WorksheetsThe Drummer Boy of Shiloh
Total questions: 12
Worksheet time: 6mins
Which sentence best expresses a theme of the story?
It is possible to overcome fear by focusing on one's duty.
It is improper for soldiers to show emotion before going into battle.
The best military leaders can win battles without highly trained soldiers.
The role of a drummer boy in battle is more important than a general's leadership.
Read the sentence from paragraph 6: A mile yet farther on, another army was strewn helter-skelter, turning slow, basting themselves with the thought of what they would do when the time came: a leap, a yell, a blind plunge their strategy, raw youth their protection and benediction. What does helter-skelter mean as used in this sentence?
Distant
Frightened
In a haphazard manner
Under military control
What kind of tone is created by the author's comparison of the General to a father in paragraph 22?
Melancholy
Respect and endearment
Humorous
Disrespect
Read this sentence from paragraph 37: “Counting both sides, there’s a hundred thousand men, give or take a few thousand out there tonight, not one as can spit a sparrow off a tree, or knows a horse clod from a minnieball. . . .” Which two statements best explain what the General means by his use of figurative language in this sentence?
He doubts the soldiers' commitment to their duty.
He is concerned that the soldiers' equipment is faulty.
He believes the soldiers are unskilled with their weapons.
He thinks most of the soldiers lack the knowledge they need to fight.
What do the peach blossoms in the story most likely symbolize?
Hunger and struggle
Opportunity and leadership
Loss of youth and innocence
Escape from death and suffering
Which two reasons best explain why this selection is a work of historical fiction?
There is believable dialogue between the characters.
The details of the time period are accurately portrayed.
The main purpose of the text is to provide facts about an event.
The characters are involved in a conflict that is realistic to the era.
Which sentence uses the indicative mood?
Order the officer to lead the charge.
The General ordered the officer to lead the charge.
Did the General order the officer to lead the charge?
If the General were to order it, the officer would lead the charge.
Which sentence best illustrates how the setting contributes to the General's conflict in the story?
"Both sides figuring the other side will just give up, and soon, and the war done in weeks, and us all home." (paragraph 34)
"But here we are, taken with spring fever and thinking it blood lust, taking our sulphur with cannons instead of with molasses as it should be, going to be a hero, going to live forever." (paragraph 37)
"Well, when you got a bunch of wild horses on a loose rein somewhere, somehow you got to bring order, rein them in." (paragraph 40)
But if he beat a sure, steady, ever faster rhythm, then, then their knees would come up in a long line down over that hill, one knee after the other, like a wave on the ocean shore! (paragraph 46)
Read the sentence from paragraph 46: Joby was his right hand and his left. Which statement best expresses the meaning of this idiom?
Joby will play loudly enough for soldiers on both sides to hear.
Joby has taken on another drummer's job for the General.
Joby knows how to play the drums with both hands.
Joby is the General's most important assistant.
Which sentence uses the indicative mood?
As the drummer boy plays a beat, the soldiers march forward.
Ask the drummer boy to play a beat so the soldiers will march forward.
Will the drummer boy play a beat to make the soldiers march forward?
If the drummer boy were to play a beat, the soldiers would march forward.
Read this sentence from paragraph 48. ". . . Do you know now you're general of the army when the General's left behind?" The General most likely asks this question to -
suggest that he will leave the battlefield
express doubt about Joby's willingness to lead
give Joby hope about the outcome of the battle
emphasize the importance of the drummer boy's role
Which statement best describes Joby's main conflict in the story?
He does not have a weapon.
He has run away from home.
He is frightened to go into battle.
He does not want to talk to the General.
