Passage-Related Reading Items for Informational Text: "A Brick to Cuddle Up To"

Enhanced Assessment

NECAP Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) for Reading End of Grade 4

Passage-Related Reading Items for Informational Text: "A Brick to Cuddle Up To"

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What was life like before there was heat? Read the article "A Brick to Cuddle Up To" and answer the questions that follow.
1	A Brick to Cuddle Up To Imagine shivering on a cold winter's night. The tip of your nose tingles in the frosty air. Finally, you climb into bed and find the toasty treat you have been waiting for-your very own hot brick.
2	If you had lived in colonial days, that would not sound as strange as it does today. Winters were hard in this New World, and the colonists had to think of clever ways to fight the cold. At bedtime, they heated soapstones, or bricks, in the fireplace. They wrapped the bricks in cloths and tucked them into their beds. The brick kept them warm at night, at least for as long as its heat lasted.
3	Before the colonists slipped into bed, they rubbed their icy sheets with a bed warmer. This was a metal pan with a long wooden handle. The pan held hot embers from the fireplace. It warmed the bedding so well that sleepy bodies had to wait until the sheets cooled before climbing in.
4	Staying warm wasn't just a bedtime problem. On winter rides, colonial travelers covered themselves with animal skins and warm blankets. Tucked under the blankets, near their feet, were small tin boxes called foot stoves. A foot stove held burning coals. Hot smoke puffed from small holes in the stove's lid, soothing freezing feet and legs. When the colonists went to Sunday services, their foot stoves, furs, and blankets went with them. The meeting houses had no heat of their own until the 1800s.
5	At home, colonial families huddled close to the fireplace, or hearth. The fireplace was wide and high enough to hold a large fire, but it's chimney was large, too. That caused a problem: Gusts of cold air blew into the house. The area near the fire was warm, but in the rest of the room it might still be cold enough to see you breath.
6	Reading or needlework was done by candlelight, or by the light of the fire. During the winter, animal skins sealed the drafty windows of some cabins and blocked out the daylight. The living area inside was gloomy, except in the circle of light at the hearth.
7	Early Americans did not bathe as often as we do. When they did, their "bathroom" was the kitchen, in that toasty space by the hearth. They partially filled a tub with cold water, then warmed it up with water heated in the fireplace. A blanket draped from chairs for privacy also let the fire's warmth surround the bather.
8	The household cooks spent hours at the hearth. They stirred the kettle of corn pudding or checked the baking bread while the rest of the family carried on their own fireside activities. So you can see why the fireplace was the center of a colonial home.
9	The only time the fire was allowed to die down was at bedtime. Ashes would be piled over the fire, reducing it to embers that might glow until morning.
10	By sunrise, the hot brick had become a cold stone once more. An early riser might get dressed under the covers, then hurry to the hearth to warm up.
11	Maybe you'd enjoy hearing someone who kept warm in these ways tell you what is was like. You wouldn't need to look for someone who has been living for two hundred years. In many parts of the country the modern ways didn't take over from the old ones until recently. Your own grandparents or other older people might remember the warmth of a hearthside and the joy of having a brick to cuddle up to.

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Passage-Related Reading Items for Informational Text:
"A Brick to Cuddle Up To"

Sample Reading Items for End of Grade 4

Information about the Items

1. In paragraph 5, what does gust mean?

A. a small surprise
B. an abrupt rush of wind
C. a sudden outburst
D. a large force of heat

Key: B

R- 4-2.1 (use context)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-2.1: Students identify the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary by… Using strategies to unlock meaning (e.g., context clues)

Depth of Knowledge: Level 1 - Select appropriate words to use in context when intended meaning is clearly evident

2. Which word is an antonym (opposite meaning) of gloomy?

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

Key: B

R-4-3.1 (antonym)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-3.1: 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

3. Read the index below from a book about colonial times.

Adams, Benjamin 34
Adams, John 38
Clothing styles 12
Crafts 6
Commerce 22
Gardens 25
Lumber trade 29
Main Streets 32
Trade(s) 22-24, 36-40
   after the American Revolution 22
   before the American Revolution 37
   China 24
   lumber 29
Sewing 7
Strawbery Banke 23
Washington 12

3. If you wanted to find information about food in colonial times, where is the BEST place to look?

A. page 6
B. page 23
C. page 25
D. page 32

Key: C

R-4-7.1 (use text features - index)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-7.1: Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository) by…Obtaining information from text features (e.g., index)

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Obtain information using text features of informational text

4. What is the MAIN reason there are four entries under Trade(s)?

A. The book is about trade during colonial times.
B. The book discusses different topics about trade.
C. Trade is a difficult topic to understand.
D. Trade was very important during colonial times.

