OK Mastering the OSTP in Grade 3 ELA Post test

Waiting for the Fair 1 Two friends, Jill and Traci, sat talking in Jill’s room. Jill stared out the window, lost in a daydream. 2 "I love it when the fair comes to town," she said. "We’ve been saving up our allowances for weeks getting ready to go. I can’t wait to spend it all!" 3 Traci sat on Jill’s bed. "I love the corn dogs the best," she said. 4 Jill made a face. "I’d rather eat cotton candy and popcorn." 5 They could agree on one thing. They both liked to ride all the rides, even the scary ones. They laughed. 6 "I can’t wait to see how our pumpkin does in the contest we entered at the fair," Traci said. 7 Jill jumped on the bed next to Traci. "It’s huge! Last week, it weighed 317 pounds!" 8 "That’s great, but …" Traci looked at Jill as though she were about to break bad news to her. "Last year’s winner was Mr. Lewis. His pumpkin weighed 502 pounds." 9 Jill rolled her eyes. "My jaw dropped when I saw that gigantic pumpkin! But, you know, it was mostly orange but one side was covered with green bumps. Our pumpkin is perfectly orange, and it doesn’t have a sit spot." 10 Traci made a face. "A sit spot?" 11 "You know!" Jill said. "A sit spot is what the pumpkin gets when it lies on the ground too long, and that section gets flat. I made up that word!" 12 Traci giggled. "Whatever. Anyway, I think we have a good chance. We take such good care of our pumpkin, like feeding it by injecting milk directly into the vine." 13 Jill nodded. "Oh, and did you hear?" she asked. "If we win the contest, my parents are going to give us some money to ride even more rides and eat even more junk food at the fair. Maybe you can get your parents to do the same thing!" 14 "I’ll try," Traci said. "When we get to the fair, let’s ride the roller coasters first. Let’s save the Ferris wheel as a celebration for after we win." 15 Jill gave Traci a high-five. "Excellent! I can’t wait until the fair gets to town!"

Diggin' Up Fossils 1 Dinosaurs roamed Earth millions of years ago. How do we know so much about them? How can we find out about the time when they lived? After all, there were no people on Earth to tell about it. It was prehistory. There were only animals and plants. What can they tell us? 2 The answer lies in the ground. What we know has come from remains. These are impressions of dead plants and animals. They are called fossils. There are people who study the history of life by looking at fossils. They are called paleontologists. 3 Fossils are remains that have hardened. You could say they are set in stone. They are part of rocks that can be dug up from another time. A fossil is a stone that has the imprint of an object. It could be a bone, shell, or leaf. It could be an entire insect. Not every plant or animal became a fossil when it died. Some dried up under the sun. Some were blown away by strong winds. 4 Becoming a fossil takes a long time. When a plant or an animal dies, everything has to be just right to make a fossil. Sand or mud has to cover the animal or plant quickly. That way, neither the wind nor the sun can damage it. 5 Over time, the fossil forms. It hardens and preserves the shape. To find a fossil, paleontologists dig deep into the ground. There are some places where many fossils have been found. They usually start in places like that. They might find a bone, a tooth, or a part of a leaf. If they are lucky, they sometimes find a footprint of a dinosaur. Every fossil gives us more facts about life in prehistoric times. 6 When scientists look at fossils, they find out many things. They can see what kinds of plants and animals lived long ago. They can tell when they lived and when they became extinct. They can even tell what the weather was like from how the fossil hardened. 7 Millions of fossils have been found. Think about all of the museums, university labs, and private collectors that have them. There really are many fossils that have been discovered. 8 However, when you think of the billions and billions of living things that inhabited the Earth, only a few are immortalized in stone. You might want to buy one, or find a fossil of your own. Then, you can say you have a piece of prehistory!