UNIT 1 WEEK 4
Read the article “Bicycles, Then and Now” before answering Numbers 1
through 5.
Bicycles, Then and Now
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
Sometimes, today’s modern products have a very remarkable resemblance to earlier
WA_007A_127092
inventions. Today’s balance bikes for children look like an early model by Baron
Karl von Drais Sauerbrun. Bicycles began with this German inventor. A biography
of him reveals that he was born in 1785. He worked for his uncle and was given the
title of professor of mechanics. In 1817, he made a bicycle-like contraption. It had
two wheels and was made of wood. It had a seat but no pedals. To move, the rider
had to use his legs to push the machine forward. It weighed about 50 pounds! It
must have been like riding a very heavy scooter.
Drais exhibited his running machine in 1818. He was given a patent for it the same
year. In Germany, it was called the Draisine. In France, it became the Draisienne.
And in England, it was called a hobby horse. For a number of reasons, this early
bicycle was popular for only a short time. Riders’ boots wore out too quickly. It was
hard to steer. There were very few evenly paved streets. Many roads were rutted,
sunken, and full of holes at this time in history. Therefore, it was even more
difficult to balance on these new inventions. Riders who decided to use sidewalks
instead were crashing into pedestrians and causing injuries.
The history of bicycles shows the chronological order of events as inventors kept
improving the design. A Scottish blacksmith named Kirkpatrick Macmillan is
believed to have invented the foot pedal for a bicycle in 1840. In the 1860s, the
velocipede, which means “fast feet,” first appeared. It had pedals, two wooden
wheels, and an iron frame.
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Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Grade 5
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UNIT 1 WEEK 4
Next came a British bicycle maker named James Starley. He made improvements in
both the bicycle and the tricycle, a three-wheeled rider. His nephew John Kemp
Starley worked for him. The younger man had extraordinary mechanical skills. He
built the Rover in 1885. It is often described as the first modern bicycle. It had two
26-inch wheels, ball bearings, and rubber tires. It had a chain drive, as well. The
chain drive had been used before on other machines but not on bicycles. The chain
transfers power from one part of the machine to another. On bicycles, it distributes
power between the two wheels.
In the United States, an amazing number of bicycles were produced in the late
1800s. This spectacular growth led to more inventions. During the 1900s, the
wooden wheels were replaced with air-filled rubber tires. These wheels made for a
much more comfortable ride. Other improvements followed. The invention of
two-speed and three-speed bicycles improved efficiency, for example.
The market for bicycles decreased with the rising popularity of cars and motorcycles.
These motorized vehicles became a faster and more convenient way to get around.
As a result, in the 1920s through the 1950s, children became the primary target
market for bicycle manufacturers. So, many bicycles were designed to appeal to
America’s youth. In the 1960s and 1970s, adults grew more interested in fitness and
preserving the environment. Then the industry began growing again.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
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34
Grade 5
Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Name:
Date:
Now answer Numbers 1 through 5. Base your answers on “Bicycles, Then
and Now.”
1
Read the sentence from the article.
A biography of him reveals that he was born in 1785.
The word biography comes from two Greek roots, bio and graph. The root bio
means “life.” The root graph can mean “write.” What does biography mean?
A a made-up story
B
the author of a book
C a story about someone’s life
D the time it takes to write a book
2
This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.
Part A: How does the author show that bicycles have gotten better through
the years?
A by contrasting just two types of bicycles
B
by telling the sequence of improvements
C by comparing bicycles with other inventions
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
D by explaining what caused people to start using cars
Part B: Which sentence from the article supports your answer in part A?
A “It must have been like riding a very heavy scooter.”
B
“For a number of reasons, this early bicycle was popular for only a
short time.”
C “Riders who decided to use sidewalks instead were crashing into
pedestrians and causing injuries.”
D
“The history of bicycles shows the chronological order of events as
inventors kept improving the design.”
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Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Grade 5
35
Name:
3
Date:
This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.
Part A: The root of chronological is chron, which means “time.” What does
chronological have to do with?
A why things happen
B
how things happen
C when things happen
D
where things happen
Part B: Which phrase from the article best describes what
chronological means?
A “these new inventions”
B
“order of events”
C “improving the design”
D
4
“believed to have invented”
Which event made the bicycle more popular in the 1960s and 1970s?
A People became interested in fitness.
B
Bicycles were built with chain drives.
C Rubber tires replaced wooden ones.
Cars became a good way to get around.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
D
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Grade 5
Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Name:
5
Date:
Look at the events in the box. Write the events in order in the chart.
Events:
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
The chain drive was added to the bicycle.
Macmillan invented the pedal for the bike.
Children became the main market for bicycles.
Drais received a patent for his running machine.
