ELA Test Prep Winter Packet
ELA Test Prep Winter Packet
I
ATH GRADE
ELA TrSr PNTP
WINTER PACKET
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Session 1: Writing
Direotions: Read the passages about different Louisiana activities. As you read the
passages, think about which activity you would choose to do. Then use the passages to
help you write a well-organized composition of at least three paragraphs.
A-rgSaying
ngleGardens.[sawr.eaIly.interesting.plantsandeVenSaW.. ---?_-nT
------ $ligatof:intheEswa@*he factory tour was a little long, though."-Louis, 9 years old
=j5-+gsern6lhe.iSanU+?s,.ss cooll l liked tasting Tabasco sauce. lt was so spicy! Seeing ail
the big birds was really neat too."-Madison, 11 years old
Session 1: Writing
/
Bayou Tour
Did you know there are more than one million alligators in Louisiana? That means that
one out of every four people in the state could have their own alligator! Well, not really, but that
gives you an idea of how many of these snapping reptiles live in Louisiana's swamps and
marshes.
A popular activity in Louisiana for tourists is to take a bayou tour to see the alligators up
close and personal. You climb aboard a flat-bottomed tour boat and travel through the wildest
and most beautiful swamps, marshes, and bayous in America. Along the way, the tour guide will
tell you about the history of the area. Listen carefully, though, because sometimes the guides
have some pretty talltales.
The guide will also point out turtles, nesting bald eagles, and splashing buffalo fish. At
one point in the tour, the guide will lean over the side of the boat and attract alligators to the
railing. Bring your camera. You will definitely want to take a few pictures of these amazing i
Writing Topic
Would you rather visit Avery lsland or take the Bayou Tour?
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ELA Grade 4
Session 1: Writing (FINAL DRAFT) l
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NAME:
_.;4_. -L
- _-..
: -- ,.- :-. :- to see below his bloatedl foe,
. :- - -.- _ ._ t helpless in the muck.
._-_
1. Which sentence describes how the poem "The Final Laugh" is structured?
2. Which pair of phrases from the poem best describes Buzz McFly?
:':-=::.',: =3==Whalis the'most likely reason that Buzz McFly "came to rest" in the bog?
- - -"i ' '' C:r- Thd band trained fOr the contest for many hours after school.
g-ift osi-tiainedhis workers on how to use the newrnachine.
.-=, ..7,iExpiain similar1o? story. Support your answer with two specific details from
'the poem.
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2. fermented: having gone through a process that chemically changes the seeds
Timeline
(From Chocolate: Yesterday and Todayl
8. Part 1
Which sentence best states the main idea of "Where Does Chocolate Come From?"
A. Pulp from the pod of a cacao tree is an important food source for people in the rainforest.
B. People living in the rainforest discovered chocolate hundreds of years ago.
C. The cacao tree provides the basic ingredient for all chocolate.
D. The story of how chocolate was first made is interesting, but few people know about it.
Part2
Which detailfrom the passage best supports the main idea?
A. "The truth is even stranger: All chocolate comes from the seeds of gne kind of tree."
B. "The seeds, of course, go through many changes on the way to a candy bar."
C. "The name wLs tirst used 3,000 years ago, when a people called tnle Otmecs inhabited
what is now Mexico."
D. "Stacked in columns in the center of the pulp (which is delicious but has no taste of
qhocelate) are rows of pale, almond-sized seeds."
- --1q
' .i --- jj'
i{qu, *"_t[e-id6a!-in the passage mostly organized?
A. in chronirlogical order to tell about the process of how cacao seeds grow
B. by cause and effect to show why cacao seeds grow best in rainforqsts
C. as a problem and solution to explain how early explorers found cacao trees
D. through comparison and contrast to explore how cacao trees are different from most trees
t.--
A.closendsS'--
B. pressure
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o..c_wer.
' 12. How does the author support the point that the pods are "perhaps the strangest thing about the
cacao's appearance"? i i
15. Explain how chocolate is made and used. Use information from the passage and timeline to
support your answer.
i. .i
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"Nana!" Zach yelled, flinging open the kitchen door. "l need a new button!"
"No need to shout." Nana looked up from her newspaper. "Why do you need a new
button?"
"This morning I lost a button right here." Zach pointed to the top of his coat. 'All day
l've been so cold."
"Well, we can't have that. l'll get my magic button box," Nana said. She headed for her
box.
bedroom and returned with an enormous tin i
5 "Where
Qid
you get that?" Zach asked.
i
"l've been collecting these buttons since lwas a little girl," Nana said, lifting the old
box to the table. Then she tapped the lid as if she were knocking on a door. "lnside this
box, Zach, is not just a button collection. lnside are a thousand stories and a million
memories.
"But what makes it magic?" Zach asked.
i-.:i.=,- the{able. There were large,.rgqnd, silver ones and soft, football-
, r. - =.-" '.. -.azillion.bu"tt"snsonto
sfrapeO, Urown ones,and Ulabk ohes with diamtnOi anO gold onedjdecorated with black
-- ": "' --- :.=ttire-a?:€6riie'loo-re,-dl!kc beetles, others like shells. Zach wanted to examine each and
everybutton....
"Where'd this one come from, Nana?" Zach picked up a big, old, square leather
I
button.
10 "That one came from the coat your grandfather wore when he was courting me."
Nana smiled. "He was so tall and handsome. I remember him wearing that coat the first
time we wenf iclskating."
I
Grandpa must have heard Nana talking about him, because he came into the kitchen
to see what she andZach were doing.
lYes," Zach answered, ''but Nana still hasn't told me what's magic about it."
"Haven't you figured it out yet?"
15 Zach shook his head and frowned.
The three sat at the kitchen table for a long time, making the buttons dance between
their fingers while Nana and Grandpa told Zach stories. lt was nearly dark when Zach's
morn came home from work to find them hovering over their treasure. Nana jumped up,
f ;?li?,[:""*"il,fl &lii^t"3i::ilxl]tlH;l},,1?I,,lJ,i,'il?:ilsf,,=,11r,':[:'J::
and-black-stri ped button.
'WoW let me see that," Zach said. The fur tickled his hand. "l was so mad when you
g,_iy.:ll1:"_"!ire gway. ! thought I'd never see it again. But here it is-at least a piece of
-:__;ff.:.;
',-
i- ' '.' i = =i== '-; -,-: --:- Grandpa.nodded:--rl.think you're starting to understand the magic of the button box,
a re n't.y145- Z31ch?," .
'125 Zach.grjnngfl.-_ . .-- I ... .
.-_
- :. -:::...!-::.-.--:- . :,_: '-.==1$y'g-s-[ill n-eed to replace that coat button you lost," Nana said.
. "How about using the button from my old coat?" Grandpa suggested.
"Good idea, Grandpa," Zach said. "Thete's just one problem with that: a memory will i
, 30 But 2ach wasn't satisfied. He thought fpr a moment. Then he ran to the scissors
drawer and snipped off the bottom button Trom his shirt.
"What are you doing?" Mom asked.
"l'm replacing a memory," Zach said, tossing the button into the box. 'And the next
time I see that button, it'll remirid me of the day I found out the secret of the magic button
box."
. : -. - ---:-. -:-: . :: _
19. ln paragraph 22,why does Grandpa say, "You're part of this family, aren't you?"
A. Zach is surprised to see buttons that once belonged to him.
B. Zach thinks he has to ask permission to look at the buttons.
C. Grandpa means that Zach can now add new buttons to the box.
21. Explain why the family refers to the box as the magic button box. Support your answer with at
least two details from the story.