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GLENCOE LANGUAGE ARTS GRADE 8 This helpful workbook provides Test-taking strategies and tips for the New York English Language Arts Test Practice lessons with multiple-choice, short-response, and extended-response items • A full-length English Language Arts practice test Aligned with the New York English Language Arts Core Curriculum Standards
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Page 1: GLENCOE LANGUAGE RTS RADE 8 - McGraw-Hill …glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0078757444/453811/C3_NY... · This helpful workbook provides ... Student Scoring Rubrics 5-point

GLENCOE LANGUAGE ARTSGRADE 8

This helpful workbook provides

• Test-taking strategies and tips for the New York English Language Arts Test

• Practice lessons with multiple-choice, short-response, and extended-response items

• A full-length English Language Arts practice test

Aligned with the New York English Language Arts Core Curriculum Standards

Page 2: GLENCOE LANGUAGE RTS RADE 8 - McGraw-Hill …glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0078757444/453811/C3_NY... · This helpful workbook provides ... Student Scoring Rubrics 5-point

Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

Send all inquiries to:Glencoe/McGraw-Hill8787 Orion PlaceColumbus, OH 43240-4027

ISBN-13: 978-0-07-877124-8ISBN-10: 0-07-877124-2

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 021 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06

Acknowledgments

Grateful acknowledgment is given to authors, publishers, and agents for permission to reprint the copyrighted material in this program. Every effort has been made to determine copyright owners. In case of any omissions, the Publisher will be pleased to make suitable acknowledgments in future editions.

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ContentsIntroduction to the Test ...................................................................................................... 1

Student Scoring Rubrics .................................................................................................... 2

Test-Taking Tips and Techniques ...................................................................................... 3

Lesson 1: Note Taking with Reading Passages ............................................................... 6

Lesson 2: Main Idea, Author’s Purpose, and Author’s Point of View .............................. 11

Lesson 3: Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences ................................................. 14

Lesson 4: Analyzing Literature .......................................................................................... 17

Lesson 5: Note Taking with Listening Passages .............................................................. 20

Lesson 6: Completing Charts ............................................................................................ 23

Lesson 7: Writing Paragraph-Length Responses ........................................................... 28

Lesson 8: Writing About Two Passages ........................................................................... 31

Lesson 9: Planning an Essay ............................................................................................. 38

Lesson 10: Maintaining Focus .......................................................................................... 43

Lesson 11: Editing ............................................................................................................. 46

Practice Test: Book 1 ........................................................................................................ 49

Practice Test: Book 2 ........................................................................................................ 63

Practice Test: Book 3 ........................................................................................................ 73

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 1

Introduction to the TestIn eighth grade, you will take the New York English Language Arts (ELA) Test. This exam will test your knowledge in: reading/language arts, listening, and writing.

There are three types of test items on the ELA Test. All items are aligned with the New York State Learning Standards.

Multiple-choice questions ask you to read, to reflect, and then to select the best answer.

Short-response questions ask you to show understanding of a passage. You do so by explaining key ideas using examples from the text. You may also be asked to draw conclusions or make connections to other situations.

Extended-response questions ask you to show understanding of a passage by discussing key ideas about the passage. These questions require you to plan and write an essay.

The ELA Test is divided into three books for grade 8: Reading selections with multiple-choice questions are in Book 1. Book 2 contains a listening selection with short-response questions and an extended-response question. Book 3 contains two reading selections followed by short-response questions and an extended-response question.

You will answer the multiple-choice questions by filling in circles on your answer sheet. You will write answers to short-response and extended-response questions directly in your test book.

You can use the rubrics on page 2 to learn how your test will be scored.

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2 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

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Student Scoring Rubrics 5-point rubric for Listening and Reading responses at Grade 8

Score Taken as a whole, your responses In addition, your extended response

5

• are correct and complete • address the important points of the text • show that you fully understand the text • make some connections beyond the text • fully develop ideas• effectively use examples from the text to support ideas

• has a clear focus • uses transitions correctly to show sequence. • is easy to read, with a sense of voice • uses varied sentence structure and some higher-level

vocabulary

4

• are partly correct and complete • address some of the important points of the text • show that you basically understand the text • make some connections beyond the text• develop ideas briefly, but enough to answer the question• use some examples from the text

• is mostly focused • shows a clear effort to organize your ideas• is readable, with some sense of voice • uses mostly simple sentences and basic vocabulary

3

• are partly correct and complete • address a few important points of the text • show some gaps in understanding of the text • make some connections • may show little development of ideas• use few examples from the text

• shows an effort to keep focus • shows an effort to organize your ideas• is readable, with some sense of voice • uses mostly simple sentences and basic vocabulary

2

• are partly correct and complete • address the basic points of the text • show that you understood only parts of the text• make few connections • use very few examples from the text

• may show an effort to create a focus • may have some unimportant information • shows little effort at organization • is readable, but with little sense of voice • uses only basic vocabulary • may show disconnected thoughts

1

• are mostly incorrect and incomplete • address few of the basic points of the text • show that you understood only parts of the text • make very few or no connections • use almost no examples from the text

• is unfocused, or focuses on incorrect or unimportant information• may repeat information • shows little effort at organization • is difficult to read, with little or no sense of voice • uses only basic vocabulary • may show disconnected thoughts

0 Your responses do not answer the question, are incorrect, or do not make sense.

3-point writing mechanics rubric for responses at Grade 8

Score Criteria

3 Your writing shows that you understand how to use conventions. You have few or no errors, and none of your errors change the meaning of the writing. Grammar, syntax, capitalization, punctuation, and paragraphing are correct. There are very few or no misspellings

2Your writing shows that you have some understanding of conventions. You have errors that may make your writing more difficult to read but do not significantly change its meaning. You may have some errors in grammar, syntax, capitalization, punctuation, or spelling.

1 Your writing shows that you have little understanding of conventions. You may have many errors in grammar, syntax, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. The errors may make your writing difficult to read or understand.

0 Your writing shows that you do not know how to use conventions. The errors make your writing very difficult or impossible to understand.

Source: http://www.emsc.nysed.gov

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 3

Test-Taking Tips and TechniquesYou have two days to complete the ELA Test. On day one, you will have two 45-minute sessions. On day two, you will have one 60-minute session. That means you need to keep track of the time and to pace yourself as you take each part of the test. Apply the following pacing strategies as you complete the lessons in this book so that, by testing day, you will have developed good habits:

• Wear a watch. Do not become so preoccupied with time that you cannot focus on the test, but be aware that you are under time constraints.

• Do not get stuck on one question. If you cannot answer a multiple choice question after a few minutes, mark your best guess, circle the question number, and move on to the next question. If you have time later, you can go back to the questions you have circled and think more about them. You are not penalized for guessing, so rather than leave an answer blank, choose one of the answer choices.

• Be systematic. Some of the lessons in this book suggest steps for you to take so that your answers and essays are complete and thorough. Make a mental checklist of these steps and keep a steady rhythm while you complete the test.

• Short-Response and Extended-Response questions ask you to think about what you have learned and to write about it in one or more paragraphs. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to answer these questions. Decide what the question is asking you and what information is needed to answer it. Be sure to provide details. Reread your essay and make corrections as needed.

Test-Taking Techniques: Process of Elimination

One useful technique for answering a multiple-choice question is the process of elimination. The multiple-choice questions on the ELA Test give you four answer choices, but only one of the choices is the best answer. Figuring out which three answer choices are wrong is just as good as figuring out which one answer choice is correct. This is when the process of elimination can help. Here is an easy example.

What is the capital of Illinois? You are given the following answer choices:

• Springfield • Austin • Dover • Phoenix

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4 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

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Do you know the capital of Illinois? Even if you don’t, you can still figure it out! Use the process of elimination. First eliminate the answer choices that you KNOW are wrong. Then choose from the remaining answers. The fewer the answer choices you have to choose from, the better chance you have of picking the correct answer.

Take a look at how it works. Which cities do you know are NOT the capital of Illinois? You may know that Austin is the capital of Texas, Dover is the capital of Delaware, and Phoenix is the capital of Arizona, so none of those can be the correct answer. That leaves you with only Springfield. Springfield must be the capital of Illinois. Even if you didn’t know the capital of Illinois, the process of elimination helped you get the right answer!

To use the process of elimination for multiple-choice questions on the test, cross out all the answers you KNOW are wrong. Then take your best guess from those choices that are left.

Here is another example.

Laura stormed up the stairs and through the front door. She slammed the door behind her and threw her backpack on the living room sofa. Her mother put down her newspaper and looked up in surprise. “That Roberta is so irksome!” Laura proclaimed in a loud voice.

Do you know what the word irksome means? If not, use the process of elimination to increase your chances of choosing the correct answer.

In the passage, Laura is obviously upset. You read that she “stormed up the stairs” and “slammed the door.” Obviously Roberta has done something that Laura doesn’t like, so it is unlikely

that Laura would describe Roberta as kind or friendly. Answer choices (A) and (D) must be wrong.

That leaves only answer choices (B) and (C), mean and annoying. Now pick between the two answers. Even if you still don’t know what irksome means, you have a better chance of picking the correct answer.

