Benchmark Assessment

reading 7–8
Maze
Student Materials

Grade 8 | Benchmark 2

Mary Abbott, PhD

Roland H. Good, III, PhD
Jacob S. Gray, PhD
Amy N. Warnock
Kelly A. Powell-Smith, PhD

Acadience Learning Inc.

For use with Acadience Learning Online

© 2011–2018 Acadience Learning Inc. All Rights Reserved. Acadience is a registered trademark of Acadience Learning Inc. Revised 2/15/23.
 Benchmark Assessment

2
Name: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Practice 1

element
The title of a map is the route that identifies its purpose.
country

Practice 2

live
The purpose of a map might be to include streets in a city or hiking trails in a park.
show

STOP

Passage 1 Passage 2 Passage 3

Correct

Incorrect
 A Misunderstanding Between Friends

Derek gazed at the calendar on his computer, willing the date of his best friend's saxophone

concert to change from Wednesday evening to Thursday evening. Unless that somehow magically

important promised
occurred, Derek wouldn't be able to attend the concert, even though he'd concentrated James he
terrible realized

unfortunate support
would be watching directly from the upset row. Unfortunately, Derek had agreed to study for
front say

promise
an important midterm exam with his conflict group on Wednesday evening. Derek sighed and
biology

hoped think music

called James would understand that he would give to find another friend to lend his support .
needed need jaw

distract viewed
James would be upset, but he would end ; best friends were like that. Still, Derek hesitated
understand attended

sense
before texting the unfortunate news to him. There was no dream in upsetting James while he
morning

watching
was explaining .
rehearsing

mitosis
That Monday night, visions of cell friend invaded Derek's dreams: cells continuously divided
news

gyrated phone
and understood to the rhythm of saxophone music in the background . Feeling exhausted and cranky
picked algae

upset support
when he wondered , Derek decided that revealing the terrible news to James could wait until later
awoke class

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 word evening
in the evening . Before Derek realized it, Monday slipped away from his grasp , and he still hadn't
cousin slide

awoke travel
contacted James. He contacted to himself that he would contact James and have this difficult
swore hesitate

discussion before doing anything else tomorrow.

revealed bed
James beat him to the punch and called the following voice before Derek had even
delayed morning

cell situation
gotten out of sense . Rolling over and grabbing his cell microscope , Derek mumbled a sleepy
bed phone

exam mail
greeting, but James's call had already been sent to voice person . Derek's jaw dropped as he
ticket saxophone

explain ticket
listened to James know that he had to give his night to some relative who was traveling a zillion
grab grasp

pieces choice
calendars to attend the concert. James ended the row with an earnest promise to get back in
miles call

touch
guilt with Derek later in the day.
call

drop stomach
At first, Derek couldn't believe that his best friend, the only message in the entire galaxy
swim person

listened earnest
who he'd ever trusted , would un-invite him to the concert. This was an important event and
magnified embarrassed

texted punch
James had stressed how much he swore Derek to attend. The rest of the mail , Derek was
wanted day

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Page 2
 wait
distracted thinking about how he should hope this situation. In biology class, he couldn't
handle

concentrate Invited
beat on the slides under the microscope. Magnified pieces of algae swam beneath his
sigh Disappointed

amazing greeting sent

entire , dazed eyes. At the end of the day , he wondered why he had not heard from James.
glassy eye worked

message
That evening, listening to James's biology again, a twinge of guilt twisted his
galaxy

background confessed
stomach . James's voice sounded strained, the way it dazed when he was extremely angry or
day did

enthusiastic concerts
disappointed . Best friends can communicate with one another with more than just rhythms . James
able words

computer occur
was saying that he had no vision , that he would rather have Derek attend the saxophone concert
choice roll

mitosis embarrassed
instead of a cousin he barely knew, and that he was bad about having to deliver this
event exhausted

message.

mumbled angry
Now Derek felt embarrassed because he had delayed delivering sleepy news to his
agreed bad

lending willed
friend and all the while James had been feeling guilty for having to disappoint him. Derek sounded
dividing picked

confess date
up the phone to call James and decide his conflict and make things right with him. In the end , the
feel group

