found in -

• the title of the selection

• paragraphs 3 and 4

• paragraph 5

• paragraph 6

Question 25

Explain the prairie dog's role in a healthy grassland ecosystem.