ASSESSMENT TOOL GRADE 7 Short Story Paragraph Bryan is in the park. The Ant and the Grasshopper He jumps into the leaves. In a field one summer's day a Grasshopper was hopping and singing. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil He likes to play with leaves. an ear of corn."Why not come and chat with me," said the He is very excited. Grasshopper. "I am helping to lay up food for the winter," said the Ant. "Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper. But Words the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger while it saw the ants ball left bird fog cub distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had play beam fight snow tune collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew: It is best plain bleed click float blew to prepare for days of need. Letters _____________________________________________________ 1. What was the Grasshopper doing? b r a x p 2. What did happen when the winter came? f i o v y 3. How did the Ant spend the winter? u w e h d ASSESSMENT TOOL GRADE 8 Short Story Paragraph Do What You Can I am going camping with my family. There was once a farmer who had a large field of corn. He weeded it for he wanted to sell the corn and buy good things for his family with the money. But after he had worked hard, he saw no rain fell. He felt very sad, and every morning he went out to the field and wished for the rain to fall. We are going to build a tent to sleep in. One day, as he stood looking up at the sky, two little raindrops saw him, and one said to the other: "Look at that farmer. I wish I might help him.""Yes," said the other, "but you are only a little raindrop. What can you do?” Well," said the first, "I know, I cannot do much; but I can cheer the farmer. Here I go!"the second one said:"Well, if you insist upon going, I think I will go, too. Here I come!" And down went the raindrops. One came pat on the farmer's nose, and one fell on a thirsty stalk of corn."Dear me," said the farmer, A raindrop! I do believe we shall have a shower."By this time a great many raindrops had come together and going down to cheer the farmer, and water his corn, because one little raindrop tried to do what it could. ___________________________________________________ We will enjoy nature and swim in the lake. I will walk by the lake with my family. I am happy! Words plain bleed click float blew crawl chew noise down cause cloud decoy moist weigh maple Letters 1. Why did the farmer want to sell his corn? b r a x p 2. What did the one little raindrop say to other? f i o v y 3. How did the shower come and why? u w e h d ASSESSMENT TOOL GRADE 9&10 Short Story John Steinbeck John Steinbeck was born into a family of modest means in 1902. His father worked various jobs to take care of his family. His mother was a former schoolteacher. Steinbeck had three sisters and enjoyed a happy childhood. Though shy, he was very smart, and he became attached to California’s Salinas Valley at a young age. Steinbeck decided at the age of 14 that he would become a writer and spent a lot of his time writing poems and stories. To please his parents, Steinbeck enrolled at Stanford University. Unsuited to college life, he came and went for six years before finally abandoning college for good in 1925. After a short stint in New York City trying to be a freelance writer, he moved back to California and earned a living working as a manual laborer. Steinbeck was the author of 31 books, including some of the best-known novels in American Literature: Of Mice and Men (1937), Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952). Though he had been publishing since 1929, he first found success with Tortilla Flat (1935), a humorous novel about paisano life in the Monterey region of his native California. All of his books revolved around social issues, and Steinbeck believed it was a writer’s job to “dredge up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement.” Steinbeck won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 for The Grapes of Wrath. Twenty-two years later, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature: "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception." Paragraph School is the place where we learn to read and write. It is the most crucial place for a student, and it helps us to learn new things. The teachers are always helpful and teach us important things in life. Most of what we learn is a result of the learning imparted by our teachers. Words blender clothes flame glide scoop skunk smock sponge trunk bridge crown drop grave prize draft blunt chest flash glitch Steinbeck was married three times, and his first wife provided him with financial support while he concentrated on his writing. They divorced in 1942. His second marriage lasted from 1943 until 1948 and produced two sons. Steinbeck married his third wife in 1950 and they remained married until Steinbeck died of heart disease in 1968. _______________________________________________________________________ 1. What was Steinbeck’s relationship with college? 2. What literary honors did Steinbeck win? 3. Steinbeck was married three times. What was unique about each of these marriages? plumber Letters b r a x p f i o v y u w e h d
