PSSA Practice Test 10

Passage 1: Folding a Wish

¹Take a square of paper. Fold it in half, then fold it again. With enough careful folds, and no scissors or glue, that flat square can become a frog that hops, a box that holds, or a bird with wings that flap. This is the art of origami.

²An Old Art The word origami comes from two Japanese words: ori, meaning "folding," and kami, meaning "paper." People in Japan have folded paper for hundreds of years. Long ago, paper was expensive, so folded paper was saved for special events such as weddings. Over time, as paper became cheaper, origami became something that children and adults everywhere could enjoy.

³Some origami models use just a few folds. Others use hundreds and take hours to finish. Many models begin with the same basic folds. In a valley fold, the paper is folded toward you, so the crease sinks down like a valley. In a mountain fold, the paper is folded away from you, so the crease points up like a mountain ridge.

⁴The Thousand Cranes One of the best-known origami shapes is the crane, a tall bird with long legs and wide wings. In Japan, the crane is a symbol of long life and good fortune. An old tradition says that a person who folds one thousand paper cranes may be granted a wish.

⁵Folding a thousand cranes takes a long time, so people often work together. Friends and families fold cranes and string them into long chains called senbazuru. They give the chains as gifts to people who are sick, as a wish that they will get well. Cranes are also given at weddings and birthdays to wish someone happiness.

⁶Folding for the Future Origami is more than a craft. Folding paper requires following steps in order, lining up edges carefully, and making sharp creases. It also requires picturing how a flat shape will become a solid one. Many teachers use origami to help students learn about shapes, angles, and patterns.

⁷Engineers use origami ideas, too. Some objects that are sent into space, such as solar panels, must be packed into a small space for the launch and then open up to a large size. Engineers have studied origami folds to design objects that fold flat and then spread open smoothly. Scientists are also exploring origami ideas for tiny medical tools that could unfold inside the body.

⁸Whether it is a gift for a friend or part of a spacecraft, a folded shape shows how much can come from a single sheet of paper. The next time you hold a plain square of paper, remember that it might become a gift, a lesson, or even a tool.

Passage 2: Freya's Cranes

¹The first crane Freya ever folded looked more like a crumpled napkin. One wing was bigger than the other, and the neck flopped over as if the bird were very tired.

²"That's all right," said Mr. Ibarra, her art teacher. "Everyone's first crane looks like that. The paper teaches you."

³Freya needed the paper to teach her fast. Her grandfather's eightieth birthday party was only three weeks away. When Mr. Ibarra told the class about the tradition of the thousand cranes, Freya raised her hand before he finished talking. "Could we fold them for my grandpa?"

⁴The class voted yes. Twenty-four students, a thousand cranes. Mr. Ibarra wrote the math on the board: about forty-two cranes each.

⁵At first, Freya folded too fast. She pressed her creases with her thumbnail before the edges lined up, and her cranes came out lopsided. Twice she tore the paper and had to start over. What if they never finished in time? She wanted to crumple the whole stack and throw it away.

⁶Then she remembered something Grandpa always said when they worked on puzzles together: "Slow hands, steady heart." She took a breath. She lined up each corner exactly before pressing. She ran her finger along each crease once, firmly. Her tenth crane stood up straight. Her twentieth had wings that matched.

⁷Every day at lunch, the class folded. Some students folded cranes from wrapping paper, some from old maps, and one boy folded his from the comics section of the newspaper. Freya folded hers from bright blue paper, Grandpa's favorite color. As the pile grew, the room grew quieter. Folding, Freya noticed, made worried thoughts slow down.

⁸Some days were harder than others. On the day Mr. Ibarra counted and the class was still three hundred cranes short, Freya could barely make her fingers work. Mr. Ibarra sat beside her and folded with her, crease for crease, without saying a word. By the end of lunch, she had finished six cranes, and her hands had stopped shaking.

⁹After three weeks, they counted. Nine hundred ninety-nine. Mr. Ibarra handed Freya one last square of blue paper. "The thousandth is yours," he said.

¹⁰That Saturday, Freya and her mother carried the cranes into the community center in a laundry basket, strung on long threads like colorful rain. Her aunt helped them hang the chains along the windows of the party room. When the sun came through, the paper birds glowed. Grandpa's oldest friend said he had never seen so many cranes in one room.

¹¹Grandpa looked at them for a long time. Then he reached for Freya's hand. "A thousand wishes," he said softly. "How did you find the patience?"

¹²Freya smiled. "Slow hands," she said.

¹³"Steady heart," Grandpa finished. Then he laughed so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose.

Student Draft

¹(1) Lots of people fold paper. (2) It is fun.

²(3) In "Folding a Wish," the author explains that folding paper cranes can be a way to send a wish to someone who is sick. (4) Friends and families string cranes into chains called senbazuru. (5) They give them as gifts.

³(6) In "Freya's Cranes," Freya's class folds a thousand cranes for her grandpa. (7) ______ the folding helps Freya. (8) She learns to have patience and to slow down her worried thoughts. (9) She folds the paper and makes the lines sharp.

⁴(10) That is why paper is good.