1'

I
ATH GRADE
ELA TrSr PNTP
WINTER PACKET

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 Session 1: Writing
Direotions: Read the passages about different Louisiana activities. As you read the
passages, think about which activity you would choose to do. Then use the passages to
help you write a well-organized composition of at least three paragraphs.

Avery lsland Visit

Have you ever had Tabasco sauce? Avery lsland, located near the Gulf Coast of
Louisiana, is where this hot sauce is made. People have been making it ever since Edmund
Mcllhenny planted peppers there in 1868. To make Tabasco sauce, peppers are mixed with salt
found on Avery lsland. After this, the mashed-up peppers and salt sit in oak barrels for up to
three years. The aging process helps make the sauce taste even better. When the process is
complete, the sauce is mixed with vinega6 strained, and put into bottles. It is sold in more than
160 countries around the,world. lf you visit Avery lsland, you can take a tour of the factory to see
how the sauce is made. You may also receive free samples and recipes. Tours run every day,
'
except on major holidays, from 9:00 nu to 4:00 pn,l. There is a $1.00 fee to visit tfre island.
Tabasio sauce is hot the only reason to visit Avery lsland. While there, fou can also
check out the 170-acre Jungle Gardens. Watch for colorful flowers, such as wisteria, holly, and
camellia. Keep your eyes open for alligators sunning like logs in the green swamps. Look in the
grasslands for deer. You will not want to miss visiting the garden's Birde-tU,whe_re-thousands of
egrets.ngst V.ear.l9,I!9-:lgngte Gardens and Bird City are open daily from 9:00 enr to 5:00 pr.',r.

A-rgSaying

ngleGardens.[sawr.eaIly.interesting.plantsandeVenSaW.. ---?_-nT
------ $ligatof:intheEswa@*he factory tour was a little long, though."-Louis, 9 years old
=j5-+gsern6lhe.iSanU+?s,.ss cooll l liked tasting Tabasco sauce. lt was so spicy! Seeing ail
the big birds was really neat too."-Madison, 11 years old

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 /

Session 1: Writing
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Bayou Tour
Did you know there are more than one million alligators in Louisiana? That means that
one out of every four people in the state could have their own alligator! Well, not really, but that
gives you an idea of how many of these snapping reptiles live in Louisiana's swamps and
marshes.
A popular activity in Louisiana for tourists is to take a bayou tour to see the alligators up
close and personal. You climb aboard a flat-bottomed tour boat and travel through the wildest
and most beautiful swamps, marshes, and bayous in America. Along the way, the tour guide will
tell you about the history of the area. Listen carefully, though, because sometimes the guides
have some pretty talltales.
The guide will also point out turtles, nesting bald eagles, and splashing buffalo fish. At
one point in the tour, the guide will lean over the side of the boat and attract alligators to the
railing. Bring your camera. You will definitely want to take a few pictures of these amazing i

creatures of the bayou.

Along with your camera, you s[ould also bring a light jacket during the winter and botfled
water in the summer. You will not need an umbrella. The boat is covered and will protect you
from sun and rain. Swamp tours cost about $40.00 for adults and $20.00 for children. Tours are
two hours long. Each boat can hold up to 120 people.

What Students Are Saying

", "lt was cold-and'raining when my family and I went on the tour. I didn't see as many
alligators because of the rain!"-Allison, 9 years old
:- . -.:l'-lfiistour-WaS sb excitihQ; l'really.wanted to see an alligator up close. Duringj the tout; an
dlligator eame right up to the boat! lt was aweso6lsl"-[6p, 10 years old

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 Session 1: Writing

Writing Topic
Would you rather visit Avery lsland or take the Bayou Tour?

Write a composition to convince your teacherwhich activity, visiting Avery lsland or

taking the Bayou Tour, is better and why. Explain why you would choose one activity
over the other. Use details from both passages to help you convince your teachei to
agree with your opinion.

As you write, follow the suggestions below.

