Questions 1 – 5 pertain to the following story:
The Tournament
(1) The sun was warm as Keith and Joe walked home from school.
(2) “Tomorrow will be a perfect day to skateboard,” Keith said. “Let’s meet at the park at ten o’clock.”
(3) “I can’t,” Joe said. “I have a karate tournament. I’ve been doing it since I was six.”
(4) “Can’t you get out of it?” Keith complained. “This will be the first sunny Saturday of spring.”
(5) “I have a better idea. Come with me to the tournament.” said Joe.
(6) “It sounds boring,” Keith said.
(7) “It won’t be boring,” Joe promised. “Will you come?”
(8) “I’ll ask my mom,” Keith said.
(9) Later, Keith called Joe. “Mom said I can go. When will we meet?”
(10) “We’ll pick you up at nine o’clock,” Joe said. “See you tomorrow!”
(11) On the drive to the tournament, Joe told Keith that karate was a tradition in his family. Joe’s father started studying karate when he was six, just like Joe. His grandfather learned karate as a boy in Okinawa.
(12) “Where’s Okinawa?” Keith asked.
(13) “It’s an island off the tip of Japan,” Joe told him. “That’s where my grandfather grew up.”
(14) “Is your grandfather your karate teacher?” Keith asked.
(15) Joe laughed. “No. He’s too old to teach anymore. I study with Master Lee in a dojo downtown.”
(16) Joe explained that a dojo was a karate school. Master Lee taught many students in his dojo. In the tournament, Joe would compete against friends from his dojo and students from other dojos. He was nervous and excited.
(17) When they arrived at the tournament, Master Lee met them near the door. Joe introduced Keith to Master Lee. Master Lee smiled and bowed to Keith. Keith bowed back, even though he felt a little funny.
(18) Master Lee led them into the arena. The wide floor was divided into several rings. In each ring, students competed. Around the rings, family and friends cheered and offered encouragement. Joe waved to friends from his dojo.
(19) “I have to get dressed,” Joe told Keith. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
(20) Joe disappeared into a locker room. When he came back, he wore a white top and pants. A green belt was tied around his waist.
(21) Keith grinned. “Nice outfit. Why is your belt green? It seems like everyone here has a different color of belt.”
(22) Joe explained that belt color showed the skill level of a student. Beginners had white belts. After passing some tests, they earned a yellow belt. Then they earned a green belt. That was the skill level Joe had achieved. His next step was to earn a brown belt. Someday Joe hoped to earn a black belt like his father and grandfather and Master Lee. Then he could teach karate to others.
(23) Master Lee called Joe to a nearby ring. It was almost time for Joe to compete. He did some stretching exercises to prepare his body for competition. When Joe’s name was called, he bowed to Master Lee and walked to the center of the ring.
(24) Keith felt worried. “What if he gets hurt?” Keith asked Joe’s dad.
(25) Joe’s dad explained it was a light contact competition. Students made only gentle, controlled contact with each other. They were judged on speed and accuracy rather than force or power. Keith was relieved.
(26) As the match began, Keith cheered for Joe as he punched, kicked, and blocked against his opponent’s attacks. Joe was really good at karate! Keith’s and Joe’s dads yelled and clapped as the match came to an end.
(27) Joe was breathless when he came to stand beside them. They waited anxiously for the judges’ decision. The four judges conferred quietly at their table. Finally, they announced their decision: all four points went to Joe. Joe won the match!
(28) As the tournament continued, Joe kept winning matches. Keith cheered louder and louder with every win. He felt proud that someone as talented as Joe was his friend. He also admired the way his friend used his karate skills to honor his family’s heritage. Keith hoped he could attend another tournament with Joe very soon!
