ELA 6 Study Guide

Semester One

2015-2016

Select the theme of the story being described.

1. In the book, Colt, by Nancy Springer, a boy has spina bifida and cannot walk. However, he

sheds his dependence on a wheelchair and learns to ride horses. When he goes horseback

riding, it gives him a feeling of freedom and independence.

A. Learning to ride a horse

B. Life on a ranch

C. Family relationships

D. Overcoming difficult odds

Read each selection below to determine its point of view, and then select the correct answer to

the questions that follow.

2. The starting pistol fired and I sprang from the starting block, running as fast as I could. I felt

as though I whizzed by the other runners, but I wasn’t fast enough. It seemed impossible to

catch up to and pass the leader, who was just in front of me. Although I tried to win the race,

I came in second.

A. First-person

B. Third-person omniscient

C. Third-person limited

D. None of the above

3. Joe Banks listened to the special weather report on the radio and decided that he had better

close his hardware store and get home to his family as soon as possible. A hurricane, with

winds of about a hundred miles an hour, was approaching fast. As Joe drove home through

rain and the heavy winds, he prayed that he would arrive before the center of the storm struck

his area.

A. First-person

B. Third-person omniscient

C. Third-person limited

D. None of the above

In the following questions, determine the word that is closest in meaning to the underlined

word in each sentence by using context clues.

In the military, an officer with a high rank may give orders to lower officers and enlisted soldiers.

4. Based on the above sentence, what does rank mean?

A. Mark

B. Position

C. Soldier

D. Temperature

Last summer, our family’s boat capsized and we all landed in the lake.

5. Based on the above sentence, what does capsized mean?

A. Turned over

B. Sped away

C. Was stopped

D. Was docked

The man scolded us with an angry monologue about the decline of manners.

6. In this context, the word monologue can best be defined as:

A. Dialogue

B. Lecture

C. One-man show

D. Soliloquy

The premature frost that damaged the citrus trees affected hundreds of groves in the region

7. The word premature suggests that the frost was:

A. Timely

B. Ready

C. Early

D. None of the above

The way in which the nimble star quarterback maneuvered around the burly linebackers attempting

to sack him reminded me of a bicycle weaving through heavy traffic.

8. Which definition best fits the meaning of the word maneuvered?

A. Schemed

B. Moved strategically

C. Finagled

D. Plotted

The Emancipation Proclamation freed Southern blacks from the manacles that bound them to a life

of slavery.

9. A synonym for manacles is:

A. Shackles

B. Irons

C. Chains

D. All of the above

I say we should never allow impediments to stand in the way of reaching our goals. My motto is,

“Never give up!”

10. The word impediments as used above means:

A. Advancements

B. Obstacles

C. Aid

D. Help

Pick the word that completes the analogy below.

11. Big : huge :: messy : __________

A. Dressy

B. Tidy

C. Sloppy

D. Noisy

Identify the type of figurative language used in each example.

12. “These walls have ears” is an example of:

A. Metaphor

B. Onomatopoeia

C. Personification

D. Simile

13. “His room was a junk pile” is an example of:

A. Metaphor

B. Idiom

C. Personification

D. Simile

14. “You are crazy like a fox” is an example of:

A. Metaphor

B. Idiom

C. Personification

D. Simile

15. “I tried a thousand times” is an example of:

A. Hyperbole

B. Onomatopoeia

C. Alliteration

D. Simile

16. Zip, buzz, and smash are all examples of:

A. Hyperbole

B. Onomatopoeia

C. Alliteration

D. Metaphor

Read each paragraph and answer the question that follows.

The girls were playing in the pond, splashing each other and trying to catch fish with their hands.

They were having fun, but kept looking over their shoulders at the looming forest. The long grass of

the field kept moving and they sort of felt like they were being watched… About a half hour passed

and still the girls kept checking the field for movements. It seemed like a pair of dark eyes was on

them. They even considered going back inside, but that would mean homework time. So they

continued splashing, but with caution now. Their eyes hardly left the field.

17. What is the tone of the above paragraph?

A. Fearful

B. Playful

C. Not worried

D. Tired

After New Year's the time came to put all the decorations away and settle in for the long, cold

winter. The house seemed to sigh as we boxed up its finery. The tree was dry and brittle, and now

waited forlornly by the side of the road to be picked up.

18. What is the mood of the above paragraph?

A. Depressed

B. Without attitude

C. Happy

D. None of the above

As mayor of this town, Bob Thorpe has done nothing but deceive people. Mike Fernandez is an

honest and hardworking alternative to Mr. Thorpe, and everyone should vote for him on Election

Day.

19. What is the author’s purpose in writing the above paragraph?

A. Persuade

B. Inform

C. Entertain

D. None of the above

Calligraphy is a form of handwriting. A special pen must be used. Letters are formed using up and

down strokes. Old documents are usually written in this form. Diplomas, certificates and other

awards are written in calligraphy. It is an interesting form of handwriting.

