Grades 6-8
English Language Arts
Reading, Language, and Listening
Answer Key
July 2014
Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Reading Passage
Questions #1-10
James “Jim” Bridger
1804-1881
1
James Felix “Jim” Bridger’s life story is as interesting as the tall tales he used to tell.
Bridger was born in Virginia in 1804. Later, his family moved to a farm near St. Louis,
Missouri. At age fourteen, he went to work as a blacksmith’s apprentice. He learned
how to make horseshoes and other products out of iron.
2
When Bridger was eighteen years old, he was the youngest member of a group that
explored and mapped the Missouri River. As a part of the expedition, he was one of the
first European American people to see the natural wonders of what is now Yellowstone
National Park.
3
Yellowstone was the first in a long line of landscapes that Bridger was to encounter
before others. While spending the winter of 1824–25 in what is now Cove, Utah,
members of the team Bridger was with argued about which direction they thought the
Bear River went. The team chose Bridger to explore the river. He ended up at the Great
Salt Lake, which he mistook for an inlet of the Pacific Ocean because of the lake’s
saltiness. For many years, people assumed Bridger was the first non-Native American to
discover the Great Salt Lake. However, some now think that Etienne Provost, a FrenchCanadian trapper, may have seen it first.
4
Using the skills he learned while exploring the Missouri, Bridger became very good at
trapping beavers for their furs, also called “pelts.” By 1830, Bridger became part owner
of a company that specialized in beaver trapping. Beaver pelts were very popular for
hats and clothing at the time.
5
Bridger’s success at trapping—as well as the growing number of people moving to the
western part of America—led to the building of a trading post and fort near the Green
River in Wyoming. It became known as Fort Bridger. Many people passed the fort as
they traveled west on the Oregon Trail. Often, the settlers stopped to buy supplies, get
their wagons fixed, and hear Jim Bridger’s stories. He became famous for telling tall
tales to the people passing through.
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
6
Bridger’s stories were funny, extravagant, and often unbelievable. He would tell
stories of glass mountains, “peetrified” birds singing “peetrified” songs, and talk about
days when Pike’s Peak was just a hole in the ground. These outrageous stories were told
both to tease new arrivals from the east and to amuse the locals who knew they weren’t
true.
7
The Rocky Mountains were largely unexplored and Bridger spent many years hiking
them and trapping animals. In his travels, he learned a great deal about the terrain and
wildlife of the area. Because of his knowledge and skills, he became a valued guide.
People often hired him to lead them across the mountains.
8
In 1850, Bridger found a short cut through the mountains of Wyoming through the
Rocky Mountains. This path became known as Bridger’s Pass. Because the pass
shortened trips by sixty-one miles, settlers moving west frequently used it. In addition,
the pass later became part of the Union Pacific Railroad. The Union Pacific was part of
the Transcontinental Railroad, the first railroad to cross America from coast to coast.
9
Bridger spent twenty years working as a guide. When he retired, he went back to
Missouri to live on a farm, where he died in 1881 at the age of seventy-seven. Jim
Bridger is remembered for being a skilled mountain man and storyteller. Today, there
are many places in the American West named in honor of Jim Bridger.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #1
Grade 6
Option A: This answer is incorrect. While the author provides details about several jobs Bridger
had, his careers are not the central idea.
Option B: This answer is correct. Bridger's experiences gave him an interesting life.
Option C: This answer is incorrect. While illustrated by Bridger's story, this is not the central idea
of this passage.
Option D: This answer is incorrect. While this is factually accurate, it is not the central idea of the
passage.
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #2
Grade 6
Option A: This answer is correct. The passage begins with the author comparing Jim Bridger’s
life to the tall tales he often told.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. Although the author describes Bridger’s exploration, the
author does not introduce Bridger this way.
Option C: This answer is incorrect. Although the author states Bridger was a blacksmith’s
apprentice, this is just a detail of his early life. The author has already introduced Bridger by
other means.
Option D: This answer is incorrect. Although the author includes this information in the passage,
the author does not introduce Bridger this way.
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #3
Grade 7
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #4
Grade 7
Part A
Option A: This answer is incorrect. Students might incorrectly generalize that his numerous
talents illustrate his importance as an explorer. However, this detail does not emphasize his
importance as an explorer but instead shows that Bridger had many skills.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. While this statement tells that Bridger was an experienced
explorer, it does not describe his importance.
Option C: This answer is correct. Bridger’s explorations made it possible for others to travel to
and settle the West.
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Option D: This answer is incorrect. Although this is a true statement, it does not tell the impact
of his exploration.
Part B
Option A: This answer is incorrect. This statement tells us how Bridger got his start, but it does
not support the answer to part A.
Option B: This answer is correct. Based on the information in the passage, Bridger was one of
the first European Americans to explore the Yellowstone area, and this statement supports the
answer in part A.
Option C: This answer is incorrect. Students might think this answer is correct because it notes
an important discovery. However, the reader learns that another explorer may be responsible
for the discovery, and, consequently, the detail does not support the larger statement.
