ELA1.3 Sarah, Plain and Tall 7-9

Which detail from Sarah, Plain and Tall best supports the inference that Sarah Sarah wants to protect animals from harm?  

• Sarah refuses to eat the chickens that Maggie gives her.

• Sarah speaks about the cows she kept on her brother's farm.

• It is the dogs on the farm who come to love Sarah first.

• The pictures that Sarah draws are filled with cows and sheep.

Which sentences best summarize the day of Sarah’s arrival in Sarah, Plain and Tall?

• Papa meets Sarah at the train station and brings her home to meet Anna and Caleb. Sarah has gifts for the children and introduces the family to her cat.

• Caleb and Anna do their chores while they wait for Papa to return. When the children meet Sarah, they ask her whether she has brought the sea with her.

• Papa feeds and waters the horses before going into town. Sarah and Papa return to the house and Sarah compares the way the land rolls to the way the sea moves.

• Caleb and Anna talk about what it will be like meeting Sarah. When she arrives, the children see that she looks exactly as she described herself in her letters.

Which sentences best summarize the day that Sarah meets Maggie in Sarah, Plain and Tall?

• Maggie gives Sarah a gift of chickens and plants for a garden. The two women talk about how they miss their homes and begin a new friendship.

• Maggie has two daughters that she named for flowers. While the men plow the fields, the two women set the table for dinner.

• When Maggie and her husband arrive, the family horses greet the new horses. Maggie gives Sarah chickens and Sarah plans to keep them as pets.

• After Maggie introduces her family, her young children chase the chickens and dogs. Sarah and Maggie then help hitch up the horses.

Which answer best summarizes what happens after the big storm in Sarah, Plain and Tall?

• Sarah goes to town alone and the family worries she is not coming back. Sarah returns and the family is overjoyed when she tells them she is there to stay.

• The family works on the roof of the house together. Papa teaches Sarah to ride Old Bess so she can go into town alone.

• Caleb tries to think of ways to keep Sarah from going into town alone. When Sarah does go to town, Caleb and Anna spend the rest of the day doing chores and worrying.

• Caleb and Anna are upset because they believe that Sarah is planning to return to her home. Sarah decides to wait until winter before leaving. 

Read the sentence from Sarah, Plain and Tall.

“A squall!” he yelled to us.

What is the meaning of the word squall?

• a storm

• a shadow

• a loud noise

• a rush of water

Which phrase helps describe a squall?

• “hiss of wind, a sudden pungent smell”

• “covered our ears and stared”

• “yellow in the strange light”

• “huge cloud, horribly black”

Read the sentence from Sarah, Plain and Tall.

The barn was eerie and half lighted, like dusk without a lantern.

What is the meaning of the word eerie?

• strange and scary

• dim and quiet

• noisy

• dangerous

Which phrase best describes the word eerie?

• “terrible crackling”

• “not afraid”

• “wet to the skin”

• “milled around”

In Sarah, Plain and Tall, Sarah enjoys spending time with Papa, Anna, and Caleb, but she still misses her brother and everything she knew back in Maine. How does Sarah’s response to this challenge develop a theme in the story?

• Her willingness to battle her homesickness shows the importance of not giving up on new experiences.

• Her need to talk only about home develops the theme that the past is more important than the present.

• Her decision to hide her sadness from others shows the dangers of keeping painful feelings to oneself.

• Her ability to forget her past develops the theme that anything is possible if one is truly determined.

In Sarah, Plain and Tall, Anna associates Caleb's birth with their mother's death, but she never tells her brother that.

How does Anna's behavior develop a theme in the story?

• It shows the importance of sometimes placing the feelings of others above your own.

• It develops the theme that secrets are impossible to keep and cause problems.

• It shows the strength and determination that one develops as a writer.

• It develops the theme that young people do not realize the consequences of their actions.