Common Core: 5th Grade English Language Arts : Key Ideas and Details
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Common Core: 5th Grade English Language Arts
All Common Core: 5th Grade English Language Arts Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #61 : Reading
Inventions
Every day it seems, new inventions surface that promise to add value to our day-to-day lives. But did you know, many of the inventions we interact with daily were developed entirely by accident?
Take the microwave, for instance. This accidental invention was developed by engineer Percy Spencer who, upon experimenting with a microwave-emitting magnetron, found that the candy bar in his pocket had begun to melt. Spencer was then able to harness this radiation into the microwave we use today to make snack time a speedy process!
Perhaps one of today’s most well-known accidental inventions, the potato chip, was born when a customer kept requesting that his french fries be sliced thinner and made crispier. Though chef George Crum responded with the chips as a joke, they quickly became a favorite snack worldwide!
Even the match is a result of accidental invention. When pharmacist John Walker was stirring chemicals, he noticed that the end of his stirring stick had dried into a hardened lump. When attempting to scrape the dried residue off, a flame sparked, and so did Walker’s idea to turn this accident into a helpful tool!
So, the next time your science experiment doesn’t go as planned, or you burn what you have cooked on the stove, keep in mind that some of today’s most valued inventions were discovered when the inventor least expected it!
According to the passage, what was John Walker doing when a flame sparked and helped him create the match?
Creating the microwave
Slicing french fries
Scraping dried chemicals off of a stick
Heating a candy bar
Scraping dried chemicals off of a stick
This question is asking for text evidence from the passage. In the fourth paragraph, the author explains how John Walker tried to scrape chemicals off a stick when it sparked a flame. “When pharmacist John Walker was stirring chemicals, he noticed that the end of his stirring stick had dried into a hardened lump. When attempting to scrape the dried residue off, a flame sparked, and so did Walker’s idea to turn this accident into a helpful tool!”
Example Question #62 : Reading
Adapted from Aesop’s The Ants & the Grasshopper (620-560 BCE)
One bright day in late autumn, a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it, the summer was gone."
The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.
"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.
Which piece of text evidence supports the following claim?
Grasshopper is lazy and irresponsible.
“One bright day in late autumn, a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer…”
“The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.”
“Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.”
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it, the summer was gone."
"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it, the summer was gone."
The Ants in the story are busy drying their grain for the winter and mention storing up food all year to prepare. Grasshopper, on the other hand, has been busy playing music and did not prepare when he had the time. The text evidence that best supports this claim demonstrates a whiny Grasshopper who makes excuses for his lack of preparation.
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