Unit 1 Week 3 Skills Test*

1 Maddie lives in New Bern, a city near the coast in North Carolina. She likes living in New Bern except when a hurricane moves up the coast. Then she worries about what might happen to her home and family. Maddie knows that the torrential rain of a hurricane often causes flooding.

2 On one day in September, Maddie’s school is closed for safety reasons because of an ominous weather forecast that a hurricane is on the way. Almost ten inches of rain fall on North Carolina. The power is out for hours, but Maddie’s family feels lucky. Their home is on high ground and isn’t flooded. When the power is restored the next day, Maddie turns on the television for news of the storm.

3 Maddie hears that many dogs and cats were separated from their families and were found wandering around loose after the storm. The reporter says, “Volunteers and the Humane Society have opened an emergency shelter for lost pets at the county fairgrounds. Anyone who had to leave a home and needs a safe place for a pet can bring it to the shelter to stay for now. The people at the shelter need help from the community and are requesting donations of pet food.”

4 Because Maddie really cares about animals, she wonders what she can do to help. Maybe she could open a lemonade stand. Then she remembers she did that once. She sold a total of ten glasses of lemonade and made $2.50. It would not be enough to buy much food for the animals.

5 Next, Maddie considers asking her parents for money. Lately she has heard them talking about saving on expenses. Mom lost her job arranging flowers at the floral shop when it went out of business, and Dad’s company cut his hours last week. Asking them for money is definitely not a good idea.

​6 Finally, Maddie gets a good idea. Almost everyone likes pets and must feel sorry for the homeless ones. If she can convince her classmates to donate food, she might collect enough. Because she is artistic, Maddie decides to make a poster. At the top, it says “Help the Pets.” She adds a newspaper article about the emergency shelter. Then she draws pictures of cats and dogs. She also gives some examples of kinds of pet food the shelter needs. In the garage, Maddie finds a big cardboard box, which she decorates with pictures of animals.

7 In the morning, Maddie takes her poster and cardboard box to school. She asks her teacher, Ms. Jones, if she can put them in the hall near the door to the room. Ms. Jones says, “This is a great poster and great idea!” She helps Maddie find a place that will be most visible. Ms. Jones also suggests that Maddie make a card to deliver with the food so that all the students who collaborate to help the shelter can sign their names. Finally, Maddie ties three colorful balloons to the box to attract attention to the display.

8 After the first day, there are only four cans of cat and dog food in the box. On the next day, there are more cans and several bags of food. Maddie already needs to find another box to hold all the contributions.

9 On Saturday, Maddie’s dad drives her to the shelter and helps her carry the boxes inside. The people at the shelter are delighted. Their supplies are unusually low because there are so many homeless pets. They invite Maddie to visit with the pets. She even gets to hold a kitten on her lap for a few minutes. Paragraph 10 On the way home, Maddie has a new thought. Maybe she could find a permanent animal shelter that takes care of pets all the time and needs donations. It would be fun to have another food drive, especially if everyone pitches in to help.

• I read the text

• I didn't read the text

“Maddie knows that the torrential rain of a hurricane often causes flooding.” (paragraph 1)

 

What does torrential mean as it is used in the sentence?

• faraway

• scattered

• severe

• upcoming

Which conflict or event causes Maddie to take action? Support your answer with evidence from the passage.

Read this sentence from the passage.

 

“Lately she has heard them talking about saving on expenses.” (paragraph 5)

 

Which word from the sentence provides a clue to the meaning of expenses?

• lately

• heard

• talking

• saving

How is the news report that Maddie watches important to the plot of the story?

• It gives Maddie the idea to help the homeless pets.

• It explains why Maddie’s school is closed for one day.

• It makes Maddie reconsider asking her parents for money.

• It informs Maddie that a hurricane is heading toward her city.

What are two ways that Maddie helps to solve the problem?

• She helps Ms. Jones carry boxes.

• She makes a “Help the Pets” poster.

• She volunteers for the Humane Society.

• She organizes a food drive for the shelter.

• She has a lemonade stand to raise money.

Put the events in the order in which they happen in the passage.

• Maddie and her dad deliver the collected food to the shelter.

• Maddie collects several items for the shelter.

• Maddie learns that many pets lost their families during the hurricane.

• Maddie collects four cans of cat and dog food at school.