Enhanced Assessment

NECAP Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) for Reading End of Grade 3

Passage-Related Reading Items for Literary Text: "Snowball Moon"

Items: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

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This Native American story gives one explanation of how the moon was formed. Read the story and then answer the questions that follow.

Snowball Moon

1      Once far to the north, the winter nights were long and cold and dark. They were so dark that the little woodland animals could barely gather enough food to survive the winter. No matter how fast they scurried about for nuts and seeds, the darkness came quickly. Finally, Squirrel decided that something must be done. First she visited the field mice.
2      “Oh, it’s a terrible problem,” said Father Mouse. “We have so many children to feed, and the winter nights are so dark.”
3      “Don’t worry,” said Squirrel. “I will help you.”
4      So Squirrel went to see Porcupine and ask him if he had trouble finding food during the long dark winter.
5      “Oh, yes,” said Porcupine. “But it has always been this way. There is nothing to be done.”
6      “I don’t agree,” said Squirrel. “There is always something to be done.”
7      “It’s best to leave things as they are,” said Porcupine. With a shake of his quills, he waddled off through the snow.
8      So Squirrel decided to ask Owl. Owl rested by day and sailed through the woods at night, with eyes bigger than all the other animals’. Maybe Owl knew a way to bring light to the winter forest.
9      Squirrel climbed high in Owl’s maple tree and waited for Owl to wake up.
10      “What is it Squirrel?” asked Owl.
11      “We small woodland animals need to hunt by darkness as well as day. The northern winter nights are far too dark for us. It would only take a little light to help us see.”
12      Owl hunched his feathery head into his shoulders to think. He thought all day long, while Squirrel shivered on the windy branch. Finally, he said in his owly, hooting voice, “I will talk to the Sky Father and see if he can bring the stars closer in the winter.”
13      Happily, Squirrel twitched her tail and raced down the tree to her burrow. Several days later, Owl stopped at Squirrel’s doorstep.
14      “Tell your small friends that the Sky Father will bring the stars closer. But first, he must clear all the clouds from the sky. Prepare for a terrible blizzard.” And Owl flew off.
15      So the animals gathered all the nuts and berries and seeds they could. Then they huddled in a hollow log and watched the huge storm clouds gather overhead.
16      For three days, the Sky Father piled storm clouds in the sky, stacking them in huge towers. The animals shivered below, waiting. On the third day, the storm broke. A blizzard howled through the woods. The animals were frightened, all except Squirrel.
17      When the storm died away, a huge snowdrift blocked the hollow log. The animals could see nothing but gray shadows. They were disappointed, thinking more hunger and darkness awaited them.
18      “Wait here,” said Squirrel. “I will tunnel out and see if the stars are closer.”
19      Squirrel scrabbled up and up. Finally, she reached the top and her head popped out. She gasped in surprise. The winter stars hung so low in the evening sky, it seemed she could almost touch them.
20      A large, antlered moose stepped forward and bowed his head.
21      “I have been sent to help you,” he said. “If you little animals will gather all the snow you can and push it into a giant snowball, I will carry the snowball in my antlers across the highest mountain ridges, where it will shed light on even the darkest winter nights.”
22      And so, with the help of the moose and the Sky Father, the little animals made the first moon. And, despite the cold, the animals are happy in the winter when the stars come close and the moon shines bright like snow in the sky.
Reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, from Crossing The Starlight Bridge by Alice Mead. Copyright (c) 1994 Alice Mead.

 

Passage-Related Reading Items for Literary Text: "Snowball Moon"
Sample Reading Items for End of Grade 3
Information about the Items
1. Which word means the OPPOSITE of terrible?

A. small
B. secret
C. confusing
D. wonderful

Key: D

R-3-3.1 (antonym)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-3-3.1: Shows breadth of vocabulary knowledge through demonstrating understanding of word meanings or relationships by … Identifying synonyms, antonyms

Depth of Knowledge: Level 1 - Use word relationships (synonym/antonym) to determine meaning of words

2. The word terrible means very bad.

Are these terrible?

Yes or no?

1. I played after school

2. I broke my arm on the slide

Write your own sentence that shows something that could be terrible.

KEY: Scoring Guide

R-3-3.1 (categorize)

Item Type: CR - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-3-3.1: Shows breadth of vocabulary knowledge through demonstrating understanding of word meanings or relationships by … categorizing words

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Recognizing appropriate generalizations about text
3. In paragraph 19, what does gasped mean?

A. made a loud noise
B. stopped making noise
C. took a big fast breath
D. stopped and started while speaking

Key: C

R-3-3.2 (use context)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-3-3.2: Shows breadth of vocabulary knowledge through demonstrating understanding of word meanings or relationships by … Selecting appropriate words to use in context

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Use context cues to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words
4. What is the MAIN problem in the story?

A. Some animals eat too much during the winter.
B. The animals do not get along with each other.
C. The animals need light at night in the winter.
D. It is too cold where the animals have moved.

Key: C

R-3-4.1 (identify problem)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-3-4.1: Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by… Identifying or describing character(s), setting, problem/solution, major events, or plot, as appropriate to text

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Recognizing appropriate generalizations about text (e.g., possible titles, main ideas)

5. Why was Squirrel the first one outside after the blizzard?

A. Squirrel was the biggest and strongest animal.
B Squirrel was told by Sky Father to look first.
C. Squirrel wanted to see if the stars were closer.
D. Squirrel was the most frightened of all the animals.

Key: C

R-3-4.1 (key detail)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-3-4.1: Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by… Identifying or describing character(s), setting, problem/solution, major events, or plot, as appropriate to text

Depth of Knowledge: Level 1 - Locate or recall facts or details explicitly presented in text
Squirrel agrees to help Father Mouse.
The animals gather all the food they can.
 
The little animals, Father Sky, and the moose make the moon.

6. Which sentence belongs in the box telling what happens in the story?

A. Father Mouse worries the food will run out.
B. Squirrel asks Owl for help getting food.
C. There is a big storm.
D. Squirrel tells Father Sky her plan.
6. (See item above.)

Key: B

R-3-4.2 (sequence events)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-3-4.2: Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of literary texts by… Paraphrasing or summarizing key ideas/plot, with events sequenced, as appropriate to text

Depth of Knowledge: Level 1 - Identify or describe characters, setting, sequence of events
7. Describe how and why the animals