20. What is the author’s purpose in writing the above paragraph?

A. Persuade

B. Inform

C. Entertain

D. None of the above

Katina and her brother, Jess, were playing with the water hose outside one day. Jess was hiding

from Katina so she wouldn't squirt him with the water. The back door opened and Katina pointed the

water hose toward the door. It was Mom, and she was dripping wet!

21. What is the author’s purpose in writing the above paragraph?

A. Persuade

B. Inform

C. Entertain

D. None of the above

Read each set of sentences below. Three of the sentences in each set have errors in pronoun

usage; ONE sentence is written correctly. Choose the letter for the sentence that is written

correctly, that has NO ERRORS in pronoun usage.

22. A. Us and them filled the bird feeders.

B. Will Grandma take they and we on a helicopter ride?

C. I will ride behind she and you.

D. Ira read us a story by Gary Soto.

23. A. Us sixth graders volunteered at the food bank.

B. They are always welcome here.

C. Did you give Shandra or she the envelope?

D. It was her on the telephone.

24. A. For whom did you write this note?

B. Miss Okada showed Ann and she some Japanese poetry cards.

C. Aunt Elsa and her joined the Peace Corps.

D. Did you ask Rick and they for directions?

25. A. Please help Jim and I with our project.

B. The only French-speaking people at the party were we.

C. Mrs. Smith offered Alex and he a baby-sitting job.

D. Paul is teaching Betty and I a traditional Kiowa dance.

26. A. By who was this dress designed?

B. Mr. Lopez plays tennis with Pete and me.

C. Trevor’s family and us celebrate the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

D. It could have been them in that blue car.

Read the selection. Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the

question.

The Winter Catcher

The ground outside was white with snow, but all Dawn could think about was baseball. She rolled

over on her bed to look at the Orioles calendar hanging above her desk. She knew it would be three

months until the spring youth league started up, but she wanted to see the little blocks of numbers,

the months of days all lined up, to get a good picture of exactly how many baseball-less days she

would have to wait. A lot, that’s how many.

Thwock. She could almost hear the sweet sound of the ball’s impact: not too hard, not too soft, fitting

the glove just right. Dawn wanted to play ball, and she wanted to play now.

She threw on her boots and jacket and baseball cap, hoping this would count as being “bundled up”

to any grown-up who saw her as she left the house. Her uncle spotted her at the back door. “Bundle

up more,” he ordered. She put on her red wool snow hat and put the baseball cap on top. “That sure

looks dumb,” she decided, and tossed the baseball cap onto a curving hook of the coat stand on her

way to the door. “Hey, what about gloves?” her uncle asked. Dawn grabbed her baseball glove and

put it on. “I’ve got my glove!” she called back to him and jumped down the stone steps into the cold.

“I don’t have what I really need,” she thought. “I don’t have a catcher. What good is a pitcher

without a catcher?” She had had this problem all week. None of her friends in the neighborhood

could or would play ball with her. Carolyn, her regular catcher, had moved away. Justin was sick

and hadn’t been out of his pajamas for days. All Louisa wanted to do was go sledding or skating.

Marcus’s fingers got too cold to catch the ball, and so on.

Dawn took off her glove, scooped up some fresh snow, and formed it into a beautiful round ball. She

noticed that the fence posts wore their own kind of snow hats. She took aim at one of them. The

flying snowball swept the snow cleanly off the top of the post. Her red fingers were forming a

second snowball when she got an idea. She took the snowball and began to roll it across the snow-

covered ground. Her fingers were starting to freeze, so she put them in her pockets to warm them up.

What luck! Mittens were curled in the bottoms of her pockets. She could continue her project. Dawn

built a big three-ball snowman, placing a medium-sized ball on top of a big ball, with a small ball on

top. She got so warm from pushing the snowballs around the yard that she took off her wool hat and

stuck it on the snowman’s head.

She stood back. “Almost,” she thought, and she punched the snowman in the stomach. “Sorry about

that,” she said, her arm deep in the thick snow belly. She yanked her arm out, went behind the

snowman, and pushed and dug through the back. Then she squatted and looked through—yep, she’d

made the hole big enough. “I think this is going to work,” she thought, brushing off her snow-coated

sleeve as she walked away from her strange-looking snowman.

At pitching distance from the snowman, she stopped and made a small pyramid of snowballs. Five

per batter, fifteen per inning is what she would need. She picked up the first ball from the top of the

pyramid. Dawn went into her windup—raising her hands over her head, kicking her knee high in

front— and then let her no-miss fastball go. The ball went right through the snow-man’s belly

tunnel.

Dawn spent all afternoon pitching balls at the snowman. Sometimes they disappeared into the hole;

sometimes they broke apart in a cloud of white on white, but she got better and better at sending

them right through the middle. Spring was getting closer all the time.