The answer to the question is (C), annoying.

Remember to use the process of elimination on every multiple-choice question you don’t know the answer to right away. Even getting rid of one answer will help in the process of elimination.

The word “irksome” means —

A kindB meanC annoyingD friendly

1

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6 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

In some sessions of the ELA Test, you will read passages and then answer multiple choice questions based on those passages. Note taking can make your job of answering questions easier.

The reading passages in the ELA Test differ in length and subject matter. It can be difficult to keep track of the main ideas, plot, and details while you read, especially when you are reading several passages one after the other. Instead of memorizing details, keep track of the main idea by taking notes. When you read a passage, stop after each paragraph and write a label — a word or phrase that summarizes the main ideas of that paragraph.

Read the passage below and see how to label paragraphs.

Having a fire emergency plan in place is something every family should do. A good first step is to have a family meeting to talk about what to do if there is a fire in your home. Talking about what to do to stay safe and get out of a burning house is much easier to do before it happens!

Then you should practice the plan you create. After you practice, meet again to talk about what worked with the plan, and what might need to be changed. You may want to practice the plan more than once, and even have a surprise fire drill!

Once you have read the passage, use the paragraph labels to write a summary statement that expresses the main idea of the entire passage.

Discuss...

� How can you use labels to help keep track of main ideas?

� How do notes help you write a summary?

Note Taking with Reading Passages

TipKeep notes and labels short and to the point.

Lesson

1

create emergency plan

practice plan

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 7

Apply It

from The Promised Land, An Immigrant Goes to School

by Mary Antin

Our initiation into American ways began with the first step on the new soil. My father found occasion to instruct or correct us even on the way from the pier to Wall Street, which journey we made crowded together in a rickety cab. He told us not to lean out of the windows, not to point, and explained the word “greenhorn.” We did not want to be “greenhorns,” and gave the strictest attention to my father’s instructions. . . .

The first meal was an object lesson of much variety. My father produced several kinds of food, ready to eat, without any cooking, from little tin cans that had printing all over them. He attempted to introduce us to a queer, slippery kind of fruit, which he called “banana,” but had to give it up for the time being. After the meal, he had better luck with a curious piece of furniture on runners, which he called “rocking chair.” There were five of us newcomers, and we found five different ways of getting into the American machine of perpetual motion, and as many ways of getting out of it. One born and bred to the use of a rocking chair cannot imagine how ludicrous people can make themselves when attempting to use it for the first time. We laughed immoderately over our various experiments with the novelty, which was a wholesome way of letting off steam after the unusual excitement of the day.

In our flat we did not think of such a thing as storing coal in the bathtub. There was no bathtub. So in the evening of the first day my father conducted us to the public baths. As we moved along in a little procession, I was delighted with the illumination of the streets. So many lamps, and they burned until morning, my father said, and so people did not need to carry lanterns. In America, then, everything was free, as we had heard in Russia. Light was free; the streets were as bright as a synagogue on a holy day. Music was free; we had been serenaded, to our gaping delight, by a brass band of many pieces, soon after our installation on Union Place.

DirectionsRead the story below and make notes as you go along. Then answer the questions that follow.

Apply It

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8 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Education was “free.” That subject my father had written about repeatedly, as comprising his chief hope for us children, the essence of American opportunity, the treasure that no thief could touch, not even misfortune or poverty. It was the one thing that he was able to promise us when he sent for us; surer, safer than bread or shelter. On our second day I was thrilled with the realization of what this freedom of education meant. A little girl from across the alley came and offered to conduct us to school. My father was out, but we five between us had a few words of English by this time.

We knew the word “school.” We understood. This child, who had never seen us till yesterday, who could not pronounce our name, who was not much better dressed than we, was able to offer us the freedom of the schools of Boston! No application made, no questions asked, no examinations, rulings, exclusions; no machinations, no fees. The doors stood open for every one of us. The smallest child could show us the way.

This incident impressed me more than anything I had heard in advance of the freedom of education in America. It was a concrete proof—almost the thing itself. One had to experience it to understand it.

It was a great disappointment to be told by my father that we were not to enter upon our school career at once. It was too near the end of the term, he said, and we were going to move to Crescent Beach in a week or so. We had to wait until the opening of the schools in September. What a loss of precious time—from May till September! . . .

The apex of my civic pride and personal contentment was reached on the bright September morning when I entered the public school. That day I must always remember, even if I live to be so old that I cannot tell my name. To most people their first day at school is a memorable occasion. In my case the importance of the day was a hundred times magnified, on account of the years I had waited, the road I had come, and the conscious ambitions I entertained.

And when the momentous day arrived and the little sister and I stood up to be arrayed, it was Frieda herself who patted and smoothed my stiff new calico; who made me turn round and round to see that I was perfect; who stooped to pull out a disfiguring basting thread. If there was anything in her heart beside sisterly love and pride and goodwill, as we parted that morning, it was a sense of loss and a woman’s acquiescence in her fate; for we had been close friends, and now our ways would lie apart. Longing she felt, but not envy. She did not grudge me what she was denied. . . .

Apply It (continued)

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 9

The two of us stood a moment in the doorway of the tenement house of Arlington Street, that wonderful September morning when I first went to school. It was I that ran away, on winged feet of joy and expectation; it was she whose feet were bound in the treadmill of daily toil. And I was so blind that I did not see that the glory lay on her, and not on me.

Father himself conducted us to school. He would not have delegated that mission to the President of the United States. He had awaited the day with impatience equal to mine, and the visions he saw as he hurried us over the sun-flecked pavements transcended all my dreams. Almost his first act on landing on American soil, three years before, had been his application for naturalization. He had taken the remaining steps in the process with eager promptness, and at the earliest moment allowed by the law, he became a citizen of the United States. It is true that he had left home in search of bread for his hungry family, but he went blessing the necessity that drove him to America. The boasted freedom of the New World meant to him far more than the right to reside, travel, and work wherever he pleased; it meant the freedom to speak his thoughts, to throw off the shackles of superstition, to test his own fate, unhindered by political or religious tyranny.

Apply It (continued)

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10 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

1 Which statement best expresses the main

idea of the passage?

A I was quite disappointed to learn that I would not begin school until September.

B It was important not to be labeled as “greenhorns” when we fi rst arrived in America.

C Of all the benefi ts of coming to America, a free education was the highlight for me.

D Although we did not live in luxury, we were thrilled to fi nally be in America.

2 Read these sentences from the passage.

The apex of my civic pride and personal contentment was reached on the bright September morning when I entered the public school.

The word “apex” most likely means

F worst

G end

H beginning

J height

3 Which statement from the passage best supports the idea that the author’s life in

America was better than her life in Russia?

A “There was no bathtub.”

B “...the opening of schools in September.”

C “In America, then, everything was free...”

D “...my father conducted us to the public baths.”

4 Which of these statements best expresses

the main idea of paragraph 5?

F A neighborhood child was kind to us.

G “School” was one of the fi rst words we learned.

H I looked forward to learning English once school began.

J It was wonderful that education was free for every child.

5 Which of these is the best note-taking

label for paragraph 9?

A pulled out a thread

B morning

C fi rst day of school

D Frieda cries

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 11

Lesson

2Main Idea, Author’s Purpose, and Author’s Point of ViewNot all questions on the ELA Test ask you about specific details from a passage. Some of the questions ask you about general ideas that apply to the passage as a whole. Such questions may ask you to identify the main idea of the passage, the author’s purpose for writing the passage, or the author’s point of view.

• The main idea is what the passage is mostly about.

• The author’s purpose is the reason why the author wrote the passage.

• The author’s point of view is the author’s attitude toward the subject of the passage.

Each paragraph in a passage will also have a main idea, usually expressed in that paragraph’s topic sentence. The topic sentence expresses the main idea of that paragraph alone, although the topic sentence of the first paragraph in a passage often expresses the main idea of the entire passage. The main ideas of each paragraph serve as supporting ideas for the main idea of the passage as a whole.

Read the paragraphs below. As you read, think about what the main idea, the author’s purpose, and the author’s point of view might be. See if you can find the topic sentence for each paragraph.

From spring until late fall, my neighbor Hank is engaged in a tireless battle of wits with his lawn. He pokes at it, he pulls things out of it, he drops several tons of fertilizer on it, and he waters it—every day, whether or not it needs watering.

In the end, for all of Hank’s work, he is never really satisfied with the results. He stands on his driveway, scanning his lawn and shaking his head in disgust. He may have discovered a tiny weed or maybe some strange root-devouring pests. I jokingly suggest that he simply pour cement on his lawn and paint it green. Hank is not amused.

Discuss...

� What is the main idea of this passage?

� What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

� What clues in the passage hint at the author’s point of view?

TipWhen answering these questions, take the whole passage into account, not just part of it.

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12 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Apply It

from Letter from Birmingham Jailby Martin Luther King Jr.

‘ While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. ... But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statements in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. ...

You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community no alternative.

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the latter consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation. ...

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was “well-timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

DirectionsRead this letter. Then answer questions 1 through 5.

