"Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie

What figure of speech does Alexie use when he writes that “I realized that a paragraph was a fence”?

• metaphor

• simile

• personification

• symbol

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CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

According to Alexie, how is a paragraph a fence?

• A paragraph is a fence in that it can electrify you if you get too close to its borders.

• A paragraph is a fence in that it holds and contains something together for a common purpose.

• A paragraph is a fence in that it keeps other words and ideas out.

• A paragraph is a fence in that it mark your words differently from your neighbor’s woods.

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CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.1

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CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.W.9-10.9

Why were Indians not taught how to write poetry, short stories, or novels when Alexie was a kid?

• Indians weren’t taught creative writing because it didn’t exist when Alexie was a kid.

• Indians weren’t taught creative writing because it is too easy and not challenging enough to learn.

• Indians weren’t taught creative writing because people thought Indians couldn’t benefit or learn from it.

• Indians weren’t taught creative writing because the reservation couldn’t afford to do so.

Why does Alexie visit the schools on the reservation as often as possible?

• Alexie visits the schools on the reservations to brag about how successful he is to these poor Indians.

• Alexie visits the schools on the reservations to inspire them to get an education and defy others’ expectations.

• Alexie visits the schools on the reservations to remind fellow Indians that they can’t change.

• Alexie visits the schools on the reservations to show them that they should leave and never come back.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

How did Alexie learn to read comic books?

• He inferred what Superman was saying based on what he was doing in the panel’s pictures.

• He made up what happened and never really learned to read.

• His father read the Superman comics to him every day.

• His father taught him how to read with comics and then with literature.

Grapes of Wrath is a 450+-page novel that many high school or college students read. How is Alexie indirectly characterized for reading it when he was in kindergarten?

• Alexie is indirectly characterized as an extremely arrogant, rare kid.

• Alexie is indirectly characterized as an extremely intelligent, rare kid.

• Alexie is indirectly characterized as an extremely lazy, rare kid.

• Alexie is indirectly characterized as an extremely weird, rare loser

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CCSS.RL.9-10.3

Because he was an Indian boy living on a reservation, how did people react to Alexie’s reading? What does Alexie mean he writes, “If he’d been anything but an Indian boy living on the reservation, he might have been called a prodigy. But he is an Indian boy living on the reservation and is simply an oddity”?

• People thought he was arrogant/cocky.

• People thought he was exceptional/talented.

• People thought he was lazy/stupid.

• People thought he was strange/weird.

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CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

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What is ironic about how smart Indians were treated by fellow Indians?

• Instead of being celebrated for their intelligence, smart Indians were disliked by other Indians.

• Instead of eating their brains to absorb their intelligence, other Indians left smart Indians alone.

• Instead of wanting to become smarter, smart Indians wanted to be well liked by other, simpler Indians.

• Instead of wanting to stay the same, other “normal” Indians wanted to become as smart as other Indians.

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CCSS.RI.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

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CCSS.RL.9-10.6

Why does Alexie use parallel structure and repetition so much in the seventh paragraph?

• Alexie uses parallel structure and repetition to be redundant (i.e. superfluous; no longer needed).

• Alexie uses parallel structure and repetition to bore and disinterest the reader.

• Alexie uses parallel structure and repetition to meet the word count and fill blank space.

• Alexie uses parallel structure and repetition to reinforce how much he read and the importance of reading.

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CCSS.RI.9-10.6

Overall, what is the tone of Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me”?

• angry and bitter

• depressing and discouraging

• inspirational and uplifting

• sarcastic and cynical

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CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.6

CCSS.RL.9-10.4