27. In “The Winter Catcher,” how does the setting create a conflict for Dawn?

A. The snow and cold keep Dawn from playing baseball.

B. Dawn uses the snow to build a really big snowman.

C. She is not allowed outside to play when it is cold.

D. She can only play baseball in the spring and summer.

28. How does Dawn use the snow to resolve the conflict?

A. She makes a lot of snowballs to throw at her friends.

B. She builds a snowman with a hole that she can pitch through.

C. When her hands get cold from the snow, she goes inside.

D. She builds the biggest snowman in the neighborhood.

29. What character trait most helps Dawn to solve her problem?

A. niceness

B. cheerfulness

C. resourcefulness

D. stubbornness

Read these sentences from the story.

The ground outside was white with snow, but all Dawn could think about was baseball. She

rolled over on her bed to look at the Orioles calendar hanging above her desk.

30. Which of the following context clues reveals that the Orioles are a baseball team?

A. They are on a calendar.

B. The calendar is hanging.

C. All Dawn can think about is baseball.

D. It is wintertime.

31. A ball’s impact in the glove means its:

A. Deep effect

B. Forceful hit

C. Importance

D. Activity

32. The plot of a story is:

A. The author’s reason for writing the story

B. The moment when a character makes a discovery

C. The main idea of the story

D. The sequence of events in the story

33. Like in many stories, the conflict in this story is introduced:

A. In the exposition

B. During the rising action

C. During the falling action

D. In the resolution

34. In the resolution of this story, like in most stories, the character’s problems are:

A. Not important to the author’s point

B. Much more complicated than before

C. Left unexplained by the author

D. Solved

Here is a draft of one student’s narrative. Use it to answer the following questions.

A Bracing Bus Ride

Rita and I giggled as we got on the bus. It was the first time I had visited her in los angeles,

and we were in a good mood. The bus driver was not. “Hurry up!” she said as we climbed on the

bus.

There were only two seats left. As we sat down, Rita scowled at the back of the driver’s

head. The man sitting next to us leaned over and whispered, “Don’t take it personally. She yelled at

me, too.” I tried not to laugh out loud. I did not want to get scolded again.

At the next two stops, the bus driver boomed and frowned at the new passengers. The rest of

us sat in silence. Then, at the third stop, the bus driver pulled a lever and the bus began to make

noise. She was lowering the wheelchair platform.

“Uh-oh,” Rita said. “This is not going to make her happy.”

The new passenger got onto the platform. His chair was supposed to lock into a groove, but it

would not work. The driver got up. We all held our breaths. Was she going to yell at him, too?

The man across the aisle hopped up, grabbed the wheelchair, and tried to jam it

into the groove. The driver glared at him. “Just a second, mister!” she snapped. She looked the new

passenger right in the eye. Then, she said in a normal, pleasant voice, “Is it okay if I push you back a

bit?” Next, she amazed us all.

“Sure,” he said, and the bus driver clicked the chair into place.

We were all quiet, but now we were not afraid. Rita and I thanked the bus driver as we got

off the bus.

35. Which transition should be added to the first paragraph?

A. First of all,

B. Finally,

C. Next,

D. Then,

36. How should los angeles be written?

A. los angeles

B. Los Angeles

C. Los angeles

D. As it is

37. In paragraph 1, which words provide a hook to best get the reader’s attention?

A. Rita and I giggled as we got on the bus.

B. I had visited her in los angeles

C. The bus driver was not.

D. It was the first time

38. Which would be a better dialogue tag than said in this sentence?

“Hurry up!” she said as we climbed on the bus.

A. Bellowed

B. Hummed

C. Whispered

D. Stuttered

39. Which of the following is the best example of sensory detail?

A. Only two empty seats remained near the front of bus number 12.

B. The bus driver boomed and frowned.

C. The new passenger got onto the platform.

D. We all held our breath.

40. What verb is more vivid than the words make noise in the following phrase?

…the bus began to make noise.

A. Shake

B. Make sounds

C. Groan

D. Be too loud

41. Which verb is more vivid than the word got in the following sentence?

The new passenger got onto the platform.

A. Was

B. Came

C. Went

D. Rolled

42. In paragraph 7, where should the following sentence be placed?

Next, she amazed us all.

A. At the end of the paragraph

B. At the beginning of the paragraph

C. At the beginning of paragraph 8

D. As it is

43. Which is an example of correctly written dialogue?

A. Rita “said” let’s get on the bus.

B. Rita said “let’s get on the bus.”

C. Rita said, “Let’s get on the bus.”

D. Rita said. “Let’s get on the bus.”

44. Which sentence should be added just before the last sentence?

A. The bus driver treated everyone with respect, except the man across the aisle.

B. The new passenger soon realized that the bus driver had insulted him.

C. The bus driver had treated the man with respect, and now she deserved ours.

D. The bus driver did not deserve it, but we had treated her with respect.

Read each selection. Then, read each question about the selection. Choose the best answer to

the question. Then, mark the space for the answer you have chosen.