Apply It

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 13

1 What is the author’s purpose for writing

this letter?

A to explain why demonstrations are taking place

B to secure his release from jail

C to protest demonstrations in Birmingham

D to describe the meaning of injustice

2 Which of the following best summarizes

the main idea of the third paragraph?

F All nonviolent campaigns have four basic steps.

G Birmingham is the most segregated city in the United States.

H There have been many unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham.

J Demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham because the city is so segregated.

3 What does the author say is even more

unfortunate than the demonstrations?

A the fact that many Negroes have been jailed

B the fact that racial violence occurred

C the fact that the Negro community had no other choice

D the fact that the Negro community made no attempt to talk to city leaders

4 What is the author’s point of view

toward the men who oppose him?

F He believes they are cruel.

G He wishes they were the ones in jail.

H He thinks they are traitors.

J He believes they are reasonable men.

5 Which sentence best summarizes the

author’s point of view?

A The racial injustice in Birmingham must stop.

B The city fathers of Birmingham should make Negroes move out of town.

C Negroes are to blame for their poor treatment in Birmingham.

D The demonstrations in Birmingham will not succeed.

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14 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Lesson

3Drawing Conclusions andMaking InferencesSome questions on the ELA Test ask you to draw conclusions from facts stated in the passage or to make inferences about information that is not stated directly but is implied. To answer these questions, you must interpret information from a passage.

Remember that when you draw conclusions or make inferences, you are not stating your opinion. You must base your final decision on information in the passage.

Here is how to approach these questions.

• Review the sections in the passage that may contain clues to the correct answer.

• Reread any sections that may hint at or provide evidence of the answerto the question.

• Look at the question and read ALL the answer choices. Eliminate the answers that you know are wrong. Then choose the best answer from the remaining choices.

Sometimes this type of question will ask you to figure out the meaning of a vocabulary word in the passage. When answering these questions, you should use clues from the passage to help you make inferences about the meaning of the word. These clues are called context clues.

Context clues are words in the text that help you figure out the meaning of words you don’t know. Here is how to use context clues to answer inference questions.

• Go back and find the word in the passage.

• Read a few sentences before and a few sentences after the word. Look for clues that hint at the word’s meaning.

• Even if you think you know what the word means, go back and check the context clues to be sure you are right.

Discuss…

� Discuss whether you can understand the passage even if you do not know all of the words.

TipQuestions that ask you to draw conclusions and make inferences require you to interpret information in the passage.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 15

Apply ItApply It

from Gymnasts in Pain: Out of Balanceby Scott M. Reid

By the time Alyssa Beckerman arrived for a U.S. national team training camp at Bela Karolyi’s Texas ranch, three months before the 2000 Olympic Games, she wasn’t sure what hurt worse. The year-old break in her wrist that hadn’t been allowed to heal? Or her stomach burning from nerves and a daily diet of anti-inflammatory drugs?

The 19-year-old U.S. champion broke her wrists a year earlier, but she continued to compete and train 40 hours a week—pressured, she said, by an often-screaming coach who accused her of faking the injury and driven by her own desire to win Olympic gold.

“That’s what you’ve been dreaming about since you were a little girl,” she said.

By the time she retired from international gymnastic later that year, Beckerman had broken nine bones and undergone two surgeries.

The Orange County Register interviewed nearly half of the roughly 300 women who competed on the U.S. junior or senior national teams from 1982 to 2004. More than 93 percent of the women interviewed suffered broken bones or had injuries that required surgery.

Current and former U.S. national team members—almost all girls in their early and mid-teens—describe a way of life that repeatedly puts the girls in danger. They train year-round as much as twelve hours a day, often living thousands of miles from home and away from other teens.

Like Beckerman, they do so often with broken bones or torn muscles and almost always without regular, if any, medical care. At the same time, they must deal with pressures and expectations similar to those for highly paid pro athletes.

The register also found:

The rate of injuries has almost doubled since 1966, as women train longer and try more daring and dramatic maneuvers.

Nine out of every ten gymnasts interviewed said that they had continued to train on injuries that resulted in broken bones or surgery or that they had begun training again without getting a doctor’s OK.

The sport’s obsession with weight and diet, especially within the U.S. national team program, often has led to eating disorders. U.S. gymnasts competing in the 2001 World Championships said they were provided so little food that family members smuggled snacks into the team hotel by stuffing them inside teddy bears.

Three out of four gymnasts interviewed continue to experience health problems related to gymnastics.

DirectionsRead this excerpt from an article about women’s gymnastics training. Then answer the questions that follow.

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16 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

1 Which of the following inferences can

you make based on the information in

this passage?

A Many women gymnasts experience a variety of injuries.

B Women gymnasts continue to compete despite the diffi culties of the sport.

C Most women gymnasts in the United States are in their early and mid-teens.

D Some women gymnasts smuggle snacks into their hotel rooms.

2 Which idea from the article best demonstrates that gymnastics has not been

a healthy sport for many women?

F Gymnasts often must deal with immense expectations.

G Gymnasts often train on injuries that result in broken bones.

H Gymnasts often live thousands of miles from home.

J Gymnasts often are driven by their own desires for Olympic gold.

3 Read this sentence from the article.

The sport’s obsession with weight and diet, especially within the U.S. national team program, often has led to eating disorders.

What conclusion can you draw from this

sentence?

A Many women gymnasts gain a lot of weight.

B Many women gymnasts like to eat.

C Many women gymnasts are too thin.

D Many women gymnasts eat healthy diets.

4 Read this sentence from the article.

The rate of injuries has almost doubled since 1966, as women train longer and try more daring and dramatic maneuvers.

Which meaning for “maneuvers” is used

in the sentence?

F tactics

G movements

H plans

J methods

5 Why did Alyssa Beckerman continue

training despite being injured?

A to meet her coach’s expectations

B to please her parents

C to support her teammates

D to win an Olympic gold medal

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 17

Lesson

4Analyzing LiteratureSome questions on the ELA Test ask about literary elements. Literary elements are those aspects of a passage that relate directly to the way the ideas and events are presented.

Literary elements include the following:

• mood: The mood of a passage is its general feeling, or tone. The mood may be happy, sad, mysterious, or suspenseful.

• setting: The setting is the location in which the passage takes place.

• point of view: A passage may be narrated from any of several points of view. If the narrator is a character in the passage, the point of view is first person. If the narrator is not a character in the passage, the point of view is third person.

The way a passage reads is also the result of the author’s literary technique, which may include the use of figurative language. Authors use figurative language to make their writing more descriptive and more memorable. Examples of figurative language include the following:

• simile: A simile uses the word like or as to compare two things.

• metaphor: Like a simile, a metaphor compares two things, but it does not use the word like or as.

Underline the figurative language in the paragraphs below.

A cold, biting wind rushed through the trees, leaving us both feeling as though we had just been submerged in ice water.

Why hadn’t we been more careful about keeping track of our location? When we left our campsite in the afternoon, it hadn’t even occurred to us that we might get lost. Even when it was clear that we had lost our bearings, neither of us panicked. But now the dark blanket of night had fallen, and the sunlight was gone.

“Don’t worry,” I said to Deanna. “We’ll be all right.” But I don’t think she believed me any more than I believed myself. Just then we saw a flashlight up ahead and heard our parents’ voices calling our names. Thank goodness they had found us!

Discuss…

� What is the mood, setting, and point of view of this passage?

� What does figurative language add to the passage?

TipRemember the following important literary elements and techniques:� mood, setting, and

point of view� simile and metaphor

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18 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Apply It

Salvador Late or Earlyby Sandra Cisneros

Salvador with eyes the color of caterpillar, Salvador of the crooked hair and crooked teeth, Salvador whose name the teacher cannot remember, is a boy who is no one’s friend, runs along somewhere in that vague direction where homes are the color of bad weather, lives behind a raw wood doorway, shakes the sleepy brothers awake, ties their shoes, combs their hair with water, feeds them milk and corn flakes from a tin cup in the dim dark of the morning.

Salvador, late or early, sooner or later arrives with the string of younger brothers ready. Helps his mama, who is busy with the business of the baby. Tugs the arms of Cecilio, Arturito, makes them hurry, because today, like yesterday, Arturito has dropped the cigar box of crayons, has let go the hundred little fingers of red, green, yellow, blue, and nub of black sticks that tumble and spill over and beyond the asphalt puddles until the crossing-guard lady holds back the blur of traffic for Salvador to collect them again.

Salvador inside that wrinkled shirt, inside the throat that must clear itself and apologize each time it speaks, inside that forty-pound body of boy with its geography of scars, its history of hurt, limbs stuffed with feathers and rags, in what part of the eyes, in what part of the heart, in that cage of the chest where something throbs with both fists and knows only what Salvador knows, inside that body too small to contain the hundred balloons of happiness, the single guitar of grief, is a boy like any other disappearing out the door, beside the schoolyard gate, where he has told his brothers they must wait. Collects the hands of Cecilio and Arturito, scuttles off dodging the many schoolyard colors, the elbows and wrists crisscrossing, the several shoes running. Grows small and smaller to the eye, dissolves into the bright horizon, flutters in the air before disappearing like a memory of kites.