Option D: This answer is incorrect. Students might select this answer because the detail notes
Bridger’s value as a guide. However, this part of the passage does not focus on the importance
or impact of his exploration.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #5
Grade 6
Option A: This answer is correct. The passage states that Bridger died in Missouri and the state
is labeled on the map.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. Although this information is discussed in the passage, it is not
included on the map.
Option C: This answer is incorrect. Although Bridger’s Pass is mentioned in the passage, it is not
included on the map.
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Option D: This answer is correct. The passage states that Bridger was born in Virginia, which is
included in the map of the United States.
Option E: This answer is correct. This information is discussed in the passage and the location of
the fort named after Bridger can also be seen on the map.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #6
Grade 7
Other Possible Correct Responses:
•
•
He uses it to explain how Bridger talked.
It emphasizes the way Bridger told stories.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #7
Grade 6
Option A: This answer is incorrect. While soil is part of the terrain, terrain includes more than
the type of soil in an area.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. Terrain might be rugged, but the term terrain is broader and
includes all features of the land.
Option C: This answer is incorrect. Plants could be considered part of the terrain; however,
terrain does not include animals.
Option D: This answer is correct. Terrain is the term for the features of the land, such as hills,
water, and rocks.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #8
Grade 8
PART A
Option A: This answer is incorrect. Reckless means thoughtless or careless. Bridger carefully
constructed his stories to be larger than life.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. Extravagant can suggest wastefulness, but that meaning is
not used to describe Bridger’s stories.
Option C: This answer is incorrect. Extravagant can be used to mean generous. However,
Bridger’s stories are described in the passage as tall tales and unbelievable. These are clues to
“larger than life.”
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Option D: This answer is correct. As it is used in the passage, extravagant means “larger than
life.”
PART B
Selection of BOTH of the following phrases:
•
•
“often unbelievable”
“outrageous stories”
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #9
Grade 8
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Editing Task
Questions #10-12
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #10
Grade 6
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #11
Grade 7
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #12
Grade 6
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Questions #13-15
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #13
Grade 7
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #14
Grade 6
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #15
Grade 6
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Listening Passage
Questions #16-18
Audio Script:
[Orientation Statement:] Listen to this science podcast.
Pluto was in charge of the underworld in Roman mythology. Maybe the fact that the planet is so far
from the Sun and is in perpetual cold and darkness is the reason why the planet Pluto was given this
name. Pluto was discovered in 1930, by accident.
Calculations had been made that predicted the existence of a planet past Neptune. This prompted
Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Arizona to start scanning the night sky. The original
calculations turned out to be wrong, but (voice actor: emphasis on “but”) Tombaugh found Pluto as a
result of his scan.
Since 1930, Pluto was deemed the 9th planet in our solar system. For 76 years the small planet that
takes 248 years to complete its orbit around the Sun was the farthest outlier of a 9-planet system. In
2006, the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto from full planet status to a “dwarf planet.”
The reasoning for this is that Pluto’s gravity is not strong enough to clear away objects that are in the
path of its orbit. In other words, Pluto just isn’t big enough. An unexpected outcry followed, textbooks
had to be rewritten, long-held beliefs were shattered, and many people felt that something important
was being taken away from them. However, Pluto’s reclassification also brought two more dwarf planets
with it: Ceres and Eris.
The IAU has said that Pluto is the prototype for a “new class of Trans-Neptunian Objects,” which will
be called “plutoids.” To the IAU, Pluto’s reclassification is simply part of our ongoing process of learning
about our universe.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #16
Grade 7
Option A: This answer is incorrect. The student may choose this option because it is a quotation
from the podcast. However, it is not offered as a reason Pluto was demoted.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. The student may choose this option because it is a quotation
from the podcast. However, it is not offered as a reason Pluto was demoted.
Option C: This answer is correct. This is a quotation from the podcast that is also a reason why
Pluto was demoted.
Option D: This answer is correct. This is a quotation from the podcast that is also a reason why
Pluto was demoted.
Option E: This answer is incorrect. The student may choose this option because it is a quotation
from the podcast. However, it is not offered as a reason Pluto was demoted.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #17
Grade 6
Option A: This answer is incorrect. The student may choose this option because the podcast says
who discovered Pluto. However, the details presented do not suggest this fact is controversial.
Option B: This answer is incorrect. The podcast states that Pluto was discovered in 1930 by
accident. Students might incorrectly generalize that the accidental discovery caused
controversy.
Option C: This answer is correct. The podcast says there is controversy surrounding Pluto's
demotion from planet status.
Option D: This answer is incorrect. The presentation explains the mythological figure after which
Pluto was named. The speaker continues, stating that Pluto’s perpetual cold and darkness might
be the reason for the name. Students might incorrectly conclude that the question about how
Pluto was named reveals controversy about Pluto.
July 3, 2014
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Grades 6-8 ELA: Reading, Language, and Listening Training Test Answer Key Florida Standards Assessments
Question #18
Grade 6
July 3, 2014
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