Spokane Public Schools Assessment CCSS ELA 6th Grade ID: 201725 WA_SPS ELA Grade 6 Activity 1.12. 1.14 Short Cycle Quick Check Directions: Read the question. Fill in the bubble next to the corresponding question number on your answer sheet. Sample Item Not Available Sample Question
1 Read the excerpt from Thank You, Ma am by Langston Hughes. By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, and some stood watching. If I turn you loose, will you run? asked the woman. Yes m, said the boy. Then I won t turn you loose, said the woman. She did not release him. I m very sorry, lady, I m sorry, whispered the boy. Um hum! And your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain t you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face? No m, said the boy. Then it will get washed this evening, said the large woman starting up the street, dragging the frightened boy behind her. Based on this excerpt, which words best describe the woman, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones? rude and unhappy cheerful and clever timid and confused self confident and caring All content is the private property of the copyright holders. Page 1
2 Read the excerpt from Thank You, Ma am by Langston Hughes. When they were finished eating she got up and said, Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else s because shoes come by devilish like that will burn your feet. I got to get my rest now. But I wish you would behave yourself, son, from here on in. She led him down the hall to the front door and opened it. Goodnight! Behave yourself, boy! she said, looking out into the street. The boy wanted to say something else other than Thank you, ma am to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but he couldn t do so as he turned at the barren stoop and looked back at the large woman in the door. He barely managed to say Thank you before she shut the door. And he never saw her again. How does this excerpt illustrate how Roger changed due to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones s acts of kindness? He was unhappy with his life, but now he is happy. He felt alone, but now he knows that someone cares. He thought about himself, but now he is thinking of her. He was angry at her, but now he is glad they met. All content is the private property of the copyright holders. Page 2
3 Read the excerpt from My Superpowers by Dan Greenburg. I was so embarrassed, I began to cry. Crying in front of Ann Cohn made me even more embarrassed. I was speechless with shame and anger. Driven by rage, I did what only an insane person would do: I attacked Vernon Manteuffel. I punched him in the chest and grabbed back my Cubs cap. Vernon saw that I had become a madman. People don t know what to do with madmen. Vernon looked shocked and even a little afraid. He backed away from me. I attacked the second boy, who also backed away from me. Encouraged by their backing away, I ran after them, screaming, punching, flailing at them with both fists. I chased them for two blocks before they finally pulled ahead and disappeared. Breathing hard, tears streaming down my face, I felt I had regained my honor, at least temporarily. That weekend, perhaps made braver by my triumph over the three bullies, I kissed Ann Cohn on her sofa. I can t tell you exactly why I did that. Maybe because it was a cold, cloudy Saturday and there was nothing else to do. Maybe because we both wondered what it would feel like. In any case, I could now brag that, at age eight, I had personally kissed an actual girl who wasn t related to me. Which sentence best describes how the speaker responded to his experience with Vernon? He gained a sense of fearlessness that helped him protect others. He felt a sense of nervousness that made it hard to relate to others. He gained a sense of confidence that spread to his other relationships. He felt a sense of shame that caused him to become angry with others. All content is the private property of the copyright holders. Page 3
4 Read the excerpt from Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. The hot air pressed against my face, and my hair was like a hot, heavy blanket draped on my neck and back. What type of figurative language is used in this sentence, and what is its effect? a simile, highlighting the speaker's desire to change her style a simile, highlighting the effect of the warm temperature on the speaker a metaphor, highlighting how uncomfortable the speaker is feeling a metaphor, highlighting the layers of clothes the speaker is wearing All content is the private property of the copyright holders. Page 4