DirectionsRead the story below and make notes as you go along. Then answer the questions that follow.

Apply It

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 19

1 What kind of mood does the author

create in this story?

A fearful

B hopeful

C mysterious

D sympathetic

2 Which detail best suggests that the story

takes place in a city?

F “...the blur of traffi c...”

G “...hundred balloons of happiness...”

H “...the color of bad weather...”

J “...somewhere in that vague direction...”

3 From which point of view is this story

told?

A fi rst-person narrator

B fi rst-person omniscient narrator

C second-person

D third-person

4 The phrase “Salvador with eyes the color

of caterpillar...” is an example of

F personifying an object

G imagery used for comparison

H fl ashback to a time in the past

J foreshadowing a future event

5 Read this line from the story.

...in that cage of the chest where something throbs with both fists...

What does this line imply about

Salvador?

A Salvador rarely gets angry with his brothers.

B Salvador is very satisfied with his life.

C Salvador is smarter than anyone knows.

D Salvador has strong feelings deep inside him.

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20 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Lesson

5Note Taking withListening PassagesThe ELA Test requires you to listen to a selection that your teacher reads to you. The selection could be one long passage, or it might be two shorter passages that are related.

Your teacher will read the passage to you twice. The first time your teacher reads the passage, you may want to only listen carefully, although you can take notes, too. When your teacher reads the passage a second time, you should take notes. You will then answer questions based on the listening passage.

It is important for you to take notes, since the passage will NOT appear in your test booklet. Your notes will help you answer questions based on the passage.

Here are some pointers for taking good notes.

• Your notes should only be words or short phrases. Do not write complete sentences.

• Your notes should remind you of characters, events, and important details from the passage.

• Make notes about main ideas as well as details that support those main ideas.

• You cannot revisit a listening passage. You will have to answer questions from the information in your notes. So it is important to make detailed notes.

• You do not have to write your notes neatly. You are the only person who will read them.

Your teacher will now read you a poem. As you listen, write notes in the space provided on the next page.

TipYour notes will not be scored!

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 21

Apply It

DirectionsListen as your teacher reads you the poem “Choices” by Nikki Giovanni. Your teacher will read the poem twice. Listen carefully to the ideas expressed in each verse. Make notes about the poem’s main ideas and details in the space provided below. A few notes have already been made to get you started.

Apply It

Verse 1

If I can’t do, then

Not same thing

but best I can do

NOTES

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22 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

1 What are the four actions that the poet’s choices describe ? On each of the lines below, write

one action the poet talks about.

2 Does the poet think that making these choices will make her completely happy? Use details

from the poem to support your point of view.

CHOICES

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 23

Some questions on the ELA Test ask you to complete a chart using the information from a passage. All the information you need will be in the passage.

Sometimes charts will be filled out based on notes you took after listening to a passage. At other times, you will be able to go back to the written passage to find information you need to complete a chart.

On charts, you will only have to write phrases. Your answers do not have to be written in complete sentences. However, they will have to be thorough. Include all relevant information from the passage.

Look at the completed chart below. It is based on a passage about the Motts, a family that moved to the United States from Yugoslavia.

Discuss…

� How is a chart like the summary of a passage?

Problem How the Motts Overcame the Problem

didn’t speak English – enrolled in an English language program

– studied hard

– only spoke English at home

had very little money – accepted help from other Yugoslavians already in

the United States

– father took two jobs, driving taxi cab and working

as a security guard

– mother took a job cleaning houses

– economized at the grocery store

homesick – wrote letters to friends in Yugoslavia

– had long talks remembering both the good and

bad times in Yugoslavia

– took long walks to discover things to love about

their new home

Completing Charts Lesson

6

TipCarefully read the instructions and the headings of the chart carefully before you start working.

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24 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Apply It

DirectionsRead the speech below. Write notes on page 26 as you go along. Then read the questions that follow the passage. Use the answers to the questions to complete the chart.

Address to the First Annual Meeting of the American Equal Rights Association

Sojourner Truth New York City, May 9, 1867

My friends, I am rejoiced that you are glad, but I don’t know how you will feel when I get through. I come from another field—the country of the slave. They have got their liberty—so much good luck to have slavery partly destroyed; not entirely. I want it root and branch destroyed. Then we will all be free indeed. I feel that if I have to answer for the deeds done in my body just as much as a man, I have a right to have just as much as a man. There is a great stir about colored men getting their rights, but not a word about the colored women; and if colored men get their rights, and not colored women theirs, you see the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before. So I am for keeping the thing going while things are stirring; because if we wait till it is still, it will take a great while to get it going again. White women are a great deal smarter, and know more than colored women, while colored women do not know scarcely anything. They go out washing, which is about as high as a colored woman gets, and their men go about idle, strutting up and down; and when the women come home, they ask for their money and take it all, and then scold because there is no food. I want you to consider on that, chil’n. I call you chil’n; you are somebody’s chil’n, and I am old enough to be mother of all that is here. I want women to have their rights. In the courts women have no right, no voice; nobody speaks for them. I wish woman to have her voice there among the pettifoggers. If it is not a fit place for women, it is unfit for men to be there.

Apply It

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 25

I am above eighty years old; it is about time for me to be going. I have been forty years a slave and forty years free, and would be here forty years more to have equal rights for all. I suppose I am kept here because something remains for me to do; I suppose I am yet to help to break the chain. I have done a great deal of work; as much as a man, but did not get so much pay. I used to work in the field and bind grain, keeping up with the cradler; but men doing no more, got twice as much pay; so with the German women. They work in the field and do as much work, but do not get the pay. We do as much, we eat as much, we want as much. I suppose I am about the only colored woman that goes about to speak for the rights of the colored women. I want to keep the thing stirring, now that the ice is cracked. What we want is a little money. You men know that you get as much again as women when you write, or for what you do. When we get our rights we shall not have to come to you for money, for then we shall have money enough in our own pockets; and may be you will ask us for money. But help us now until we get it. It is a good consolation to know that when we have got this battle once fought we shall not be coming to you any more. You have been having our rights so long, that you think, like a slaveholder, that you own us. I know that it is hard for one who has held the reins for so long to give up; it cuts like a knife. It will feel all the better when it closes up again. I have been in Washington about three years, seeing about these colored people. Now colored men have the right to vote. There ought to be equal rights now more than ever, since colored people have got their freedom. I am going to talk several times while I am here; so now I will do a little singing. I have not heard any singing since I came here.

Apply It (continued)

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26 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Notes

DirectionsUse this page to take notes on the passage. You will use these notes to answer the questions on the next page.

Apply It

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 27

1 What is the main theme of Sojourner Truth’s speech? Use details from your notes to support

your answer.

2 What does Sojourner Truth mean when she says, “I suppose I am yet to help to break the chain”?

3 Use the notes you took while reading the passage to complete the following chart.

What colored women should have

How colored men behave toward colored women

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28 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Lesson

7Writing Paragraph-Length ResponsesThe ELA Test includes several questions that require you to write your answer in paragraph form. The test scorers will check to make sure your answer includes certain basic features.

Here are some ideas to keep in mind when you write answers in paragraph form.

• Read the question carefully. Make sure your paragraph answers the question.

• Write neatly so that the scorer can read your answer.

• Support your answer with details from the passage.

• Write in complete sentences that flow together logically.

• Use correct grammar and punctuation.

Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence that expresses your point of view. Use details from the passage that support your point of view. Craft your answer so that it makes sense to the reader, not just to yourself. If your answer is too general, or you do not adequately support your opinion, your paragraph will receive a lower score.

Discuss, as a class, the following answer about a passage.

1� What lesson might the tale “Snow White and Rose Red” be trying to teach readers? Use details from the story to support your answer.

The tale “Snow White and Rose Red” could have a variety of

different lessons that it is trying to express. One possible lesson

could be that acts of kindness are often rewarded. Another could

be that some things and people are different than they first

appear. The children thought the bear would hurt them, but he

was gentle and friendly and became friends with them.

Discuss…

� Does the answer directly address the question?

� Are there any ways that this answer could be improved? If so, how?

TipYour answer to short-response questions should include relevant details from the passage, not just your own opinions.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 29

Apply It

DirectionsRead the two poems below, and then answer the questions on the following page.

A Man Said to the Universe

by Stephen Crane

A man said to the universe:

“Sir, I exist!”

“However,” replied the universe,

“The fact has not created in me

A sense of obligation.”

A Patch of Old Snowby Robert Frost

There’s a patch of old snow in a corner

That I should have guessed

Was a blow-away paper the rain

Had brought to rest.

It is speckled with grime as if

Small print overspread it,

The news of a day I’ve forgotten—

If I ever read it.

Apply It

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30 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

1 What idea is expressed in both poems? Use details from the poems to support your answer.

2 Do the poets use the same literary devices in their poems? Use information you know and

details from the poems to support your answer.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 31

Lesson

8Writing About Two PassagesSome questions on the ELA Test will ask you to write an extended response to two different passages. You will be asked to read the paired texts, then write an essay in response to them.

