Determining Meaning
Asessment
Name: ______________________
Date: _________________
LA Teacher: _______________
MEET THE CHALLENGE ASSESSMENT
Direction: Read the selection and answer the questions that follow.
Quartz: Our Most Common Mineral
(Source: Reading Detective (Critical Thinking Books and Software, 2001)
Quartz is the most common mineral on earth. You can find different kinds of
quartz almost everywhere.
Most of the sand on beaches and deserts is actually tiny pieces of quartz.
Through a process called weathering, rocks gradually break down into pebbles, then
gravel, and finally become sand. Quartz does not dissolve or wear away like most other
rock materials. So when rocks that contain quartz are weathered, only little bits of quartz
are left. In fact, there are few minerals harder than quartz. Take a close look at some
grains of sand. The many different colors and shapes you see show the rocks the grains
originally came from.
There are many kinds of quartz. Some of the best known are the quartz crystals
used in watches and jewelry. Most people are familiar with the clear quartz known as
rock crystal. Amethyst is a deep purple gemstone that is actually purple quartz. The
color comes from impurities in the quartz.
Flint is another common type of quartz. Nearly half a million years ago, cavemen
in the early Stone Age used flint to make cutting tools and weapons. Although quartz is
hard, it is also brittle, so it breaks easily. Small pieces of the flint could be chipped away
to shape a tool. This shaping left a sharp edge good for cutting. Examples of these flint
tools have survived to the present day.
There are many kinds and forms of quartz, from large crystals to tiny grains of
sand. It is a mineral that withstands both weather and time.
(1 point each)
1. What is the main idea of this passage?
a. Sand comes from many different rocks.
b. Quartz is the hardest mineral.
c. People have used quartz for centuries.
d. There are many kinds of quartz found worldwide.
2. As a rock breaks down, what stages does it go through?
a. Rock, gravel, sand, pebble
b. Rock, sand, pebble, gravel
c. Rock gravel, pebble, sand
d. Rock, pebble, gravel, sand
3.
What statement fits best into the venn diagram below?
a.
b.
c.
d.
have sharp edges
quartz
have impurities
are many different colors
Rock Crystal
Clear colored
Amethyst
Deep purple color
__________
4. Why do you think flint was useful for tools and weapons? Be sure to include
details from the passage in your answer.
Read the Following Selection and Answer the Questions
Although Sherri was only seven years old, people always wanted to know what she
wanted to be when she grew up. Her response was easy, a teacher. She had the perfect
picture in her mind what her classes would look like and how they would behave. The
only problem was that she didn't have any worksheets or materials to give to her
imaginary class.
In class, she watched the teacher walk over to her file cabinet and throw mounds of
unused worksheets in the trash. "What a waste!" Sherri murmured to herself. An idea
suddenly blossomed in her head. She would use the worksheets that had ended up in
the trash. After school, when the halls were clear of students and teachers, she sneaked
into Mrs. Smith's class, her first grade classroom and grabbed the discarded worksheets.
Feeling confident that she had accomplished her mission, she walked around the corner
with her new teaching materials under her arms. A loud, booming voice startled her as
the janitor yelled, "What are you doing here? Go home!"
Sherri didn't wait to respond to his questions as she ran out of the school's front doors.
As she walked home, she kept looking behind her to see if the janitor had followed her.
Safely home, she closed her bedroom door and announced to her imaginary students,
"Good morning, students. Today you are going to learn about nouns and verbs. I am
going to pass out a few worksheets and explain the assignment to you."
(1 point each)
5. Used in this passage the best meaning of the word blossomed is
a. Flowered
b. Developed
c. Withered
d. Thrived
6. Sherri's imaginary class is located in her
a. dining room
b. school
c. library
d. bedroom
7. What is Sherri’s major problem?
a. She is has no materials to teach school with.
b. She wants to be a teacher.
c. She has been caught by the custodian in her school.
d. She doesn’t know what she wants to do when she grows up.
(2 points)
How does she resolve her conflict?
Total points: _______/10