1. READING
Read the following passage about a song for the Earth. Then answer the question that
follows.
Earth Song
By D. A. Tony Ciango
One Star was painting the story on a plains. Their machines polluted the air,
buffalo hide when I met him. He was an and their waste was thrown into the once
old man now, and he wanted to record clean rivers and streams.
the tale while his memory was still
sharp. The new people hunted for food,
which the owl understood. But they also
He invited me to sit beside him, and I hunted for sport, which the owl did not
watched and listened as the old man told understand. As the new people grew in
me about the Earth Song. number, the number of owls shrank.
They were forced to look for new homes
One Star had been a young chief in unfamiliar lands. Nesting places were
when the owl and the wolf came to him scarce, and food was harder to find.
in a dream, and the song they had sung Some could not adapt to the changing
was a sad one. ways and were never to be seen flying
on the earth again.
The owl was the first to appear. He
sang of a time when the skies were clear Then the wolf appeared and his song
and the air was pure. A time when his echoed the owl's. His clan had also been
kind could nest in the tall pines of the forced to retreat from the new people.
great forests that stretched for as far as They went into the foothills of the
the eye could see. A time when food was mountains and had to roam far from
plentiful and his family could soar and their dens in search of food. They were
hunt above the wide open plains forever. feared, misunderstood, and hunted. The
wolves that were once called the
The owl sang of a beautiful land protectors of women were cast away
where cool clean water glided from from their homelands by the new people.
magnificent mountains into lush green
valleys. The creatures of the air had The owl and the wolf ended their
prospered in this land. Generation after song by asking One Star what they
generation had raised their young and might have done that had upset the
thanked the Creator for this place. Creator and caused him to treat them so.
The young chief had no answer for them.
But all that had changed. He knew their troubles, because his tribe
had walked a similar path. One Star had
The new people had come, and they listened to the elders of the tribe speak of
had cleared the dense forests for times of freedom and plenty. When man
materials to build their own wooden and beast shared the earth in harmony,
nests, which now covered the flowing and were caretakers of the land, not

2. raiders of it.
One Star could not give the owl and
the wolf an answer, but he did make
them a promise. He swore to sing their
song to all he met. To tell everyone of
the importance of keeping nature's
balance, and try to bring man and beast
and earth together again in one caring
family, as it was meant to be. One Star is
gone now. But his message, the Earth
Song, is still in the air for all to hear and
notice.
Reprinted by permission of the author.

3. READING
A.1.5.1
What did the owl sing in his song to One Star? Use at least three details from the passage to
support your response.

4. READING
Read the following passage about children's author Dr. Seuss. Then answer the question
that follows.
About Dr. Seuss
Theodor Geisel spent his lifetime to publish it for him under the name Dr.
dreaming about different creatures and Seuss. Seuss was his mother's name
silly ways to name them. At first, his before she got married.
goal was to make people laugh. Then, he
turned his talents toward teaching young In May 1954, Geisel heard about
children to read. Today, he is known all children having trouble learning to read.
over the world as Dr. Seuss. There was a large number of illiterate
children. He thought it was because their
Geisel lived in Massachusetts as a school books were boring. Geisel sent
child in the early 1900s. He used to draw his publisher a list of 400 words he
pictures all over his schoolbooks when thought children should learn. Nine
he was little. His parents were afraid he months later, he used 220 of those words
had too much of a creative imagination. in The Cat in the Hat. The book was
He went to college in New Hampshire. instantly a success!
He was planning to be a professor. He
could not keep his mind off of teaching. Geisel started a group of books called
He went to school in England and met Beginner Books. He wrote and
Helen Palmer. They married and moved illustrated many of them, sometimes
back to the United States. He worked in under the name Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss
advertising for 15 years. He wrote and published 48 books that have been
illustrated an alphabet book for children translated into 20 different languages.
in his spare time. Geisel thought the He is the best-selling children's author of
book was exciting, but publishing all time.
companies turned him down. Geisel
stopped writing for several years Geisel died in September 1991. He
because he was so unhappy about his left a wonderful tradition of books and
project. characters he created. Over 60 years
after his first book was published, Dr.
In 1936, Geisel decided to travel. His Seuss titles are still very popular.
trip influenced him to write his first Captain Kangaroo said, "He tried to
book. The book was called And to Think emphasize strong values that both
I Saw it on Mulberry Street. He showed children and adults should have in this
it to 43 publishing companies. All of world."
them rejected it. In 1937, he got a friend

5. READING
A.2.4.1
Explain Geisel’s attempts to become a published writer. Use at least three details from the
passage to support your response.

6. READING
Read the following passage about animals who did not think. Then answer the question
that follows.
They Didn't Think
By Phoebe Cary
Once a trap was baited
With a piece of cheese;
It tickled so a little mouse,
It almost made him sneeze.
An old rat said, "There's a danger,
Be careful where you go!
"Nonsense!" said the other,
"I don't think you know!"
So he walked in boldly—
Nobody in sight—
First he took a nibble,
Then he took a bite;
Close the trap together
Snapped as quick as wink,
Catching mousey fast there,
'Cause he didn't think.
Once there was a robin,
Lived outside the door,
Who wanted to go inside
And hop upon the floor.
"No, no," said the mother,
"You must stay with me;
Little birds are safest
Sitting in a tree."
"I don't care," said Robin,
And gave his tail a fling,
"I don't think the old folks
Know quite everything."
Down he flew, and kitty seized him
Before he'd time to blink;
"Oh," he cried, "I'm sorry,
But I just didn't think."

7. READING
B.1.1.1
Give at least two similarities and one difference between the little mouse and the little robin. Use
details from the passage to support your response.