Often you will be asked to compare and contrast the two passages. To compare the passages, you should focus on their similarities. To contrast them, you should focus on their differences.

Read the two paragraphs below. They are from two different essays about the desert.

The desert is a spectacular and mysterious place. The barren landscape envelops you with its jagged rocks and towering cacti. Curious animals—from rattlesnakes to roadrunners—scurry across the often flat land, hiding behind stones, peeking into holes, and dashing along ravines. Everything feels still and peaceful in the desert. The air smells fresh, and at night it feels cool. The desert is a perfect place to relax.

Is there any place more boring than the desert? There is so little to look at—everything is flat and empty. And it’s boiling hot. The sun beats down on you and it’s impossible to find any shade. There are so few trees, because they need water to survive. At least there are some interesting animals in the desert. These critters are unique but hard to find. Otherwise, there’s nothing to do in the desert—except suffer and sweat.

Discuss…

� In what ways are the two authors’ attitudes similar?

� In what ways are they different?

TipPay attention to the details when you compare and contrast two passages.

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32 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Apply It

Heritageby Gwendolyn B. Bennett

I want to see the slim palm-trees,

Pulling at the clouds

With little pointed fingers . . .

I want to see the lithe Negro girls,

Etched dark against the sky

While sunset lingers.

I want to hear the silent sands,

Singing to the moon

Before the Sphinx-still face...

I want to hear the chanting

Around a heathen fire

Of a strange black race.

I want to breathe the Lotus flow’r,

Sighing to the stars

With tendrils drinking at the Nile . . .

I want to feel the surging

Of my sad people’s soul

Hidden by a minstrel-smile.

DirectionsFollowing are two passages. One is a poem, “Heritage,” by Gwendolyn B. Bennett. The other is an excerpt from the autobiography of Frederick Douglass, an abolitionist. Read the passages carefully. Then answer the questions that follow.

Apply It

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 33

Apply It

from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,

Written by Himselfby Frederick Douglass

I was born in Tuckahoe, near Hillsborough, and about twelve miles from Easton, in Talbot county, Maryland. I have no accurate knowledge of my age, never having seen any authentic record containing it. By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant. I do not remember to have ever met a slave who could tell of his birthday. They seldom come nearer to it than planting-time, harvest-time, cherry-time, spring-time, or fall-time. A want of information concerning my own was a source of unhappiness to me even during childhood. The white children could tell their ages. I could not tell why I ought to be deprived of the same privilege. I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master concerning it. He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent, and evidence of a restless spirit. The nearest estimate I can give makes me now between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years of age. I come to this, from hearing my master say, some time during 1835, I was about seventeen years old.

My mother was named Harriet Bailey. She was the daughter of Isaac and Betsey Bailey, both colored, and quite dark. My mother was of a darker complexion than either my grandmother or grandfather.

My father was a white man. He was admitted to be such by all I ever heard speak of my parentage. The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father; but of the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing; the means of knowing was withheld from me. My mother and I were separated when I was but an infant — before I knew her as my mother. It is a common custom, in the part of Maryland from which I ran away, to part children from their mothers at a very early age. Frequently, before the child has reached its twelfth month, its mother is taken from it, and hired out on some farm a considerable distance off, and the child is placed under the care of an old woman, too old for field labor. For what this separation is done, I do not know, unless it be to hinder the development of the child’s affection toward its mother, and to blunt and destroy the natural affection of the mother for the child. This is the inevitable result.

I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night. She was hired by a Mr. Stewart, who lived about twelve miles from my home. She made her journeys to see me in the night, traveling the whole distance on foot, after the performance of her day’s work. She was a field hand, and a whipping is the penalty of not being in the field at sunrise, unless a slave has special permission from his or her master to the contrary — a permission which they seldom get, and one that gives to

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34 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

him that gives it the proud name of being a kind master. I do not recollect of ever seeing my mother by the light of day. She was with me in the night. She would lie down with me, and get me to sleep, but long before I waked she was gone. Very little communication ever took place between us. Death soon ended what little we could have while she lived, and with it her hardships and suffering. She died when I was about seven years old, on one of my master’s farms, near Lee’s Mill. I was not allowed to be present during her illness, at her death, or burial. She was gone long before I knew anything about it. Never having enjoyed, to any considerable extent, her soothing presence, her tender and watchful care, I received the tidings of her death with much the same emotions I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.

Called thus suddenly away, she left me without the slightest intimation of who my father was. The whisper that my master was my father, may or may not be true; and, true or false, it is of but little consequence to my purpose whilst the fact remains, in all its glaring odiousness, that slaveholders have ordained, and by law established, that the children of slave women shall in all cases follow the condition of their mothers; and this is done too obviously to administer to their own lusts, and make gratification of their wicked desires profitable as well as pleasurable; for by this cunning arrangement, the slaveholder, in cases not a few, sustains to his slaves the double relation of master and father. . . .

Apply It (continued)

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 35

1 What words or phrases in “Heritage” show that the author is writing about Africa? List these

words or phrases and tell how they relate to Africa.

2 Frederick Douglass wrote that he received the news of his mother’s death with “much the same

emotion I should have probably felt at the death of a stranger.” Based on this sentence, what

conclusion can you draw about his relationship with his mother?

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36 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

3 Write an essay in which you describe how the African people in “Heritage” live and how

the people of African descent in “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Written By

Himself” live. Explain how their way of living is different. Use details from both the poem

and the passage to support your answer.

In your answer be sure to include

• a description of how the people live as described in both the poem and the passage

• an explanation of how their ways of living are different

• details from both the poem and the passage to support your answer

Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 37

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38 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Planning an Essay Lesson

9The ELA Test requires you to write two essays. You will be given space on a planning page to plan your essay. Keep in mind that the planning notes are only for your use. They will not be graded.

Your essays should always include three basic parts:

• Introduction: This section introduces the reader to the main idea of the essay. The introduction should be one paragraph long.

• Body: The main idea or theme is developed in the body of the essay. Supporting ideas and specific details explain the theme. Devote one paragraph to each idea that you use to support your main idea.

• Conclusion: The conclusion draws together the ideas stated in the body of the essay and summarizes the main idea. Like the introduction, the conclusion should be only one paragraph long.

A good plan is the key to a good essay. Planning helps you organize your essay, keeps you focused on the main idea, and saves you time in the long run.

As you plan your essay, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the main idea of my essay?

• How many paragraphs will my essay have? A typical essay has four or five paragraphs.

• What will the topic sentence of each paragraph be?

• What details will I include in each paragraph to support the topic sentence?

Discuss…

� How can planning the topic sentences of your paragraphs help your write a better essay?

� What is the advantage of limiting your introduction and conclusion to one paragraph each?

TipThe first line of your essay should grab the reader’s attention and lead the reader to your main idea.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 39

Apply It

Plan your essay using the steps provided.

Step 1: Brainstorming

When you brainstorm, jot down all your ideas. Don’t think about whether the ideas are good

or bad. Just write them all down. You can always toss out ideas that you don’t like later.

If you were brainstorming about the example question, here are some ideas you might list:

agree:

- affects how others see us

- helps protect our bodies

Now do your own brainstorming about this topic. Write your ideas in the space below.

DirectionsThe writer Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904–1991) won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1978. A character in one of his stories says, “What a strange power there is in clothing.” What do you think this statement means? Do you agree or disagree with it?

Apply It

Write an essay in which you tell whether you think this statement is true or false. In your

answer, be sure to

• explain what Singer meant when he said, “What a strange power there is in clothing.”

• show three ways that clothing can have power (if you think the statement is true).

• or, give three examples that prove clothing does not have power (if you think the

statement is false).

• use specific details from your own experience to support your answer.

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40 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Step 2: Organizing

When you organize, you decide on the basic structure of your essay. Determine the main idea

of your essay and then decide on two or three supporting ideas. Each supporting idea will be

discussed in one of your body paragraphs.

Here is a plan that has been started for the example question:

Main Idea

Singer meant that clothes are a very important tool for humans. I agree with Singer that

clothing has great power.

Supporting Ideas

- people can understand our personalities from our clothes

Now add two more supporting details to the plan above. Write the ideas on the lines provided.

Step 3: Outlining

When you outline, write a detailed plan for your essay. Your outline should include a list of the

ideas you plan to write about in each paragraph.

Here is an outline that has been started for the example question:

I. Introduction

Main idea: I agree with Singer that clothing has great power.

II. Body

A. people can understand others from their clothes

1. can tell that others are rich

2. can tell that others are poor

B. clothes let us play roles

C. clothes keep our bodies safe

III. Conclusion

Summary of the main idea.

Now add more supporting details to the outline above.

Apply It (continued)

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 41

Write your essay in the space below. Do not forget to write neatly and review your work for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 43

Maintaining Focus Lesson

10Keep your essay focused as you write. This means that

• each paragraph in the body of your essay supports the main idea of the essay

• each paragraph has a topic sentence

• all the details you include support that topic sentence

Eliminate unrelated details. As you plan your essay, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do my topic sentences support the main idea?

• Do my details and examples support my topic sentences?