Key: B

R-4-7.1 (use text features - index)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-7.1: Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository) by…Obtaining information from text features (e.g., index)

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Obtain information using text features of informational text; Describe the characteristics or features of various types of text

5. According to the article, the fireplace was MOST important to early Americans because it provided

A. light.
B. a place to visit.
C. heat.
D. a place to sleep.

Key: C

R-4-7.2 (central ideas)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-7.2: Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository) by… Using information from the text to answer questions related to explicitly stated main/central ideas

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

6. One important characteristic of a "foot stove" was that it

A. could travel with the colonist.
B. burned all night long.
C. made the sheets warm.
D. lit the room for needlework.

Key: A

R-4-7.2 (key details)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-7.2: Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository) by… Using information from the text to answer questions related to explicitly stated key details

Depth of Knowledge: Level 1 - Locate or recall facts or details explicitly presented in text

7. This article is MOSTLY about

A. the different ways early Americans used bricks.
B. the many struggles of early Americans.
C. the strange actions of early Americans.
D. the ways that fireplaces were important to early Americans.

Key: D

R-4-7.2 (central ideas)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

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

8. What detail in the article shows how difficult it was to stay warm?

A. sleeping in wooden beds
B. cooking with a kettle
C. reading by candle light
D. bathing in the kitchen

Key: D

R-4-7.2 (key details)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-7.2: Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository) by… Using information from the text to answer questions related to explicitly stated key details

Depth of Knowledge: Level 1 - Locate or recall facts or details explicitly presented in text

9. Below is the beginning of a chart for taking notes from the article. Fill in the chart.

Ways people kept warm during colonial times

Key: Scoring Guide

R-4-7.3 (organize information)

Item Type: CR - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-7.3: Demonstrate initial understanding of informational texts (expository) by… Organizing information to show understanding (e.g., representing main/central ideas or details within text through charting)

Depth of Knowledge: Level 2 - Organize information presented in informational text using charting or summarizing; Locate information to answer questions related to explicit or implicit central ideas in informational texts

10. Explain the uses for the kitchen during colonial times. Use specific details from the article to support your response.

Key: Scoring Guide

R-4-8.1 (connect information in text)

Item Type: CR - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-8.1: Analyze and interpret informational text, citing evidence as appropriate by… Connecting information within a text

Depth of Knowledge: Level 3 - Explain, generalize, or connect ideas, using supporting evidence from the text

11. Another title for this article could be

A. "Colonial Times Were Exciting."
B. "Keeping Warm in Colonial Times."
C. "People were Cold."
D. "Different Types of Kitchens and Bathrooms."

Key: B

R-4-8.3 (central ideas)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-8.3: Analyze and interpret informational text, citing evidence as appropriate by… forming judgments/opinions about central ideas that are relevant

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

12. What is the author's MAIN purpose?

A. to entertain with a story about colonial life
B. to inform about a part of early American life
C. to explain why early Americans needed bricks
D. to convince readers that heat has always been important

Key: B

R-4-8.3 (author's purpose)

Item Type: MC - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-8.3: Analyze and interpret informational text, citing evidence as appropriate by… Drawing inferences about text, including author's purpose (e.g., to inform, explain, entertain) or message

Depth of Knowledge: Level 3 - Draw inferences about author's purpose, author's message or theme (explicit or implied)

13. Explain why the hearth was the center of colonial homes. Use specific details from the article to support your response.

Key: Scoring Guide

R-4-8.3 (central ideas)

Item Type: CR - related to passage

Alignment to GLE R-4-8.3: Analyze and interpret informational text, citing evidence as appropriate by… forming judgments/opinions about central ideas that are relevant

Depth of Knowledge: Level 3 - Explain, generalize, or connect ideas, using supporting evidence from the text

Supplemental Information about Text Passages Used for End of Grade 4
Title of Passage	Text Type	Text Descriptors
*"A Brick to Cuddle up To," from Highlights for Children* (1991)**	Informational Historical	Includes complex information - historical summary Varied vocabulary, but generally familiar; use of descriptive language and imagery (e.g., toasty space, icy sheets); Content-specific words defined or explained in context Use of (narrator's) voice - told in third person Straightforward text structure Limited range of punctuation used - period, comma, dash, quotation marks
For more information about "Increasing Text Complexity," see NECAP Reading GLEs Grades 3-8 - Appendix F For more information about Suggested Informational and Literary Texts, see NECAP Reading GLEs Grades 3-8 - Appendix A

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© January 2005. Produced in partnership with New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont Departments of Education, Education Development Center, and the Center for Assessment. Permission to photocopy is granted for use in individual classrooms and professional development settings.