ELA Preassessment

Excerpt from Matilda By Roald Dahl

By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted something more interesting.

"Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?"

"A book,” he said. "What'd you want a flaming book for?"

"To read, Daddy."

"What's wrong with the telly, for heaven's sake? We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled, my girl!"

What is the main idea?

• Matilda can read fast.

• Matilda is interested in cookbooks.

• Matilda is eager to learn and read more.

• Matilda's dad won't buy her a new cookbook.

What is the main question to ask yourself when you are trying to find the main idea?

• Who is the main character?

• What did I learn from this text?

• What is one important detail?

• What is the main event?

Jenny visited her grandmother in the hospital. She saw how kind and helpful the nurses were to her grandmother. Now she wants to be a nurse when she grows up. She wants to help sick people get well.

What is the main idea?

• Jenny's grandmother was in the hospital.

• All nurses are kind and helpful.

• Nurses help sick people get better.

• Jenny wants to become a nurse because of the kindness shown to her grandmother.

The earth's surface is constantly changing. All over the world, every day there are earthquakes, floods and volcanoes that quickly change our planet. Some changes are too small to see. Others cause tremendous damage and cost millions of dollars to clean up.

What is the main idea?

• The earth's changes are too small to see.

• Changes made to the earth can cost a lot of money to clean up.

• There are earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes every day.

• The earth's surface is constantly changing.

Excerpt from Matilda By Roald Dahl

By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house. At the age of four, she could read fast and well and she naturally began hankering after books. The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother, and when she had read this from cover to cover and had learnt all the recipes by heart, she decided she wanted something more interesting.

"Daddy," she said, "do you think you could buy me a book?"

"A book,” he said. "What'd you want a flaming book for?"

"To read, Daddy."

"What's wrong with the telly, for heaven's sake? We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book! You're getting spoiled, my girl!"

Which piece of text evidence helped you to determine the main idea?

• "By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay around the house."

• "We've got a lovely telly with a twelve-inch screen and now you come asking for a book!"

• "The only book in the whole of this enlightened household was something called Easy Cooking belonging to her mother..."

• "What'd you want a flaming book for?"

Read the following passage from "The Windy Hill" by Cornelia Meigs. What explicit evidence does NOT support the deduction (conclusion) that the room was dark?

The place seemed very cheerless and empty after he had gone. The long windows gave little light on that gray winter afternoon, and the big fireplace with its glowing logs was at the far end of the room. There were shadows already on the shelves of heavy ledgers lining the walls, and on the rows of ship's models all up and down the sides of the big counting room.

• "The place seemed very cheerless and empty after he had gone."

• "...the big fireplace with its glowing logs was at the far end of the room."

• "The long windows gave little light on that gray winter afternoon..."

• "There were shadows already on the shelves of heavy ledgers lining the walls..."

What do you call the way events are structured to create a story?

• Plot

• The Mousetrap

• Character Arc

• Mythology

When does the climax of a story happen?

• It happens before the rising action.

• It happens at the same time as the rising action.

• It happens after the rising action.

• There is no such thing as the climax.

Does a story's setting affect the plot?

• Yes it does.

• No it does not.

• There is no such thing as a setting.

Which part of the plot tells the end of the story?

• Exposition

• Climax

• Inciting Incident

• Resolution