Georgia O’Keeffe

1 “My first memory is of the brightness of light . . . light all around.” This

quote is from Georgia O’Keeffe, one of America’s most original and

celebrated painters. Throughout her career, O’Keeffe used light, along with

shape and color, in new and surprising ways. Her paintings are recognized

and admired by people around the world.

2 Georgia O’Keeffe was born on a Wisconsin farm in 1887. From an early age,

she knew she wanted to become an artist. Her parents encouraged her. By the

time she was sixteen, O’Keeffe had enjoyed five years of private art lessons.

3 After receiving her high school diploma, O’Keeffe went to the Art Institute

of Chicago. The year was 1905. At that time, it was unusual for women to be

offered such training. Then, in 1907, she moved to New York to study at the

Art Students League. There she studied with teachers such as the famous

painter William Merritt Chase.

4 After a while O’Keeffe became discouraged. She did not think her painting

was improving as it should. So she moved to Chicago and took a job as a

commercial illustrator. Her tasks included drawing designs for

advertisements. She continued at the job for about two years but found

herself called back to painting.

5 In 1912, O’Keeffe took a job as a “drawing supervisor” at a public school in

Amarillo, Texas. There, she fell in love with the landscape of the West. The

boundless sky, the dust-blown prairie, and the rugged beauty of the Palo

Duro Canyon inspired her. She decided to forget what she had learned about

painting. Instead, she began to paint what she felt. The results were startling.

A slash of red paint was a canyon rim. A blue brush stroke became cool

shadows. Yellow and white circles were starlight. Everything was reduced to

the simplest expression of light, shape, and color. Recalling that place,

O’Keeffe said, “It was all so far away . . . there was quiet and an untouched

feel to the country and I could work as I pleased.”

6 O’Keeffe returned to New York, where she pursued her career. However, she

could not forget the beauty of the West. In 1929, she traveled to New

Mexico. She was thrilled by the beauty of violet mountains towering above

waves of gray-green sage plants. The state known as the “Land of

Enchantment” had claimed O’Keeffe as its own. Although she went back to

New York for a time, she returned to New Mexico and lived the rest of her

life there.

7 Today, Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings hang in galleries and museums around

the world. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, stands

as a tribute to the woman and her art.

45. Why was it unusual for Georgia O’Keefe to attend the Art Institute of Chicago?

A. Because she grew up on a farm

B. Because it was so far from her home

C. Because she was female

D. Because few artists received training

46. These words have meanings similar to surprising. Which of them has the least positive

connotation?

A. Astounding

B. Amazing

C. Unexpected

D. Remarkable

47. The first-person quotations from Georgia O’Keeffe reveal the artist’s:

A. Life experiences

B. Personal feelings

C. World view

D. Biography

48. The third-person narration in most of this selection supplies:

A. Factual information

B. Poetic descriptions

C. Biased opinions

D. Fictional information

49. Which of Georgia O’Keeffe’s qualities or traits most likely led her to return to the West?

A. Her first memory

B. Her originality

C. Her desire for success

D. Her love of beauty

50. A main idea that can be found in “Georgia O’Keeffe” is:

A. Real artists are never illustrators.

B. Being an artist is a lifetime career.

C. New York is the best place to paint.

D. Women make the best painters.

51. The imagery of “violet mountains towering above waves of gray-green sage” helps the

reader:

A. Understand the meaning of the selection

B. Feel what it is like to be a true artist

C. Compare Wisconsin with New Mexico

D. Visualize the landscape O’Keeffe loved to paint

52. What evidence from the text supports the idea that O’Keeffe was a great artist?

A. She enjoyed five years of private art lessons.

B. She studied with famous painters, such as Chase.

C. She took a job as a commercial illustrator.

D. Her paintings hang in museums around the world.

53. The Spanish word palo means “wood” and the Spanish word duro means “hard.” Using this

information, you can make an inference that Palo Duro Canyon:

A. Is populated with hard wood trees

B. Is a harsh place where trees used to grow

C. Is a place where it is hard for trees to grow

D. Is a very large lumber yard

54. According to the evidence in the passage, how did Georgia O’Keeffe feel that New York and

New Mexico compared as places to paint?

A. New York offered more opportunities and more galleries.

B. She felt her work was more respected in New Mexico than in New York.

C. The weather in New Mexico was more suited to painting than New York weather.

D. She found an income in New York, but inspiration in New Mexico.

Here is a part of Ed’s rough draft. Use it to answer questions 55 through 57.

(1) “The Fifty-Yard Dash” by William Saroyan has an important lesson to teach. (2) It is a story

about taking action instead of just daydreaming about what you could do.

