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Flashcards: Making Predictions Based on Narrative Humanities Passages
Adapted from The Little Post Boy (1846) by Bayard Taylor.
Very few foreigners travel in Sweden in the winter, on account of the intense cold. As you go northward from Stockholm, the capital, the country becomes ruder and wilder, and the climate more severe. In the sheltered valleys along the Gulf of Bothnia and the rivers that empty into it, there are farms and villages for a distance of seven or eight hundred miles, after which fruit trees disappear, and nothing will grow in the short, cold summers, except potatoes and a little barley. Farther inland, there are great forests and lakes, and ranges of mountains where bears, wolves, and herds of wild reindeer make their home. No people could live in such a country unless they were very industrious and thrifty.
I made my journey in the winter, because I was on my way to Lapland, where it is easier to travel when the swamps and rivers are frozen, and the reindeer-sleds can fly along over the smooth snow. It was very cold indeed, the greater part of the time; the days were short and dark, and if I had not found the people so kind, so cheerful, and so honest, I should have felt inclined to turn back more than once. But I do not think there are better people in the world than those who live in Norrland, which is a Swedish province, commencing about two hundred miles north of Stockholm.
They are a hale, strong people, with yellow hair and bright blue eyes, and the handsomest teeth I ever saw. They live plainly, but very comfortably, in snug wooden houses, with double windows and doors to keep out the cold; and since they cannot do much outdoor work, they spin and weave and mend their farming implements in the large family room, thus enjoying the winter in spite of its severity. They are very happy and contented, and few of them would be willing to leave that cold country and make their homes in a warmer climate.
Where do you think the author of this passage will continue to on his journey?
Lapland
Norway
Stockholm
Norrland
Greenland
All SSAT Middle Level Reading Resources
Our SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension Flashcards each contain one question that might appear on the Middle Level Reading Comprehension section of the SSAT. You can use them to get a comprehensive overview of each topic covered by the SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension section one problem at a time, or to do problem drills that focus on particular problem types or content areas found on the SSAT Middle Level Reading Comprehension section.
Is your child taking the SSAT test soon? Make sure to encourage him or her to study for the Reading section of the test. Even if your child reads well, they need to get used to the format of this section of the test and work up their reading speed. The SSAT Middle Level Reading test will contain 40 questions that your child will have to answer in 40 minutes. The questions will assess their comprehension of several literary passages. They will have to ready quickly to make sure they have enough time as possible to concentrate on the questions.
To make preparing for this important section of the SSAT easier, Varsity Tutors' Learning Tools offers many SSAT Middle Level Reading study help activities, including free flashcards online. The flashcards offer a great way for your child to squeeze in a little test preparation when they don't have time to take a practice test or a full diagnostic test. Learning Tools Flashcards for SSAT Middle Level Reading can be accessed from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. That means that your child can study them when on-the-go between extracurricular activities, while riding to and from school, or any time they have a little unexpected downtime during their day.
The SSAT Middle Level Reading study flashcards were produced in a format similar to the reading question format on the SSAT. Each flashcard contains a passage your child must read, and then asks a question based on the passage.
The types of passages on the flashcards include literary fiction, poetry, science, social science, humanities, and several other types of passages that they may encounter on the SSAT. The questions they must answer after reading the passages include determining tone and purpose, making inferences, determining authorial attitude, determine the meaning of words based on context, and many more types of questions they may later encounter on the SSAT.
When helping your child with their SSAT Middle Level Reading review, you may also want to take advantage of the flashcards maker. This Learning Tool provides blank flashcard templates that can be filled out with additional literary passages and multiple-choice questions based on them. If your child is an avid reader, then find out what book they are currently reading for fun and what chapter they are on in it. Then, enter passages from the next chapter they haven't read yet and questions based on them. This can help them look forward to studying, because it allows them to read their favorite book as they learn!
An additional way you can use the flashcards creator is to simply pull the ready-made cards that your child needs to study most into a new, customized deck. Once you create a new deck of flashcards using either method, you can then save it, and your child can access it from their computer, tablet, or smartphone any time they want to study it until test day.
The SSAT Middle Level Reading test can be challenging, so encourage your child to study as much as
they can until test day. Practice reading passages and answering questions based on them can help your child improve their reading and comprehension skills.
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