READING
Read the passages and then answer the questions
5.6 February
I Hear America Singing
byWalt Whitman
I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear;
Those of mechanics-each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and
strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat-the deckhand
singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench-the hatter singing as he
stands;
The wood-cutter’s song-the ploughboy’s, on his way in the morning, or
at noon intermission, or at sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother-or the young wife at work-or of the
girl sewing or washing-Each singing what belongs to him or her and to
none else;
The day what belongs to the day-At night the party of young fellows,
robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs
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Walt Whitman
byAyesha Brown
Walt Whitman was born on Long Island in New York, in 1819.
He was the second of nine children. His family moved to Brooklyn,
New York, in 1823. After only six years of school, Whitman became a
printer’s apprentice. After two years in his apprenticeship, he worked in
a number of print shops in New York City. He also began working as a
journalist, and he wrote political speeches. In 1840, he worked on the
presidential campaign of Martin Van Buren and began working as a
newspaper editor. While working on the Crescent newspaper in New
Orleans, Whitman witnessed slave auctions and saw first-hand what
slavery was like. These events strengthened his commitment to human
rights and moved him to begin writing poetry.
In the 1840s, Whitman published a number of short stories and a
novel. He published the first edition of his poetry collection Leaves of
Grass in 1855, paying for it himself. This edition contained 12 poems.
A second edition was published a year later with 20 additional poems. It
also included a letter of congratulations from the writer Ralph Waldo
Emerson. Many of Whitman’s poems described the experiences of the
common people. For example, he liked to write about families and
workers who had moved from the farm to the city. This was common
experience at the time.
During the Civil War, one of Whitman’s brothers, George, was a
soldier. When George was wounded in a Virginia battle in 1862,
Whitman traveled to Washington, D.C. to see him. His brother was fine,
but after spending time in his brother’s camp, Whitman was deeply
moved. He stayed on in Washington, working as a clerk for the U.S.
government and visiting wounded soldiers in hospitals around the city.
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He was an admirer of Abraham Lincoln, and he wrote a number of
poems in response to Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.
After the Civil War, Whitman remained in Washington, D.C. By
1881, Leaves of Grass had been published seven times. Whitman had
become a very famous poet. He bought a home in Camden, New Jersey,
where he died in 1892.
5.2
Student’s Name: ___________________________________________________________
Teacher: ____________________________Date:_________________________________
Multiple choice questions: I Hear America Singing and Walt Whitman
CIRCLE YOUR ANSWER
1. Which sentence tells the main idea of “I Hear America Singing”?
a. In America, it is important to have a good job.
b. Americans love to sing.
c. All different kinds of people come together to make America what it is.
d. Young people like to have parties at night.
2. Read the lines from “”I Hear America Singing.”
“The day what belongs to the day-At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, /Singing, with
open mouths, their strong melodious songs.”
What does the word robust mean?
a. dirty
b. full of health
c. artistic
d. mean
3. What type of point of view is used in “I Hear America Singing”?
a. first person
b. second person
c. third person
d. no point of view
4. What is most likely the poet’s purpose for writing “I Hear America Singing”?
a. to persuade people to find jobs in America
b. to inform the reader about different kinds of jobs in America
c. to teach the reader how to be a good American
d. to give a lively description of people working in American
5. Read the line from “I Hear America Singing”
“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear”
This is an example of
a. simile.
b. alliteration.
c. personification.
d. plot.
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6. Read the line from “I Hear America Singing.”
“The carpenter singing his, as he measure his plank or beam”
The word beam in this sentence means
a. a ray of light
b. a piece of wood used in construction.
c. a steel tube.
d. to smile.
7. In “I Hear America Singing,” the poet probably described people at work because
a. people often sing at work.
b. he saw America as a poor country.
c. he liked working more than doing other activities.
d. he saw America as a country that was prospering.
8. Which sentence from “Walt Whitman” supports the idea that Whitman wrote poetry for everyday
Americans?
a. “He also began working as a journalist, and he wrote political speeches.”
b. “He published the first edition of his poetry collection Leaves of Grass in 1855, paying for it
himself.
c. “For example, he liked to write about families and workers who had moved from the farms to the
city.”
d. “He was an admirer of Abraham Lincoln, and he wrote a number of poems in response to
Lincoln’s assassination in 1865.”
9. Which is a detail from “Walt Whitman”?
a. Whitman worked for Martin Van Buren’s presidential campaign.
b. Whitman did not write short stories.
c. Whitman fought in the Civil War.
d. Whitman worked as a mechanic.
10. In “Walt Whitman,” Whitman began writing poetry as a result of
a. working in a print shop.
b. seeing injured soldiers from the Civil War.
c. meeting Abraham Lincoln.
d. seeing a slave auction.
Questions 11-13 relate to BOTH the
poem and the passage.
11. By reading both the poem and the passage, you can tell that Walt Whitman was
a. A friend to Abraham Lincoln
b. Imaginative.
c. A man who could not find time for family.
d. A professional singer.
12. The characters in “I Hear America Singing” are similar to Walt Whitman in that they
a. are constantly singing.
b. are mechanics and shoemakers.
c. have worked in a print shop.
d. are full of life.
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OPEN ENDED SCORE:________
Turn over for open ended
e.
READING OPEN-ENDED ITEM FOR
“I Hear America Singing” and “Walt Whitman”
Give one way the poem and the passage are alike and one way they are different. Use specific
examples from each to support your answer.
5.2
MC Answer Key for Walt Whitman 5.6
1. C
2. B
3. B
4. D
5. C
6. B
7. D
8. C
9. A
10. D
11. B
12. D
PRIOR TO THIS ASSESSMENT A FOCUSED TEACING OF FIRST PERSON,
SECOND PERSON AND THIRD PERSON WRITING IS ADVISED.
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