Jam Session

What activity does Monica and her mom go out to do in the country?

• Monica and her mom go out to sing songs from West Side Story in the country.

• Monica and her mom go out to clean houses in the country.

• Monica and her mom go out to catch bees in the country.

• Monica and her mom go out to pick blueberries in the country.

What is a turning point in the story?

• Monica’s mom dances around the living room with the dust mop.

• Monica’s mom slams shut a drawer full of silverware.

• Monica gets stung by a yellowjacket.

• Monica grumbles as she gets into the car.

While picking blueberries, Monica begins to relax. She catches herself humming a song. She dances in place under the branches.

What can be concluded from this evidence?

• Monica enjoys picking blueberries.

• Monica hates picking blueberries.

• Monica wants to go back home.

• Monica is hot and sweaty.

How does Monica’s mood change between the beginning and end of the story?

• She goes from being in a bad mood to being in a good mood.

• She goes from being in a good mood to being in a bad mood.

• She goes from being in a bad mood to being in a terrible mood.

• She goes from being in a good mood to being in a great mood.

What is the theme of this story?

• how boring blueberry picking can be

• how beautiful the song “Maria” is

• how awesome a mother can be

• how easy cleaning a house is

Read the following sentence: “I grumbled my way through putting the clean dishes away, and then grumbled my way into the car, staying silent as we drove out east.”

Why does the author use the word grumbled twice in this sentence?

• to show how long the drive out east took

• to show how excited the main character is about going for a drive

• to show how many dishes there are in the main character’s house

• to show how grumpy the main character is feeling

What does Monica ask her mother when she sees her singing and dancing to a West Side Story song at the beginning of the story?

• Monica asks her mother if she is okay.
• Monica asks her mother if she needs help with the song.

• Monica asks, "Aren’t you a little old to be playing make-believe?"

• Monica asks her mother to stop singing.

When she hears her mother singing along to West Side Story at the end of the story, Monica ​ (a)   .

• smiles
• frowns
• screams
• ignores

Why does Monica’s response to her mother singing along to West Side Story change between the beginning and end of the story? Support your answer with evidence from the passage.