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24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2­3 by michael priestley new york · toronto · london · auckland · sydney mexico city · new delhi · hong kong · buenos aires 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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scholastic inc grants teachers permission to photocopy the designated reproducible pages from this book for classroom use no other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without written permission of the publisher for information regarding permission write to scholastic inc 555 broadway new york ny 10012 cover design by solás cover illustration by margeaux lucas interior design by creative pages inc interior illustrations by greg harris pages 12 18 neil riley pages 14 42 45 kate flanagan pages 20 40 doris ettlinger page 34 interior photos by the everett collection new york pages 7 28 isbn 0-439-25608-9 copyright © 2002 by michael priestley all rights reserved printed in the u.s.a 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2­3 contents introduction .4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2 1 22 23 24 informational article panda pair .5 letter from vera .6 biography a star is born .7 how-to guide peanut butter balls .8 news story lulu to the rescue .9 announcement treasure hunt .10 invitation calling all siegels .11 informational article bye-bye fly .12 autobiography a painter s story .14 description the statue of liberty .16 informational article animals with parachutes .18 advertisement for all your stains get wash-away .20 biography a super man .22 news story pennies count .24 how-to guide party time .26 informational article putting men on the moon .28 review poetry play was a great success .30 diary the new girl .32 letter to henry .34 interview a grandmother s life .36 editorial make albertsville shine .38 news story never say sick .40 advertisement for the artist in you .42 comparison/contrast the lives of turtles .44 answer key .46 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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intr oduction today s students receive information from an ever-increasing number of sources to manage this overload of information students must be able to distinguish between what is important and what is not a key skill in reading nonfiction they must understand what they read in traditional forms of nonfiction such as textbooks and news articles but they must also comprehend newer forms of nonfiction such as advertisements on web sites and e-mail on the internet many students can benefit from reading more nonfiction but finding good examples of nonfiction for instruction at different grade levels can be challenging how to use this book the purpose of this book is to provide interesting well-written nonfiction selections for students to read these selections can be used for practice and instruction in reading nonfiction and they can be used to help prepare students for taking tests that include nonfiction passages this book provides 24 grade-appropriate nonfiction texts in a wide variety of genres from informational articles letters and biographies to e-mail announcements and how-to guides each text of one page or less focuses on a high-interest topic and has · · a prereading question to help students focus on what they read a set of 2­6 comprehension questions that resemble the kinds of questions students will see on standardized tests the questions with these texts are designed to measure critical thinking and comprehension skills such as summarizing information drawing conclusions and evaluating an author s purpose and point of view these questions will help you assess students comprehension of the material and will help students practice answering test questions for different passages questions include multiple-choice items short-answer items and written-response items that require longer answers you will find answers to these questions in the answer key beginning on page 46 extending activities for some of these richly detailed texts you may want to have students go beyond answering only the questions that are provided for example for any given text you could have students write a summary of the selection in their own words or rewrite the passage from a different point of view for some pairs of texts you might have students compare and contrast the two selections for other texts you might want to create writing prompts and have students write full-length essays about what they have learned students will benefit from reading and analyzing these texts discussing them in class or in small groups and writing about them in a variety of ways 4 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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name date text 1 who were hsing-hsing and ling-ling panda pair n 1972 americans fell in love with two giant pandas named hsing-hsing and ling-ling the pandas came to the united states from china the national zoo in washington d.c became the pandas new home on their first day there 20,000 people visited the two pandas the crowds kept coming year after year hsing-hsing and ling-ling were just cubs when they got to the united states as the years passed many hoped the pair would have cubs of their own ling-ling gave birth several times but none of the babies lived more than a few days each time a cub died people around the world felt sad both pandas lived to an old age ling-ling was 23 when she died in 1992 hsing-hsing died in 1999 at the age of 28 but the pandas were not forgotten at the national zoo the glass walls of their home were covered with letters from children the letters expressed the children s love for the pandas and told how much they were missed 1 the author wrote this passage mostly to a tell about hsing-hsing and ling-ling b explain where giant pandas come from c describe a giant panda s cubs d convince people to visit the national zoo according to the author how did people feel about the pandas 2 3 if you visited the national zoo in 2000 what would you have seen at the pandas home 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources 5

