Protecting the Parks

Which choice provides a summary of the text?

• Stephen Mather wanted the national parks around the country to be cared for properly. He worked with others to prove that a national park system was necessary, and after a couple of years, he was successful.

• Stephen Mather was hired as the first person to oversee the national park system. He wanted to increase the number of people who visited the parks, so he worked with others to improve the hotels and restaurants available.

• Stephen Mather enjoyed visiting national parks around the country as a child. He realized as an adult that the parks were not well cared for, so he wrote letters to convince the government to start a national park system.

• Stephen Mather believed in the importance of a national park system. He talked with politicians to explain why the nation needed more parks, and after a number of years, the government agreed to open more national parks.

What does the author mean by the phrase “creature comforts” in paragraph 13?

• animals that cause travel to go more slowly

• objects that one buys while traveling

• pests that cause an experience to be unpleasant

• items that make an experience more enjoyable

What can the reader infer about Stephen Mather and Horace Albright?

• They met many new people around the country because of their travels through the national parks.

• They each had specific jobs to complete when traveling through the national parks.

• They worked together well as a team because they had the same goal of improving the national parks.

• They each had their own ideas about the best ways to improve the national parks.

Part A: What point does the author make about Stephen Mather in the text?

• Stephen Mather had the qualities necessary to make changes to the national park system.

• Stephen Mather encouraged people to write letters to politicians about the need for a national park system.

• Stephen Mather knew about all the national parks because he had visited them growing up.

• Stephen Mather enjoyed helping the national parks earn money by inviting wealthy people to camp there.

Part B: Which quotation from the text best supports the answer in Part A?

• “One day, in 1914, a letter accusing the government of ignoring the parks landed on the desk of a park overseer.” (paragraph 5)

• “As a child, he played in the snow at Yosemite National Park and camped with friends in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.” (paragraph 6)

• “Mather was wealthy, charming, full of energy—and passionate that Americans visit their parks.” (paragraph 8)

• “Mather hosted parties to convince politicians that he needed funds to spruce up the parks for vacationers.” (paragraph 11)

What overall text structure does the author use in the text?

• The author uses cause and effect to explain why so many people stopped visiting the national parks.

• The author uses chronological order to explain how the National Park Service was created after years of hard work.

• The author uses compare and contrast to explain the differences between the first national parks and those that exist today.

• The author uses problem and solution to explain that the National Park Service was started because no one was in charge of the parks.

How does the information in the text “Protecting the Parks” compare to the information in the text from “The First Directors: Mather and Albright”?

• Both texts are firsthand accounts because they are written by people who enjoy visiting the national parks.

• Both texts are firsthand accounts because they are written by people who researched the history of the national parks.

• Both texts include firsthand accounts from Stephen Mather about the importance of spending more money on the national parks.

• Both texts include firsthand accounts from Stephen Mather about the importance of good food options while visiting the national parks.