Internet Academy

Reading

	Federal Way Public Schools

Assessment
Lessons 1-4

Comprehending Important Ideas and Details

Review > Assessment

Name:
Teacher:

Assessment Directions:

You'll complete two reading selections for this assessment and nine questions, some multiple choice, some short answer. Take your time and do your best! At the end, you will see your score for the multiple choice questions, and will print the assessment for your teacher to score the short answer responses.

Read the poem, The Lost Parrot, by Naomi Shihab Nye. It is linked to the book icon on the right. Then answer questions 1 - 4. Use all your reading skills and also the tips you know about answering questions.

The Lost Parrot

Question 1:

Which idea does the poem suggest about Carlos?

	A.	Carlos does not know how to write many words.
	B.	Carlos is afraid of his teacher.
	C.	Carlos' lost parrot was important in his life.
	D.	Carlos likes to daydream.

Question 2:

He hunches over the table, pencil gripped
in fist, shaping the heavy letters

In the lines above, which is the least likely meaning for the word "heavy" in this context?

	A.	Carlos' pencil is the kind with really fat lead because he is in first grade. The letters are fat or "heavy" because the lead weighs a lot on the paper.
	B.	The letters are "heavy" because they are about something sad, Carlos' lost parrot.
	C.	One meaning of heavy is "a lot" as in heavy snow, or heavy rain in the weather forecast. Carlos' writing is "heavy" with letters, meaning there are a lot of letters in his poems.
	D.	Carlos is holding the pencil really tightly and pressing down hard, making the letters dark and "heavy" or thick.

Question 3:

It is very difficult when someone we love leaves us.
When someone we love leaves, the feeling of loss is very powerful.

These statements are examples of ______________?

	A.	Inference
	B.	Theme or message
	C.	Summary
	D.	Supporting detail

Question 4:

In two or three sentences, tell what this poem is about.
Then include two phrases from the poem that helped you know what the poem is about.

Tell what the poem is about here:

Type two phrases from the poem that helped you know what it was about:

Now score your answer.

Remember a short answer response earns 0, 1, or 2 points. A complete and accurate answer would earn 2 points. Review the criteria in this chart before you score your response.

Score	Criteria
2 points	complete understanding of main idea and important details, explained in the summary sentences uses meaningful information from passage to support ideas
1 point	partial understanding of main idea and important details, explained in the summary sentences maybe shows difficulty figuring out important and unimportant details tries to use information from passage, but it might be incomplete or not make sense
0 points	little or no understanding of the passage main ideas and details; summary does not make sense "I don't know." no examples from the passage

My short answer response for Question 4 earned a score of because:

Directions:

Read the story, Calling Home, by Tim O'Brien. It is a war story set in Vietnam during the time of the Vietnam War. It is an unusual war story because it does not tell about a battle. But when you are finished, you will know how it felt to be a soldier in a war far from home.

It is linked to the book icon on the right. Then answer questions 5-9. Use all your reading skills and also the tips you know about answering questions.

Calling Home

Question 5:

From the context of the story, what is the meaning of this expression? It is highlighted in red for you in the story.

It was neither a good time nor a bad time.

	A.	They had some good times, and some bad times.
	B.	The battle was over and they were just sitting around waiting for letters.
	C.	There was not much to do that day, just call home.
	D.	With the swimming, mini-golf, sleeping in and dancing, it was a great time!

Question 6:

Which statement is NOT a message about life and people that can be found in the story, "Calling Home"?

	A.	Instead of expressing fear or even love, people talk about common, daily things.
	B.	Modern technology provides conveniences so war isn't all that tough.
	C.	Soldiers are human; they become homesick, they cry, they laugh.
	D.	It's the memory of home and love that get soldiers through the fear of death in battle.

Question 7:

When Eddie made his call, the narrator gives several clues about Eddie's eyes.

What do those clues tell you about how Eddie felt about his phone call home?

Include the clues in your explanation.
(NOTE: The passage with the "eye" clues is in green in the story.)

Write your answer here:

Now score your answer.

Remember a short answer response earns 0, 1, or 2 points. A complete and accurate answer would earn 2 points. Review the criteria in this chart before you score your response.

Score	Criteria
2 points	complete and clear explanation of how Eddie felt about his phone call from the "eye" clues in the passage uses meaningful information from passage to support ideas
1 point	partial explanation of how Eddie felt about his phone call from the "eye" clues in the passage maybe shows difficulty figuring out important and unimportant details tries to use information from passage, but it might be incomplete or not make sense
0 points	little or no understanding of how Eddie felt about his phone call based on the "eye" in the passage "I don't know." no examples from the passage

My short answer response for Question 7 earned a score of because"

Question 8:

In two or three sentences, explain what happened to Paul's call. Which words or actions helped you make this inference?

Explain what happened to Paul's call here:

Type the words or actions that helped you make this inference:

Now score your answer.

Remember a short answer response earns 0, 1, or 2 points. A complete and accurate answer would earn 2 points. Review the criteria in this chart before you score your response.

Score	Criteria
2 points	complete and clear explanation of what happened to Paul's call uses meaningful information from passage to support ideas
1 point	partial explanation of what happened to Paul's call, maybe not clear or accurate maybe shows difficulty figuring out important and unimportant details tries to use information from passage, but it might be incomplete or not make sense
0 points	little or no understanding of what happened to Paul's call "I don't know." no examples from the passage

My short answer response for Question 8 earned a score of because:

Question 9:

Choose the sentence that best summarizes what Paul thinks he will say in his phone call.
(Note: section is in purple near the end of the story)

	A.	He thinks he should make the war sound like a vacation.
	B.	He wants to tell them he is afraid and that some of his friends have died in the war.
	C.	He wanted to joke with his mom about stopping smoking.
	D.	He wants to talk about regular things at home, maybe ending with he loves them.

As a final treat, read what the author says about the story he wrote. See if your inferences match his ideas.

O'Brien talks about the story . . .

"'Calling Home' . . .grew out of my own experience as a soldier in Vietnam. One afternoon I went with a group of buddies to a radio shack in Chu Lai, where we took turns placing long-distance calls to our families back in the United States. I remember watching the faces of my friends as they talked to their mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters. I remember the little tears in their eyes, the way they tried to hide their emotions, the jokes and small talk and chatter. More than anything, I remember how hard it was for us to say anything meaningful to our families. We didn't talk about the war. We didn't mention the fear, or the loneliness, or the guys who had already died. All that mattered really, was to hear the sound of familiar voices - a father's voice, a mother's voice. The words were not important. Beneath the words, beneath the clichés and banal chit-chat, what we were listening to was the sound of love."

--Tim O'Brien

Be sure to:

click the Finished button to score the multiple choice questions

On the next page click the print button to give the assessment to your teacher who will score the short answer questions.

You're finished with the assessment for the lessons one - four of the course covering literary comprehension! Congratulations!