All About Trees - Folsom Cordova Unified School District · All About Trees All About Trees by Joy Dickerson Trees live almost everywhere. They are in hot places and cold places

All About TreesAll About Trees

by Joy Dickerson

Trees live almost everywhere. They are in hot places and cold places. They are in cities and in places far frompeople. Some are tall and some are short. Some have huge leaves, and others have tiny leaves shaped likeneedles. But all trees have leaves, branches, a trunk, roots, and seeds.

Leaves

Each type of tree has leaves that look different. Longleaf pine leaves look like needles. Pine trees drop needles afew at a time all year. Tulip-tree leaves are round on the bottom and square on the top. Tulip-trees drop alltheir leaves in September. New leaves grow in the spring.

Leaves use water, minerals, sunlight, and a gas called carbon dioxide to make thetree’s food. Leaves also use the chemical chlorophyll to make food. Chlorophyllmakes leaves green. When you eat plants, you eat the food the leaves made.Leaves give off a gas called oxygen. You must have oxygen to stay alive. Much ofthe oxygen you breathe comes from trees.

Trunks and Branches

A tree’s trunk is round and firm. Near the top, it divides into smaller branches.The smallest branches are called twigs. Twigs hold the leaves. The bottom of thetrunk splits into smaller and smaller roots. Inside the trunk are millions of strong,tiny tubes. They carry water and minerals from the roots to the leaves. Othertubes carry food from the leaves to the roots. The trunk is covered with bark thatprotects the tree.

Roots

An important part of a tree—its roots—are buried. The roots push deep into the ground and keep the tree fromfalling over. Some trees have one main root that grows very deep. But most trees have shallow, branching rootsthat spread over a wide area. Roots split into smaller roots. Eventually, the roots are smaller around than a hair.The roots take water and minerals from the soil. The tubes in the trunk carry these substances to the leaves. Thetubes also carry food from the leaves back to the roots. Food is stored in the roots.

4th Grade English Language Arts DPA 2 Assessment ID: dna.4360 ib.239080

Directions: Read the passage below and answer the question(s) that follow.

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Seeds

Trees make seeds. When seeds reach the ground, a few grow into new trees. But most become food for animals. Almonds and walnuts are tree seeds that you may have eaten. One kind of seed comes in a cone. Pine conescontain seeds. Other seeds come in fruits and nuts. Animals eat them and help to spread the seeds. Other seedsare light enough to be blown by the wind to a new home. Tulip- tree seeds spread this way.

How a Tree Grows

Each year a tree lives, it adds a ring of tubes just under the bark. The older, dead rings are in the center of thetree. When a tree is cut down, you can count the rings. The number of rings equals how many years the tree lived.If a ring is wide, the weather was good that year. If a ring is narrow, the weather was bad.

Trees continue to grow as long as they are alive, adding a ring every year.The oldest trees are bristlecone pines. Some are 5,000 years old. Thatmakes them the oldest living things on Earth.

1 Read the article All About Trees, and thenanswer the following question(s).

A tree may produce a million seeds in its lifetime.Why do some trees produce so many seeds?

A. because they are big, strong trees

B. because animals and wind help to spread them

C. because so few seeds grow into trees

D. because they live in places where it is easy fortrees to grow

2 If you were a scientist studying what weather waslike in the past, which part of a tree could youlook at to help you in your work?

A. the trunk

B. the roots

C. the bark

D. the rings

3 What is the section that will help you find out howto tell the age of a tree?

A. Leaves

B. How a Tree Grows

C. Seeds

D. Trunks and Branches


Directions: Answer the following question(s) relating to the passage titled "All About Trees".


http://download.examview.com/passages/all_about_trees.pdf

4 Why did the author write “All About Trees”?

A. to teach readers about different kinds of trees

B. to explain how trees make food

C. to show readers why trees are important

D. to teach readers about the parts of a tree andhow it grows

5 What is the author’s purpose in the Rootssection?

A. to tell readers about the different jobs that rootsdo

B. to tell readers about the roots of different kindsof trees

C. to tell readers how roots keep trees from fallingover

D. to tell readers how roots carry water, minerals,and food


Directions: Answer the following question(s) relating to the passage titled "All About Trees".


How Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whale and the ElephantHow Brother Rabbit Fooled the Whale and the Elephant

by Sara Cone Bryant

Adapted from two tales included in the records of the American Folk-Lore Society.

One day little Brother Rabbit was running along on the sand, lippety, lippety, when he saw the Whale and theElephant talking together. Little Brother Rabbit crouched down and listened to what they were saying. This waswhat they were saying:—

“You are the biggest thing on the land, Brother Elephant,” said the Whale, “and I am the biggest thing in thesea; if we join together we can rule all the animals in the world, and have our way about everything.”

“Very good, very good,” trumpeted the Elephant; “that suits me; we will do it.”

Little Brother Rabbit snickered to himself. “They won’t rule me,” he said. He ran away and got a very long, verystrong rope, and he got his big drum, and hid the drum a long way off in the bushes. Then he went along thebeach till he came to the Whale.

“Oh, please, dear, strong Mr. Whale,” he said, “will you have the great kindness to do me a favor ? My cow isstuck in the mud, a quarter of a mile from here. And I can’t pull her out. But you are so strong and so obliging, that I venture to trust you will help me out.”

The Whale was so pleased with the compliment that he said, “Yes,” at once.

“Then,” said the Rabbit, “I will tie this end of my long rope to you, and I will run away and tie the other endround my cow, and when I am ready I will beat my big drum. When you hear that, pull very, very hard, for the cowis stuck very deep in the mud.”

“Huh ! ” grunted the Whale, “I’ll pull her out, if she is stuck to the horns.”

Little Brother Rabbit tied the rope-end to the whale, and ran off, lippety, lippety, till he came to the place wherethe Elephant was.




“Oh, please, mighty and kindly Elephant,” he said, making a very low bow, “will you do me a favor? ”

“What is it ?” asked the Elephant.

“My cow is stuck in the mud, about a quarter of a mile from here,” said little Brother Rabbit, “and I cannot pullher out. Of course you could. If you will be so very obliging as to help me—”

“Certainly,” said the Elephant grandly, “certainly.”

“Then,” said little Brother Rabbit, “I will tie one end of this long rope to your trunk, and the other to my cow,and as soon as I have tied her tightly I will beat my big drum. When you hear that, pull; pull as hard as you can, formy cow is very heavy.”

“Never fear,” said the Elephant, “I could pull twenty cows.”

“I am sure you could,” said the Rabbit, politely, “only be sure to begin gently, and pull harder and harder till youget her.”

Then he tied the end of the rope tightly round the Elephant’s trunk, and ran away into the bushes. There he satdown and beat the big drum. The Whale began to pull, and the Elephant began to pull, and in a jiffy the ropetightened till it was stretched as hard as could be.

"This is a remarkably heavy cow,” said the Elephant; “but I’ll fetch her ! ” And he braced his forefeet in theearth, and gave a tremendous pull.

“Dear me!” said the Whale. “That cow must be stuck mighty tight;” and he drove his tail deep in the water, andgave a marvelous

pull.

He pulled harder; the Elephant pulled harder. Pretty soon the Whale found himself sliding toward the land. Thereason was, of course, that the Elephant had something solid to brace against, and, too, as fast as he pulled therope in a little, he took a turn with it round his trunk!

But when the Whale found himself sliding toward the land he was so provoked* with the cow that he dove headfirst, down to the bottom of the sea. That was a pull! The Elephant was jerked off his feet, and came slipping andsliding to the beach, and into the surf. He was terribly angry. He braced himself with all his might, and pulled hisbest. At the jerk, up came the Whale out of the water.

“Who is pulling me?” spouted the Whale.

“Who is pulling me?” trumpeted the Elephant.

And then each saw the rope in the other’s hold. “I’ll teach you to play cow!” roared the Elephant.

“I’ll show you how to fool me!” fumed the Whale. And they began to pull again. But this time the rope broke, theWhale turned a somersault, and the Elephant fell over backwards.