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 possess mile
situation
to face worked out satisfactorily for everyone.
whatever came next in her adventure. James's study was video-taped and both James and
get concert

able cranky
Derek were strained to view the concert together. It is difficult how situations work out between
guilty amazing

friends
best discussions who are enthusiastic about supporting each other.
things

STOP

Correct _________
STOP
Incorrect _________

G8/Maze Benchmark 2/Passage 1

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Page 4
 A Food Chain in the Desert

Food chains exist in every type of environment, including tundra, forest, ocean, and desert. A

specific survival
food chain illustrates how organisms in a subterranean region interact with one another for flesh .
favorite root

transferred animals
It also illustrates how energy is forged along the "chain" of plants and colonies as they live and
survived homes

eaten inches
die, are transferred by others, or decompose. Producers, consumers, scavengers , and decomposers
enriched regions

matter uses
are types of organisms in food chains. A food chain in the Chihuahuan Desert provides a good
water consumes

scant
illustration of part of a complex and interwoven network of organisms.
good

extends portions
The Chihuahuan Desert decomposes from Mexico through West Texas and into organisms of
devours plants

animal
New Mexico and Arizona. With an illustration of approximately 200,000 square miles, the Chihuahuan
area

dependent comes
is the largest desert in North America. Like all deserts, the Chihuahuan Desert receives scant
particular lives

parts next
rainfall of only about 8 to 9 squares annually. The organisms living in this approximate desert
inches arid

water home
have adapted to shortages of cougar in order to survive. This environment is scavenger to thousands
feet area

chains cougars
of big and small plants and animals like grasses, trees, deer, nutrients , buzzards, and subterranean
meals oceans

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 solid waste
termites. Together, this diverse group of organisms comprises one food meat in the Chihuahuan
deep chain

Desert.

energy swoop
Plants are the first tundra on the food chain. Because plants manufacture their own food,
link catch

termite deposited
using energy from the mule in a process called photosynthesis, they are populated producers. Blue
sun called

deer
grama grass, one of the producers in this food chain, grows in bunches in the Chihuahuan Desert.
mile

examples interweave
Since its herbivores are shallow, the grass can quickly manufacture rainfall and prevent arid desert
roots absorb

linking environment
soil from calling away. The honey mesquite tree, another producer on the adult , has adapted
blowing chain

arid deep
to the dry climate in a diverse manner: the tree sends roots as big as 200 feet below the surface
different specific

tap
to comprise into groundwater.
exist

link part
Consumers are the second bunch in the Chihuahuan Desert's food chain. This carrion of the
surface type

trees primary
food chain begins with herbivores that only eat plants. An example of a crucial consumer is the
photosynthesis complex

absorbs secondary
mule deer that eats the blue grama grass and honey mesquite trees. A completed consumer in the
receives dry

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 carnivore mountain
food chain is a climate , or meat-eater. A cougar, also called a soil lion, will eat whatever
group rainfall

pounds producers buzzard

prey it catches , but one of a cougar's favorite shortages is a mule deer. When the cougar
adapts meals food

forged
consumes a deer, another link is provided , or linked, in the food chain.
grown

unable manners
Since an annual mule deer can weigh anywhere from 100 to 300 pounds , a cougar may be
adult lions

leave prey
unable to consume all its prey. The next link of the portion chain is a scavenger, which is an
prevent food

ground networks dead

desert that survives by eating carrion, the remains of a dead animal. One of the most another
animal birds efficient

sun
carrion scavengers in the Chihuahuan Desert is the buzzard . This large bird will swoop in and
grass

interact dung
devour any part of the mule deer's forest that the cougar has left behind.
include flesh

different
Finally, subterranean termites complete this particular food chain. Subterranean
efficient

illustrates consumers
means "underground," and these insects live underground in decomposers populated by
blows colonies

remains send
thousands of termites. Subterranean termites come to the surface to decompose, or extend down,
parts break

Termites deposited
dead and decaying plant matter. Survivals also decompose dung, or solid waste, weighed by
Roots broken

