Grade 5 SOL 22-27 7th Grade Quiz | Wayground (formerly Quizizz)

1.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

15 mins • 3 pts

Born in the Desert

¹ Rahim Makeba stood at the front of the classroom holding his notes. His classmates looked at him curiously, waiting for him to begin. Rahim had never given a speech before, and his lips felt as if they were glued together. His palms were damp and his heart was pounding.

² Ms. Blum set out a paper cup of water. “You may take a little drink before you start, if you would like. The class is looking forward to learning about Botswana.”

³ She smiled, and Rahim relaxed a little. He whispered a “thank you” for the water. After carefully taking a sip, he began.

⁴ “Good afternoon. As many of you know, I came to live in America a month ago. I am from the Republic of Botswana, which is on the continent of Africa. I was born in a town at the edge of the Kalahari Desert. My papa and two of my cousins worked for the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Everyone in our family likes animals. When I was little, I used to sit under the Camel Thorn tree¹ in our village and wait for small animals and birds to visit. Sometimes Papa and I would drive out into the bush country to see the larger animals. If we were lucky, a Kalahari lion would cross our path.” Rahim paused to pick up the photographs he had brought.

⁵ A boy named Brian raised his hand. Ms. Blum called on him, and he asked, “How can people live in a desert? Isn’t it too hot? How can trees grow in a desert?”

⁶ Rahim had carefully planned and practiced his speech at home and was not expecting to be interrupted. He was not sure how to answer the questions. For a moment, he wished he were back in Botswana, where people knew that the desert was beautiful and thriving with life. He rubbed his hands on his jeans and stared at the floor.

⁷ Then, he remembered the photographs he had brought. He knew they would help answer Brian’s questions. He began distributing his photographs showing the landscape and some of the animals. As he passed one to a girl seated behind Brian, she smiled at him and raised her hand.

⁸ Ms. Blum said, “Yes, Julie?”

⁹ “There are many living things in the desert,” she said. “I know, because I was born in a desert too.”

¹⁰ All the students turned to look at her. Rahim looked at her in surprise.

¹¹ “I was born in Arizona,” she went on, “in the Sonoran Desert. All kinds of animals live there—jackrabbits and coyotes and big cats, too, such as cougars.” She glanced at Rahim and added, “They’re probably not as big as the Kalahari lions, but they’re huge compared with housecats.”

¹² “Thank you, Julie. That information is very helpful,” Ms. Blum said. “Now let’s give Rahim some time to explain his pictures, and then we can have more discussion.”

¹³ With a grateful look at Ms. Blum and Julie, Rahim continued his speech.

¹⁴ “Many famous animals live in the Kalahari Desert,” he said as he finished handing out the rest of the pictures. “The Kalahari lion is the star of a movie, and the zebra is easily recognized. There are giraffes, aardvarks, hyenas, and wild dogs, as well as many other animals. My favorite is the meerkats. As you can see in the photographs, meerkats have pointy faces. They look like little bandits wearing masks. In fact, the masks look similar to those that raccoons have.”

¹⁵ At the end of Rahim’s speech, everyone applauded. Many classmates raised their hands, inspired by his speech to ask him more questions about Botswana and the Kalahari Desert. This time, Rahim was grinning confidently ready to answer all their questions.

¹Camel Thorn tree – a common tree that grows in dry areas of southern Africa.

In “Born in the Desert,” the reader can tell that Rahim first becomes nervous when he —

feels his palms become damp

wishes his classmates understood him

spends a long time writing his speech

forgets what to say next

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

2.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION

15 mins • 2 pts