. Your composition should have at teast three paragraphs.
. Be qure your composition has a peginning, a middle, and qn end.
. Use details from both passages and include enough information so your
teaqher will understand your response. I

. Be sure to write clearly.

. Check your writing for correct spelting, punctuation, and grammar.

I I I

t_ -'._t

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 Session 'l: Writing (FINAL DRAFT)
tl
NAME:

ELA Grade 4
 Session 1: Writing (FINAL DRAFT) l
I I

NAME:

ELA Grade 4 Page 44

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Session 2= Reading and Responding
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Read this poem about what Ogden Glump did, and then answer questions I through 7.

The Fina! Laugh

by Tracy Alan White

I A bullfrog plump named Ogden Glump

hopped into a bog
and landed splud amid the mud,
a fine place for a frog.
5 But whizzing by came Buzz McFly, i

the loca! razzing pest,

I,
t
he saw the frog stuck in the bog, I

so nearby came to rest.

With ornery glee he laughed, "hee hee,"
10 rejoicing in his luck
:j

_.;4_. -L
- _-..
: -- ,.- :-. :- to see below his bloatedl foe,
. :- - -.- _ ._ t helpless in the muck.
._-_

15 while on his pad, your poor old dad

i was swallowed by a snake!" I

But Ogden Glump, the bullfrog plump,

trained a marksman's eye,
I - and with lightning slurp and froggy bur$,
20 he swallowedBuzz. McFly!
1. bloated: puffy, overfed

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 l
I

Session 2= Reading and Responding i

1. Which sentence describes how the poem "The Final Laugh" is structured?

A. Each group of lines presents a new detail about the setting.

B. Words at the beginning and end of each line are short to create a fast rhythm.
C. tmportant phrases are repeated throughout to show the personatities of the characters.
D. Sounds at the ends of the lines and within the long lines create a regular rhyming pattern.

2. Which pair of phrases from the poem best describes Buzz McFly?

i A. "amid the mud" and "helpless in the muck"

B. '\rvhizzing by" and "razzing pesf'
| - G. "on his pad" and "swallowed by a snlke "
D. "bullfrog plump" and "lightning slurp"

:':-=::.',: =3==Whalis the'most likely reason that Buzz McFly "came to rest" in the bog?

,ffi;-+na-,A. He wants Ogden Glump to hear his words clearly.

g-1=,.i., '.--l--8.-He-thinksthat the mud is a peacefut place to relax.
C. He believes that Ogden Glump cannot harm him.
i D. He does not know that any other crehture is there.

I - 4. Read lines 17 and 18 from the poem. I

But Ogden Glump, the bullfrog plump,

trained a marksman's eye,

Which sentence uses trained in the same way?

A. The athlete trained for the final race on Saturday.

B;' Thd traveler tiained her telescope on the distant shore. - ' i

- - -"i ' '' C:r- Thd band trained fOr the contest for many hours after school.
g-ift osi-tiainedhis workers on how to use the newrnachine.

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 Session 2= Reading and Responding
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I I
5. What most tikely leads to Ogden Glump's treatment of Buzz McFly at the end of the poem?

A. McFly's location in Glump's favorite spot

B. McFly's laughter when he sees Glump
C. McFly's words about Glump's mother and father
D. McFly's description of Glump as "bloated"

6. Which sentence best states the theme of the poem?

A. Unkind deeds are often punished.

ii
B. Being messy can cause problems.
lC. Respect is necessary between friends. I

D. Paying attention leads to opportunities.

'- = ::Writsliour an5wer to question 7 on the lines provided on page 50.

.-=, ..7,iExpiain similar1o? story. Support your answer with two specific details from
'the poem.

t_

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 Session 2= Reading and Responding \
I
Read the information about chocolate and then answer questions 8 through 15.