(3) The story’s characters support the idea that what you really do is more important than what you

just think about doing. (4) Twelve-year-old Aram spends a lot of time thinking about what he wants

to become. (5) He spends little time working toward his goal, though. (6) His uncle Gyko has

recently started doing yoga. (7) He tells Aram that he should look inside himself for strength Gyko

seems to do little besides sit and think.

(8) The message of the story is best supported by the events of the plot. (9) Aram sends off a coupon

he finds in the back of a magazine. (10) He wants to learn how to become the strongest man in his

neighborhood. (11) However, a response letter tells him things he already knows: exercise every

day, eat healthy foods, and so on. (12) Aram follows the program for four days and then quits.

(13) Aram decides to enter a race being held at his school. (14) He does not practice for the race.

(15) Instead, he follows his uncle’s advice and looks inside himself for strength. (16) When the time

comes to race, Aram is amazed to find himself left behind by stronger runners. (17) “The Fifty-Yard

Dash” may at first seem like a story about a boy who wants to build his muscles. (18) In the story,

though, there is a lesson about what it takes to reach a goal.

55. Which is the best sentence to add at the beginning of the essay as a hook?

A. This was a very interesting and enjoyable story.

B. My favorite character in this story was Aram.

C. Can you build muscles and win races just by thinking about it?

D. What is a fifty-yard dash, and why would someone write about it?

56. In sentence 7, how should strength Gyko be written?

A. strength; Gyko

B. strength: Gyko

C. strength, Gyko

D. strength (Gyko

57. Which of these sentences should be added to the end of the essay as a concluding sentence

that restates the main point?

A. Most people will enjoy reading this story as much as I did.

B. Aram and his uncle Gyko make this story funny and entertaining.

C. Yoga is an ancient form of exercise.

D. Good goals are important, but they are meaningless without action.

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow.

Dinner is always at the same time every night at my house. My mom gets home at 5:30, and then we

eat at 6:00. She plans the meal so it will take exactly thirty minutes to fix. Then we clean up, and all

the kids are in bed at 8:00 on the dot. This makes my mom very pleased, and everyone else is also.

58. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. A successful nighttime schedule while working together

B. Making dinner can sometimes take longer

C. Bad things happen when moms are not happy

D. Eating healthy food is very important

The Power of Time by Jonathan Swift, 1730

If neither brass nor marble can withstand

The mortal force of Time's destructive hand;

If mountains sink to vales, if cities die,

And lessening rivers mourn their fountains dry;

When my old cassock (said a Welsh divine)

Is out at elbows, why should I repine?

59. How does the author establish the theme by using imagery in the poem?

A. The author creates the image of “Time” as a person.

B. The author creates the image of two men talking about getting older.

C. The author uses images of rivers drying up and cities dying out.

D. The author uses the imagery of a funeral and burial.

Divers probably began using snorkels made of hollow reeds about 100 A.D. as the first piece of

diving equipment. By 1300, Persian divers were using underwater eye goggles made from the

polished shells of tortoises. In the 16th century, barrels were used as diving bells. Divers could travel

underwater with little more than one breath of air.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau is the father of modern scuba diving. He was injured in a serious automobile

accident. He was swimming daily in the ocean after the accident to try to regain his strength. He did

not like salt water in his eyes and tried underwater goggles for the first time. He stated that when he

looked into the ocean through the goggles, he shouted, "Hey, there is stuff down here!" Wanting to

explore the ocean for longer and longer periods of time, he developed, with Emile Gagnan, the first

AquaLung® in 1943.

60. What is an implied theme in this passage?

A. Observing life wherever it is found

B. Man’s desire to observe ocean life

C. The wonders of technology

D. Interesting events in our past

When the house was first built, the whole neighborhood was excited. But as the years went on, no

one had taken care of the house. Now, the shabby little house had needed to be repaired for quite

some time. The family that had lived there moved away long ago. The structure of the house was

falling apart, and there was a large amount of trash in the yard.

61. What is the main idea of this passage?

A. The family that moved away cared for their home.

B. It takes work to keep a house looking good over the years.

C. The neighborhood needs to take care of the house.

D. It is important to recycle household trash.

Excerpt from: The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved

one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's

cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times

Della counted it. One dollar and eighty- seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.

62. What is the conflict in this passage from "The Gift of the Magi"?

A. Della had to count her money three times.

B. Della had sixty cents in pennies.

C. Della did not have enough money.

D. Della did not like Christmas.

“The Missing Chip”

"Here, Chip. Come here, boy." Jackson stood in the open doorway, calling to his dog. The boy stood

still and listened. He hoped he would hear the sound of Chip's rustling the bushes, as he came

bounding to the door. As the boy stood there, he heard the birds chirping in the treetops. He heard

the tractor in the field across from his house. He heard many sounds of nature, but he did not hear

Chip. Jackson closed the door and spoke to his mother.

"I don't know where Chip could be," he said. "I haven't seen him since yesterday morning."

