Cecil County Public Schools
Division of Education Services
Please Note: Materials used in this assessment are copyright © by McDougal Littell / Houghton Mifflin Inc. Cecil County Public Schools is recreating and printing with written permission from Houghton Mifflin Inc.
Grade 8 Unit 2
Analyzing Character and Point of View
Unit Assessment
Student Test Booklet
Part I – Comprehension & Vocabulary
Part II –Writing & Grammar
2010-2011
Grade 8 Unit 2
Part I: Comprehension and Vocabulary
Directions:
Read the excerpt from A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories by Richard Peck on pages 1-3 in your Assessment Selections Booklet and then answer questions 1-14.
1. How do you know that the story is told from the first-person point of view?
A. You know Grandma’s thoughts and feelings.
B. The story is full of dialogue and descriptive details.
C. You know the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters.
D. The narrator is a character within the story.
2. Which detail shows you that Grandma’s personality can make people nervous?
A. Mrs. Weidenbach’s sweaty forehead
B. the rolling up of Grandma’s sleeves
C. Mrs. Weidenbach’s Hupmobile
D. the scraping of Grandma’s wooden spoon
3. “My stars,” Grandma said. “The bank forecloses on people’s farms and throws them off their land, and they don’t even appreciate it.”
Based on Grandma’s words in the lines above, you can infer that she
A. believes that people should work harder if they want to keep their farms.
B. does not agree with Mrs. Weidenbach’s viewpoint about the bankers.
C. thinks that Mrs. Weidenbach may want to take her farm.
D. appreciates Mrs. Weidenbach’s honest opinion about the bankers.
4. Which term best describes Mrs. Weidenbach?
A. lazy
B. silly
C. selfish
D. angry
5. Mrs. Weidenbach’s motivation to get Grandma to enter her gooseberry pie is most likely to
A. get their community recognition.
B. convince Grandma to give her a pie.
C. take her grandchildren to the fair.
D. help end the depression.
6. Based on the fact that the Weidenbachs have “the only brick house” in town, you can infer that they
A. are wealthier than other townspeople.
B. do not have any neighbors.
C. are going to build another house.
D. do not like their house.
7. Instantly, an expression of great boredom fell over Mary Alice’s face. I thought she might yawn. She was playing along with Grandma.
Mary Alice’s look of boredom in the lines above shows that she
A. does not have a good time at fairs.
B. enjoys going along with tricking someone.
C. dislikes helping her grandmother cook.
D. believes that Chicago is a great city.
8. “Mrs. Dowdel, I knew you would stand and deliver!” Mrs. Weidenbach clasped her hands. “And remember, even the red ribbon for second prize will be better than nothing.”
Based on Mrs. Weidenbach’s remark about second place in the lines above, you can infer that she
A. hopes Grandma loses the contest.
B. knows Grandma is always in second place.
C. believes Grandma is a bad cook.
D. thinks Grandma may not win the contest.
9. She pointed at me. “Scoot uptown and bring me a twenty-five-pound sack of sugar. Tell them to stick it on my bill. After that I want every gooseberry off them bushes out back.” She turned on Mary Alice. “And you’re going to learn a thing or two about pie crust.”
Which method of characterization is used in the lines above to describe Grandma?
A. a direct comment about her
B. Grandma’s dialogue and actions
C. another character’s opinion of her
D. Grandma’s own thoughts about life
10. Grandma is motivated to bake at the end of the excerpt by her desire to
A. prove that she can win.
B. teach her grandchildren to cook.
C. give Mrs. Weidenbach a pie.
D. use all of the gooseberries.
11. If the story was told from the Grandma’s point of view, you might understand
A. why things were never easy for her.
B. how Mrs. Weidenbach makes her bread and butter pickles.
C. what the community is like.
D. what happened during the Great War.
12. “Mr. Weidenbach has asked me not to enter my bread and butter pickles into competition at the fair this year.”
“Keep your head down till the depression blows over?”
“Something like that,” Mrs. Weidenbach murmured.
What can you infer about Mr. Weidenbach from the passage?