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name date text 2 what advice does vera give to her cousin april 11 dear morey i just got your letter with the picture of you riding your bike from the smile on your face i can tell how much fun you re having i still remember when you could hardly ride a tricycle you ve come a long way now here s some advice i m sure you re a good rider but you will fall off that bike now and then so please get yourself a helmet wear it every time you ride a helmet will help protect you from a head injury wearing a helmet when you ride a bike is as important as wearing your seat belt when you ride in a car no i m not trying to be a bossy know-it-all i just don t want a bad fall to wipe that smile off your face when you come to visit this summer bring your bike and your helmet we ll take some great rides together your cousin vera 1 from this letter what can you tell about the picture of morey that he sent to vera a he is riding a tricycle c he is in his driveway b he is not wearing a helmet d he is looking scared vera s advice shows that she f cares a lot about safety g is often bossy and mean doesn t like riding bikes is learning to drive a car 2 h j 3 what will morey do with vera during the summer 6 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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name date text 3 how did britney spears become a star ritney spears is a pop music star on the rise her first album baby one more time came out in 1999 it sold 11 million copies in 2000 britney s fans snapped up her second album oops i did it again they can t get enough of her music britney s success seems sudden but she s worked hard for it she was always performing and belting out these songs remembers her big brother bryan britney was just nine when she moved from her home in kentwood louisiana to new york city there she attended the professional performing arts school in her free time she made commercials and acted in plays she also performed on the tv talent show star search and she won that 1 b success led britney to a part on the mickey mouse club tv show the show ended two years later britney returned home to kentwood to attend high school but before long jive records asked her to make an album the result was baby one more time what does britney make of her success sure it s great to win the american music award for favorite new artist of the year of course it s fun to hear her songs on the radio and sing for soldout crowds and yes it s wonderful to get fan mail from britain s prince william but britney still calls herself a pretty normal girl she loves eating pizza and shopping at the mall she wants to go to college someday can britney work these plans into her busy music career only time will tell what did britney do before she became a music star a she went to college c she performed on television b she acted in movies d she got fan mail from a prince how do you know that britney spears is a big success as a singer tell two ways that you know 2 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources 7

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name date text 4 how do you make peanut butter balls graham crackers if you like peanut butter you ll love this treat the steps are easy and there s nothing to cook you can make it all by yourself here s what s cooking recipe from the kitchen of what you need 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 2 tablespoons sugar 1 2 teaspoon cinnamon 1 4 teaspoon nutmeg 12 13 makes 6 servings cup peanut butter cup corn syrup 1 cup powdered sugar what you do 1 in a bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs sugar cinnamon and nutmeg 2 add the peanut butter and corn syrup stir well 3 roll heaping teaspoons of the mixture into balls place them on a large plate covered with wax paper put the plate in the refrigerator for an hour 4 take peanut butter balls out of refrigerator put powdered sugar in a small bowl roll each ball in the powdered sugar until it is covered 1 to make this recipe you must use a an electric mixer c a refrigerator b an oven d a can opener which ingredient do you use the most of in this recipe f cinnamon h nutmeg g graham cracker crumbs j corn syrup what is the last step in this recipe 2 3 8 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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name date text 5 how did a pig become a hero volume x anyplace usa monday june 1 1 joanne altsman always thought her pet pig lulu was a good companion now she also thinks of lulu as a hero why when joanne suffered a heart attack in 1998 lulu saved her life joanne was vacationing in her camper when she fell ill she yelled for help but no one heard her cries lulu knew that joanne was in trouble she pushed through a dog door and ran to the road she tried to stop passing cars 1 but had no luck lulu hurried back to the camper three times to see how joanne was at last lulu did something drivers were sure to notice she lay down on the road and stuck her feet in the air finally a car stopped the driver got out and followed lulu back to the camper joanne heard the man knocking on the door there s something wrong with your pig he yelled there s something wrong with me joanne yelled back call 911 before long help was on its way today joanne is well and she s grateful for her pet pig without lulu she would have died where was joanne when she fell ill a on vacation c in her home b at school d at work why did lulu push her way out of the camper and run to the road 2 3 lulu was a good companion what is a companion f guard h doctor g nurse j friend what probably happened after the man knocked on the door of the camper tell two things that probably happened 4 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources 9