"Why don't you ride your bike around the neighborhood to see if you can find him?" suggested

Mom.

Jackson put on his shoes and his jacket and headed for the door. "Be careful on the road," said Mom.

"If a car comes, pull your bicycle over to the far side of the ditch."

Jackson rode across the creek bridge, calling out to his dog. "Chip, come here, boy. Here, Chip!" The

daffodils fluttered, as he rode past them. Jackson looked across the field. He scanned the cow

pasture, as he rode along the fencerow. There was no sign of the dog. Jackson stopped his bicycle in

front of Mr. Yoder's barn. He stood still and listened. He thought he could hear a faint whimpering

sound coming from the barn. He pedaled quickly toward the barn.

“Chip! Here, Chip!" he called, as he raced. He climbed off his bike quickly and let it fall to the

ground. The whimpering sound was coming from inside the barn.

Jackson climbed over the barn gate and went inside. His eyes panned the stalls and the hay, but he

saw no sign of Chip. Just then he heard movement from the left side of the barn, and the whimpering

began again. "Chip, I'm here, boy," Jackson said, as he rushed to a broken board behind a small

wagon. Chip had somehow climbed between the broken boards and was stuck in the wall.

"How did you get in there, boy?" Jackson asked. The hole was much smaller than the basset hound.

"You must have chased something behind the boards, and that's how you got stuck. I'll get you out of

here," Jackson said. The boy sat on his knees and tugged on each board until he found one that was

loose. He wriggled the board and pried the nail loose until the board finally came off, enlarging the

opening. He reached his arm inside and pulled the dog back through the hole.

Chip shook the dust from his coat. Jackson scratched his hound behind the ears. "Come on, boy," he

said. "Let's go home."

63. How is the conflict resolved?

A. Chip finally shows up in time for supper.

B. Jackson finds his dog and frees him.

C. Chip is stuck behind the boards in the barn.

D. Jackson’s mom sends him to find the dog.

Read the statements below and determine the type of conflict.

64. Kimberley couldn’t decide if she wanted to go to prom with Justin or Mark.

A. Internal

B. External

C. Both internal and external

D. Neither internal or external

65. Julian was one of the many students picked on by the sixth grade class bully; everyone was

afraid of Sluggo.

A. Internal

B. External

C. Both internal and external

D. Neither internal or external

66. The rain lashed at Brian’s face, making it difficult to see the path as he hiked along.

A. Internal

B. External

C. Both internal and external

D. Neither internal or external

Read the selection below and use it to answer the questions that follow.

Nobody Asked Me by Jordan Ratliff

They didn’t say They didn’t say

“Hey, “It’s time to choose your talents.

Do you wanna be Would you like to be a singer,

short or tall, or another Michael Jordan?

chubby like the Pillsbury dough boy You could be a star, you know.

or thin as a bicycle spoke?” Speak now or you’ll have to settle for

Nope. Nobody asked me ‘tone deaf’ and ‘two left feet.’”

how I’d like to look. Certainly not.

Nobody asked me,

and just look what I got.

Nobody said, Nobody asked me.

“By the way, But it doesn’t really matter.

We’re passing out brains today. Even Michael Jordan

What’s your pleasure-- wasn’t much of a batter.

“Einstein-smart” or “it’s a pain to read”? Einstein flunked a science test

It’s up to you , you know.” (and had very weird hair).

Nah. I am what I am

Nobody asked me and I really don’t care

To pick my brain to change.

So please don’t ask me.

67. Who is most likely the speaker in the poem?

A. A star basketball player

B. A very smart person

C. A famous singer

D. An ordinary person

68. With which of the following themes would the author most likely agree?

A. Anyone can be smart if they try hard enough.

B. Everyone should make the best of what they’ve got.

C. Work hard if you want to succeed in life.

D. Don’t criticize others until you fix your own faults.

69. What kind of figurative language is used when the speaker says, “chubby like the Pillsbury

dough boy”?

A. Metaphor

B. Simile

C. Hyperbole

D. Personification

70. What does the speaker mean when she says, “Nobody asked me / To pick my brain”?

A. She has trouble reading.

B. She wishes she were as bright as Einstein.

C. She tries to learn but isn’t very smart.

D. She didn’t get to decide how smart she would be.

71. What point was the speaker trying to make by saying the Michael Jordan “wasn’t much of a

batter”?

A. Michael Jordan couldn’t play baseball.

B. Everyone has areas of weakness.

C. Michael Jordan is a perfect basketball player.

D. Anyone should be able to hit a ball.

72. How does the speaker feel about her characteristics?

A. Completely happy

B. Very disappointed

C. Ready for a change

D. Generally accepting

Read the following science fiction passage and answer the question.

Cara's I-Jet

"Cara, the airbus is approaching. The monitor has picked up the signal less than three miles away. It

will be here in less than a minute," Mother said.