As you write each paragraph of your essay, remember

• to include relevant details

• to leave out details that do not directly relate to the topic

• to keep the essay focused on the main idea

Read the paragraph below, paying close attention to how the writer keeps it focused.

Of all the animals in the world, rats make the best pets. Rats are intelligent animals that can learn how to run through mazes. Unlike dogs, which need to be walked every day, rats are easy to care for. All they need is a cage, water, food, and some love and attention. Rats are clean and, unlike cats, they don’t shed their hair. Rats are smart, easy to keep, and neat; they are perfect pets.

The paragraph above is from an essay that answers the question “What animals make the best pets?” The first sentence in the paragraph, the topic sentence, directly answers the question.

Discuss…

� What are the supporting details in the paragraph above?

� How does each sentence support the topic sentence?

TipIn a well-focused essay, only relevant details are included.

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Apply It

1 John James Audubon lived from 1785 to 1851. He was born in Haiti then moved to France when he was a boy. He became interested in birds while he lived in France. When he was 18 years old, he was sent to America to become a businessman. He ran a mine and opened a store, but all his businesses failed. He studied and drew birds he saw all over North America. Then he published a book called The Birds of America in 1839.

2 Audubon went on a trip to Labrador in 1833. Labrador became part of Canada in 1949. It is located in northeastern Canada between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It has many lakes and rivers but not many farms because the soil is so thin. Mining for iron ore and fishing are important industries in Labrador. The coast of Labrador is rocky and birds called gannets go there to build nests and raise their chicks. Audubon was interested in a particular place called the “Great Gannet Rock.”

3 Audubon watched the gannets fly and catch food. He saw that they are powerful birds that fly low in the air. They fly near the surface of the water so they can catch fish.

4 Gannets dive into the ocean head first to grab the fish they saw while flying. Audubon said he saw them stay under water for as long as a whole minute. Sometimes they float on the ocean while they eat.

5 Gannets are the largest seabirds in the northern Atlantic Ocean. They are mainly white with yellow heads and black tips on their wing features. They also have webbed feet. They eat fish and squid. Gannets build nests out of seaweed and mud and live in large colonies on the cliffs by the ocean. They lay one egg. Gannets cannot move well on land. Audubon wrote in his diary, “On the ground the movements of the Gannet are exceedingly awkward, and it marches with hampered steps, assisting itself with the wings, or keeping them partially open to prevent its falling.”

6 In order to study birds, Audubon traveled to see them where they lived. He drew pictures of them and now his drawings of birds and animals are very valuable. He also killed birds so he could study them up close. Audubon was a great naturalist and artist.

DirectionsRead the following student essay about the artist and naturalist John James Audubon and his trip to Labrador, Canada. As you read, pay close attention to how well focused the essay is. Then answer the questions on the following page.

Apply It

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 45

1 Summarize the main idea of this essay.

2 Which paragraph includes details that do not focus on the subject of the essay? Explain why

these details are not relevant to the essay.

3 Evaluate the placement of paragraph 5 in the essay. How might moving paragraph 5 improve

the essay? To where should the paragraph be moved?

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46 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

Editing Lesson

11The first version of your essay is a rough draft. You will need to edit your rough draft to make sure it is focused on the subject and answers the question.

You will also need to edit for mechanics—the use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. An essay is scored on both content and mechanics. To earn a high score, you need good mechanics as well as good content.

Below are some sentences that contain one or more mechanical errors. Find the errors in each sentence and rewrite the sentence correctly on the line below it.

1� Shirley, the tallest kid in the class.

2� Madeline ran to school, she woke up late.

3� Oscar had a bad couph, so he went to see dr. lopez.

4� My dad went to the store were he bought cereal sugar and milk.

5� Yesterday Jude went to the park and bumps into his teacher.

Discuss…

� Which of the sentences above contained grammar errors?

� Which of them contained punctuation errors?

� Which of them contained spelling errors?

TipUse correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling so your ideas will be easily understood.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 47

Apply It

The Day It Finally Happened (1) “Why are you so excited,” my mother asked?

(2) It was the chance of a lifetime and something I had only dreamed might ever happen. (3) Scince reading about the tour in a magazine, I had been raking leaves baby-sitting washing cars doing whatever I could to earn money for a ticket. (4) I could hardly sleep last night, my stomach feeling like a thousand bumblebees were having a dance party in it. (5) Today was the day. (6) I was going to see the Tazmaniacs, the best rock band of all time, at center city arena.

(7) My best friend Jake and I climbed into the backseat of his dads car. (8) I was wearing my black Tazmaniacs tee-shirt. (9) There were a couple of holes in it but the front had their piktures printed on it in silver. (10) Jake brought along the most recent CD, hoping to get an autograph. (11) We couldn’t wait to get there.

(12) Jake and I walked into the enormus arena. (13) It was absolutely a mob scene people everywhere. (14) Our seats were up high and we could see everything (15) Down below was a stage filled with instruments—horns, two drum sets, four guitars, and a keyboard. (16) The microphones squealed and a voice said, “Testing, testing, testing.” (17) The concert had been sold out for weeks. (18) I didn’t see an empty seat anywhere.

(19) All of a sudden, every light in the arena went out. (20) Jake yelled, “Go Tazmaniacs!” just as beams of bright orange light began to streak across the stage. (21) The Tazmaniacs came running out of a screen of fog or smoke, and in seconds the beat of their hit song, “What Do You Know?” filled the place. (22) Everyone stood up, including us. (23) This definitly was the most exciting day of my life.

Apply It

DirectionsThis is the first draft of an essay written by a student. It is a response to the question, “What has been your most exciting day, and why?” Read this draft carefully and circle any errors that you find. Then answer the questions that follow.

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48 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

1 There are four misspelled words in the essay. Write the sentences or phrases containing these

misspelled words and spell the words correctly on the lines below. Underline the words you

corrected.

2 There are two run-on sentences in the essay. Rewrite the sentences correctly on the lines below.

3 There are four examples of incorrect punctuation in the essay. Rewrite the sentences or phrases

correctly on the lines below.

4 Find an example in the essay of incorrect capitalization. Rewrite the phrase or sentence

correctly on the line below.

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Book 1Reading

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 51

DirectionsIn this part of the test, you will do some reading and answer questions about what you have read.

Go On

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52 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

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A Descent into the Maelströmby Edgar Allan Poe

We had now been about ten minutes upon the top of Helseggen, to which we had ascended from the interior of Lofoden, so that we had caught no glimpse of the sea until it had burst upon us from the summit. As the old man spoke, I became aware of a loud and gradually increasing sound, like the moaning of a vast herd of buffaloes upon an American prairie; and at the same moment I perceived that what seamen term the chopping character of the ocean beneath us, was rapidly changing into a current which set to the eastward. Even while I gazed, this current acquired a monstrous velocity. Each moment added to its speed—to its headlong impetuosity. In five minutes the whole sea, as far as Vurrgh, was lashed into ungovernable fury; but it was between Moskoe and the coast that the main uproar held its sway. Here the vast bed of the waters, seamed and scarred into a thousand conflicting channels, burst suddenly into phrensied convulsion—heaving, boiling, hissing—gyrating in gigantic and innumerable vortices, and all whirling and plunging on to the eastward with a rapidity which water never elsewhere assumes, except in precipitous descents.

In a few minutes more, there came over the scene another radical alteration. The general surface grew somewhat more smooth, and the whirlpools, one by one, disappeared, while prodigious streaks of foam became apparent where none had been seen before. These streaks, at length, spreading out to a great distance, and entering into combination, took unto themselves the gyratory motion of the subsided vortices, and seemed to form the germ of another more vast. Suddenly—very suddenly—this assumed a distinct and definite existence, in a circle of more than a mile in diameter. The edge of the whirl was represented by a broad belt of gleaming spray; but no particle of this slipped into the mouth of the terrific funnel,

DirectionsIn this excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s short story “A Descent into the Maelström,” two men have climbed Helseggen, a tall mountain in the Norwegian district of Lofoden. Read the excerpt, then answer questions 1–7.

Vurrgh = island in the distance

Moskoe = an island midway

vortices = swirling water

prodigious = amazing, huge

gyratory = like a gyroscope

subsided = settled

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whose interior, as far as the eye could fathom it, was a smooth, shining, and jet-black wall of water, inclined to the horizon at an angle of some forty-five degrees, speeding dizzily round and round with a swaying and sweltering motion, and sending forth to the winds an appalling voice, half shriek, half roar, such as not even the mighty cataract of Niagara ever lifts up in its agony to Heaven.

The mountain trembled to its very base, and the rock rocked. I threw myself upon my face, and clung to the scant herbage in an excess of nervous agitation.

“This,” said I at length, to the old man—“this can be nothing else than the great whirlpool of the Maelström.”

“So it is sometimes termed,” said he. “We Norwegians call it the Moskoe-ström, from the island of Moskoe in the midway.”

cataract = large waterfall

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54 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

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1 Read this line from the story.

I became aware of a loud and gradually increasing sound, like the moaning of a vast herd of buffaloes upon an American prairie . . .

