Reading Comprehension: Family History

Which sentence best describes how much the narrator of Passage 1 knows about her family history at the beginning of the story?

• A) She knows nothing about her family’s history but wants to know more.

• B) She knows some things, but not everything, about her family’s history.

• C) She thinks she knows more than she really does about her family’s history.

• D) She knows just about everything there is to know about her family’s history.

Tags

CCSS.RI.2.9

CCSS.RI.3.9

CCSS.RI.5.7

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B. Part B Select one sentence that best supports the answer to Part A.

• A) “I recently found my grandmother’s diary in an old suitcase in the attic.” (paragraph 1)

• B) “She kept the diary in the late 1960s, when she was a hippie!”

• C) “That’s right—my grandmother was a hippie, complete with tie-dye clothes, a peace symbol around her neck, and long, flowing hair.” (paragraph 1)

• D) “I had heard about this woman before, of course, but I didn't know the whole story.” (paragraph 2)

• E) “The most amazing thing in my grandmother’s diary was a newspaper article about her grandmother.” (paragraph 2)

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.3

CCSS.RL.2.3

CCSS.RL.3.3

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.5.3

In Passage 1, where and when is the narrator learning about her family history?

• at a college in the 1920s

• in her grandmother’s home in the 1960s

• in the attic of a house years ago

• at a recent family get-together

Tags

CCSS.RI.2.9

CCSS.RI.3.9

CCSS.RI.5.7

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

What is the meaning of the sentence You’ll be like a fish out of water?

• You won’t be able to breathe properly.

• You’ll be where you weren’t meant to be.

• You won’t be able to finish what you started.

• You’ll change your mind and want to be a nurse.

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.4

CCSS.RI.4.4

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.3.4

CCSS.RL.4.4

What is the point of view in Passage 1?

• first person, from the point of view of Jenna

• third person, from the point of view of Dr. Mary King

• third person, from a point of view outside of the story

• first person, from the point of view of Jenna's grandmother

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.9

CCSS.RI.5.7

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

CCSS.RL.6.9

What is the best summary of Passage 2?

• A) A secretary in a 1940s newsroom admires the only female reporter in the office as the male reporters try to get an important interview with the governor.

• B) The editor in chief of a newspaper in the 1940s thinks that his two male reporters will get an important interview with the governor, but they disappoint him.

• C) A female reporter gets an important interview with the governor, and the male reporters in the newsroom are curious about the other kinds of stories she is working on.

• D) Two male reporters in the 1940s fail to get an important interview with the governor, and they look down on a female reporter who secretly got the interview already.

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.9

CCSS.RI.5.7

CCSS.RI.6.7

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

What does Mr. Hill mean by the adage Don’t count your chickens before they hatch?

• Don’t say you accomplished something before you actually have.

• Don’t think you’re the only person who can accomplish something.

• Don’t act like you know everything when you don’t know anything.

• Don’t cluck like a chicken just because you think you are important.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

How would Passage 2 change if it were written as a short story?

• It would lose its surprise ending.

• It would no longer have dialogue.

• It would not include stage directions.

• It would not be clear who was talking.

Tags

CCSS.RL.3.5

CCSS.RL.4.10

CCSS.RL.4.5

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.5

Select one detail from Passage 2 that would visually show the play’s audience the different attitudes Mary and the two male reporters have about work.

• D. “REPORTER 2: Unbelievable.” (paragraph 10)

• C. “REPORTER 1: The governor of our own state announces he’s running for President, and we can’t even get near him for an interview.” (paragraph 9)

• E. “MARY: Too bad, fellas. Maybe next time.” (paragraph 11)

• B. “They sit down and put their feet up on their desks while Mary keeps typing.” (paragraph 8)

• A. “Suddenly the door of the newsroom bursts open and in come two male reporters, talking to each other.” (paragraph 8)

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.10

CCSS.RL.4.5

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.5.3

How do the settings of Passage 1 and Passage 2 compare?

• Passage 1 is set in the present day; Passage 2 is set in the 1940s.

• Passage 1 is set entirely outdoors; Passage 2 is set entirely indoors.

• Passage 1 is set during a single day; Passage 2 is set over several days.

• Passage 1 has only one setting; Passage 2 has several different settings.

Tags

CCSS.RI.3.9

CCSS.RI.5.7

CCSS.RL.4.7

CCSS.RL.5.7

CCSS.RL.6.9