READING

Read the passage below about raisins. Then answer the questions that follow.

Raisins: The Incredible Shrinking Grapes!

by Cathy Lynn Powell )a"e you e"er walked down a supermarket aisle and counted the many di erent ways raisins are used* +ou can ind them in breads$ cakes$ candies$ cookies$ or cereal. &hey,re also sold in boxes to eat as snacks. #id you know that raisins actually start out as plump$ -uicy grapes$ and that they,re sun. dried to their amiliar small$ wrinkled shape* People ha"e eaten raisins or centuries. &he ancient Egyptians were the irst to preser"e ruit by drying it$ which increased its sweetness and added to its /a"or. 0s early as 1222 Egyptians and Persians were using raisins as money to pay their taxes. Pharaohs always had raisins on their banquet tables to show how wealthy they were. Later the Greeks and Romans decorated places o worship with clusters o raisins and used them as pri!es in sporting e"ents. #uring the eighteenth century$ %panish missionaries brought muscat grape"ines to Cali ornia rom Europe. &hey planted the "ines around their missions to help pro"ide ood or the 'ndians. %oon a ter the Ci"il (ar$ some gold prospectors disco"ered that the hot$ dry summers and mild winters o the Cali ornia "alleys were per ect or growing grapes. 0round 3456$ the irst seedless.grape cuttings were brought to Cali ornia by a man named (. B. &hompson. )e grew the grapes we now call &hompson seedless grapes. By 3461$ Cali ornia was growing o"er 72 million pounds o raisin grapes a year. &oday about 734 million pounds are grown each year in Cali ornia$ making the 8nited %tates one o the world,s ma-or raisin producers.
BC

Raisin grapes are grown the same way as other grapes$ but are har"ested at di erent times. 't takes about three or our years be ore new "ines bear grapes$ but with proper care these "ines can produce ruit or one hundred years. Raisin grapes are le t on the "ines until they are ully ripe and their sugar le"el is at its highest. (hen the grapes are dried to make raisins$ they retain about one. ourth o their moisture$ ten minerals$ and 52 percent o their natural sugars. &hese sugars are absorbed by your body to gi"e quick energy$ while the iron and copper earn raisins their nickname$ 9blood builders.9 Raisins can be har"ested by hand or machines. 0 ter picking$ they are placed on

Grade 7 Reading Item Sampler 2005-2006

READING
large wooden or hea"y brown paper trays and laid between the rows o "ines. &hey dry in the sun or ten to i teen days$ then are stacked and dried again. #ried raisins are stored in giant bins called 9sweat boxes9 to e"en out their moisture content. :inally$ the raisins are sent to packing houses. (orkers grade$ or si!e$ the raisins by passing them o"er screens o di erent.si!e mesh. &hen machines remo"e the stems. Raisins with seeds go through special machines with speci ic rollers that press the seeds to the top. %aw.toothed rollers carry the seeds away$ and the ruit goes on to other machines that spray a ine mist o water o"er them. &he cleaned raisins are then pressed and sealed into packages and shipped to bakeries or directly to supermarkets where you can buy them. 't takes about our and a hal pounds o grapes to produce one pound o raisins. %o$ the next time you "isit the supermarket$ see how many oods you can ind that ha"e raisins . . . the incredible shrinking grapes;

Grade 7 Reading Item Sampler 2005-2006

READING
A.2.3.1 1. &he author most likely includes the irst paragraph o the passage to 0 < B C # explain where to ind raisins. show the importance o raisins. describe how people make raisins. con"ince readers to eat more raisins. A.2.4.1 3. 0ccording to the passage$ which step happens a ter raisins are sent to packing houses* 0 < B C # A.2.2.2 . Read the ollowing sentence rom the passage. 9(hen the grapes are dried to make raisins$ they retain about one. ourth o their moisture$ ten minerals$ and 52 percent o their natural sugars.9 (hat does the word retain mean* < 0 B C #
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Raisins are stored in giant sweat boxes. Raisins are passed o"er screens to be si!ed. Raisins are dried in the sun or ten to i teen days. Raisins are placed on large trays between rows o "ines.

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B.3.1.1 !. (hich statement rom the passage is an opinion* 0 B 9't takes about three or our years be ore new "ines bear grapes . . .9 9Raisins with seeds go through special machines with speci ic rollers . . .9 9 . . . seedless.grape cuttings were brought to Cali ornia by a man named (. B. &hompson.9 9 . . . the hot$ dry summers and mild winters o the Cali ornia "alleys were per ect or growing grapes.9

keep reduce send release

< #

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Grade 7 Reading Item Sampler 2005-2006

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A.2.4.1 ". (hich is the best new title or this passage* 0 < B C #
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9Raisins as >oney9 90 Brie Background o Raisins9 9(hy Raisins 0re Good or +ou9 9Baking and Cooking with Raisins9

Grade 7 Reading Item Sampler 2005-2006

READING
Ite# $%
This ite# will be reported under &ategor' () &o#prehension and Reading Skills. (ssess#ent (nchor: 0.1 8nderstand non iction texts appropriate to grade le"el. Specific *ligible &ontent addressed b' this ite#: 0.1.?.3 %ummari!e the main ideas and important details o the text. Scoring Guide: Score @ In response to this ite# the student+ demonstrates complete understanding o the text by summari!ing the process o how grapes become raisins using three examples rom the passage. demonstrates partial understanding o the text in summari!ing the process o how grapes become raisins. AExampleB %tudent summari!es the process using two examples rom the passage.C demonstrates incomplete understanding o the text in summari!ing the process. AExampleB %tudent summari!es the process using one example rom the passage.C response pro"ides insu icient material or scoring or is inaccurate in all respects. BLD.Blank 2 E&.E taskFtopic LEE.Response in a language other than English 'L.'llegible *,a#ple+Top Scoring Response -3 .oints/: Su##ar' with *,a#ples Raisins start as special grapes that are kept ripening on the "ine until they ha"e a high sugar le"el. &hey are then picked and le t on trays to dry in the sun. Gext they are stored in sweat boxes to e"en out the moisture inside them. &he stems are remo"ed and any seeds are pressed out. &hat,s pretty much how grapes become raisins.

Grade 7 Reading Item Sampler 2005-2006

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READING
(. .".1 %. Response Score: 3

'n your own words$ summari!e the process o how grapes become raisins. 'nclude at least three examples rom the passage in your response. Be sure to include examples rom the beginning$ middle$ and end o the process.

546@

&he student has summari!ed the process o how grapes become raisins using beginning$ middle$ and ending examples o the process rom the passage.

Grade 7 Reading Item Sampler 2005-2006

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