They're Made Out of Meat
Authored by Sheila Sizemore
English
7th - 8th Grade
CCSS covered
Used 41+ times
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About
This quiz centers on Terry Bisson's science fiction short story "They're Made Out of Meat" and is designed for middle school students in grades 7-8. The questions assess reading comprehension, literary analysis, and critical thinking skills as students examine a dialogue between two alien beings discussing humans, whom they refer to dismissively as "meat." Students must demonstrate understanding of the story's basic plot elements, character perspectives, and literary devices, while also grappling with deeper thematic content about prejudice and dehumanization. The quiz requires students to analyze character development, identify evidence from the text to support interpretations, understand vocabulary in context (such as "sentient" and "dehumanize"), and recognize the author's broader message about racism and fear of the unknown. Students need strong inferential reading skills to understand the aliens' disgust and dismissal of humans, as well as the ability to connect the fictional scenario to real-world issues of prejudice and discrimination. Created by Sheila Sizemore, an English teacher in the US who teaches grades 7 and 8. This comprehensive assessment serves multiple instructional purposes in the English Language Arts classroom, functioning effectively as a summative assessment after students have read and discussed the short story, or as a formative tool to gauge student understanding before deeper class discussions about theme and social commentary. Teachers can utilize this quiz for homework assignments to reinforce close reading skills, as a review activity before discussing other works that deal with prejudice and othering, or as a warm-up to introduce broader conversations about how science fiction often serves as a mirror for contemporary social issues. The quiz aligns with Common Core standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.1 and RL.8.1 for citing textual evidence, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.3 and RL.8.3 for analyzing character development and interactions, and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.2 and RL.8.2 for determining themes and analyzing their development throughout the text.
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20 questions
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1.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
The whole story is a dialogue between alien beings. What are they talking about?
Pieces of Meat
Humans
Beef
People
Tags
CCSS.RL.8.1
CCSS.RL.8.3
2.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
What did the aliens mean when they said: "They're meat all the way through"
The aliens think that the whole earth is made of meat.
The aliens believe that humans have brains but made out of meat.
The aliens believe that humans do not have brains.
The aliens believe that the streets are made out of meat.
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.1
CCSS.L.7.4A
CCSS.L.7.5A
CCSS.RL.7.4
3.
MULTIPLE SELECT QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
Meat can think.
TRUE
FALSE
4.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
How do the aliens describe the way human comunicate with each other?
Radio sounds
Meat mouth movements
Talking
Meat sounds
Tags
CCSS.L.8.4A
5.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
What does the Meat represent in this story?
Humans
Cats
Fish
Trees
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.2
CCSS.RI. 9-10.9
CCSS.RL.6.2
CCSS.RL.8.2
CCSS.RL.9-10.2
6.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
Which of the following statements shows that the alien cannot understand that the meat is able to think?
“No brain?”
“So... what does the thinking?”
“Omigod. You’re serious then. They’re made out of meat.”
“Thinking meat! You’re asking me to believe in thinking meat!”
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.1
CCSS.RL.7.6
7.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
15 mins • 1 pt
What type of message is the author trying to send with this text?
He is trying to deter the American people from wanting to travel in space
He is trying to show his audience how silly it is to be afraid of the unknown, which is often the cause for prejudice/racism
He is trying to show the reader why we should be exploring space more than we are today
He is trying to show the reader why eating meat is wrong and we should become vegetarian
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.6
CCSS.RL.8.6
CCSS.RI.7.6
CCSS.RI.8.6
CCSS.RI.8.9
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