“You are very noisy for such a small creature,” I mumbled to myself.
The squirrel froze. He turned his tiny head and looked right at me. Then, he did something impossible. He opened his mouth and said, “Well, excuse me, sleepyhead! Some of us have work to do.”
“Our secret,” I whispered back.
The squirrel flicked his tail. “They call me Whiskers. But listen, Jamie, I have a problem. My family’s nut stash is gone. A big dog buried his bone right on top of our winter acorns. We are going to be hungry.” Grade 4 Fsa Ela Writing Practice Test Fsassessments
“That’s easy,” I said. I pulled the bone out and tossed it toward the fence. Then, I dug carefully with a spoon. Under the dirt, I found a whole treasure of acorns and walnuts.
It started on a sleepy Saturday morning. I woke up, rubbed my eyes, and looked out my window at the old oak tree in our backyard. A chatty gray squirrel was hopping from branch to branch, chattering loudly.
Below the story, I have included a "Why this passes" breakdown to help the student understand the structure. Imagine you wake up one day with a special power: you can talk to animals. Write a story about your first conversation with an animal. Be sure to include a beginning, a middle, and an end. Use details, dialogue, and clear sequencing. The Day the Squirrel Spoke By a 4th Grade Test Taker “You are very noisy for such a small
“Duh,” said the squirrel. “ You can talk. The problem is, humans never listen.”
I laughed. Whiskers winked at me. “Our secret?” he whispered.
Whiskers did a backflip off the fence. “You saved winter!” he squeaked. “You’re not a bad listener, for a human.” Then, he did something impossible
I had never thought about squirrels having problems before. I wanted to help. “Show me where,” I said.
I gasped. My toast fell off my plate. “You… you can talk?” I whispered.
I shoved the window open. “Wait! Don’t go. My name is Jamie. What’s yours?”
I ran outside in my slippers. Whiskers led me to the big flowerpot by the garage. Sure enough, a muddy dog bone sat right in the middle of a small hole.
Just then, my mom called from the kitchen. “Jamie! Breakfast is ready! And stop talking to the squirrels.”