1. Why can’t Joe go skateboarding with Keith?
- Joe hates skateboarding
- Joe has a class at Master Lee’s dojo
- Joe has to go to a karate tournament
- Joe doesn’t like Keith anymore
2. What is a dojo?
- A karate technique
- A karate school
- A karate teacher
- A karate student
3. Based on the story, why does Joe want Keith to come to the karate tournament with him?
- Joe wants Keith to understand that karate is important to him
- Joe does not want Keith to go skateboarding without him
- Joe wants Keith to meet Master Lee and Joe’s dad
- Joe wants Keith to be jealous of his karate skills
4. Complete the following chart based on information in the story:
White belt
Yellow belt
____________
Brown belt
Black belt
- Blue belt
- Green belt
- Red belt
- Purple belt
5. Based on the information given in the story, how likely is Joe to keep practicing karate?
- Very unlikely
- Somewhat unlikely
- Somewhat likely
- Very likely
Questions 6 – 10 pertain to the following passage:
(1) Beautiful melodies floated from Uncle Eddie’s guitar. Kari listened with wonder. The way Uncle Eddie made the guitar sing filled Kari with a desire to learn to play. She wanted to make beautiful music too.
(2) “Teach me to play, Uncle Eddie,” Kari begged.
(3) Uncle Eddie looked intently at Kari. “Learning to play isn’t easy, Kari. It takes hard work and practice. Are you ready for that?”
(4) “I am! I promise.” Kari was thrilled. She was sure playing the guitar would come easily for her. “When can we start?”
(5) “I’ll come by at two o’clock on Saturday,” Uncle Eddie said. “Be ready to work hard.”
(6) Kari laughed. “I will,” she promised. “Thanks, Uncle Eddie. See you Saturday!”
(7) Kari could hardly wait for Saturday to come. She dreamed about the songs she would play. She imagined impressing her friends with her skills. Kari was sure she would be a guitar expert in no time. She was so excited.
(8) On Saturday afternoon, Uncle Eddie rang the doorbell. Kari ran to let him in.
(9) “Ready to learn?” Uncle Eddie greeted her.
(10) Kari nodded. She followed him into the family room. She waited for him to get out his guitar and teach her a song, but he didn’t even open the case. Instead, he took a book from his music bag.
(11) “We’ll start with a history of the guitar,” Uncle Eddie said. “Did you know stringed instruments have been around for thousands of years?”
(12) Kari was unimpressed. “Wow,” she said.
(13) Uncle Eddie said guitars came from Spain more than 500 years ago. He said they could be used to play a variety of music styles and were one of the most popular instruments.
(14) Kari sighed. “That’s great, Uncle Eddie, but I just want to play. When can I start playing songs?”
(15) Uncle Eddie laughed. “Patience, Kari. There’s a lot to learn about the guitar before you’re ready to play one.”
(16) “Like what?” Kari asked.
(17) Uncle Eddie handed her a diagram of a guitar. He explained the two basic guitar parts were the body and the neck. These were made up of other parts.
(18) “The tuning pegs are tightened and loosened so the strings make the right notes,” Uncle Eddie told Kari.
(19) Then he showed her the nut at the top and the bridge at the bottom that held the strings in place. He pointed out the fingerboard all along the neck and the frets that helped with finger placement. Finally, he described the top of the body-the sounding board-with a hole in the middle to produce a sweet sound.
(20) Uncle Eddie told Kari to learn the names of the guitar parts as her homework for the next lesson.
(21) “But I don’t want homework,” Kari protested. “I want to play songs! I didn’t even play one note.”
(22) With a sigh, Uncle Eddie opened his guitar case and took out his instrument. He played a simple folk song. When he played the song three times, Kari grinned.
(23) “I’ve got it! I can do this,” Kari insisted.
(24) Uncle Eddie showed her how to hold the guitar. Kari started to play, but the notes were all wrong. It didn’t sound at all like Uncle Eddie’s beautiful music. Kari handed the guitar back to Uncle Eddie with frustration.
(25) “Maybe the guitar isn’t for me,” she said.