A. He is shy.
B. He is humble.
C. He is proud.
D. He is wealthy.
13. What method of characterization is used in the passage to describe Mr. Weidenbach?
A. Mr. Weidenbach’s actions
B. Mr. Weidenbach’s feelings
C. Other character’s comments about characters
D. Direct description
14. What best describes the main conflict of the passage?
A. There are no entries for the fair, and Mrs. Weidenbach wants Grandma to enter.
B. Grandma doesn’t have enough gooseberries for her pie.
C. Mrs. Weidenbach ‘s cucumbers weren’t good enough for her pickles.
D. The Great War has caused a depression.
BCR
Directions:
Answer the following question. Write your response on the provided BCR Answer Sheet.
How would the excerpt from A Long Way from Chicago be different if the author told it from Mrs. Weindenbach’s point of view? Support your response with details from the excerpt.
Directions:
Read the excerpt from The Silver Coach by C.S. Adler on page 4 in your Assessment Selections Booklet and then answer questions 15-24.
15. Which term best describes Jackie?
A. depressed
B. vengeful
C. angry
D. inconsiderate
16. You can tell that this excerpt is told from a third-person limited point of view because the narrator
A. is a strong main character.
B. tells all the characters’ thoughts.
C. tells the main character’s thoughts.
D. uses “I” and “we.”
17. Based on the description of Chris in lines 2-4, which term best describes Chris?
A. hardworking
B. sad
C. angry
D. lonely
18. Based on the description of Jackie in lines 10-13, you can infer that Jackie
A. put all her berries in Chris’s bucket.
B. ate all the berries that she picked.
C. didn’t pick any berries at all.
D. only picked a few berries.
19. Chris was annoyed at Jackie for trying to grab credit for even this small accomplishment. Her teachers were always telling her mother that Chris was a conscientious student. That meant she stuck with a job until it was done right, and she knew it was one of her good points. Jackie never stuck with anything.
Which method of characterization is used in the lines above to describe Chris?
A. Chris’s thoughts about her life
B. Chris’s actions
C. direct description
D. character’s dialogue
20. Based on Chris’s feelings as described in this passage, you can infer that Chris
A. is tired of Jackie’s behavior.
B. understands why Jackie misbehaves.
C. has trouble with her teachers.
D. does not mind helping Jackie.
21. Based on Jackie’s actions as described in lines 22-24, you can infer that Jackie
A. is stubborn.
B. is childish.
C. is easy going.
D. is open minded.
22. Based on the description of Chris’s feelings in lines 27-29, you can infer that Chris
A. was angry because Jackie ruined her berries.
B. was frustrated by Jackie’s immaturity.
C. was upset because Grandma defended Jackie.
D. was sad because she wanted to continue picking berries.
23. What is most likely Grandmother’s motivation for carrying Chris’s bucket?
Grandmother
A. likes to maintain her strength by carrying heavier loads.
B. can tell that Chris is upset, so she wants to help her.
C. knows that Chris’s bucket is not very heavy.
D. knows that the walk back to the house is very short.
24. If the narrator told the story from Jackie’s point of view, you might understand
A. where Jackie and Chris’s parents are.
B. why Grandmother defends Jackie.
C. how Jackie feels about Chris.
D. how Grandmother makes preserves.
Directions:
Answer questions 25-27 about both selections.
25. Both grandmothers can be described as
A. hard-working.
B. strict.
C. competitive.
D. friendly.
26. You can infer that the grandmothers in both selections
A. dislike it when unexpected visitors come to their houses.
B. expect their grandchildren to help with chores.
C. get irritated with their grandchildren’s fighting.
D. want to enter their homemade dishes into competitions.
27. Grandma from A Long Way from Chicago and Chris from The Silver Coach both can be described as
A. unhappy with sibling behavior.
B. angry about economic conditions.
C. bothered by neighborhood gossip.
D. irritated by someone around them.
Vocabulary
Directions:
Use context and your knowledge of multiple-meaning words to answer questions 28-31.
28. Mrs. Weidenbach reached down the front of her dress and plucked up a lace handkerchief.
Which meaning of the word lace is used in the line above from A Long Way from Chicago?
A. fabric
B. cord
C. ribbon
D. braid
29. Chris was annoyed at Jackie for trying to grab credit for even this small accomplishment.
Which meaning of credit is used in the line above from The Silver Coach?
