ELA Test Prep

No one knows exactly what causes tornados, but some scientists believe that when warm air meets cold air, a tornado may form. The reason for this is that the warm air is lighter than the cold air, so it rises up fast and meets different winds moving different directions. Under the right conditions, this can cause a tornado. Though there is still much mystery surrounding tornados, many people believe that when warm moist air meets cool dry air, tornados can result.

Most ski and snowboard resorts open in mid-November. Sometimes, though, there is no snow forskiers and snowboarders to ride. When that happens,the resorts fire up their snow machines, called snow guns or cannons. If temperatures are cold enough, air and water can be combined to create artificial snow, and the “no snow problem” will disappear under a pile of fresh, white, powder. Some ski resorts use the snow machines nightly until mother nature creates enough of her own snow!

Video Game Systems, Then & Now

The Missing Pieces Games, Games, Games

The first video game console, “Brown Box”, was

invented in 1967. In 1977, Nintendo created their

first gaming unit along with the Atari video

game. Many different video game players came

out in 1982 including the Intellivision. The Sega

became popular in the early 1990s and in 1994,

the first PlayStation was released. In 2001, the

Xbox came to stores! Nintendo released the Wii

in 2006 followed by the Xbox One in 2013.

What is the author's purpose?

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin to Charles and Caroline Ingalls. She met and married Almanzo James Wilder in 1885. She published many books based on her travels to the west. Her writing became the basis for the " Little House" series She died in 1957.

Read the excerpt below and determine what the writer might do to add rising action to this story:

All around them, traffic had come to a standstill. Drivers were honking, but nobody budged.

"Can't you take another route or something?" Krista asked. "The concert starts in twenty minutes. We paid a lot for these tickets, and I don't want to miss the beginning!"

"I can't even move ten feet, Krista, much less get onto another road," said Lawrence. "Besides, this is the most direct route."

Which detail could be a part of a story's climax?

In the excerpt below, which sentence signals the end of the exposition and the beginning of the rising action?

(1) "The can't do this!" Coretta shouted. Some big company from out of town could not just show up and take away her mother's store--could they?

"Don't get so angry," said Mrs. Carter. "I'm afraid they can do this, if I don't come up with the money to match their offer."

(2) "Well, we're going to get that money. Even if I have to give you all my earnings!" Coretta was willing to part with all the money from her summer job. (3) But when Coretta got to work the next day, she got an even worse surprise. Her boss had decided that three writing tutors were two too many.

"Sorry Coretta, but I can only afford to keep one of you. And you're only in high school -- Lucia is in college!" (4) "Great," Coretta said. "Now Mom and I are both broke!"

Alan had very few responsibilities, but one of them was to clean his room. It did not take long, but Alan still didn't like doing it. One day Alan thought of a way to save some time. Rather than putting everything neatly back in its place, he decided to just throw all the stuff on the floor into his closet. His mom would think that he had cleaned his room, and it would only take a fraction of the time. Alan was pleased with himself for thinking of this brilliant idea. He figured that this would save a lot of time and energy. The next time his room got messy, he piled everything up in the closet and the pile grew. It grew and grew. Then Alan's friend Steve called. "Alan, everyone is playing baseball at the park. Do you want to play too?" Alan loved baseball. "That sounds great, Steve. I'll be right there." Alan went to grab his baseball mitt when he realized that it wasn't in its usual place. Alan thought to himself, I guess it's in the closet. When he opened up the closet door, he was faced with a huge, unnavigable mess, some of which poured out as he opened the door. Alan began digging through the pile in a frantic attempt to find his mitt. He dug and dug, and as he dug his room got messier and messier. Soon his room was the messiest that it had ever been, and he still hadn't found his mitt. Alan sighed in despair. By the time he found his mitt, the boys had long concluded their game and Alan had hours of cleaning ahead of him before he'd be allowed to leave.

What is the theme of the story?

Jeremiah squinted from the sun. He was thinking about the game. They could have won. He could have won the game for them. All he needed to do was catch the ball, but he didn't. He dropped it. His coach talked to him. "Jeremiah, we had a great season. Nobody's perfect. Look at me. Ha ha," he said. Jeremiah smiled at the coach, but he couldn't forgive himself so easily.

The dew on the grass made my running shoes damp. It didn't bother me. The sound of my feet hitting the street formed a rhythm, a steady pattern of light thumps. I timed my breathing with the rhythm. These sounds filled my head. I thought of nothing other than the next step and keeping my tempo. I soared over the sidewalks like concrete clouds.

Red looked across the prairie. He didn't see anything concerning. He wondered why Texas Joe had hollered like that. Texas Joe turned to him. The ghost that Texas Joe had just seen was gone. Texas Joe swatted at the air. Now he felt crazy. "You have to believe me, Red. It was just here," said Texas Joe. Red scowled at him in disbelief. "What was just here, Joe?" he asked. Red was angry with Texas Joe for disturbing his sleep for no apparent reason.

Diamond spent twelve hours working on her Popsicle stick White House yesterday. Today she noticed that there are bushes in front of the building, so she spent another six hours making bushes out of construction paper.

What character trait does Diamond demonstrate?

Courtney asked her neighbor if she could borrow an egg to complete a recipe that she had already started. The next day Courtney returned an egg to her neighbor along with a thank you card expressing her sincere gratitude.

What character trait does Courtney demonstrate?

When Angela asked her mother if she could go to the party, her mother said that she could not. So Angela asked her father, who said that she could. She then played her parents off one another until she got her way. Angela enjoyed herself at the party.

What character trait does Angela demonstrate?

Many people watch the Super Bowl more for the commercials than the game itself, critiquing the best and the worst each year. But what makes a great commercial? Write an essay in which you explain the traits of an effective and memorable television ad.