4th Grade Reading 12.B

1. A Mother Possum 1 It's always handy for a mother to have something in which to carry her baby. Animals in the marsupial family, like kangaroos and possums, have pouches in which to carry their babies. A mother possum will carry her babies in a pouch on her stomach until they are two or three months old. Then she carries them on her back for another month or two. 2 Mother possums are about the same size as a cat, and their grey or black fur and pink noses make them look a little bit like cats except possums have shorter legs, long noses, and pointed faces. Possums hunt at night, and love fruit, vegetables, grasses, and insects. 3 Possums have adapted to sharing their forests and fields with people. They've learned to eat what they can find near homes where people live. They will eat food out of garbage cans, and they have even been known to help themselves to dog and cat food! The author organizes the article "A Mother Possum" by —

2. FREEMONT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NEWS An Amazing Museum By Daniela S. Montez, 4th-grade student 1 You might think that museums are boring. Maybe you have seen too many colorless statues or paintings that make no sense. Or perhaps you have seen dusty exhibits of stuffed animals among fake plants. 2 "Sure," you say, "you are talking about those children's museums. Those are for babies!" Well, the one I am talking about is for people who can walk and talk and think on their own quite well. 3 The museum that I visited with Mr. Tojio's class last week has changed all of my ideas about what a museum can offer. This amazing place is called the Time Travel Museum of Human History (TTMHH). If you have ever wondered about what it was really like living in another time and place, this is the museum for you! 4 From the moment you see the "building," you know this is no ordinary place. It is actually several colorful and oddly shaped buildings connected by tubes. Inside, you can take a variety of trains, elevators, and even boat rides. They will take you on a journey through history and around the world. 5 Does it sound too strange to be true, or at least very confusing? Well, exploring this museum was kind of like exploring a website. I imagine that websites influenced the designers when they created this unusual museum. On the Internet, you click on something and you are taken to a certain screen. At TTMHH, you select a place and travel to the part of the museum. Some examples are China, Mexico, and Australia. Then you are taken on a journey through history. Of course you will not actually travel through time—but it will seem like it! 6 Take my word for it: This is a great place to visit. Better yet, do not take my word for it. Go there and experience it for yourself! You will not be disappointed. The author organizes paragraphs 3 through 5 of the article by —

3. A Two-Headed Cat 1 Omar woke up to hear his dog, Fetch, scratching at the back door and whining. That meant Fetch wanted out, even though Omar would much rather have stayed asleep. 2 It was dark in the back yard, so Omar turned on the porch light as he let Fetch out the back door. In the dim porch light, Omar saw something so strange that he was sure he was still asleep and dreaming. He told his mother about it at breakfast the next morning. 3 "A two-headed cat!" Omar said. "Mom, I'm certain. I saw it clearly, and it was really something! It was eating the food out of Fetch’s bowl on the back porch." 4 "A two-headed cat. That's something, indeed!" said his mother as she set the milk on the kitchen table. "I think you and I should stay up tonight and see if we can see this cat again." 5 So that night, Omar filled up Fetch's bowl with food and set it on the porch, close to a window. Then he and his mother sat down near the window and waited. After what seemed like a very long time, Omar thought he saw something move near the edge of the porch. "Look!" he said. 6 "Get the flashlight ready," said his mother. "But don't turn it on until the creature gets close to the food." Omar waited and waited. The creature crept slowly toward the food, and even in the shadows, Omar could make out the shape of two heads. When the animal was almost to the food, Omar turned on the flashlight. The creature's eyes glowed chillingly, reflecting the light. Looking closely, Omar saw a gray, pointed face. Two heads! 7 "Why, it's a mother possum and her young," said his mother, laughing, as the possum ran away, her baby clinging to her back. "They're just out for a midnight snack, with the baby riding on its mother's back. That's how possums travel while their babies are still young." 8 "I'm going to put food out for the possums every night," said Omar as he put the flashlight away. "I imagine that it's pretty hard to hunt for food with a baby clinging to your back all the time!" The author organizes the story "A Two- Headed Cat" by —