Where Does Ghocolate Come From?

by Robert Burleigh

1 How is it made? Did Map (from The Chocolate Encyclopedial

Columbus discover it? Did
Thomas Edison invent it?
Did someone just find it
growing somewhere, ready
to eat?
The truth is even
stranger: All chocolate
comes from the seeds of
one kind of tree. Thelseeds,
of course, go through many
changes on the way to a
candy bar. But it allstarts in
the tropical rainforests of
.-;.:-- _-- woild.
-the

Cacao beans are grown within 20 degrees north or

-- trees.
--.-----ah i Inals;,floluerS;,and: south of the equator. The countries that grow the
And one of those trees is bean use it locally. ln addition, they sellthe bean to
the source of all other countries. Producers are the peoplq and
chocolate-the cacad (ca- companies that grow the trees, harvest thL pods,
COW) tree. and sellthe beans. Consumers are the people who
Cacao. Kakawa.The buy the products made from the cacao beans.
name was first used 3,000 These products are chocolate and cocoa.
years ago, when a pdople
called the Olmecs inhabited
what is now Mexico. Perhaps while wandering through the dense
undergrowth, the Olmecs came upon a tree with small, five-petaled white
flowe1q and oddly shaped pods. And so the chocolate story begins.
-
5 The-cacao tree, reaching a height of thirty feet or more, grows under
the sheltering shade, or canopy, of the taller trees around it. lts flowers,
which are pollinatedl by a gmeElike fly called a midge, bloom throughout
theyear. But-fhat is only the beginning.

1. pollinated: having received pollen from another flower in order to reproduce

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 Session 2= Reading and Responding
I
cacao tree, showing the pods growing from the trunk, were thought by
many to be just bad illustrations. But it is true. lmagine a tree dotted with
many colorful footballs!
Split the pod open and look inside. lt is filled with a thick whitish pulp.
Dig deeper still. Stacked in columns in the center of the pulp (which is
delicious but has no taste of chocolate) are rows of pale, almond-sized
seeds. And it is these cacao-tree seeds-after they are fermented,2 dried,
roasted, shelled, and crushed to a smooth paste-from which chocolate is
made.

2. fermented: having gone through a process that chemically changes the seeds

Timeline
(From Chocolate: Yesterday and Todayl

15O2 Columbut' Fourth Voyage:

On his fourth voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus and
his crew came across a large dugout canoe. lt held trading goods,
including.cotton, grain, weapons, and cacao beans.

158O Drink Made with Cocoa:

1580
A chocolate drink became popular in Spain.

tdO.0+tOso Favbrite Drink of Kings and Queens:

'. Hot chocolate became known throughout Europe and
became a popular drink with royalty.

1657 First Chocolate Shop;

A business selling chocolates opened
in London, England.
t_
1765[n the United States:
Chocolate was first manufactured in the
United States.

1875 Milk Chocolate lnvented:

Daniel Peter and Henri Nestl6
combined sweetened
condensed milk and chocolate
, to make milk chocolate. 1876 Milton Hershey:
Hershey opened his fiist
candy shop in Penniylvania.

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 Session 2: Reading and Responding

8. Part 1

Which sentence best states the main idea of "Where Does Chocolate Come From?"
A. Pulp from the pod of a cacao tree is an important food source for people in the rainforest.
B. People living in the rainforest discovered chocolate hundreds of years ago.
C. The cacao tree provides the basic ingredient for all chocolate.
D. The story of how chocolate was first made is interesting, but few people know about it.
Part2
Which detailfrom the passage best supports the main idea?
A. "The truth is even stranger: All chocolate comes from the seeds of gne kind of tree."
B. "The seeds, of course, go through many changes on the way to a candy bar."
C. "The name wLs tirst used 3,000 years ago, when a people called tnle Otmecs inhabited
what is now Mexico."
D. "Stacked in columns in the center of the pulp (which is delicious but has no taste of
qhocelate) are rows of pale, almond-sized seeds."

- --1q
' .i --- jj'
i{qu, *"_t[e-id6a!-in the passage mostly organized?

