Grade 4 Unit 6 Reading Comprehension Practice

Name: ______Date: ______

Grade 4 Unit 6 Reading Comprehension Practice

Question Number / Code / Standard / Student Mastery
1 / RI.4.8.
W.4.2. / Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. / ______/ 2 points
2 / RI.4.4.
W.4.2. / Determine the meaning of general academic words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. / ______/ 2 points
3 / RI.4.1.
W.4.2. / Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. / ______/ 4 points

U.S. Presidents: Andrew Jackson

Used with permission by ReadWorks.org

Read the passage. Then answer question 1 in the space provided.

1Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. He was also the first president to be born in a log cabin. He grew up on the frontier of the Carolinas. His parents were a poor farm couple from Northern Ireland. Jackson’s father died before he was born. His mother died several years later, leaving Jackson an orphan[1] at the age of 14. Despite Jackson’s difficult childhood, he eventually moved to Tennessee and became a lawyer and landowner.

2Jackson was nicknamed “Old Hickory” because of his toughness. He became famous for his skill as a general in the War of 1812. But his resilience[2] was apparent years earlier when he served his country during the Revolutionary War. Thirteen-year old Jackson and his younger brother were captured by the British. When a British commander ordered Jackson to scrub his boots, he refused. He argued he had rights as a prisoner of war. The commander got angry and lashed out with his sword. Jackson tried to protect himself with his arms. Jackson’s hand was cut to the bone, and he suffered a gash to the head.

3Soon after, Jackson and his brother were forced to march 40 miles to a military prison. Both of them contracted smallpox in prison. Jackson survived, but his brother was not so fortunate. Eventually, Jackson’s mother arranged for his freedom. Tragically, she died soon after. “I felt utterly alone,” Jackson said years later about losing his family.

4Jackson stayed active in the military until he reached the age of 54. Although he was not interested, his friends nominated[3] him for president. He served as president from 1829 to 1837. Jackson became known as a champion of the people. He was a founder of the Democratic Party. He also supported efforts to give workers more rights. Jackson’s policies are often remembered for helping with the “rise of the common man.”

Score / Response Features
2 / • Valid inferences and/or claims from the text where required by the prompt
• Evidence of analysis of the text where required by the prompt
• Relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Sufficient number of facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text as required by the prompt
• Complete sentences where errors do not impact readability
1 / • A mostly literal recounting of events or details from the text as required by the prompt
• Some relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Incomplete sentences or bullets
0 / • A response that does not address any of the requirements of the prompt or is totally inaccurate
• A response that is not written in English
• A response that is unintelligible or indecipherable

U.S. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln

Used with permission by ReadWorks.org

Read the passage. Then answer question 2 in the space provided.

1Abraham Lincoln was America’s 16th president and perhaps one of our nation’s greatest leaders. He helped guide America through the Civil War. Lincoln also helped end slavery in the United States. His leadership proved that America’s democratic government could survive even a war at home. Sadly, Lincoln was assassinated near the end of the Civil War in 1865. He became the first U.S. President to be killed in office.

2Lincoln became President in 1860 in a very tight election. Most people did not know much about Lincoln or his humble background. He was born on Feb. 12, 1809 in a Kentucky log cabin. When he was eight, his family moved to the wild Indiana frontier. Shortly afterward Lincoln’s mother died. Lincoln helped his father farm and work the fields. He barely had time for school. He only spent one year in a classroom. Even so, he learned how to read and write on his own. Books were scarce on the frontier, but he read every book he could get his hands on. Lincoln pored over the family Bible. He would walk for miles to borrow great titles like Aesop’s Fables and Pilgrim’s Progress.

3As a young man, Lincoln worked many jobs to earn a living. He was tall and strong. He split logs and fence rails for neighbors. He helped take a flatboat down a river to New Orleans. Eventually, he started a general store with a friend. When the store went into debt, he paid those debts off working other jobs for a year. His integrity[4] earned him the nickname “Honest Abe.” A friend eventually encouraged Lincoln to become a lawyer. In Lincoln’s day there were few law schools. That didn’t stop him. Lincoln taught himself what he needed to know. “Your own resolution[5] to succeed is more important than any one thing,” he would later say.

4Lincoln was a keen judge of character and able to use that skill in his political career. He saw ways to deal with the deep differences between Northerners and Southerners over slavery. He also persuaded people with his great speeches and writing. His most famous piece of writing is the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that the slaves in the southern states rebelling during the Civil War were free. The proclamation[6] paved the way for the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which ended slavery in the U.S. In his most famous speech, known as the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln’s words reassured a suffering people at war that democracy would survive.

5Lincoln’s stand against slavery caused him to make many enemies. Even so, his assassination was felt across the nation from North to South. Millions of people admired his spirit and service to his country. They called him “Father Abraham” and mourned as if they had lost a father. Mourners lined the tracks as a train carried his body to Springfield, Illinois. People visit Lincoln’s grave to pay their respects to this day.

The following question refers to both passages. Reread them and answer question 3 in the space provided below.

ANSWER KEY

Score / Response Features
2 / • Valid inferences and/or claims from the text where required by
the prompt
• Evidence of analysis of the text where required by the prompt
• Relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Sufficient number of facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text as required by the prompt
• Complete sentences where errors do not impact readability
1 / • A mostly literal recounting of events or details from the text as required by the prompt
• Some relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or other information from the text to develop response according to the requirements of the prompt
• Incomplete sentences or bullets
0 / • A response that does not address any of the requirements of the prompt or is totally inaccurate
• A response that is not written in English
• A response that is unintelligible or indecipherable

[1] orphan—a child whose parents are dead

[2] resilience—the power to recover

[3] nominated—named as a candidate

[4] integrity—honesty or sincerity

[5] resolution—determination

[6] proclamation—an official announcement