4. A Special Surprise 1 Peter jumped into his father's truck and slammed the door. He was spending the next two weeks at Grandma's apartment in the city. He loved the tall building with its elevator that rose to the fifth floor where Grandma lived. Peter liked to look out Grandma's tall windows at the busy streets below. All the cars and trucks that passed by fascinated him. 2 Peter would get to see his friend, Anthony, too. Anthony lived in the apartment across the hall from Grandma. Peter was eager to see Anthony, but he was also excited for another reason. Grandma had told him she had a surprise. 3 His grandmother was waiting when Peter and his father pulled up. Peter clambered out and hugged her. Dad handed Peter his suitcase and smiled. "You two look as if you are having fun already!" he said. Peter and Grandma waved as Dad drove away. 4 "Grandma, when do I see the surprise?" Peter asked. 5 "Soon," Grandma laughed." Get settled, first." They went inside and rode the elevator up to the apartment. As Grandma opened the door, Anthony came out of his apartment. 6 "I thought I heard you coming," he said excitedly. "Have you shown Peter the surprise yet?" he asked. 7 "Not yet," said Grandma." He needs to unpack first." Peter put his clothes away quickly. Soon he and Anthony were ready to go with Grandma. She led them to a door at the back of the building. Peter knew that there was a large empty lot behind the building. He and Anthony sometimes played there, but it was usually full of old cans, trash, and broken bottles. When Grandma opened the door, Peter was amazed by what he saw. 8 "Grandma! It's a vegetable garden just like Mom's at home!" he exclaimed. 9 "Yes, but this is a community garden," explained Grandma." All of the families in the building are sharing the work." Peter watched Grandma's neighbors picking tomatoes and peppers and pulling radishes and weeds. 10 "I cannot believe you have a garden like this in the middle of the city," he said. 11 "It has not been easy," Anthony told him. "First, we had to get permission to use the empty lot for a garden, and then we had to clean up all the trash." 12 "Everyone has worked very hard," said Grandma. 13 "I want to help, Grandma," said Peter. "I know what to do because I help Mom with her garden all the time." 14 "I know you do," said Grandma." I have already told everyone that you would help." 15 "Grandma," said Peter, "This is going to be the best visit ever!" The author organizes paragraphs 4 through 7 of “A Special Surprise” by —

5. Bigger Than Life: Mt. Rushmore 1 As our car came through the tunnel, we saw four huge faces and the sign: Mount Rushmore National Memorial. We wondered how such a huge carving came about? At the Information Center we discovered the following facts. 2 Doane Robinson, state historian of South Dakota, and Senator Peter Norbeck talked to John Gutzon Borglum, an artist. They asked if he was interested in carving a mountain in South Dakota. He was interested. 3 The son of Danish settlers, Borglum wanted to carve something that would show the greatness of America. He decided to carve the four most important presidents. Everyone agreed on the first three. George Washington led the army against the British. He served as first president of the newly born country. Thomas Jefferson was a great thinker. He wrote most of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and steered the new country into democracy. Abraham Lincoln fought to keep the country from splitting. He also freed the slaves. At last, Borglum decided on the fourth president. It would be Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt loved the outdoors and named many national parks. 4 It is not easy to carve a mountain. The faces would measure sixty feet from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin. Borglum had bragged to Senator Norbeck that he could do it. Now he wondered just how he should go about it. 5 For many months, carpenters worked at the bottom of the mountain. They built a blacksmith shop for sharpening the drill bits. There was also a building for the jackhammers that would do the drilling. They built a staircase of 506 steps for the workers. 6 Borglum sketched the faces and modeled them in clay. Then he prepared larger models in plaster. 7 Carving the faces into the mountain would be very different from making a small figure. Borglum found a way to transfer the height, width, and depth of his plaster models to the mountain. He used a measuring rod thirty inches long. It could be turned in different directions. From any point on the rod, a measuring tape could be hung straight down. Then, he made another measuring rod. Instead of being thirty-inches long, it was thirty-feet long. This was hung at the top of the mountain and used to measure off where to blast. 8 Blast? Yes. At first, Borglum was afraid to have the workers use dynamite on the mountain. It was not like working with clay. If the men blasted too deeply, he could not reattach the rock. The project would be ruined. 9 They drilled small holes a few inches apart in several rows. Then, they stuck in small dynamite charges packed with sand. They were able to peel away layers of the mountain until they were down to the layer they wanted. The fine details were done with a special drill bit. 10 This project took sixteen years to complete. Now, three million people view it every year. How did the author organize the information in “Bigger Than Life: Mt. Rushmore”?