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Generation Date: 04/01/2014 Generated By: Che ryl Shelton Title: GRADE 2 SOCIAL STUDIES IN THE CONTENT

Kids will eat healthy food for dinner if they can eat sweets before the meal. When I eat a lot of candy, I start wanting healthy food. The candy makes me feel sick. But, eating foods like veggies and pasta makes me feel better. If parents let their kids ha ve sweets first, they will eat a healthy dinner. 1. The purpose of this passage is to A. amuse readers with a funny story about eating pasta. B. get parents to let kids eat sweets before a meal. C. teach kids that they should not eat too much candy. D. give information about making a healthy dinner.

Bananas Where They Come From Bananas grow on plants that look like trees. These plants grow best in warm places. About 107 countries grow bananas. India, Brazil, and China are some of these countries. Kinds of Bananas There are hundreds of different kinds of bananas. There are baby bananas, red bananas, and even apple bananas. Banana Foods Bananas can be eaten all sorts of ways. People eat them fresh. They also grill, fry, or bake them. Banana splits and banana chips are well-liked banana foods. Yummy and Good for You

Bananas taste good and are good for you. They are sweet. But they are good for your bones. They are also good for your heart.

2. Under which heading is the best place to find out about where bananas grow? A. Banana Foods B. Kinds of Bananas C. Yummy and Good for You D. Where They Come From In 1924, Macy’s held its first Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was not the same as it is today. It did not have big balloons like we are used to seeing. It had animals! The animals came from New York City’s Central Park Zoo. The people who worked at Macy’s dressed up like clowns, knights, and cowboys. In 1927, the balloons were added. Funny things have happened with the balloons. One year, all of them burst! Another time, rain got inside the hat of the Popeye balloon. It dripped all over the crowd! The parade has always been fun to watch. 3. When did Macy's hold its first Thanksgiving Day Parade? A. in 1904 B. in 1917 C. in 1924 D. in 1927

The African Landscape Africa is the second largest continent in the world. Because it is so big, it has room for many types of land. There are large deserts in the north. It does not rain much in the desert. The Sahara Desert is in North Africa. It is the world's largest desert. It is about the same size as the United States. Snakes and lizards live in the golden sand of the Sahara. Africa has the world's longest river, too. It is called the Nile River. Huge crocodiles eat fish and frogs that swim in the Nile. Africa also has grasslands. Those are large areas of land covered with long grass. The land looks flat. Herds of elephants, giraffes, lions, and zebras roam the grasslands. There are also some hot, damp forests in Africa. They are called rainforests. It rains there every day. Monkeys and birds live in the trees. Africa is a beautiful place because it has many kinds of land and animals.

4. This is the table of contents for a book about Africa. All About Africa Table of Contents History of Africa ...................... Page 3 Land Areas in Africa .............. Page 7 People in Africa ......................Page 9 Major Cities in Africa ..............Page 15

Based on the table of contents, where would the reader find this paragraph in All About Africa? A. page 9 B. page 7 C. page 15 D. page 3 One day in 1981, one million tons of snow fell off Mount Sanford. Mount Sanford is a mountain. It is in Alaska. When tons of snow falls, it is called an avalanche. An avalanche is a lot of falling snow. The snow may have ice, dirt, rocks, and trees in it. Avalanches can move 245 miles an hour. This is four times as fast as a person can ski! 5. What is an avalanche made of? A. Mount Sanford B. ice and dirt C. a million tons D. speed 6. Butterflies fly from one flower to another. But some butterflies go a lot farther. Like birds they migrate. This means fly south when the weather is cold. They spend the winter in warm places. When spring comes they fly home. adapted from "A Child's First Library of Learning: Insect World," by Virginia Alexandria

Why is the word "migrate" in boldface type? A. The writer wants the reader to fly the same way that birds fly. B. The writer wants the reader to notice an important word. C. It is the title of a paragraph about birds and butterflies.

D. The writer wants the reader to know that butterflies are insects. 7.

The North Wind and the Sun The North Wind thought he was stronger than the Sun. Down below, a man was wearing a coat. "Whoever can make the man take off his coat first is stronger," said the Sun. The Wind blew hard and the man grabbed his coat tighter. The Sun came out and grew brighter. The man took off his coat. "How did you do that?" asked the Wind. "I was gentle and got my way," said the Sun. adapted from "The North Wind and the Sun" by Aesop

What is the moral of the story? A. It is not good to have contests. B. Gentleness can be stronger than force. C. The wind made the man cold. D. The sun is hot. In 1923, Edward Leedskalnin moved to the United States. Edward made his home in Florida. The stone worker spent many years cutting things out of coral. Coral is hard like stone. It forms in the ocean. Edward said that he knew secret ways to cut stone. He worked at night. Edward made a castle out of coral. He also made a heart table. Edward’s one-of-a-kind Coral Castle can still be seen in Florida. 8. The main purpose of this passage is to A. teach readers how to carve coral into buildings and furniture. B. state an opinion about people that live in Florida. C. amuse readers with a story about old secret castles. D. give information about what Edward made out of coral.

Greece

by Tirzah Tyler (1)

Greece is one of the oldest countries in the world. This country has several islands. The capital of Greece is Athens.

(2)

Democracy first began in Greece. Democracy is a form of government. It started in 507 B.C. with the help of a man named Cleisthenes. In the democracy, Greeks were able to choose their leader by voting. These leaders made rules. This form of government is s till used today.

(3)

Greek food is special. Spinach pie is called spanakopita. Greek sandwiches served in pita bread are called gyros. People in other parts of the world also eat Greek food.

9. What is the main idea of the passage? A. Greece is an old, special place. B. People make gyros in Greece. C. Athens is the capital of Greece. D. Greece has more than one island. Once, Abraham Lincoln was riding his horse with some friends. He stopped near a bunch of wild plum trees and got off his horse. The others didn't know where he had gone. One of his friends asked if the others had seen Lincoln. Another friend said, "When I saw him last, he had caught two young birds that the wind had blown out of their nest. He was looking for the nest to put them back again." When Lincoln came back, the friends teased him about what a soft heart he had. He said to them, "I just wanted to bring those little birds back to their mother." adapted from Abraham Lincoln by Noah Brook s

10. What detail from the story best shows that Lincoln's friends did not understand why he helped the birds? A. They got angry. B. They teased him. C. They tried to help. D. They rode home.

Myrtle Beach by Tirzah Tyler

(1)

People have lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, since the 1500s. Myrtle Beach became a town in 1938. Then it became a city in 1957. It was named after the wax myrtle plant that grows there.

(2)

The city used to have an Air Force base. Now the place where the Air Force base used to be is called The Market Common. That place has places to eat and shop.

(3)

People like to take vacations at Myrtle Beach. People enjoy the warm weather. Myrtle Beach also has fun events every year. Some of the events are a beard contest and a race.

11. The main idea of the third paragraph is that A. Myrtle Beach is a great place to take a vacation. B. people have lived in Myrtle Beach since the 1500s. C. Myrtle Beach has a beard contest every year. D. people like to run in Myrtle Beach's yearly race. Hurricanes are storms that start in the ocean. Warm water gives them power. They get weak and die when they hit land or cold water. The y usually last about 9 days. When they come on land, they bring heavy rain and strong winds. The winds could cause ocean waves to flood the land. The word hurricane comes from the Maya people of Central America. Huracan was their god of wind and storm. 12. What is a hurricane? A. a storm that comes from the ocean B. warm water that comes from the ocean C. a god that the Maya people believe in D. people that come from Central America