Name: _____________________________________________________________________________ Date:___________________________
Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Practice Set 5
Question Code
Number
1
RI.5.3.
2
3
Standard
Explain the relationships or interactions
between two or more individuals, events, ideas,
or concepts in a historical text based on specific
information in the text.
W.5.2.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine
a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly
W.5.9.
Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
Explain the relationships or interactions
between two or more individuals, events, ideas,
or concepts in a historical text based on specific
information in the text.
RI.5.3.
W.5.2.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine
a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly
W.5.9.
Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
Compare and contrast events or information in
two or more texts.
RI.5.5.
Score
W.5.2.
Write informative/explanatory texts to examine
a topic and convey ideas and information
clearly
W.5.9.
Draw evidence from literary or informational
texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research.
1
_________/ 2 points
_________/ 2 points
_________/ 2 points
North America: The Mexican War of Independence
Used with permission by ReadWorks.org
Read the passage. Then answer question 1 in the space provided.
1 In the early nineteenth century the Mexicans wanted freedom from Spain. A leader of
the Revolution was a priest named Miguel Hidalgo. The Spanish government found out
about the revolt. They ordered the arrest of Hidalgo. When Hidalgo heard about this, he
called a meeting at his church. He rang the church bell on the night of September 15,
1810 to call his congregation.1 When all the people arrived Father Hidalgo gave the
speech that is now called the Grito de Dolores. He said “Viva Mexico” and “Viva la
independencia!” These words mean “Long live Mexico!” and “Long live independence!”
These famous words he said have been remembered. They are said each year at the
Independence Day celebrations.
2 Before the year was over, Father Hidalgo was captured and executed.2 Other people
continued to fight for Mexican independence. Father Hidalgo’s Grito de Dolores became
their battle cry. The people fought for eleven years before they finally won their
freedom. When they finally did, they designed a flag for their new country. Each colorgreen for independence, white for religion, and red for union- now reminds Mexicans
of an important part of their history.
3 Today Independence Day is a big celebration in Mexico. The celebrating begins the
night before, on September 15. Crowds of people gather in the centers of cities, towns,
and villages. The people watch the time. When the clock strikes eleven o’clock the
crowd gets silent. In Mexico City, on the last strike of eleven, the president of Mexico
steps out on the palace balcony. He rings the old liberty bell that Father Hidalgo rang.
Then the president gives the Grito de Dolores. He shouts “Viva Mexico,” “Viva la
independencia” and the crowd shouts back. People do this at the same time all across
Mexico. While the crowd says this they fill the air with confetti3 and streamers.
4 The actual day of September 16 is like July Fourth in the United States. There are
rodeos,4 parades and bullfights. The people eat, recall Hidalgo’s speeches and decorate
statues of their hero with red, white, and green flowers.
1
congregation- a group of people who belong to a church together
executed- put to death or killed by the government under a law
3
confetti- small pieces or streamers of colored paper that are scattered around during festive occasions, like a parade or New Year’s
Eve.
4
rodeos- shows in which cowboys ride “bucking broncos” (wild horses) and rope cattle.
2
2
Answer question 1 in the space provided below.
1. How did Miguel Hidalgo influence the fight for Mexican independence? Use at
least two details from the text in your answer.
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Score
2
1
0
Response Features
• 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
• 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
• 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
3
The Pueblo Revolt
by Jesse Kohn
Used with permission by ReadWorks.org
Read the passage. Then answer question 2 in the space provided below.
1 New Mexico was a Spanish settlement founded in 1598. The first capital was San
Juan de los Caballeros, and a few more towns were founded in the region in the
following decade. However, the Spanish colony of New Mexico was relatively small,
and only about 3,000 people lived there a century after its foundation. In 1675, the
governor of New Mexico ordered the arrests of 47 Native American medicine men,
religious leaders, and healers from the surrounding pueblos, or villages, where they
lived. Of the four sentenced to death, only three faced the hangman—the fourth took
his own life while waiting for his sentence to be served.
2 Ever since the Spanish colonists arrived in New Mexico in 1598, they had been
working to suppress the ancient religion practiced by the Pueblo people. The
colonial government had already outlawed festivals like the Kachina dances, where
tribal members wore costumes of holy spirits. The Spanish took religious objects
such as Kachina dolls, ceremonial masks, and prayer sticks and destroyed them.
These traditions and traditional objects were essential to the lives of the Pueblo
people. For the Pueblo people, to be forbidden from practicing their religion was
like being separated from their own families and ancestors. The medicine men were
the Pueblo people’s most direct connection to their religious life. The Pueblo people
mainly suffered peacefully as the colonists tried to force the Roman Catholic religion
on them. However, they reached a breaking point.
3 Several warriors banded together from the different pueblos surrounding Santa Fe
and marched upon the capital to demand the medicine men be set free. Because the
governor was afraid of a revolt, he agreed to free the prisoners. But it was too little,
too late. The damage had been done, the seeds of revolt already sown.
4 One of the 47 medicine men imprisoned by the governor was a man named Popé.
Popé was from a pueblo north of Santa Fe called Ohkay Owingeh, which means
“place of the strong people” in the Tewa language. Not only was Popé strong, he was
also intelligent and charismatic. Angered by his unjust imprisonment, the deaths of
the four medicine men, the tortuous treatment of prisoners, and most of all, the
4
general destruction of his people, Popé resolved to confront the violence of the
colonists with violence of his own. After being set free from prison, Popé relocated
to the Taos Pueblo and from there began to organize a large-scale revolt.
