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WorksheetsChildren's Blizzard of 1888 NOVEL ASSESSMENT
Total questions: 35
Worksheet time: 34mins
SEQUENCING:
Which event happens FIRST in the story?
John falls in the creek.
The 3 boys survive a blizzard by hiding in a haystack.
John's family moves to Dakota Territory from Chicago.
John's Ma cans vegetables to prepare for the winter.
How does John's opinion of Ms. Ruell change throughout the story?
He likes her, then loses respect for her.
He thinks she's too strict, then decides she's brave and wise.
He thinks she's old, then realizes she is young.
He loves her poetry, then finds out it is boring.
VOCABULARY:
The author describes Dakota winter's as "harsh." What word is a synonym for HARSH?
Difficult
Pleasant
Warm
Snowy
CAUSE & EFFECT:
John's family moved from Chicago to Dakota because:
winters were too cold in Chicago
they wanted to send their kids to school
they enjoyed adventure
they hoped to create a better life for their family
What did Rex tell John was worse then a Dakota blizzard?
starvation
grasshoppers
frostbite
Ms. Ruell's poems
VOCABULARY:
The boys said King Rattler had "terrorized" people for years. What is a synonym for TERRORIZED?
Scared
Enjoyed
Helped
Killed
VOCABULARY:
According to the text, what is a "soddy?"
a farm that raises wheat
a barn for animals
a house made pieces of prairie grass
a stove that burns wood and coal
TEXT FEATURES:
The author uses a figurative language tool to give the wind human qualities. She describes the wind as "speaking to John" during the blizzard. What is this figurative language tool called?
Cause & Effect
Character Traits
Synonyms
Personification
VOCABULARY:
John calls himself a "city boy" and thinks he isn't a real "pioneer" like the other boys at school. What is a PIONEER?
a person who first settles a new place
a person who works in a factory
a person who owns horses
a person who is raised in the country
VOCABULARY:
When John gets nervous, he says he feels "queasy." What does the word QUEASY mean in the text?
brave
sick to his stomach, nauseated
cold, chilled
angry
All of the following are ways the boys stayed awake in the blizzard EXCEPT:
they counted to 1000
they ate candy
they recited poetry
they told stories
TEXT FEATURES:
At the end of Chapter 14, the author writes: "John made a terrible mistake... He was going to freeze to death."
This is an example of what literary technique?
a cliff hanger
compare and contrast
headings and subheadings
a timeline
VOCABULARY:
A survivor is:
someone who lives through a challenging event
someone who faces a difficult situation
neither A or B is correct
both A & B are correct
VOCABULARY:
John's parents were ____________ when they learned their children survived the blizzard!
worried
relieved
nervous
unhappy
VOCABULARY:
After a hard day working in the fields with his Pa, John was so hungry he ___________ his lunch.
nibbled
crunched
forgot
devoured
What was UNIQUE about the weather on the morning of the Children's Blizzard of 1888?
there was a dark cloud with a silver ring around it
it was raining and very muddy
it was abnormally warm and the sun was shining
the forecast called for snow in the afternoon
Cause & Effect
The storm is named "The Children's Blizzard" because:
approximately 100 children died in the storm
children played in the snow and build snowmen
school children read about it every year
a teacher saved her class from dying in the storm
Moving to Dakota Territory in the 1800s was a brave thing to do.
This statement is an ___________.
fact
synonym
cause
opinion
All of the following make life as a pioneer DANGEROUS except:
grasshopper invasions
crime and pollution
limited access to food and supplies
harsh weather, such as blizzards & drought
How do John's feeling about the Dakota Territory CHANGE from the beginning of the novel to the end?
from excited to scared
from brave to anxious
from nervous to happy
from smart to naughty
CAUSE & EFFECT:
All of the following are direct effects of the blizzard EXCEPT:
Peter lost his pinky finger.
Miss Ruell gets married.
Sven lost two toes.
Rex got pneumonia.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
What is the literary tool the author uses when she says:
"John's feet swelled up LIKE balloons."
simile (comparing two unlike things using like or as)
metaphor (comparing two unlike things)
idiom (a statement that sounds crazy when taken out of context)
onomatopoeia (a word that represents a sound)
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
What literary tool does the author use when she creates words that represent sounds? Example: CROAK & WHOOSH
simile
metaphor
idiom
onomatopoeia
CAUSE & EFFECT:
At the end of the novel, John decides not to kill King Rattler because:
King Rattler doesn't look so ferocious when he's laying in the sun.
King Rattler has been around longer then John and his friends.
King Rattler is a survivor and deserves to live.
all of the above are correct
AUTHOR'S PURPOSE:
The author's main purpose in writing this novel is:
to persuade the reader to move to Dakota Territory.
to entertain the reader with a story of real life survival!
to teach the reader about the dangers of being in a blizzard.
to torture children with a boring book about history.
TRUE OR FALSE:
John does not take his job as a big brother very seriously.
True
False
TRUE or FALSE:
Ms. Ruell is mean and hates kids.
True
False
TRUE or FALSE:
John becomes friends with the boys BEFORE the blizzard almost kills them.
True
False
TRUE or FALSE:
Franny is too young to be helpful on the family farm.
True
False
TRUE or FALSE:
The wind taunts and teases John during the entire book, making him feel like he isn't brave enough to be a pioneer.
True
False
Which word is a SYNONYM for BLIZZARD?
Snowstorm
Fog
Sunshine
Cold
Which word is a SYNONYM for SCRAWNY?
strong
burly
skinny
smart
CONTEXT CLUES:
John held a GRUDGE against Ms. Ruell when she punished him for being late to school. What does the word GRUDGE mean in this sentence?
a feeling of dislike
a feeling of happiness
a feeling of satisfaction
a feeling of bravery
CONTEXT CLUES:
Ma used Brown's Bitters as a REMEDY against sickness after John survived the blizzard. What does the word REMEDY mean in this sentence?
strategy
harvest
medicine
disease
CONTEXT CLUES:
The boys could be TRAMPLED under the horses hooves! What does the word TRAMPLED mean in this sentence?
soaked
crushed
eaten
frozen
