K-5 Language Art Links

K-5 Language Art Links

The following readings include multiple-choice questions that focus on one skill. The readings can be used separately without the skill-based questions. 

Skill: Summarize 

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Animal Studies
Realistic Fiction: Community Meeting

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: A Chicago Changer
Realistic Fiction: I Like Plants 

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: City Systems
Realistic Fiction: More Trees 

Skill: Infer the Main Idea

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

Nonfiction: Saving Your Family's Energy Dollar
Fiction: The Ants And The Grasshopper 

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Space Food
Realistic Fiction: The Challenge

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

Nonfiction: Animal Studies
Realistic Fiction: Mousie 

Skill: Identify Fact and Opinion

Grade 3 Nonfiction Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

Nonfiction: A very helpful resource

Realistic fiction: Ghana

Grade 4 NONFICTION Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Egypt
Realistic Fiction: Natural Gas: An American Treasure

Grade 5 NONFICTION Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Chicago Changes
Realistic Fiction: Ethiopia 

Skill: Infer Meaning from Context

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: What Is A Fable?
Fable: The Tortoise And The Hare

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Learning About The Solar System
Fiction: The Astronaut's Diary

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: An American Legacy
Historical Fiction: His First Dollar 

Skill: Identify/Analyze Sequence

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Chicago Changes
Fiction: Letter To Grandmother

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Staying In Phoenix
Fiction: Living In The Desert

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions: Nonfiction: American Explorers Fiction: Traveling with Lewis and Clark 

Skill: Infer Predictions

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Working At The Hospital
Fiction: My New Brother 

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Working At The Television Station
Realistic Fiction: We're On The News

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Our Streets
Realistic Fiction: Changing Our Street 

Skill: Analyze/Infer Cause-Effect Relations

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Letter To The Mayor
Realistic Fiction: More Trees

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Painting The School
Realistic Fiction: I See Myself

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: The Recycling Center
Realistic Fiction: A Better Community 

Skill: Compare and Contrast

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

Nonfiction: Chicago's First Leader
Historical Fiction: Potawatomie Prairie

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Seasons
Historical Fiction: Potawatomie Prairie

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Reversing The Chicago River
Historical Fiction: Potawatomie Prairie 

Skill: Locate and Classify Information

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Before Chicago
Fiction: Spring Is Coming

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Changing The Prairie
Realistic Fiction: The Prairie Project

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions: Nonfiction: From Many Places Realistic Fiction: Our Lemons 

Skill: Identify and Infer Character Traits

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fiction: The Turtle And The Ducks
Nonfiction: The Chicago Fire

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fiction: A Proud Flight
Nonfiction: Pigeon Creek

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions: Historical fiction: Soldier's LetterNonfiction: Valley Forge

 Skill: Analyze/Infer Motive

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Choosing a Park
Realistic fiction: Letter from Chicago

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

Nonfiction: Prairie Pioneers
Folktale: How the Firefly Got Its Light

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Election Choices
Historical Fiction: Lincoln's Choice

Skill: Analyze/Infer Relationships

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Block Clubs
Realistic fiction: The New Family

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: City Government

Realistic fiction: Community Meeting 

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Pioneer Families

Realistic fiction: Pioneer Diary

Skill: Analyze/Infer Mood, Tone

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

FICTION: The Little Red Hen
Realistic fiction: The New Student

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fiction: The Little Red Hen
Realistic fiction: The History Mystery

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fiction: Nature's Violet Children
Fiction: The Cloud  

Skill: Figure out how the Author Uses Techniques to Communicate

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:

Poem: This Little Light of Mine
Realistic fiction: The Train

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fiction: The Different Bird
Poem: We Shall Overcome

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fable: City Mouse
Poem: His Eye is on the Sparrow 

Skill: Analyze/Infer the Author's Point of View

Grade 3 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Fable: The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Poem: Raindrops

Grade 4 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: The Working Tools of Insects
Realistic Fiction: Why Did Mama Change Her Mind?

Grade 5 Readings with Multiple Choice and Short Response Questions:
Nonfiction: Who Am I?
Realistic Fiction: Mama's Happy Christmas

The resources below promote instructional rigor and they can be adapted to your grade level. "Let's not believe what our students can't do, let's prepare them for what they can do."

  • 501 Reading Comprehension Questions

  • 501 Critical Reading Questions 

  • 501 Sentence Completion Questions

  • 501 Writing Prompts 

Excellent Practice Tests from Vermont. After careful critique, these tests closely align to ACT Aspire. Please give me your feedback. 