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 possess organisms dung
to face
animals whatever came next in her adventure.
such as mule deer and oceans . Nutrients from the plants and the herbivore are returned
get cougars illustration

tap
to the soil to enrich it.
begin

nutrient termite
Energy transfers through this desert food decay from sun to plant to herbivore to carnivore
chain desert

link
to scavenger to decomposer. As in any food chain, each flesh is crucial and dependent on each
consumer

colony
other for survival .
scavenger

STOP

Correct _________
STOP
Incorrect _________

G8/Maze Benchmark 2/Passage 2

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Page 8
 European Exploration of Canada

The first European explorers appeared in Canada as early as the 10th century. The Norse from

long
Scandinavia arrived in the late 900s on the eastern shores of what is now Newfoundland, a Canadian
interior

province words
progress , or region governed by a country. Their coasts did not last long. Not until the 16th
trip settlements

century arrive
shore did explorers from Italy, England, and France rule and begin a more in-depth
crew take

part
credit of Canada.
exploration

locate end
The first European to make a trip to Canada after the Norse was John Cabot, an Italian merchant
meet route

king
whose voyages were funded by the role of England. Like many Europeans in the 1490s, Cabot
resident

continued point
put together an expedition because he wanted to go a trade route to sail from Europe to Asia.
struggled find

Contributing doors
Controlling from England in 1497, Cabot and his men likely landed on the north coast of
Sailing portraits

turned were
Newfoundland. They explored the area thinking they had arrived in Asia, but they drew really the
played found

do lived
first Europeans since the Norse to arrive in this part of North America. In 1498, Cabot again located
speak set

rivers coast
sail from England, this time with five ships , but the trip did not go well. Only one ship
provinces presence

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 gone opened
returned, and Cabot was never seen again. He had not found a route to Asia, but he had claimed the
looked returned

rich
door into a land of wide resources and claimed a presence in Canada for England.
original

took
Although others from England, France, and Spain extended to expand Cabot's findings, it was
continued

made Arriving
Jacques Cartier of France who finally traveled real progress into the interior of Canada. Governing in
funded Naming

located
Canada in the 1530s, Cartier gave and navigated, or traveled on, the St. Lawrence River, one of the
blocked

newest controlled
largest river systems in the world. Cartier was also looking for a northwest passage to Asia
richest explored

began ended did

when he found following the river into Canada. He saw west as far as Montreal but pushed
published traveled wanted

continued
not continue because the river's rapids turned further passage. When native residents said that it
blocked

open history's
would take 3 months of travel to reach the time's end, the Europeans began to grasp the
begin river's

merchant
scope of the land they were exploring.
voyage

arrives real
Cartier is also given credit for naming this short region. The Iroquois People used the
speaks vast

passage spoke
word "kanata," meaning land or village, when they funded to Cartier. Cartier used the word
opening were

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 refer men
"Canada" to join to all land north of the St. Lawrence River. In 1867, when the four interiors of
sail provinces

reached
Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia put joined together politically into one
were

native
country, that new country was named Canada.
famous

presence
Cartier's work on behalf of France was extended in the early 1600s by another French
coast

explorer point
century , Samuel de Champlain. Champlain pushed even further into the month of Canada,
role interior

arriving colony
exploring the Great Lakes and founding the city of Quebec in 1608. Champlain's century struggled,
using explorer

controlled looked
and at one point was referred by England, but by 1632, Quebec pushed again under French rule.
arrived was

exploration explorer
There was also European ship of Canada's western regions. In 1778, British province
shore meaning

find
James Cook became the first European to land on the west coast of Vancouver Island at Nootka
grasp

large helped
Sound. Most difficult for exploring the Pacific islands, Cook had turned his attention westward
famous navigated

rules
after helping survey the St. Lawrence River and the coasts of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in the
credits

voyage navigated
1750s. One of his attention drew portraits of the native people they met at Nootka Sound. These
crew appeared

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 possess were famous
to face
images, whatever came next in her adventure.
published in 1784, said the first portraits ever made of Canada's damp residents.
get followed original

systems
Though Indigenous Peoples had lived in Canada for villages before Europeans arrived, European
centuries

say names
exploration did contribute to Canada's diverse history. Explorers from many rapids of Europe
have parts

thinking
played a role in opening Canada to the world.
surveying

STOP

Correct _________
STOP
Incorrect _________

G8/Maze Benchmark 2/Passage 3

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