At that, they were both so ashamed that neither would speak to the other. So that broke up the bargainbetween them.

And little Brother Rabbit sat in the bushes and laughed, and laughed, and laughed.




*provoked: angry

6 Read the story How Brother Rabbit Fooled theWhale and the Elephant, and then answer thefollowing question(s).

What happened when the Whale and theElephant FIRST began to pull on the rope?

A. The rope broke.

B. The Elephant fell into the water.

C. The rope stretched tight.

D. The Whale was pulled onto the land.

7 How were the Whale and the Elephant’s feelingsabout each other DIFFERENT at the end of thestory?

A. They wouldn’t speak to each other.

B. They respected each other.

C. They became enemies.

D. They became friends.

8 Why did the author write this story?

A. to show how even the mighty and strong can befooled

B. to explain why elephants and whales do not getalong

C. to describe the most powerful animals on landand in the sea

D. to show how rabbits are the smartest animals

9 What did Brother Rabbit ask the Whale to helphim do?

A. carry his cow out of the water

B. pull the Elephant into the water

C. pull the Elephant out of the mud

D. pull his cow out of the mud

10 Why did Brother Rabbit try to trick the Whale andthe Elephant?

A. because he liked playing games

B. because he didn’t want to be ruled by them

C. because he wanted them to help him get hiscow out of the mud

D. because he didn’t want them to be friends

11 What lesson can the reader learn from HowBrother Rabbit Fooled the Whale and theElephant? Use details from the story to supportyour response.


Directions: Answer the following question(s) relating to the passage titled "How Brother Rabbit Fooledthe Whale and the Elephant".


http://download.examview.com/passages/brother_rabbit.pdf




The Case of Amelia EarhartThe Case of Amelia Earhart

by Elizabeth Knapp

On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart set out to become the first woman to fly around the world. She nearly made it.But somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean, she and her plane were lost. And one of the greatest mysteries of alltime began.

Amelia Earhart was a pioneer in her field. She was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Shewas also the first woman to fly solo from coast to coast across the United States. For her accomplishments,President Herbert Hoover gave her a gold medal from the National Geographic Society. She was already afamous pilot by the time of her last flight.

So what happened on that fateful flight? Many details are known. Earhart was flying with her navigator, FredNoonan. They had taken off from New Guinea for tiny Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean. They planned to stopand refuel there. The distance from New Guinea to Howland Island was 2,556 miles. Earhart’s plane had enoughfuel to fly 4,000 miles. She estimated the trip would take 18 hours and about half of the fuel.




For seven hours, Earhart was in radio contact with New Guinea. The Itasca, a U.S. Coast Guard ship, waitednear Howland Island to help her find her way. At one point, she radioed the ship to say that she was about 800miles from New Guinea and on course.

At 7:42 A.M., Earhart sent a report to the Itasca: “Gas is running low. Been unable to reach you by radio. Flyingat a thousand feet. Only half-hour’s gas left.” To help Earhart find the island, the ship created thick black smokethat trailed behind it for 10 miles. At 8:44 A.M., Earhart reported her position as “running north and south.” Thiswas the last report the ship received from her.

Rescue efforts began at once. Even in her disappearance, Amelia Earhart set records. The search for her wasthe largest in the U.S. Navy’s history. For 16 days, ten ships and 65 airplanes covered a huge area of ocean. Thesearch, ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt, is believed to have cost over 4 million dollars. On July 18, theU.S. Navy ended the search. The life and career of the greatest woman pilot in history was over—or was it?

Most people believe that Earhart and Noonan died at sea after their plane ran out of fuel. Yet no trace ofEarhart, Noonan, or the plane was ever found. So some people have their own ideas about what happened.When Earhart disappeared in 1937, America was on the brink of war with Japan. Some believe that she wasspying on the Japanese. Maybe she made a secret landing and survived. Maybe she was captured by theJapanese and killed. To this day, the case is unsolved.