"Can you send the AB a delay request?" asked Cara. "I can't find my I-Jet, and it has my homework

stored on it for this whole semester."

"You've already used your delay allotment for this month," answered Mother. "I believe you'll just

have to be on the hovermac, with or without your I-Jet, when the airbus arrives." Cara rushed back to

her room. She looked under her sleeping station, but there was nothing there but dust and some old

memory chips. She opened the doors of her clothing dock and rummaged through her AB suits. Cara

found her grandmother's old MP3-player stuck in the pocket of one of her AB suits. The MP3-player

had been a keen device when her grandmother was a child, but the old piece of technology hadn't

worked in 50 years. Cara just kept it as a reminder of how difficult life used to be.

"20 seconds," Mom shouted from the food unit.

Frustrated, Cara gave up the search. She grabbed an AB suit from the clothing dock and slipped it

on. She ran outside to the hovermac and pushed the silver button, signaling the airbus that she was

ready to be uploaded. The airbus appeared and hovered over the hovermac, lowering the platform to

the ground.

As Cara stepped onto the platform, she put her hand in the pocket of her AB suit and felt a cool steel

casing. She pulled it from her pocket and opened the case. Inside was her I-Jet, just as she had left it.

"There it is!" she exclaimed, relieved that her months of work would not have to be duplicated. A

smile spread across her face as she and the platform disappeared inside the airbus.

73. What is the correct sequence of events for this passage?

A. Cara cannot find her I-Jet; Cara gets on the airbus; Cara finds the MP-3 player.

B. Cara gets on the airbus; Cara finds the MP-3 player; Cara finds her I-Jet.

C. Cara cannot find her I-Jet; Cara finds the MP-3 player; Cara gets on the airbus.

D. Cara finds the MP-3 player; Cara gets on the airbus; Cara cannot find her I-Jet.

Read the following article and answer the questions.

Bad Hair Days Are No Laughing Matter

Your teacher knocks a stack of papers off his desk. “Don’t mind me,” he says. “I’m just

having a bad hair day.” The class laughs, but a bad hair day may not be so funny. Marianne

LaFrance, a professor of psychology at Yale University, has found that bad hair days can lead to

negative feelings about yourself. In turn, negative feelings can affect not just your day but your

entire life.

Bad Hair, Bad Feelings

Like most people, you probably feel better when you think you look good. When you

think you look bad because of the way your hair looks, you probably have feelings of annoyance

and displeasure. LaFrance says, however, that the problem goes beyond merely frowning at the

mirror and blaming your hair. Her studies show that bad hair days can result in lowered self-

esteem. According to Nathaniel Branden, an authority on the subject, self-esteem is “a feeling of

personal worth.” With low self-esteem, you may doubt your ability to meet the challenges of life.

You may even question whether you deserve happiness and respect, according to Branden.

LaFrance gave psychological tests to 120 people in order to study self-esteem. People

who were asked to recall bad hair days before taking the tests were more likely to have negative

feelings about themselves than those who were not asked to think about their hair. Bad hair days

affected both men and women but in different ways. Women felt embarrassed, self-conscious,

and bothered on bad hair days. Bad hair days caused men to experience increased nervousness

and a loss of self-confidence.

Bad Hair and the Big Picture

Is it a big deal if people have negative feelings about themselves from time to time?

Actually, it can be. Low self-esteem caused by negative feelings can lead to unhealthy behavior.

For example, in the book Adiós, Barbie, one woman reported, “If my hair didn’t look good [I

thought that] I wasn’t any good.” As a result, when she judged her hair to be unacceptable, the

woman would stay home rather than go out and be with people. In extreme cases, bad hair days

can cause people to become isolated and depressed.

From Bad Hair to Good Mental Health

Does LaFrance’s study mean that bad hair days are dangerous or that people should

spend time and money to make their hair “perfect”? What is perfect hair anyway? Who can

define it? These are not the solutions that LaFrance intends. In fact, she believes that the effects

of bad hair need to be studied further before people change their behavior. It does seem wise,

however, to realize that bad hair days happen and that they can have a negative effect on one’s

self-esteem. What people need to do, though, is to keep some perspective. People should

recognize the negative feelings without letting the feelings take root in their lives.

74. What cause is addressed in the second paragraph?

A. Having a bad hair day

B. Experiencing bad feelings about oneself

C. Becoming isolated from others

D. Acting in unhealthy ways

75. What effect is discussed in the second paragraph?

A. Looking good

B. Meeting life’s challenges

C. Lowered self-esteem

D. Taking psychological tests

Constructed Response A

Read the selection below. Then, read each question and write your best answer. Cite

evidence from the text in your writing.

The Roar of the Thunderbirds

The ringing phone jarred me awake.

“Hello,” I answered somewhat sternly, wondering who would dare to call me so early on

Saturday morning.

“Get up, Maria. We’re going to an air show today. Be ready in half an hour.”

