Reading Standards Review

Read the following phrase:

“The condition of the black box in ‘The Lottery’ is like the town’s tradition of the lottery.”

How does this analogy impact the reader’s understanding of the box’s importance?

• The box was respected and taken care of just like the Lottery tradition was respected.

• The box was falling apart and was forgotten often, just like the way Old Man Warner wants to forget about the Lottery.

• The box was recently replaced and was brand new just like the lottery was a brand new tradition.

• The box was old and needs to be replaced which shows that tradition of the lottery should be given up as well

What does the use of the word boisterous suggest in paragraph 2?

• The kids were nervous for the lottery

• The kids were happy Mrs. Hutchinson was selected

• The kids were cheerful and excited to see their classmates

• The kids were playing quietly

What does the use of the word perfunctory suggest in paragraph 7

• The past rituals of the lottery were done in a routine way

• The rituals of the lottery were very important

• They were not allowed to skip certain aspects of the lottery

• The townspeople were scared of the lottery

Part A: How is the reader’s point of view different from the characters in the story? (RL.2.6)

• The reader knows Mrs. Hutchinson is going to die the whole time but she does not know until the end.

• The reader does not know what the lottery is for but the characters know.

• The reader knows that the winner will get a lot of money but the characters do not know.

• The reader does not know that someone is going to die and neither does Old Man Warner.

Part B: How does the difference in point of view impact the meaning and tone of the text? (RL.2.6)

• It allows the reader to be surprised at what the lottery is for, just like the Hutchinsons are surprised.

• It shows the annoyance that Old Man Warner has about people getting rid of the lottery

• It helps the reader understand why Mr. Summers is so cheerful about the lottery

• It creates irony since what the reader expects to happen and what actually happens are very different

How do the contrasts in the points of view of different characters in the lottery impact the tone of the text?

• It creates a sense of mistrust and confusion which causes the reader to question the tradition of the lottery

• It allows the reader to put themselves in each of the character’s shoes so they end up agreeing with the tradition.

• It created a sense of frustration which causes the reader to give up reading because the story does not make sense.

• It allows the reader to understand the complexities of the tradition of the lottery so that the ending is less surprising.

Select two elements of structure that contribute to the meaning and style of the text. (RL.2.5)

• Repetition

• Figurative language

• First person narration

• Parallelism

Part A: What is the meaning of petulantly as it is used in Paragraph 33 of the text? (RL.2.4)

• Grumpily

• Cheerfully

• Furiously

• Melancholy

Part B: Select two words or phrases in the following text that provide clues to the meaning. (RL.2.4 and RL.1.1)

Old Man Warner snorted. “Pack of crazy fools,” he said. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. ‘ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery,” he added petulantly. “Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody.”

• “Chickweed and acorns”

• “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”

• “Bad enough…”

• “Crazy fools”

What does the use of the word defiantly suggest in paragraph 66? (RL.2.4)

• That Mrs. Hutchinson hoped that her name would be selected

• That Mr. Summers set Mrs. Hutchinson up to be picked

• That Mrs. Hutchinson did not want to go along with the tradition

• That Mr. Hutchinson was hoping his wife would be selected.