Dugout Canoes in North America

"Early Americans used the rivers to travel. Travel was very important for two reasons. First, people needed to trade with each other to get the goods they needed to live."

Identify the meaning of goods as it is used in the excerpt.

• adjective - of high quality

• adjective - well-behaved

• noun - articles of possession

• noun - profit, advantage, or worth

"The early Americans traveled in several types of canoes, one of which was the dugout canoe. As the name suggests, a dugout canoe was made from hollowing out big tree trunks. The forests had many huge trees that were ideal for making canoes. Some of the trees were so large that the finished canoe could hold up to 40 people."

Identify the meaning of hollowing as it is used in the excerpt.

• adjective - without worth or meaning

• adjective - dull, muffled, or deep

• noun - an open space

• verb - to make an open space

Which subtitle would best fit Paragraph 1?

• Why Early Americans Needed Canoes

• Different Kinds of Canoes

• How to Use a Dugout Canoe

• How Early Americans Got Together

Which conclusion does the passage best support?

• Early Americans sometimes canoed in large groups.

• Few trees would be available today for making dugout canoes.

• Dugout canoes were better than birch bark canoes.

• Making a dugout canoe required team effort.

What is the main idea of this passage?

• to tell the reasons early Americans traveled by river

• to discuss the ways that early villages helped each other

• to show the steps involved in hollowing out a tree to make a canoe

• to highlight the importance of dugout canoes to early American villages

Read the sentence from the passage.

"The first step in making a dugout canoe was to choose a tree."

Which sentence uses the word step as it is used in this sentence?

• I step on the stones as I walk through the garden.

• I paused when I reached the tenth step toward the door.

• After completing this step, stir the batter until it is mixed well.

• At the parade, we tried to walk in step with the marching band.

Which dictionary entry gives the best meaning for step as it is used in the first sentence of Paragraph 3?

• short distance

• rung on a ladder

• manner of walking

• stage in a process

Read the glossary entry.

reflection, light bouncing off a surface

Which sentence uses the word reflection in a way that best fits the glossary entry above?

• He sat very quietly on the rock in deep reflection.

• The water was so still we could see the reflection of the trees.

• It was no reflection on her that the project turned out poorly.

• Their success in the contest was a reflection of consistent practice.

Read the sentences.

"The cool morning temperatures caused a layer of haze to form over the ground. It was difficult to see our shoes as we walked through the grass."

Which word has a meaning similar to the underlined word?

• glare

• fog

• shine

• puddle

Read the sentences.

"Once lovely and green, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam is now mostly concrete, with few plants and trees. The air is so unclean that many children are ill and have trouble breathing. But one architect wants to bring back paradise. He draws construction plans with trees on roofs and plants on balconies."

What does an architect do?

• farm crops

• teach classes

• design buildings

• take photographs