Before I could even object, Raul hung up. It’s true; Raul usually took me to interesting

events, but an air show? At that moment, sleeping late seemed much more appealing.

Still, I got dressed and greeted Raul thirty minutes later. “This had better be a good show,” I

warned.

As he drove to the field, he described the Thunderbirds, an elite squadron of Air Force pilots.

I listened in silence, too sleepy and grumpy to be excited. When we arrived, I was surprised to

see a large number of people standing at the edge of a huge airfield. We finally found a place to

stand in the growing crowd.

Six gigantic F-16 jets sat on the runway. The gleaming white bodies of the fighter planes

threw off a glare in the hot sun, and I shielded my eyes with my hand. I could see a cockpit

covered by what looked like hard, black plastic. Raul called it a “canopy.” The wings, nose, and

tail of each jet were painted with three stripes. The first was red, the next white, and the last one

a blue so dark that it looked like the night sky. Over each right wing were the letters USAF.

Just then, an announcement crackled over a loudspeaker. The show was beginning. Six pilots

dressed in bright red jumpsuits marched briskly onto the airfield. They climbed into the cockpits

and pulled on their shiny helmets. A loud BOOM shook the crowd as the pilots started the jet

engines. The squadron leader pulled down his canopy, and the others followed in quick, precise

order. The pilots then turned to the crowd, gave a thumbs-up sign, and the six jets roared off into

the distance.

The squadron turned and headed back over the airfield in a diamond formation. Streams of

white smoke trailed behind them in the brilliant blue sky. The jets flew so close together that

they looked as though their wings were actually touching. They made another pass over us,

doing flips and rolls and dives. The announcer called out the names of the maneuvers: “Five

Card Loop, Wing Rock-and-Roll, Cuban Eight.” Several times I found myself gasping, thinking

the jets were about to crash.

Back and forth, up and down, the F-16s roared overhead. Without our noticing it, one jet

peeled off from the others. Suddenly it appeared out of nowhere, roaring over our heads. The

ground shook. It sounded like a bomb exploding right behind us. We screamed and laughed in

relief as the single jet joined the others.

Too soon, the show was over. The Thunderbirds landed, taxied down the runway, and

parked. The crowd cheered wildly as the pilots approached, shaking hands, saluting, and signing

autographs. I applauded and cheered along with everyone else.

Raul looked over at me and smiled. “Well, was this worth getting up for?”

Part A: Who is the narrator of this story?

Part B: Describe Maria’s change in attitude from the beginning to the end of the passage.

Use examples from the passage to support your answer.

Constructed Response B

Ice Cave

1 New Mexico is the site of an amazing natural phenomenon commonly known as

the Ice Cave. No one knows exactly why ice began to form nearly 2,000 years

ago, but it has continued to form since.

2 The oldest ice in the cave is now estimated to be 1,100 years old. Naturally, that

is the ice on the floor of the cave. The temperature never rises above 31 degrees

Fahrenheit, which has enabled the ice floor to increase to nearly 20 feet thick.

Snow melt and rainwater seeps into the cave and freezes in the natural freezer.

Algae cause the ice to have a green tint.

3 Native Americans, primarily Pueblos, mined the ice until the coming of the first

settlers from the East. The settlers continued to mine the ice until 1946 when the

practice was discontinued. At that point, the floor was approximately half its

current thickness. No one knows for sure if the cave will eventually fill with ice.

Nor can scientists predict when the cavern might be filled, since the rate of

accumulation is dependent on the amount of precipitation.

4 The Ice Cave was known to the Pueblo Indians as the Winter Lake. Today,

scientists (and tourists) can see the sites of the ancient camps used as the Native-

American traders moved from one settlement to another. Artifacts include a

variety of pots and containers, which the native traders discarded when they no

longer needed them. The variety of types and styles of pottery indicates that many

different people from different tribes and from a wide-ranging area passed through

this site along the trade routes near the cave.

Part A: How does the ice cave in New Mexico continue to grow? Explain.

Part B: Cite at least two facts from the article that support your reasoning in the answer for

part A.

Multiple-Choice Answer Key for Semester I Study Guide

ELA 6

2015-2016

1 d

2 a

3 c

4 b

5 a

6 b

7 c

8 b

9 d

10 b

11 c

12 c

13 a

14 d

15 a

16 b

17 a

18 a

19 a

20 b

21 c

22 d

23 b

24 a

25 b

26 b

27 a

28 b

29 c

30 c

31 b

32 d

33 b

34 d

35 a

36 b

37 a

38 a

39 b

40 c

41 d

42 b

43 c

44 c

45 c

46 c

47 b

48 a

49 d

50 b

51 d

52 d

53 a

54 d

55 c

56 a

57 d

58 a

59 a

60 b

61 b

62 c

63 b

64 a

65 b

66 b

67 d

68 b

69 b

70 d

71 b

72 d

73 c

74 b

75 c