8Th Grade Language Arts Exam

8Th Grade Language Arts Exam

8th Grade Language Arts Exam

DO NOT write on this test.

Multiple Choice: Answer the following questions using the GREEN side of the scantron sheet.

Pick the best answer to replace the underlined portion.

  1. Felicia bought the stereo, brought it home, and set it up.
  2. No change
  3. and set it up. (no comma)
  4. , and hooked it up.
  5. , and set it up!
  6. I soaked my foot rubbed it, and walked very little for several days.
  7. No change
  8. my foot, rubbed
  9. , my foot rubbed
  10. My foot rubbed,
  11. We saw the biologist come back with a long scary snake.
  12. No change
  13. , a long scary snake.
  14. a long, scary snake.
  15. A long scary, snake.
  16. Our lunchroom is bright, cheerful, noisy, and efficient.
  17. No change
  18. bright cheerful, noisy and
  19. bright, cheerful noisy, and
  20. bright, cheerful, noisy and
  21. Orange juice cereal, and vegetables are on the grocery list.
  22. No change
  23. Orange juice, cereal, and
  24. Orange, juice, cereal, and
  25. Orange juice cereal and

Read the following passage, and answer the questions that follow.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States, was erected in New York Harbor. In 1903, a poem by Emma Lazarus called “The New Colossus” was engraved on a bronze plaque that was placed inside the pedestal of the statue. The title of the poem refers to the Colossus, a huge bronze statue of the Greek god Helios that towered over the harbor of the Greek city of Rhodes from 280 to 225 B.C. Lazarus contrasts the imposing Greek statue with “the new Colossus,” the statue of Liberty, a woman whose torch lights the golden door of America, offering refuge to those seeking freedom.

Are the following statements Fact or Inferences:

  1. In 1886 France and the United States were on good terms, friends or allies.
  2. Fact
  3. Inference
  4. The poem by Lazarus was engraved on a bronze plaque inside the statue.
  5. Fact
  6. Inference
  7. Refugees coming to America were happy to see the Statue of Liberty.
  8. Fact
  9. Inference
  10. Lazarus contrasts the Statue of Liberty with the statue of the Greek god Helios in her poem.
  11. Fact
  12. Inference

Read the following poem, and answer the questions that follow.

Refugee in America

By Langston Hughes

There are words like Freedom

Sweet and wonderful to say.

On my heart-strings freedom sings

All day everyday.

There are words like Liberty

That almost make me cry.

It you had known what I knew

You would know why.

  1. What is the author’s purpose in this poem?
  2. To persuade
  3. To inform
  4. To evoke feeling
  5. To narrate
  1. What conclusion can you make about the authors feelings about freedom?
  2. The author feels he is free.
  3. The author longs for freedom.
  4. The author thinks freedom is out of reach.
  5. The author does not like freedom.
  1. What does the title Refugee in America suggest?
  2. The title suggests the author feels he is an outsider in his own country.
  3. The title suggests refugees should not be offered freedom in America.
  4. The title suggests there are too many refugees in America.
  5. The title suggests refugees should be given freedom and liberty.

Read the following sentences. Insert the appropriate vocabulary word into the sentence.

  1. The ______student was quickly sent to the office.
  2. Glut
  3. Garrulous
  4. Gravity
  5. Guilty
  6. A ______is a comparison using the words like, or as.
  7. Metaphor
  8. Hyperbole
  9. Simile
  10. Figurative language
  11. The president understood the ______of the situation.
  12. Gravity
  13. Garrulous
  14. Hyperbole
  15. Metaphor
  16. A ______is the story of someone’s life written by another person.
  17. Personal narrative
  18. Poem
  19. Short story
  20. Biography
  21. The ______escaped to the north, traveling by night.
  22. Slave Hunters
  23. Fugitives
  24. Dispel
  25. Gravity

Read the following passage, and answer the questions that follow.

from Harriet Tubman

Conductor of the Underground Railroad

In December 1851, when she started out with the band of fugitives that she planned to take to Canada, she had been in the vicinity of the plantation for days, planning the trip, carefully selecting the slaves that she would take.

She had announced her arrival in the quarter by singing the forbidden spiritual, “Go Down Moses, -way down to Egypt Land” – singing it softly outside the door of a slave cabin, late at night. The husky voice was beautiful even when it was barely more than a murmur borne on the wind.

Once she had made her presence known, word of her coming spread from cabin to cabin. The slaves whispered to each other, ear to mouth, mouth to ear, “Moses is here.” “Moses has come.” “Get ready, Moses is back again.”

  1. What can you infer about Harriet Tubman from the first paragraph?
  2. She was cold and tired.
  3. She was patient and organized.
  4. She was in a hurry to get north.
  5. She did not care who went with her on the trip.
  6. Harriet Tubman announced her arrival by singing a “forbidden spiritual.” What does “forbidden spiritual” mean?
  7. A song that was illegal for slaves to sing.
  8. A song that inspired slaves to run.
  9. A song that the slave owners liked to sing.
  10. A song that she made up.
  1. How did Harriet Tubman compare to Moses from the bible?
  2. She lived at the same time as Moses
  3. She liked and acted like Moses.
  4. She lead slaves to freedom like Moses did.
  5. She worked with Moses to get slaves out of Egypt.

Read the following spiritual, and answer the questions that follow.

Go Down, Moses

Traditional African American spiritual

When Israel was in Egypt land-

Let my people go.

Oppressed so hard they could not stand

Let my people go.

CHORUS:

Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt Land;

Tell ole Pharaoh to let my people go.

Thus saith the Lord, bold Moses said-

Let my people go.

If not I’ll smite your first born dead-

Let my people go.

CHORUS

No more shall they in bondage toil-

Let my people go.

Let them come out with Egypt’s spoil-

Let my people go.

CHORUS

We need not always weep and mourn-

Let my people go.

And wear those slavery’s chains forlorn-

Let my people go.

CHORUS

  1. There is a comparison between the Israelites and American Slaves implied in this song. What does Moses do in this spiritual that Harriet Tubman can not do?
  2. Moses asks Pharaoh for the people’s freedom; Tubman can’t ask the owners for the slaves’ freedom.
  3. Moses sings the song, but Tubman can’t.
  4. Moses was able to rescue the Israelites, but Tubman could not free slaves.
  5. Moses was able to inspire the people, but Tubman could not inspire the slaves.
  1. In what step of the writing process will you determine the situation, purpose, audience and task?
  2. Prewriting
  3. Revising
  4. Reflecting
  5. Focusing
  1. In what step of the writing process will you look at the correctness in capitalization, usage, punctuation and spelling?
  2. Drafting
  3. Editing
  4. Revising
  5. Prewriting
  1. When you think about your progress as a writer, you are in what step of the writing process?
  2. Reflecting
  3. Prewriting
  4. Drafting
  5. Focusing
  1. Why do you use a graphic organizer when you pre-write?
  2. So that you get you punctuation and spelling correct.
  3. To know who your audience is.
  4. To organize your brainstorming ides.
  5. To write your rough draft.

Open Response

Read the two poems that follow. Determine the authors’ purpose for each piece. Next, use evidence from the text to compare and contrast the theme of each of the poems. Use the graphic organizer and SRE to complete your answer.

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