ELA Benchmark

What is the author’s purpose for using the phrase “Often they lie low”

in paragraph 2?

• to provide an example of an urban stream

• to show that urban streams are often polluted

• to contrast an urban stream with a rural stream

• to show that urban streams are not easily seen

What is the author’s purpose in this passage?

• to describe to readers the creation of urban and rural streams

• to persuade readers that urban and rural streams are important to cities

• to explain to readers the flooding of streams in rural and urban areas

• to inform readers about the differences between rural and urban streams

Which sentence states a central idea of paragraphs 1 and 2? (RI.6.2 Central Idea)

• Streams are normal parts of natural settings.

• Streams are vital resources for people.

• Streams are only found outside of cities.

• Streams are different in various landscapes.

Read the sentence from paragraph 3. Streams, stream banks, and the low lands around them provide important habitat for animals and plants that share the urban/suburban landscape with us. What does the word habitat mean as it is used in the sentence?

• area

• shelter

• environment

• territory

How do paragraphs 4 and 5 support the central idea that streams are important to urban and rural settings?

• They discuss the importance of both types of streams.

• They detail similarities and differences of both types of streams.

• They elaborate on how streams provide resources to plants.

• They explain why natural streams are better than urban streams.

How does the author introduce the idea of urban streams?

• by pointing out that urban settings also have streams

• by getting readers to focus on the characteristics of all streams

• by preparing readers to think only about rural streams

• by presenting readers with the transition from rural to urban streams

Read the sentence.. If all this extra water is diverted directly into a stream channel, several important changes will occur. What is the meaning of the word diverted as it is used in the sentence?

• pushed

• brought together

• sped forward

• redirected

Based on the information in paragraph 8, what inference can be drawn about water movement in cities?

• Natural waterways have disappeared.

• There are fewer natural waterways now than in the past.

• Natural waterways are overloaded with rainwater.

• Flooding is caused when man-made waterways overflow.

What is a central idea of the passage “Streams in the City”?

• Streams in the city contain more water than streams in the forest.

• Rainfall in suburban areas lands on hard surfaces, so it cannot infiltrate the soil.

• Groundwater flows slowly underground and empties into stream channels.

• City streams are different from streams that are found in the forest and other natural areas.

Read paragraphs 9–10. How does the author use the diagram to develop an understanding of streams in natural landscapes and urban landscapes?

• by showing how a stream looks in each setting

• by showing where the water goes in each setting

• by showing the effects of infiltration in urban streams

• by showing the effects of infiltration in urban streams