A. in chronirlogical order to tell about the process of how cacao seeds grow
B. by cause and effect to show why cacao seeds grow best in rainforqsts
C. as a problem and solution to explain how early explorers found cacao trees
D. through comparison and contrast to explore how cacao trees are different from most trees
t.--

10. ln paragraph 5, what does the word canopy mean?

A.closendsS'--
B. pressure
' :.-,:.-. Qr.-,,=heigh-t.--:-.-.:---:: : : .. :

o..c_wer.

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 Session 2= Reading and Responding
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11. Which phrase from "Where Does Chocolate Come From?" explains why cacao trees grow best
in tropical rainforests?

A. "warm and humid" in paragraph 3

B. "oddly shaped pods" in paragraph 4
C. "thirty feet or more" in paragraph 5
D. "columns in the cented'in paragraph 7

' 12. How does the author support the point that the pods are "perhaps the strangest thing about the
cacao's appearance"? i i

A. by telling about the type of seeds produced by the tree

B. by giving details about tht usual height of the tree I

C. by describing responses to early drawings of the tree

D. by imagining the first people to discover the tree

- &Wha!@n+he.reade{=€enclud€+y.looking at the map from The Chocolate Encyclopedia?

' ,:.-'l':---,-:*F=,Gcluntries-thaFproduce cacao consume the most choco|ate.
B. Countries located near the equator produce the most cacao.
C. Most leading consumers bf chocolate are below the equatop i

D. Some countries consume less chocolate now than in the past.

14. What do the events in the timeline have in common?

A. They show why chocolate was expensive to produce in the past.
B. They explain why different countries began to grow the trees that produce cacao.
C. They show how chocolate became a favorite food throughout the world.
D. They explain how changes have occurred in the manufacturing of chocolate.

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 Session 2: Reading and Responding
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Write your answer to question 15 on the lines provided on page 51.

15. Explain how chocolate is made and used. Use information from the passage and timeline to
support your answer.

i. .i

I I

l_

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 L
// Session 2= Reading and Responding
I
Read the passage and then answer questions 16 through2l.

The Magic Button Box

by Charlotte Levine Silverstein

"Nana!" Zach yelled, flinging open the kitchen door. "l need a new button!"
"No need to shout." Nana looked up from her newspaper. "Why do you need a new
button?"
"This morning I lost a button right here." Zach pointed to the top of his coat. 'All day
l've been so cold."
"Well, we can't have that. l'll get my magic button box," Nana said. She headed for her
box.
bedroom and returned with an enormous tin i

5 "Where
Qid
you get that?" Zach asked.
i
"l've been collecting these buttons since lwas a little girl," Nana said, lifting the old
box to the table. Then she tapped the lid as if she were knocking on a door. "lnside this
box, Zach, is not just a button collection. lnside are a thousand stories and a million
memories.
"But what makes it magic?" Zach asked.

i-.:i.=,- the{able. There were large,.rgqnd, silver ones and soft, football-
, r. - =.-" '.. -.azillion.bu"tt"snsonto
sfrapeO, Urown ones,and Ulabk ohes with diamtnOi anO gold onedjdecorated with black
-- ": "' --- :.=ttire-a?:€6riie'loo-re,-dl!kc beetles, others like shells. Zach wanted to examine each and
everybutton....
"Where'd this one come from, Nana?" Zach picked up a big, old, square leather
I
button.
10 "That one came from the coat your grandfather wore when he was courting me."
Nana smiled. "He was so tall and handsome. I remember him wearing that coat the first
time we wenf iclskating."
I

Grandpa must have heard Nana talking about him, because he came into the kitchen
to see what she andZach were doing.

lYes," Zach answered, ''but Nana still hasn't told me what's magic about it."
"Haven't you figured it out yet?"
15 Zach shook his head and frowned.
The three sat at the kitchen table for a long time, making the buttons dance between
their fingers while Nana and Grandpa told Zach stories. lt was nearly dark when Zach's
morn came home from work to find them hovering over their treasure. Nana jumped up,

