School Improvement in Maryland

Sample Items: Reading Grade 5

Each sample assessment item gives an idea of how an assessment item on the MSA might be presented. The items appropriately measure the content of the VSC and may be formatted similarly to those appearing on the MSA; however, these are sample items only and have not appeared on any MSA form.

 (1) Selected Response Sample
Read the story ''A Candlelit Holiday'' and answer the following question.

Paragraph 2 of this selection is mainly about _____.

  1. how this holiday might have begun
  2. what the floats are made of
  3. when the holiday takes place
  4. what people eat during the holiday

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_008.xml

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 (2) Selected Response Sample
Read the story ''A Candlelit Holiday'' and answer the following question.

Floats were originally made from _____.

  1. Flowers
  2. Plastic
  3. Banana leaves
  4. Lighted candles

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_009.xml

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 (3) Selected Response Sample
Read the story ''A Candlelit Holiday'' and answer the following question.

Which question does the article answer?

  1. What materials are used to build the floats?
  2. How many people attend Floating Leaf Cup Day?
  3. Why do the floats continue to hold a lighted candle?
  4. What is the most popular food sold at the celebration?

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_010.xml

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 (4) Selected Response Sample
Choose the word or group of words that means the same, or about the same, as the underlined word. Then mark the space for the answer you have chosen.

To collapse is to _____.

  1. pass
  2. doubt
  3. fall
  4. plow

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_011.xml

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 (5) Selected Response Sample
Choose the word or group of words that means the same, or about the same, as the underlined word. Then mark the space for the answer you have chosen.

After lunch the class was drowsy and had trouble paying attention to the movie. Drowsy means _____.

  1. full
  2. late
  3. patient
  4. sleepy

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_012.xml

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 (6) Selected Response Sample
Choose the word or group of words that means the same, or about the same, as the underlined word. Then mark the space for the answer you have chosen.

There is a bowl of pretzels on the table.

In which sentence does the word bowl mean the same thing as in the sentence above?

  1. Be careful or you’ll bowl your grandmother over.
  2. Let’s watch one of the bowl games on TV.
  3. We bowl on Friday night.
  4. The bowl broke when I dropped it.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_013.xml

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 (7) Selected Response Sample
Read this passage from 'Captain Kate', a novel that takes place during the Civil War. Kate and Seth must take the family canal boat to Washington City to sell a load of coal. Then answer the following.

Read these lines from paragraph 15.

"Stepbrother, Kate corrected silently, reaching for the plate."

The italicized word mostly shows Kate's

  1. desire to be in charge of the boat
  2. refusal to accept new family members
  3. concern that Seth shares family information
  4. anger that Seth receives more attention than she does

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_022.xml

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 (8) Selected Response Sample
Read this passage from 'Captain Kate', a novel that takes place during the Civil War. Kate and Seth must take the family canal boat to Washington City to sell a load of coal. Then answer the following.

Mr. and Mrs. O'Brians's words and actions show that they are mostly

  1. kind and helpful
  2. wise and friendly
  3. skilled and agreeable
  4. serious and concerned

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_023.xml

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 (9) Selected Response Sample
Read this passage from 'Captain Kate', a novel that takes place during the Civil War. Kate and Seth must take the family canal boat to Washington City to sell a load of coal. Then answer the following.

Read paragraph 25.

"The job's getting done, isn't it? As long as Zeke's along, you and I don't have to do the dirty work. And don't look so shocked, Kate. We both know who cleans The Mary Ann and mucks out the stable."

Which word best describes the tone of Seth's words in these sentences.

  1. accusing
  2. frightened
  3. questioning
  4. surprised

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_024.xml

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 (10) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read the article 'Fly High, Bessie Coleman' and answer the following question.

Explain what the information in the article shows about the job of performing in air shows. In your response, use information from the article to support your explanation.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_014.xml

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 (11) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read the article 'A Brick to Cuddle Up To' and answer the following question.

Read this sentence from paragraph 2.

Winters were hard in this New World, and the colonists had to think of clever ways to fight the cold.

Explain whether the word clever is a good word to describe the ways colonists fought the cold. In your response, use information from the passage that supports your answer. Write your answer on your answer document.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_015.xml

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 (12) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read the article 'Strongest of All'. Then answer the following.

Explain whether the title "Strongest of All" supports an important idea in the story. In your response, use details and examples from the story that support your explanation. Write your answer on your answer document.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_016.xml

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 (13) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read the article 'Strongest of All'. Then answer the following.

Read this sentence from paragraph 3.

"We are the greatest."

Is the word "greatest" a good way for Whale to describe herself and Elephant? In your response, use details and examples from the story that support your explanation. Write your answer on your answer document.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_017.xml

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 (14) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read these 'articles' about writing for yourself. Then answer the following.

What text feature could have been added to help a reader better understand the information in the passage from "How to Write Poetry?" In your response, use information from the article that supports your answer.

Write your explanation on the lines in your Answer Book.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_018.xml

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 (15) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read these 'articles' about writing for yourself. Then answer the following.

After reading the passage from "Keeping a Journal," what question might a reader still have about journals? In your response, use information from the article that explains why a reader might still have that question.

Write your explanation on the lines in your Answer Book.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_019.xml

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 (16) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read these 'articles' about writing for yourself. Then answer the following.

Does the passage from "Keeping a Journal" or the passage from "How to Write Poetry" better use words and phrases to persuade a person about the value or journals? In your response, use information from the article that supports your answer.

Write your explanation on the lines in your Answer Book.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_020.xml

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 (17) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read the poems 'Ice Skates' and 'Winter Blades'. Then answer the following.

Explain whether the speakers in "Ice Skates" and "Winter Blades" feel the same way about ice skating. In your response, use details and examples from both poems to support your explanation. Write your answer on your answer document.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_021.xml

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 (18) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read this passage from 'Captain Kate', a novel that takes place during the Civil War. Kate and Seth must take the family canal boat to Washington City to sell a load of coal. Then answer the following.

Explain how the author makes Kate and Seth seem like real people. In your response, use details from the passage that show how Kate and Seth seem like real people. Write your response on the lines below.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_026.xml

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 (19) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read this passage from 'Captain Kate', a novel that takes place during the Civil War. Kate and Seth must take the family canal boat to Washington City to sell a load of coal. Then answer the following.

Write a summary of the first section from Captain Kate. In your response, make sure that you record events from the beginning, middle, and end of the passage. Write your response on the lines below.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_027.xml

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 (20) Brief Constructed Response Sample
Read this passage from 'Captain Kate', a novel that takes place during the Civil War. Kate and Seth must take the family canal boat to Washington City to sell a load of coal. Then answer the following.

Explain why the setting is important to the events of these passages. In your response, use details from the passages that show why the setting is important to the events. Write your response on the lines below.

/share/assessment_items/xml/items/msa_ela_5_028.xml

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