(26) Without a word, Uncle Eddie took out a CD and put it in the player behind him. Tuneless, horrible music filled the room. Kari laughed.
(27) “Hey! That person is worse than I am,” she said.
(28) Uncle Eddie smiled. “That’s me at my first lesson.”
(29) “No way!” Kari said.
(30) “Yep,” said Uncle Eddie. “Kari, I’ve played for 15 years. It took time and practice to get this good.”
(31) “Do you think I could play like you someday?” Kari asked.
(32) “If you work hard,” answered Uncle Eddie.
(33) “Maybe I should start with my homework for our next lesson,” Kari said.
(34) Uncle Eddie hugged her. “That sounds like a great place to start.”
6. Based on the story, which of the following best qualifies Uncle Eddie to teach guitar lessons to Kari?
- He is Kari’s uncle
- He has taught many guitar students before
- He is looking for work
- He knows how to play the guitar very well
7. In paragraph 3, what does the word “intently” mean?
- In a focused way
- In a disinterested way
- In a happy way
- In a disgusted way
8. How does the author show in paragraph 14 that Kari is unhappy with Uncle Eddie’s history lesson on guitars?
- By saying, “Kari was unhappy.”
- By having Kari say something unkind to Uncle Eddie
- By writing, “Kari sighed.”
- By having Kari leave the room
9. What is the difference between Uncle Eddie’s feelings and Kari’s feelings about learning to play the guitar?
- Uncle Eddie feels it will be hard, while Kari feels it will be easy
- Kari feels it will be hard, while Uncle Eddie feels it will be easy
- Both Kari and Uncle Eddie feel it will be hard
- Both Kari and Uncle Eddie feel it will be easy
10. What is the main theme of this story?
- To show that Uncle Eddie is not a good teacher
- To show that Kari is not a good student
- To show that learning to play the guitar is boring
- To show that learning to play the guitar takes hard work
Grade 4 Reading Answer Key
1. Answer: C
is the best choice: In paragraph 3 Joe tells Keith that he can’t go skateboarding because he has a tournament to attend. A, B, and D are not the best choices because they are not true statements according to the story.
2. Answer: B
B is the best choice because paragraph 16 explains that a dojo is a karate school. A, C, and D are not the best choices because they present incorrect definitions of the word “dojo”.
3. Answer: A
A is the best choice because Joe invites Keith to the tournament so that Keith will understand that karate is important to Joe. B and D are not the best choices because they do not accurately represent Joe’s attitude in the story. C is not the best choice because it does not represent Joe’s main motivation for inviting Keith to the tournament.
4. Answer: B
B is the best choice because a “green belt” properly completes the sequence. A, C, and D are not the best choices because they are not standard karate belt colors and cannot complete the presented sequence.
5. Answer: D
D is the best choice because karate is very important to Joe, so he is very likely to keep practicing it. A, B, and C are not the best choices because they do not accurately represent Joe’s likelihood of continuing to practice karate.
6. Answer: D
D is the best choice: Uncle Eddie is qualified to teach guitar because he plays very well. A, B, and C are not the best choices because they do not represent Uncle Eddie’s best qualification to teach guitar.
7. Answer: A
is the best choice because “intently” means “in a focused way.” B, C, and D are not the best choices because they do not represent accurate definitions of “intently.”
8. Answer: C
C is the best choice because paragraph 14 says “Kari sighed” as the author’s way of indicating Kari’s displeasure. A, B, and D are not the best choices because they do not reference details included in paragraph 14.
9. Answer: A
A is the best choice because Uncle Eddie feels playing the guitar will be hard, but Kari feels it will be easy. B, C, and D are not the best choices because they represent inaccurate perspectives for Uncle Eddie and Kari according to the story.
10. Answer: D
D is the best choice because the main theme of the story is to show that learning to play the guitar takes hard work. A, B, and C are not the best choices because they do not represent the main theme of the story.