A. payment
B. finances
C. reputation
D. recognition
30. That meant she stuck with a job until it was done right, and she knew it was one of her good points.
Which meaning of points is used in the line above from The Silver Coach?
A. opinions
B. qualities
C. dots
D. ends
31. She walked beside Grandmother thinking that, old as she looked, she must be pretty strong.
Which meaning of pretty is used in the line above from The Silver Coach?
A. large in size
B. somewhat
C. attractive
D. charming
Directions:
Use context and your knowledge of prefixes to answer questions 32-34.
32. “My bread-and-butter pickles have taken the blue ribbon every year since the fair recommenced after the Great War.”
One meaning of the prefix re- is “again.” What is the meaning of recommenced as it is used in the line above from A Long Way from Chicago?
A. started late
B. began again
C. fixed partly
D. opened with
33. Not a thought was in her head, just a concentration of blackberries.
One meaning of the prefix con- is “together,” and the Latin word centrum means “center.” What is the meaning of concentration as it is used in the line above from The Silver Coach?
A. preserved containers of food
B. frozen fruit juice in a freezer
C. a specific collection of something
D. a chemical reaction in a test tube
34. “They was never easy for me,” Grandma recalled.
What is the meaning of the word recalled as it is used above in A Long Way from Chicago?
A. to order someone to come back
B. stated sadly
C. to remember something again
D. cancel a direction
Directions:
Choose the correct word to complete each analogy for questions 35-40.
35. frantic : calm :: excited:
A. nervous
B. tired
C. bored
D. anxious
36. empty : vacant :: full :
A. bare
B. occupied
C. blank
D. large
37. wise : foolish :: brave :
A. cowardly
B. sullen
C. angry
D. strong
38. eyes: body :: wheels :
A. driver
B. vehicles
C. passenger
D. hubcap
39. benediction : approval :: annual :
A. weekly
B. daily
C. monthly
D. yearly
40. humongous : microscopic :: frigid :
A. freezing
B. warm
C. cold
D. sweltering
Stop here and close your booklet until given further directions by your teacher.
Grade 8 Unit 2
Part II: Writing and Grammar
Directions:
Read the description of a person on page 5 in the Assessment Selections Booklet and then answer questions 51-65.
51. Choose the correct verb tense to replace the word reaches in sentence 1.
A. reached
B. will reach
C. will be reaching
D. has reached
52. Which of the following sentences would best add sensory details after sentence 1?
A. Everyone in her family was short.
B. She seemed terribly tall suddenly.
C. Her son worked for a newspaper.
D. She had lived all over the world!
53. Which dialogue could you add after sentence 2 to show Ms. Foster’s personality?
A. “Interviewing is a great skill to have!”
B. “Your articles are due next week.”
C. “I will make you into a great writer yet!”
D. “Sometimes deadlines are hard to meet.”
54. Choose the coordinating conjunction to combine sentences 5 and 6.
A. so
B. but
C. and
D. yet
55. Choose the correct verb tense to replace are getting in sentence 6.
A. was getting
B. is getting
C. will be getting
D. were getting
56. Choose the best transition to connect ideas in sentences 6 and 7.
A. Then, in came Ms. Foster.
B. Besides, in came Ms. Foster.
C. Luckily, in came Ms. Foster.
D. As a result, in came Ms. Foster.
57. Choose the correct superlative to replace the word harder in sentence 10.
A. hardest
B. most hard
C. most hardest
D. more hard
58. Which of the following sentences would best add sensory details after sentence 11?
A. She graded papers on a college level.
B. Each day she gave new assignments.
C. She intimidated other teachers.
D. Her stare pierced right through you.
59. Choose the correct coordinating conjunction to combine sentences 11 and 12.
A. but
B. and
C. yet
D. for
60. Which dialogue could you add after sentence 13 that logically follows what Ms. Foster said?
A. “Did you take notes on my lecture?”
B. “Let’s write about something new.”
C. “If you have a question, don’t ask.”
D. “These articles need more focus.”
61. Choose the correct comparative to replace the word best in sentence 14.
A. “You can do more better,” she would say.
B. “You can do better,” she would say.
C. “You can do most better,” she would say.
D. “You can do betterer,” she would say.