Perhaps one day someone can prove that Amelia Earhart survived.Until then, what happened on her final and greatest flight will remain amystery. But we do know that Amelia Earhart had a brave anddetermined spirit. She knew the risks, and she faced them withcourage and vision. She broke new ground, not only for pilots, but alsofor women. In a letter to her husband, she wrote, “I want to doit because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men havetried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”More than half a century later, Amelia Earhart continues to challengeand inspire us.

12 Read the article The Case of Amelia Earhart,and then answer the following question(s).

With whom was Earhart flying on her last flight?

A. her copilot

B. her husband

C. her navigator

D. no one

13 How were Earhart’s first and last reports to theship ALIKE?

A. In both, she gave her position.

B. In both, she asked for help.

C. In both, she said she was on course.

D. In both, she said she was lost.

14 Why did Earhart set records even in herdisappearance?

A. because the search for her was the longest inthe U.S. Navy’s history

B. because the search for her was ordered by aU.S. president

C. because the search for her happened in anothercountry

D. because the search for her was the largest inthe U.S. Navy’s history

15 What did Earhart do when she was about800 miles from New Guinea?

A. She radioed the ship to say gas was runninglow.

B. She radioed the ship to say where she was andthat she was on course.

C. She radioed the ship to say her position was“running north and south.”

D. She radioed the ship to ask for help in findingthe island.

16 How was Earhart’s last flight DIFFERENT fromher other flights?

A. She was flying solo.

B. She was flying around the world.

C. She was trying to become famous.

D. She was flying with a brand-new navigator.

17 In The Case of Amelia Earhart, the author statesthat, “Amelia Earhart continues to challenge andinspire us.” To what extent do you agree ordisagree with this statement? Support youropinion with evidence from the text.


Directions: Answer the following question(s) relating to the passage titled "The Case of Amelia Earhart".


http://download.examview.com/passages/amelia_earhart.pdf

The Princess and the PeaThe Princess and the Pea

by Hans Christian Andersen

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess, but she would have to be a realprincess. He traveled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There wereprincesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something aboutthem that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much tohave a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents.Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the windhad made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and outagain at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

“Well, we’ll soon find that out,” thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bedroom, took all thebedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on thepea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.




“Oh, very badly!” said she. “I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed,but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It’s horrible!”

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattressesand the twenty eider-down beds.

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in themuseum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

There, that is a true story.




Note: Certain words and punctuation in “The Princess and the Pea” by Hans Christian Andersen have beenchanged to reflect an appropriate reading level for Grade 4.

18 Read the story The Princess and the Pea, andthen answer the following question(s).

At the beginning of the story, no one thought theprincess was telling the truth. What happened bythe end of the story?

A. The princess was kicked out of the city.

B. Everyone believed the princess.

C. Only the prince believed the princess.

D. The princess became soaked in a rainstorm.

19 How were the prince’s feelings DIFFERENT atthe end of the story compared to the beginning?

A. At first he is sad, but at the end he is happy.

B. At first he is tired, but at the end he is wideawake.

C. At first he is angry, but at the end he is happy.

D. At first he is happy, but at the end he is angry.


Directions: Answer the following question(s) relating to the passage titled "The Princess and the Pea".


http://download.examview.com/passages/the_princess_and_the_pea.pdf

20 What happened FIRST in this story?

A. A terrible storm came on.

B. The queen took twenty mattresses and laidthem on the pea.

C. The prince traveled all over the world to find areal princess.

D. The pea was put in the museum.

21 What caused the princess to sleep badly?

A. a pea on top of her mattresses

B. a pea under her mattresses

C. fear of the queen

D. hunger

22 How was the old queen’s opinion of the princessDIFFERENT after the princess spends the nighton the pea?

A. At first she thinks the princess is not real, butlater she thinks that the princess is real.

B. At first she thinks the princess is real, but latershe thinks that the princess is not real.

C. At first she thinks the princess is beautiful, butlater she decides that the princess is plain.

D. At first she loves the princess, but later shedecides that she hates the princess.


Directions: Answer the following question(s) relating to the passage titled "The Princess and the Pea".

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All About Trees - Folsom Cordova Unified School District · All About Trees All About Trees by Joy Dickerson Trees live almost everywhere. They are in hot places and cold places