This line helps the reader understand the ocean’s

A impressive depth

B beauty and grace

C noise and overpowering force

D huge, seemingly endless size

2 Read this sentence from the story.

Even while I gazed, this current acquired a monstrous velocity.

In this sentence, the word “velocity” most likely means

F shape

G height

H direction

J speed

3 The author’s use of the first-person point of view allows the reader to

A understand what the narrator experiences

B feel sorry for the other characters

C experience what both characters are feeling

D get a more objective view of the events

4 Which of these statements best summarizes the main idea of the second paragraph?

F The many whirlpools turned into foam, and then disappeared.

G The giant vortex turned into several smaller whirlpools and disappeared.

H The many whirlpools subsided and then turned into streaks of foam.

J The smaller whirlpools turned into foam, and then became a massive whirlpool.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 55

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5 Read these lines from the selection.

Here the vast bed of the waters, seamed and scarred into a thousand conflicting channels, burst suddenly into phrensied convulsion—heaving, boiling, hissing—

What kind of mood does the author create with these lines?

A triumphant

B confusion

C frightening

D playful

6 Which phrase from the passage uses personification?

F “ . . . the main uproar held its sway . . . ”

G “ . . . an appalling voice, half shriek, half roar . . . ”

H “ . . . even while I gazed . . . ”

J “ . . . a circle of more than a mile in diameter . . . ”

7 Where did “the great whirlpool of the Maelström” take place?

A on the island of Moskoe

B in the interior of Lofoden

C at the cataract of Niagara

D between Moskoe and the coast

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from Letter to H. W. Longfellow, Cambridgeby Nathaniel Hawthorne

Concord, January 2nd 1864,

Dear Longfellow. . .

. . . I have been much out of sorts of late, and do not well know what is the matter with me, but am inclined to draw the conclusion that I shall have little more to do with pen and ink. One more book I should like well enough to write, and have indeed begun it, but with no assurance of ever bringing it to an end. As is always the case, I have a notion that this last book would be my best; and full of wisdom about matters of life and death—and yet it will be no deadly disappointment if I am compelled to drop it. You can tell, far better than I, whether there is ever anything worth having a literary reputation, and whether the best achievements seem to have any substance after they grow cold.

Your friend,

Nathaniel Hawthorne.

DirectionsRead this passage from a letter from writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlett Letter, to the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Then answer questions 8–13.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 57

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8 Which of these statements is the best summary of this letter?

F We always think that our next book will be great.

G I am feeling like it’s time to stop writing.

H From now on, I will use only pencil, not pen and ink.

J Will you kindly respond to this letter about retirement?

9 Read this sentence from the letter.

. . . but with no assurance of ever bringing it to an end.

In this sentence, the word “assurance”

means

A desire

B intention

C certainty

D knowledge

10 Read this sentence from the letter.

I have a notion that this last book would be my best;

In this sentence, the word “notion”

means

F thought

G proof

H fear

J doubt

11 The reader can infer from Hawthorne’s

letter that recently he has been

A feeling good about life

B in strong physical condition

C feeling a bit down

D in good mental health

12 Read this line from the letter.

. . . but am inclined to draw the conclusion that I shall have little more to do with pen and ink.

Hawthorne is saying that he

F cannot decide what to do next

G will probably never write again

H doesn’t know what his next book will be about

J has nothing left at home to keep him busy

13 Read this line from the letter.

. . . and whether the best achievements seem to have any substance after they grow cold.

Which kind of literary device is used in

this line?

A simile

B metaphor

C exaggeration

D personifi cation

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DirectionsThe following speech was presented to a jury in court by George Vest, a lawyer. Vest’s client was suing a man who had shot his dog. Read the speech, then answer questions 14–19.

A Tribute to the Dog by George Graham Vest

GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY: The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog. A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.

prone = likely

malice = meanness

treacherous = dangerous

pauper = poor person

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 59

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14 In “A Tribute to the Dog,” the speaker’s

main purpose is to

F mislead the jury

G entertain the jury

H persuade the jury

J question the jury

15 What kind of argument does the author

use in this speech?

A an emotional appeal

B an ethical debate

C a logical approach

D a symbolic plea

16 Why does the speaker compare the dog

to human beings?

F to encourage the jury to recognize their own animal behavior

G to show the jury that dogs are superior to all other animals

H to show the jury that the dog is at least as important as people

J to suggest to the jury that the dog should be honored in a court of law

17 Read this sentence from the speech.

. . . he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

In this sentence, the word “constant”

means

A grateful

B somewhat

C unavailable

D steady

18 Which trait of the dog does the speaker

stress most throughout the speech?

F intelligence

G loyalty

H courage

J strength

19 What is the main idea of the first

paragraph?

A dogs are great companions

B people can lose their money

C children can be ungrateful

D people cannot be trusted

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Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair by Stephen C. Foster

I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,

Borne, like a vapor, on the summer air;

I see her tripping where the bright streams play,

Happy as the daisies that dance on her way.

5 Many were the wild notes her merry voice would pour,

Many were the blithe birds that warbled them o’er:

Oh! I dream of Jeanie with the light brown hair,

Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.

I long for Jeanie with the daydawn smile,

10 Radiant in gladness, warm with winning guile;

I hear her melodies, like joys gone by,

Sighing round my heart o’er the fond hopes that die:-

Sighing like the night wind and sobbing like the rain,-

Wailing for the lost one that comes not again:

15 Oh! I long for Jeanie, and my heart bows low,

Never more to find her where the bright waters flow.

I sigh for Jeanie, but her light form strayed

Far from the fond hearts round her native glade;

Her smiles have vanished and her sweet songs flown,

20 Flitting like the dreams that have cheered us and gone.

Now the nodding wild flowers may wither on the shore

While her gentle fingers will cull them no more:

Oh! I sigh for Jeanie with the light brown hair,

Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.

DirectionsRead this poem. Then answer questions 20–26.

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20 Which word best expresses the mood in stanza 2 (lines 9–14)?

F gladness

G hope

H longing

J joy

21 Which of these lines from the poem best shows that Jeanie is gone?

A Many were the blithe birds

B Sighing round my heart

C Never more to fi nd her

D Flitting like the dreams

22 Read this line from the poem.

Borne, like a vapor, on the summer air

In this line, “borne” means

F shining

G carried

H birthed

J rising

23 In line 3, the speaker uses the words “I see” to mean

A I am watching

B I am imagining

C I am hoping for

D I am waiting for

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62 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

24 Read this line from the poem.

Many were the wild notes her merry voice would pour,

What is Jeanie doing?

F singing happily

G calling to the birds

H pouring water into an urn

J telling secrets to a friend

25 Read this line from the poem.

Floating, like a vapor, on the soft summer air.

This line suggests that

A Jeanie’s hair is blowing in the wind

B the speaker feels Jeanie’s spirit all around him

C Jeanie is being compared to a delicate, white dove

D the speaker’s thoughts about Jeanie have all been a dream

26 Which of the following best summarizes this poem?

F The narrator is sad that Jeanie is gone.

G Jeanie is going to return to the garden.

H Jeanie is fl oating like a vapor in the air.

J The narrator is asking Jeanie to come back home.

STOP

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Book 2Listening and Writing

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 65

DirectionsIn this part of the test, you will listen to a passage about a dog show. Then you will answer some questions to see how well you understood what was read.

You will listen to the speech twice. As you listen carefully, you may take notes on the speech anytime you wish during the readings. You may use these notes to answer the questions that follow. Use the space on Pages 66 and 67 for your notes.

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Notes

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Notes

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27 What are four different qualities on which the dogs are judged? On each of the lines below,

write one quality described in “Showing Off.”

Qualities

28 What do you think was the author’s purpose in writing “Showing Off”? Circle your choice.

Explain your choice using details from the article.

to inform to entertain to persuade

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 69

29 How do the judges at the show categorize the dogs?

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Planning Page

You may PLAN your writing for question 30 here if you wish, but do NOT writeyour final answer on this page. Your writing on the Planning Page will NOTcount toward your final score. Write your final answer on Pages 71 and 72.

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 71

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30 Write an essay in which you describe some of the actions a dog owner would need to take

in order for his or her dog to win Best in Show. Use details from the passage to support

your answer.

In your answer, be sure to

• describe some of the things the dog owner would need to do to prepare the dog to become a champion

• tell why these actions are important or necessary

• use details from the passage to support your answer

Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

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STOP

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Book 3Reading and Writing

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 75

DirectionsIn this part of the test, you are going to read a poem called “Barbara Frietchie” and part of a story called “The Tragedy of the Alamo.” You will answer questions and write about what you have read. You may look back at the poem and the story as often as you like.

Go On

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The following poem is set during the American Civil War, when the Confederate states attempted to break away from the Union.

Barbara Frietchieby John Greenleaf Whittier

Up from the meadows rich with corn,

Clear in the cool September morn,

The clustered spires of Frederick stand

Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.

5 Round about them orchards sweep,

Apple and peach tree fruited deep,

Fair as the garden of the Lord

To the eyes of the famished rebel horde,

On that pleasant morn of the early fall

10 When Lee marched over the mountain-wall;

Over the mountains winding down,

Horse and foot, into Frederick town.