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name date te x t 6 where and when is the treasure hunt the city of whitingham is holding a children s treasure hunt children between the ages of seven and twelve may take part the treasure hunt will take place at benoit park on may 31 at 1:00 p.m children should meet inside the park s west gate treasure hunters will be given a set of ten clues that lead to the treasure children may hunt alone or in teams the hidden treasure is a box filled with coupons worth $300 in all the coupons can be used at these places aggie s ice cream shop bike and skate world feather and fish pet store gibbons bowling alley whitingham roller rink toy city in case of rain the treasure hunt will take place on june 7 at 1:00 p.m 1 where will the treasure hunt take place a whitingham roller rink c gibbons bowling alley b toy city d benoit park what is inside the hidden treasure box 2 3 what will happen to the treasure hunt if it rains on may 31 10 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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name date text 7 what are the siegels planning to do yes it s that time of year again all members of the siegel family are invited to our family reunion last year s reunion was the largest ever let s gather even more siegels together this year when july 16­18 w h e re mark and mary siegel s house 14 oakhaven circle dayton ohio 53201 pleasebring tents sleeping bags and family news and photos to share with all for directions to our home call mark or mary at 555-7171 1 what can you tell about the siegel family reunions from this invitation a they are usually small b they take place every year c they are held in the fall d they last one day in what city and state will the reunion take place 2 3 from reading the invitation what do you think will happen at the reunion list two things you think will happen 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources 11

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name date te x t 8 what is a venus flytrap n a marsh somewhere in north carolina a hungry fly is looking for a meal a plant called the venus flytrap seems like a good bet its leaves which grow in pairs like a clam s shell shine with a sweet juice so the fly lands on a leaf then it takes a few steps toward the juice snap the leaves close tight around the fly it is trapped now instead of enjoying the venus flytrap s sweet juice the fly will be eaten by the plant of course most plants don t eat insects they can get all the nutrients they need from the soil but north carolina s marshes are missing some important nutrients few plants can grow there the venus flytrap can though because it gets the nutrients it needs from the insects it eats the leaves of the venus flytrap are covered with small hairs the venus flytrap senses the insect when it touches the hairs in less than a second the leaves snap shut the insect is trapped 12 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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name date 1 where does the venus flytrap grow 2 the venus flytrap attracts insects because it a has leaves that grow in pairs b smells like a clam c has sweet juice on its leaves d has nutrients that insects need what causes the venus flytrap to close its leaves around an insect 3 4 look at the last picture and read the sentence that goes with it what will happen next to the insect in this picture 5 how is the venus flytrap different from most plants f it needs nutrients g it has shiny leaves h it grows in soil j it eats insects 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources 13

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name date te x t 9 who is lucy blevins y name is lucy blevins i m a very lucky person because i make my living doing what i love painting beautiful pictures i ve loved painting for as long as i can remember i painted my first masterpiece when i was just four i had a bedroom with walls the color of the summer sky one day when mom wasn t looking i gathered up my paint pots and painted a summer scene on one blue wall i painted myself and my dog clyde in a meadow filled with daisies i painted the sun above us peeking out from behind a fluffy white cloud i was just finishing the painting when mom walked into my room her mouth dropped open and she stood absolutely still i m in big trouble i remember thinking to myself so i was really surprised when mom said what a beautiful picture lucy the picture stayed on my bedroom wall and is still there today nearly 30 years later i see it every time i go home to visit mom i tell this story because it shows how much mom supported my love of painting when i was in school she cared as much about what i did in art class as what i did in math or reading or science she saved all my paintings and she hung many of them on the walls in our house she never said painting is a fine hobby but it s a hard way to make a living instead she said you are so talented you ll be a success follow your dream today i am a success as a painter i am happy that people love my paintings enough to hang them in their homes i am proud that some of my paintings hang in museums around the country most of all i am grateful that mom has always supported me much of my success is because of her 14 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources

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name date 1 about how old is lucy blevins today a 14 b 24 c 34 d 44 describe lucy blevin s first masterpiece what did she paint 2 3 lucy thought she was going to be in big trouble with her mother because f she had painted on her bedroom wall g her painting wasn t very good h she had used her mother s paints j her mother thought painting was a waste of time how did lucy s mother support her love of painting tell two things that she did 4 5 you can tell that lucy is a success as a painter because a she has loved painting all her life b her bedroom painting is still there c she took art classes in school d some of her paintings are in museums 24 nonfiction passages for test practice grades 2-3 © michael priestley scholastic teaching resources 15

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