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Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Grade 5
37
UNIT 1 WEEK 4
Read the article “Living Better, Thanks to Inventions!” before answering
Numbers 6 through 10.
Living Better, Thanks to Inventions!
Inventions improve people’s lives in many ways. People use inventions every day.
But they never pause to consider who made them or how they were made. Life
would be quite different without these inventions. Today, we have come to rely
on them.
Automobiles
Automobiles were invented to be a method of transportation over land that did
not require the labor of animals. The invention of the automobile changed the
landscape and the economy of the nation. This invention lead to improved roads
and to the development of suburbs. People could work in the cities but live away
from the noise and crowds of urban life. People could drive to their jobs and to
their friends’ and relatives’ homes. The distance between places seemed to decrease
with the arrival of the automobile.
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38
Grade 5
Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
Wheelchairs
The wheelchair assists people who cannot walk due to a physical condition. A
wheelchair is just that—a chair with wheels. Many of them also have motors for
independence and greater mobility. All wheelchairs are the same in one way: they
all help the injured and the
physically challenged to get
around. People of all ages and
of different abilities use
wheelchairs. Sometimes the
need is only temporary.
UNIT 1 WEEK 4
Telephones
Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention of the telephone. Bell first
tested his machine on March 10, 1876. It quickly became popular. His invention
opened up a whole new way of communicating. It allowed people to communicate
over distances almost instantly. Before telephones, most people communicated by
writing and by sending letters through the mail. If you can consider such a thing,
contemplate what life would be like without telephones.
Computers
Today, computers perform many of the tasks that only telephones could once do.
Much of the work of transmitting phone calls, and thousands of other tasks, is
done by computers. Computers are everywhere in the United States. The country
could not function without them. We depend upon them to perform many
necessary tasks. Imagine what would happen if computers suddenly shut down.
Businesses, digital banking and shopping, and travel by airplane and car would
halt. Most people would be without energy and communication. Lights would go
out. Things could get out of control.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
Photography
Photography has changed our way of seeing ourselves and the world around us.
Early photographs captured images of people and events in history. In traditional
photography, the light leaves an impression on surfaces coated with chemicals.
Today we take digital photographs to record the events of our daily lives. We also
document history’s extraordinary events through photographs.
Taking It Forward
Many inventions have been combined in order to make life easier. Cell phones
now have built-in cameras. People can take photographs on the go. Using a
computer and the Internet, people can share those photographs with friends and
family right away. People can use their computers to have video telephone calls.
They can talk face-to-face with friends, family, and coworkers around the world. It
is as if they were sitting across the table from each other. Without the invention of
the photograph, telephone, or computer, these tasks would not be possible.
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Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Grade 5
39
Name:
Date:
Now answer Numbers 6 through 10. Base your answers on “Living Better, Thanks
to Inventions!”
6
Read the sentence from the article.
Automobiles were invented to be a method of transportation over land that
did not require the labor of animals.
The word automobile comes from the Greek roots auto and mobile. The root
auto means “self.” The root mobile means “capable of moving.” What does this
suggest about the automobile?
A It is available to only certain types of people.
7
B
It can move without being pulled by an animal.
C
It can be driven by only one person in each family.
D
It is able to drive itself when a person cannot drive it.
Read the sentence from the article.
Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention of the telephone.
The word telephone comes from Greek roots tele and phon. The root tele means
“far off.” The root phon means “sound.” What is a telephone?
A a device for very loud sounds
B
a device for sounds that are close by
D
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
C a device that helps sound travel quietly
a device that helps sound travel a long way
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Grade 5
Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Name:
8
Date:
Read the sentence from the article.
Photography has changed our way of seeing ourselves and the world
around us.
The word photography comes from Greek roots that mean “light” and “draw.”
What does photography mean?
A making a picture using heat
B
making a picture using light
C making a picture using paints
D
9
making a picture using a pencil
This question has two parts. First, answer part A. Then, answer part B.
Part A: Why does the author write about the telephone before the computer?
A to point out that computers were invented after the telephone
B
to show that people did not communicate before the telephone
C
to prove that the telephone is more important than the computer
D
to suggest that Alexander Graham Bell could have invented
the computer
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
Part B: Which sentence from the article supports your answer in part A?
A “Today, computers perform many of the tasks that only telephones could
once do.”
B
“Most people would be without energy and communication.”
C
“Many inventions have been combined in order to make life easier.”
D
“Cell phones now have built-in cameras.”
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Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4
Grade 5
41
Name:
10
Date:
The inventions from the article came before the changes to how people lived.
Draw a line from each invention to the change that followed it.
computers
freedom for those who
could not walk
photography
the recording of images of
world events
wheelchairs
digital banking
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STOP
42
Grade 5
Approaching-Level Weekly Assessment • Unit 1, Week 4