5 The Pueblo people were not a single unified group. The so-called “Pueblo Indians”
were made up of many different nations, including the Tewa, Tiwa, Hopi, and Zuni.
Each nation had its own language and customs. This disunity had long prevented the
different Native American groups from successfully rising against the Spanish
colonists. Individually, each tribe was too small to stand a chance in a conflict with
the well-armed settlers. Popé recognized that only by working together could the
Pueblo people challenge the colonial government.
6 Popé reached out across nations, spoke across languages, and summoned over 2,000
Pueblo warriors. They were united in their common desire to overthrow the
colonial government and rid the unwelcome Spanish influence from the land. It took
Popé five years to organize his plan. By August of 1680, the flame that Popé had
ignited could not be stifled.
7 On August 10th, Popé declared a revolt, and the united Pueblo people unleashed
their forces. They struck the small, thinly populated settlements first; each Pueblo
tribe attacked the settlements nearest to it. By August 13th, every Spanish
settlement in New Mexico had been destroyed. The Pueblo tribes joined together to
invade the capital. Even in Santa Fe, the Spanish were largely outnumbered. They
surrounded the Palace of the Governor. About 400 Spanish men, women, and
children were killed. The rest were driven from the land. The victory of the Pueblo
people was quick.
8 Popé became the new leader. His goal was to restore conditions to what the Pueblo
people were accustomed to before the Spanish arrived. He outlawed the religious
and agricultural practices the Spanish had developed. Even though many Pueblo
people had embraced parts of the colonial lifestyle, Popé enforced his vision upon
everyone. He ordered the burning of crucifixes, the destruction of livestock, and the
upheaval of Spanish crops. Twelve years later, the Spaniards returned to recolonize
a drought-impoverished and hunger-stricken land.
5
Answer question 2 in the space provided below.
2. How did the imprisonment of the 47 medicine men, religious leaders, and healers
influence the Pueblo revolt? Use at least two details from the text to support your
answer.
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Score
2
1
0
Response Features
• 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
• 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
• 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
6
The following question refers to both of the previous passages. Reread them and
answer question 3 in the space provided below.
3. Compare and contrast the Mexican War of Independence and the Pueblo Revolt.
Include at least one similarity and one difference in your answer. Use at least one
detail from each text to support your answer.
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Score
2
1
0
Response Features
• 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
• 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
• 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
7
ANSWER KEY
1. How did Miguel Hidalgo influence the fight for Mexican independence? Use at
least two details from the text in your answer.
Answers will vary. Use the enclosed rubric as a guideline for scoring.
Example of a 2-level answer:
Miguel Hidalgo influenced the fight for Mexican independence by leading the
people and encouraging them to revolt. Hidalgo gathered the people together and
inspired them with a speech. The words from his speech, known as the Grito de
Dolores, became the “battle cry” of the people.
Suggestions for class review:
This question requires students to explain the relationship between Miguel Hidalgo
and the Mexican War of Independence by describing Hidalgo’s influence on the fight
for independence. Encourage students to revisit paragraphs 1 and 2 and annotate the
text for details that explain Hidalgo’s relationship to the fight.
8
2. How did the imprisonment of the 47 medicine men, religious leaders, and healers
influence the Pueblo revolt? Use at least two details from the text to support your
answer.
Answers will vary. Use the enclosed rubric as a guideline for scoring.
Example of a 2-level answer:
The imprisonment of the 47 medicine men, religious leaders, and healers
indirectly led to the Pueblo revolt because it angered the Pueblo people and moved
them to action. One of the imprisoned medicine men, Popé, was so angered by his
imprisonment that he “resolved to confront the violence of the colonists.” After his
imprisonment, Popé organized the people. His actions eventually led to the Pueblo
Revolt.
Suggestions for class review:
This question requires students to describe how the imprisonment of the 47
medicine men, religious leaders, and healers influenced the Pueblo revolt. Students
might struggle with this question if they are not able to infer the relationship
between these two events. Focus student attention on the last few sentences of
paragraph 3 and all of paragraph 4. Ask students what Popé’s imprisonment had to
do with the large scale revolt. Point out to students that this question requires
inferencing and the answer is not directly found in the text.
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3. Compare and contrast the Mexican War of Independence and the Pueblo Revolt.
Include at least one similarity and one difference in your answer. Use at least one
detail from each text to support your answer.
Answers will vary. Use the enclosed rubric as a guideline for scoring.
Example of a 2-level answer:
The Mexican War of Independence and the Pueblo Revolt were similar because
both revolutions were motivated by a strong leader. The Mexican War of
Independence was led by Miguel Hidalgo and the Pueblo Revolt was led by Popé. The
two revolutions were different because the people of the Pueblo Revolt won their
independence quickly, in a matter of days. However, it took the Mexican people
eleven years to gain independence in the Mexican War of Independence.
Suggestions for class review:
This question requires students to compare and contrast the Mexican War of
Independence and the Pueblo Revolt. The similarities and differences between these
two revolutions are not directly stated in the text, so students will need to use their
inferencing skills. Remind students that using a Venn diagram is an effective way to
help them answer a question like this. Guide students to complete a Venn diagram
with simple information such as who, what, when, where, why, and how, which will
help them identify concrete similarities and differences.
10
Score
2
1
0
Response Features
• 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
• 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
• 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
11