Grade Level

Resource
Materials (RM)
PDF*

Student Answer
Booklet (SAB)
PDF*

Sample Practice
Test Booklet (SPTB)
PDF*

Grade 3

RM
(5.8MB)


SPTB
(680K)

Grade 4

RM
(5.6MB)

 

SPTB
(1MB)

Grade 5

RM
(5.4MB)

SAB
(212K)

SPTB
(836K)

These passages are closely aligned to ACT Aspire. 

  • Common Core Reading Passages Grade 3

  • Common Core Prep Passages Grade 3

  • Common Core Reading Passages Grade 4 

Pay close attention to vocabulary and the instruction must be explicit. The lack of vocabulary knowledge will impede on a students ability to rank above average on national assessments.

  • Multiple Meaning Words 

  • Synonym Word List 

  • Test Taking Vocabulary 

  • Test-Taking Key Word Vocabulary 

  • High-Frequency Vocabulary on Standardized Tests 

  • Academic Vocabulary K-5 

Identify New Vocabulary

SKILL

Activity/Assessment Guides

Assess when students work independently.

Draw pictures to show important words

 Picture Vocabulary for a Topic English / Picture Vocabulary for a Topic Spanish (Grades K-2)

 

Visualize Vocabulary  Visualize Vocabulary English / Visualize Vocabulary Spanish

Word Builder

Word-Picture Grid

 

Define words

Explain Word Meaning

 

Show What You Know: Alphabet Letters and Words

 

Crossword Puzzle Maker English / Crossword Puzzle Maker Spanish (Grades 3-8)

 

Word Bank English / Word Bank Spanish (Grades K-8)

I Can Give Examples of Synonyms and Antonyms  (Grades 3-8)

Translate-Synonym-Paraphrase Grid

Use words to explain an idea

Idea and Vocabulary Connections  Idea and Vocabulary Connections English / Idea and Vocabulary Connections Spanish  Grades 3-8

 

Identify wordsimportant to a topic

Topic Glossary (Grades K-8)

Word Bank Word Bank (Grades K-8) English / Word Bank (Grades K-8) Spanish (Grades K-8)

Words Make Meaning English / Spanish  (Grades 3-8)

Important Words  English / Spanish  (Grades 3-8)

Picture Word Bank English / Spanish (Grades K-2)

Important Words Learning Log

 

Idea and Vocabulary Connections English / Spanish

Infer meaning from context

I Can Infer the Meaning of a Word in Context (Grades 3-8)

I Can Infer the Meaning of a Word from Context—one page postable questions(Grades 3-8)

I Can Infer the Meaning of a Multi-Meaning Word in Context

 

Make Up Vocabulary Multiple Choice Questions

 

Decode words usingphonics

Topical Phonics: Animals

Word Bank: Final Consonant Classroom Phonics

 Use new vocabulary insentences 

Writing Connections  (Grades 3-8)

 

Sentence Builder English / Spanish

Sight Words Sentence Builder

Recognize and use Sight Vocabulary

Initial Sight Words-Writing Sentences to Learn Vocabulary in Context  (Kindergarten)

First 200 Hundred Sight Words-Writing Sentences to Learn Vocabulary in Context (Grades K-1)

Three Hundred Sight Words-Writing Sentences to Learn Vocabulary in Context (Grades K-3)

Fry Vocabulary Activities

Sight Words Sentence Builder

Kinds of Words

SKILL

Activity/Assessment Guides

Assess when students work independently.

Identify and useadjectives

Community Places Word Builder English / Spanish  (Grades 2-4)

Relate words to a topic and classify them byparts of speech

You're the _____  English / Spanish (Grades 3-8)

 

Thinking Vocabulary English / Spanish

 

Science Word Bank

 

Classify singular and plural nouns

I Can Classify Singular and Plural Nouns  (Grades 3-8)

Syllables and Spelling Rules

SKILL

Activity/Assessment Guides

Assess when students work independently.

Classify words based on sounds 

Sounds the Same, Spelled Differently  (Grades 3-8)

 

 Identify spelling exceptions 

Surprising Spelling (Grades 3-8)

 

Identify spelling rules/patterns

Discover Spelling Rules  (Grades 3-8)

 

Seeing the Spelling Rules (Grades 3-8)

 

Spelling Pattern Word Chart (Grades 3-8)

 

Identify syllables

Hear the Parts (Grades 3-8)

 

Make an exhibit to explain a topic

Spell Well to Know More

Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

SKILL

Activity/Assessment Guides

Assess when students work independently.