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 Session 2: Reading and Responding
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"l had no idea it was this late! I haven't even started dinne[" she said.
"What are you doing?" Mom asked. "Oh, you've brought out the magic button box. Let
me see." She sat down without even taking off her coat. Then she ran her fingers across
the table. "l remember this one." She picked up a brass button with an anchor engraved
on it. "This came from a sailor suit I had when I was ten. lwore it the first time you took
me to the ocean," she said to Nana and Grandpa. She closed her eyes and smelled it,
remembering the salty sea air.
Nana found a tiny, white, silk button. "Look, Catherine. This was on the infant suit
Zach wore when you brought him home from the hospital. Oh, he was so tiny and cuddly,
remember?"
20 "l remembe6" Mom said.
He picked it up for a croser rook "l
d,o,,I?1#^7:lJi?Iii",il,x,i."#i""?;;r3:x,,"*d

f ;?li?,[:""*"il,fl &lii^t"3i::ilxl]tlH;l},,1?I,,lJ,i,'il?:ilsf,,=,11r,':[:'J::
and-black-stri ped button.
'WoW let me see that," Zach said. The fur tickled his hand. "l was so mad when you
g,_iy.:ll1:"_"!ire gway. ! thought I'd never see it again. But here it is-at least a piece of
-:__;ff.:.;
',-
i- ' '.' i = =i== '-; -,-: --:- Grandpa.nodded:--rl.think you're starting to understand the magic of the button box,
a re n't.y145- Z31ch?," .
'125 Zach.grjnngfl.-_ . .-- I ... .

.-_
- :. -:::...!-::.-.--:- . :,_: '-.==1$y'g-s-[ill n-eed to replace that coat button you lost," Nana said.
. "How about using the button from my old coat?" Grandpa suggested.
"Good idea, Grandpa," Zach said. "Thete's just one problem with that: a memory will i

be missing from the box."

"That's OK, Zach. We'llstill remembe6" Nana said.

, 30 But 2ach wasn't satisfied. He thought fpr a moment. Then he ran to the scissors
drawer and snipped off the bottom button Trom his shirt.
"What are you doing?" Mom asked.
"l'm replacing a memory," Zach said, tossing the button into the box. 'And the next
time I see that button, it'll remirid me of the day I found out the secret of the magic button
box."

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a Session 2: Reading and Responding
I

16. What is Zach's problem at the beginning of the passage?

A. He is too warm in his coat.
B. He needs a new button for his coat.
C. He does not know how to collect buttons.
D. He wants to learn the magic of the button box.

17. Read these words spoken by Nana in paragraph 6.

lnside are a thousand stories and a million memories.

What do these lines reveal?

li
A. There are thousands, if not a million, buttons in the box.
B. Nana started collecting buttons when she was a little girl.
C, .The buttons remind Nana of different times in her life.
D, _ NAnaf as told stories about the buttons to thousands of people.

. : -. - ---:-. -:-: . :: _

--.-1fG::l1ifaga$ap[g_ZgctrWantS'to."exaft1ine each and every buttbn." Examine most likety means

that he wants to
rl
A. cciunt each button.
B. know why each button is magic.
G. hear the story of each button.
D. nbr a-t each button. I

19. ln paragraph 22,why does Grandpa say, "You're part of this family, aren't you?"
A. Zach is surprised to see buttons that once belonged to him.
B. Zach thinks he has to ask permission to look at the buttons.
C. Grandpa means that Zach can now add new buttons to the box.

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 Session 2= Reading and Responding
I
20. Which sentence best states the theme of the passage? '

A. Using items more than once allows a person to avoid waste.

B. Children learn some important lessons on their own.
C. Remembering shared experiences brings people closer.
D. Worthless things are often quite valuable when recycled.

Write your answer to question 21 on the lines provided on page 52.

21. Explain why the family refers to the box as the magic button box. Support your answer with at
least two details from the story.

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