"from The Book of Unknown Americans"
Authored by Mary Sweitzer
English
7th - 8th Grade
CCSS covered
Used 722+ times
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About
This quiz thoroughly examines students' comprehension of "The Book of Unknown Americans," focusing specifically on the immigrant experience and themes of identity, belonging, and cultural adaptation. Designed for grades 7-8, the assessment targets essential reading comprehension skills including character analysis, theme identification, point of view recognition, and vocabulary development through context clues and word roots. Students must demonstrate their ability to analyze internal conflict, particularly the narrator's struggle between American and Panamanian identity, while also identifying central ideas, interpreting character motivations, and understanding how literary devices like Notice & Note signposts enhance meaning. The questions require students to synthesize textual evidence, make inferences about character development, and connect specific passages to broader themes about the challenges immigrants face when adapting to new cultures while maintaining connections to their heritage. Created by Mary Sweitzer, an English teacher in the US who teaches grades 7 and 8. This comprehensive assessment serves multiple instructional purposes, functioning effectively as a formative assessment tool to gauge student understanding of complex literary themes, or as a summative evaluation following a complete reading of the text. Teachers can utilize individual questions as warm-up activities to activate prior knowledge before class discussions, assign the full quiz as homework to reinforce reading comprehension, or implement it as a review tool before major assessments. The quiz's structure makes it particularly valuable for differentiating instruction, as teachers can select specific question types that target individual student needs, whether focusing on vocabulary development, theme analysis, or character interpretation. This assessment aligns with Common Core standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.2 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2 for determining themes and analyzing their development, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.3 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3 for analyzing character interactions and development, and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.8.4 for determining word meanings through context clues and knowledge of roots and affixes.
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15 questions
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1.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
Which statement best describes the narrator’s internal conflict in the story?
The narrator is pressured by his family about feeling Panamanian and by his peers about not being American, yet he feels more American than Panamanian.
The narrator implies feeling confused when his family appears proud to become American citizens at the courthouse.
The narrator discusses feeling more American than Panamanian, yet his father gets angry when accused of being an American.
The narrator states that he cannot remember anything about living in Panama like his brother who reminisces about his memories.
Tags
CCSS.RL.6.3
CCSS.RL.6.6
CCSS.RL.7.6
CCSS.RL.8.6
CCSS.RL.9-10.3
2.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
Which sentence from the selection best represents its main message?
My mom was as excited about the trip as I don't know what. She went to Sears to buy a new dress and had giddy phone conversations with my aunt about seeing each other again.
“You want Panamá?” he said. “A beach is the closest thing you’re going to get.”
They’d thought that with enough time, Panamá would be rebuilt and that their hearts, I guess, would heal.
We never went back to Panamá, not even for a visit.
“We moved here because it was supposed to be safer! Where can we go after this?”
Tags
CCSS.RL.8.3
CCSS.RL.2.6
3.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
Which word accurately completes the following sentence:
The two old friends would often ____ about their childhood.
Reminisce
Convene
Froth
Assure
Tags
CCSS.RI.7.4
CCSS.RI.8.4
CCSS.RL.7.4
CCSS.RL.8.4
CCSS.RL.9-10.4
4.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
"And here is a list of people who are willing to join me." He drew a few blank lines and spent the afternoon trying to recruit everyone in the building.
What does the word recruit mean?
to hire
to strengthen
to enlist
to renew
Tags
CCSS.RI.7.4
CCSS.RI.8.4
CCSS.RL.7.4
CCSS.RL.8.4
CCSS.RL.6.4
5.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
Which definition of "ravage" best fits with the following sentence:
In 1989, the U.S ravaged the country of Panama and left thousands of Panamanians homeless.
To cause light damage.
To steal.
To cause severe and extensive damage.
To eat.
Tags
CCSS.RI.7.4
CCSS.RI.8.4
CCSS.RL.7.4
CCSS.RL.8.4
CCSS.RL.9-10.4
6.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
The novel's title, The Book of Unknown Americans, emphasizes the idea in the excerpt that the characters struggle to...
Find out about their past.
Locate their other family members.
Return to their former home.
Fit in with their new culture.
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.2
CCSS.RL.8.2
CCSS.RI. 9-10.9
CCSS.RL.6.2
CCSS.RL.9-10.2
7.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
5 mins • 1 pt
What is the central idea of this paragraph:
"That year around the holidays we were all miserable. Holidays were always bad--my mom in particular got homesick sometimes like it was a genuine illness--but that Christmas was the worst. We were depressed and on edge, still shaken up about September 11."
Holidays were always bad.
We were depressed and on edge.
My mom in particular got homesick sometimes like it was a genuine illness.
That year around the holidays we were miserable.
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.2
CCSS.RL.8.2
CCSS.RI. 9-10.2
CCSS.RI.7.2
CCSS.RI.8.2
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