WorksheetsTwo Roads Mid-Unit Assessment
Total questions: 14
Worksheet time: 3hrs 0mins
Directions: After reading “The Cutting of My Long Hair” by Zitkala-Sa, to answer the following questions. Open a tab with the text so you can look back and reread to find the answers in the text.
Which best describes Zitkala-Sa’s point of view toward the other girls she encountered on her first day? (RI.6.6)
They were friendly and playful.
They were dressed inappropriately.
They were dressed very similar to her.
They were judgmental and afraid.
Which piece of evidence from the text best helps to convey the point of view from Part A? (RI.6.1, RI.6.6)
“These were Indian girls . . .”
“. . . I felt like sinking into the floor. . .”
“I looked hard at the Indian girls . . .”
“. . . who seemed not to care . . .”
Which best describes Zitkala-Sa’s point of view toward the adults at the school? (RI.6.6)
They were controlling and often cruel toward the children.
They were warm and cared about the children.
They were friendly and playful toward the children.
They were firm and emotionally attached to the children.
Which one of the following phrases from the text help convey the point of view from Part A? (RI.6.1, RI.6.6)
“bell was tapped” (paragraph 3)
“keenly watched” (paragraph 3)
“dragged out” (paragraph 8)
“reasoned quietly” (paragraph 9)
Pick another one of the following phrases from the text that helped convey the point of view from Part A? (RI.6.1, RI.6.6)
Go back and to the paragraphs and reread these quotes.
“reasoned quietly” (paragraph 9)
“comfort me” (paragraph 9)
“bell was tapped” (paragraph 3)
“tied fast” (paragraph 8)
From paragraph 1 and read where Zitkala-Sa describes her first day at the Indian school.
"The first day in the land of apples was a bitter-cold one; for the snow still covered the ground, and the trees were bare. A large bell rang for breakfast, its loud metallic voice crashing through the belfry overhead and into our sensitive ears. The annoying clatter of shoes on bare floors gave us no peace. The constant clash of harsh noises, with an undercurrent of many voices murmuring an unknown tongue, made a bedlam within which I was securely tied."
Describe Zitkala-Sa’s point of view toward what she experienced in the first paragraph. (RI.6.6) Type it below.
Which ten words used by Zitkala-Sa in paragraph 1 have connotations that best convey that point of view?
Paragraph1: The first day in the land of apples was a bitter-cold one; for the snow still covered the ground, and the trees were bare. A large bell rang for breakfast, its loud metallic voice crashing through the belfry overhead and into our sensitive ears. The annoying clatter of shoes on bare floors gave us no peace. The constant clash of harsh noises, with an undercurrent of many voices murmuring an unknown tongue, made a bedlam within which I was securely tied. And though my spirit tore itself in struggling for its lost freedom, all was useless.
Type the words below.
(RI.6.1, RI.6.4, L.6.5c)
“I felt the cold blades of the scissors against my neck, and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids.” (paragraph 9)
How do the connotations of the bolded phrases in the sentence above help to convey Zitkala-Sa’s point of view toward losing her hair? (RI.6.4, RI.6.6, L.6.5c)
They imply that the adults at the school chewed off her braids.
They imply that the room in the school was frigid and uncomfortable.
They imply that the cutting of her hair was violent and savage.
They imply that the adults gave her a new hairstyle to help her fit in.
“Not a soul reasoned quietly with me, as my own mother used to do; for now I was only one of many little animals driven by a herder” (paragraph 9).
What type of figurative language is used by Zitkala-Sa in the bolded excerpt above? (RI.6.4, L.6.5a)
hyperbole
metaphor
imagery
How does the bolded figurative language in the last question help to convey Zitkala-Sa’s point of view toward the reality of her life at school? (RI.6.4, RI.6.6, L.6.5a)
What is one piece of evidence from the text that also helps to convey this point of view concerning the reality of her life at the school? (RI.6.1) Write a small quote from the text and tell what paragraph it came from.
Which best describes a central idea of this text? (RI.6.2)
Zitkala-Sa had a friend who helped her through a hard first day at school.
Zitkala-Sa lost more than her long hair on her first day at the school.
Zitkala-Sa tried to resist the teachers when they cut her hair.
Zitkala-Sa was sad to be away from home and her mother.
1. Look at the first photo taken of a student upon arrival at the school and then look at the second photo of the same student when leaving the school. What information about early Indian boarding schools do these images provide and how do they connect to a central idea in Zitkala-Sa’s text? (RI.6.2, RI.6.7)
How do you think Zitkala-Sa felt after her hair was cut?
like her dignity was taken away
like they did it to make her feel powerless
like her past and heritage was stolen
all of the above answers