Forty flags with their silver stars,

Forty flags with their crimson bars,

15 Flapped in the morning wind; the sun

Of noon looked down and saw not one.

Up rose old Barbara Frietchie then,

Bowed with her fourscore years and ten;

Bravest of all in Frederick town.

spires = pointed towers on churches

famished rebel horde = hungry Confederate troops

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 77

20 She took up flag the men hauled down;

In her attic window the staff she set,

To show that one heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,

Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

25 Under his slouched hat left and right

He glanced; the old flag met his sight.

“Halt!”—the dust-brown ranks stood fast.

“Fire!”—out blazed the rifle-blast.

It shivered the window, pane and sash;

30 It rent the banner with seam and gash.

Quick, as it fell, from the broken staff

Dame Barbara snatched the silken scarf.

She leaned far out on the window-sill,

And shook it forth with a royal will.

35 “Shoot, if you must, this old gray head,

But spare your country’s flag,” she said.

A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,

Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred

40 To life at that woman’s deed and word;

“Who touches a hair of yon gray head

Dies like a dog! March on!” he said.

All day long through Frederick street

Sounded the tread of marching feet:

staff = flagpole

slouched hat = wide-brimmed hat

shivered = broke into pieces

rent = tore apart

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45 All day long that free flag tossed

Over the heads of the rebel host.

Ever its torn folds rose and fell

On the loyal winds that loved it well;

And through the hill-gaps sunset light

50 Shone over it with a warm good-night.

Barbara Frietchie’s work is o’er,

And the Rebel rides on his raids no more.

Honor to her! and let a tear

Fall, for her sake, on Stonewall’s bier.

55 Over Barbara Frietchie’s grave,

Flag of Freedom and Union, wave!

Peace and order and beauty draw

Round that symbol of light and law;

And ever stars above look down

60 On thy stars below in Frederick town!

bier = coffin and the stand it rests on

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 79

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31 The poem “Barbara Frietchie” is rich in imagery. Fill in the following chart with details from

the poem. In the first column, write a two-line stanza from the poem. In the second column,

explain what the stanza means. Be sure to include details from the poem to support your

answer. An example answer has been completed for you.

Stanza from the Poem Meaning of the Stanza

Bravest of all in Frederick town.

She took up flag the men hauled down;

Barbara Frietchie was the only one brave

enough to fly the country’s flag as the area

was being invaded, even among the men in

town.

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Go On80 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

The following selection describes one of the most famous battles in American history. The leader of the Mexican army was General Santa Ana. The leader of the Texas forces was Colonel William B. Travis.

The Tragedy of the Alamo by Sidney Lanier

Santa Ana demands unconditional surrender. Travis replies with a cannon-shot, and the attack commences, the enemy running up a blood-red flag in town. Travis despatches a messenger with a call to his countrymen for re-enforcements, which concludes: “Though this call may be neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible, and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country. Victory or death!”

Meantime the enemy is active. On the 25th Travis has a sharp fight to prevent him from erecting a battery raking the gate of the Alamo. At night it is erected, with another a half-mile off at the powder-house, on a sharp eminence at the extremity of the present main street of the town. On the 26th there is skirmishing with the Mexican cavalry. In the cold—for a norther has commenced to blow and the thermometer is down to thirty-nine—the Texas make a sally successfully for wood and water, and that night they burn some old houses on the northeast that might afford cover for the enemy. So, amid the enemy’s constant rain of shells and balls, which miraculously hurt no one, the Texans strengthen their works and the siege goes on. On the 28th Fannin starts from Goliad with three hundred troops and four pieces of artillery, but for lack of teams and provisions quickly returns, and the little garrison is left to its fate. On the morning of the 1st of March there is doubtless a wild shout of welcome in the Alamo; Capt. John W. Smith has managed to convey thirty-two men into the fort. These join the heroes, and the attack and defence go on. On the 3d a single man, Moses Rose, escapes from the fort. His account of that day must entitle it to consecration as one of the most pathetic days of time.

“About two hours before sunset on the 3d of March, 1836, the bombardment suddenly ceased, and the enemy withdrew an unusual distance. . . . Colonel Travis paraded all his effective men in a single file, and taking his position in front of the centre, he stood for some moments apparently speechless from emotion; then, nerving himself for the occasion, he addressed them substantially as follows:

“My brave companions: stern necessity compels me to employ the few moments afforded by this probably brief cessation of conflict, in making known to you the most interesting, yet the most solemn, melancholy, and unwelcome fact that humanity can realize. . . . Our fate is sealed. Within a very few days, perhaps a very few hours, we must all be in eternity! I have deceived you long by the promise of help; but I crave your pardon, hoping that after hearing my explanation you will not only regard my conduct as pardonable, but heartily sympathize with me in my extreme necessity. . . . I have continually received the strongest assurances of help from home. Every letter from the Council, and every one that I have seen from individuals at home, has teemed with assurances that our people were ready, willing, and anxious to come to our relief. . . . These assurances I received as facts. . . . In the honest and simple confidence of my heart I have

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 81

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transmitted to you these promises of help and my confident hope of success. But the promised help has not come, and our hopes are not to be realized. I have evidently confided too much in the promises of our friends; but let us not be in haste to censure them. . . . Our friends were evidently not informed of our perilous condition in time to save us. Doubtless they would have been here by this time had they expected any considerable force of the enemy. . . . My calls on Colonel Fannin remain unanswered, and my messengers have not returned. The probabilities are that his whole command has fallen into the hands of the enemy, or been cut to pieces, and that our couriers have been cut off. [So does the brave, simple soul refuse to feel any bitterness in the hour of death.] . . .

“Rose, too, was deeply affected, but differently from his companions. He stood till every man but himself had crossed the line. . . . He sank upon the ground, covered his face, and yielded to his own reflections. . . . A bright idea came to his relief; he spoke the Mexican dialect very fluently, and could he once get safely out of the fort, he might easily pass for a Mexican and effect an escape. . . . He directed a searching glance at the cot of Colonel Bowie. . . . Colonel David Crockett was leaning over the cot, conversing with its occupant in an undertone. After a few seconds Bowie looked at Rose and said, ‘You seem not to be willing to die with us, Rose.’ ‘No,’ said Rose; ‘I am not prepared to die, and shall not do so if I can avoid it.’ Then Crockett also looked at him, and said, ‘You may as well conclude to die with us, old man, for escape is impossible.’ Rose made no reply, but looked at the top of the wall. ‘I have often done worse than to climb that wall,’ thought he. Suiting the action to the thought, he sprang up, seized his wallet of unwashed clothes, and ascended the wall. Standing on its top, he looked down within to take a last view of his dying friends. They were all now in motion, but what they were doing he heeded not; overpowered by his feelings, he looked away and saw them no more. . . . He threw down his wallet and leaped after it. . . . He took the road which led down the river around a bend to the ford, and through the town by the church. He waded the river at the ford and passed through the town. He saw no person . . . but the doors were all closed, and San Antonio appeared as a deserted city.

‘After passing through the town he turned down the river. A stillness as of death prevailed When he had gone about a quarter of a mile below the town, his ears were saluted by the thunder of the bombardment, which was then renewed. That thunder continued to remind him that his friends were true to their cause, by a continual roar with but slight intervals until a little before sunrise on the morning of the 6th, when it ceased and he heard it no more.”

The Texans are overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers and exhaustion of continued watching and fighting. The Mexicans swarm into the fort. The Texans club their guns; one by one they fall fighting-now Travis yonder by the western wall, now Crockett here in the angle of the church-wall, now Bowie butchered and mutilated in his sick-cot, breathe quick and pass away; and presently every Texan lies dead, while there in horrid heaps are stretched five hundred and twenty-one dead Mexicans and as many more wounded! Of the human beings that were in the fort five remain alive: Mrs. Dickinson and her child, Colonel Travis’s Negro- servant, and two Mexican women. The conquerors endeavor to get some more revenge out of the dead, and close the scene with raking together the bodies of the Texans, amid insults, and burning them. . . .

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32 How did Colonel William B. Travis respond to General Santa Ana’s surrender demand? Use

details from “The Tragedy of the Alamo” to support your answer.

33 Why did Moses Rose believe he had a good chance to escape from the area around the Alamo

that the Mexican army had surrounded?

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Go OnNew York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 83

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Planning Page

You may PLAN your writing for question 34 here if you wish, but do NOT writeyour final answer on this page. Your writing on this Planning Page will NOTcount toward your final score. Write your final answer on Pages 84 and 85.

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Go On84 New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice

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34 Write an essay in which you describe how Barbara Frietchie in “Barbara Frietchie” and

Colonel Travis in “The Tragedy of the Alamo” are similar. Explain how their actions and

attitudes are similar. Use details from both the poem and the passage to support your

answer.

In your answer, be sure to

• a description of the attitudes and actions of each person

• an explanation of how their actions and and attitudes are similar

• details from both the poem and the passage to support your answer

Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Check your writing for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

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New York Grade 8 English Language Arts Test Preparation and Practice 85

STOP

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ISBN-13: 978-0-07-877124-8ISBN-10: 0-07-877124-2

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