Reading Standards for Informational Text > Tracing Themes and Summarizing Texts (CCSS.RI.6.9) Practice Test

Passage 1 (Memoir): I moved only at night, whispering to the families who trusted me to guide them north. Every footstep seemed louder than the wind in the trees. I felt the weight of each person's fear on my shoulders, but I would not turn back. I prayed before we crossed a river or slipped past a patrol. When a child began to cry, I told a story to keep her calm and reminded myself that courage is not the absence of fear—it is doing what must be done in spite of it.

Passage 2 (Biography): Harriet Tubman led multiple journeys along the Underground Railroad between 1850 and 1860. She planned routes using landmarks and safe houses, timed movements to moonlight and weather, and used codes—like owl calls—to signal when it was safe. Tubman's leadership minimized risk by dividing groups and choosing alternate paths when conditions changed. Her practical strategies, along with the cooperation of free Black citizens and abolitionists, created a working network that helped hundreds reach freedom. Historians note her careful preparation and disciplined decision-making as key to her success.

Passage 1 (Diary/Memoir): The wind bit through my coat as we dragged the Flyer to the rail. The sand was damp, the sky bright but cold. I lay flat, heart pounding, and nodded to Wilbur. When the machine shuddered forward, I gripped the levers and watched the ground tip away. For a breath, I felt both lifted and unsure—like the air might change its mind about holding us. We came down rough, but I stood up laughing, sand on my face, certain only that we had learned something real.

Passage 2 (Museum Placard/Biographical Account): On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Their success followed years of testing gliders, building wind tunnels, and improving control surfaces such as the rudder and wing-warping system. The first flight covered 120 feet in 12 seconds, proving that powered flight was possible. This event marked a turning point in transportation, influencing engineering, commerce, and travel worldwide.