Identify and useprefixes and suffixes

I Can Identify and Use Prefixes  (Grades 3-8)

 

I Can Identify and Use Suffixes  (Grades 3-8)

 

Prefixes and Suffixes Change Meaning (Grades 3-8)

 

Word Analyzer (Grades 3-8)

 

Identify root words

I Can Identify Root Words  (Grades 3-8)

Content Vocabulary Guides: Science

SUBJECT

Activity/Assessment Guides

Assess when students work independently.

 

Science Vocabulary 

 

 

Resources:

 

Grade-by-Grade Science Vocabulary:

  Ecology

 

 

Content Vocabulary Builder

Word Bank English / Spanish(Grades K-8)

Science Glossary

 

Science Synonyms

 

Science Word Bank English / Spanish

 

Set Up Science Word Exhibits

 

Ecology and Parts of Speech

 

Season Phonics

 

Animal Movement Phonics

 

Technology Alphabet

 

Discoveries Alphabet

During my research, I found this excellent test-taking strategy tool. For the 2014-2015 school year, please utilize the following resource with every weekly assessment that you give for Reading. In order for your students to own this thinking behavior, you must be Consistent with your expectations. Please make this a non-negotiable with your students. 

  • Weekly Assessment Tool 

Understanding the Testing Genre 

  • Standardized Testing as a Genre 

  • Understanding the Testing Genre 

Please use the following Power Point Presentations during grade level meetings and/or PLC meetings.

  • Test Preparation 

  • Test-taking Strategies 

  • Strategies for Readers 

Implement these strategies daily and your students will perform above national average. Read the statistics (Powerful And Effective).

  • Marzano's High Yield Instructional Strategies 

  • Marzano's High Yield Instructional Strategies Research

  • Common Core Questions 

  • Reading Questioning Stems 

  • Questioning Stems by Skills 

  • Questioning Stems for Text-based Evidence 

  • Rubric for Constructed Response Grade 3 

  • Rubric for Constructed Responses Grades 4-5 

Interpreting Poems

  • Interpret a Song or Poem 

  • Common Core Poem Interpreter 

  • Compare and Contrasting Poems 

  • Poems and Places

  • Sound of Rain 

  • Spring is a Cat 

  • Hope is the thing with feathers

  • This little light of mine 

  • ETS Reading Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 Practice Test

  • Grade 4 Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 History Practice Test  

  • Grade 3 History and Social Science Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 Science Test  

  • Grade 5 Science Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 Practice Test -2  

  • Grade 5 Science Practice Test -2 Answer Key 

  • Grade 4 Science Written Test 2014 

  • Grade 4 Science Written Test 2014 Rating Guide  

  • Grade 4 Science Written Test 2013 

  • Grade 4 Science Written Test 2013 Rating Guide  

  • Grade 4 Science Sample Test

  • Grade 4 Science Example Test 

  • Grade 4 Science Benchmark 

  • Elementary Science Example Test 

  • Sample Elementary Science Example Test -2 

  • Grade 5 Science Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 Science Practice Test 2 

  • Electrical Circuits Unit 

  • Grade 3 Reading Florida Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 Florida Answer Key 

  • Grade 4 Reading Florida Practice Test 

  • Grade 4 Reading Florida Answer Key 

  • Grade 5 Reading Florida Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 Reading Florida Answer Key 

  • Grade 3 PARCC Reading 2015 Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 PARCC Reading 2015 Answer Key 

  • Grade 3 PARCC Reading End of the Year 2015 Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 PARCC Reading End of the Year 2015 Answer Key  

  • Grade 4 PARCC Reading 2015 Practice Test 

  • Grade 4 PARCC Reading 2015 Answer Key 

  • Grade 4 PARCC Reading End of the Year 2015 Practice Test 

  • Grade 4 PARCC Reading End of the Year 2015 Answer Key 

  • Grade 5 PARCC Reading 2015 Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 PARCC Reading 2015 Answer Key 

  • Grade 5 PARCC Reading End of the Year 2015 Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 PARCC Reading End of the Year 2015 Answer Key 

  • Grade 3 PARCC English Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 PARCC English Practice Test Answer Key 

  • Grade 4 PARCC English Practice Test 

  • Grade 4 PARCC English Practice Test Answer Key 

  • Grade 5 PARCC English Practice Test

  • Grade 5 PARCC English Practice Test Answer Key 

  • Grade 3 PARCC English End of the Year Practice Test 

  • Grade 3 PARCC English End of the Year Practice Test Answer Key 

  • Grade 4 PARCC English End of the Year Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 PARCC English End of the Year Practice Test 

  • Grade 5 PARCC English End of the Year Practice Test Answer Key