Everett Public Schools
Assessment of Student Learning
Student Packet
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Coached Reading Assessment
Grade 6
Grading Period 1
"The Tiger Who Would Be King"
"Why Monkeys Live in Trees"
Student:
Date:
Teacher:
Period:
2
Literary Passage – Fable
Read the following selection and then answer the questions.
The Tiger Who Would Be King
by James Thurber
1 One morning the tiger woke up in the jungle and told his mate that he was king of beasts.
2 “Leo, the lion, is king of beasts,” she said.
3 “We need a change,” said the tiger. “The creatures are crying for a change.”
4 The tigress listened but she could hear no crying, except that of her cubs.
5 “I’ll be king of beasts by the time the moon rises,” said the tiger. “It will be a yellow moon with
black stripes, in my honor.”
6 “Oh, sure,” said the tigress as she went to look after her young, one of whom, a male, very like
his father, had got an imaginary thorn in his paw.
7 The tiger prowled through the jungle until he came to the lion’s den. “Come out,” he roared,
“and greet the king of beasts! The king is dead, long live the king!”
8 Inside the den, the lioness woke her mate. “The king is here to see you,” she said.
9 “What king?” he inquired, sleepily.
10 “The king of beasts,” she said.
11 “I am the king of beasts,” roared Leo, and he charged out of the den to defend his crown against
the pretender.
12 It was a terrible fight, and it lasted until the setting of the sun. All the animals of the jungle
joined in, some taking the side of the tiger and others the side of the lion. Every creature from the
aardvark to the zebra took part in the struggle to overthrow the lion or to repulse the tiger, and
some did not know which they were fighting for, and some fought for both, and some fought
whoever was nearest, and some fought for the sake of fighting.
13 “What are we fighting for?” someone asked the aardvark.
14 “The old order,” said the aardvark.
15 “What are we dying for?” someone asked the zebra.
16 “The new order,” said the zebra.
17 When the moon rose, fevered and gibbous, it shone upon a jungle in which nothing stirred except
a macaw and a cockatoo, screaming in horror. All the beasts were dead except the tiger, and his
days were numbered and his time was ticking away. He was monarch of all he surveyed, but it
didn’t seem to mean anything.
3
Coached Reading Assessment
Grade 6 – Grading Period 1
“The Tiger Who Would Be King”
Fill in the bubble next to the letter of the best answer.
1. Which statement by the tiger in “The Tiger Who Would Be King” contains the best example of
imagery? [LA05]
c
A.
“We need a change,” said the tiger.
c
B.
“The king is dead, long live the king!”
c
C.
He was monarch of all he surveyed, but it didn’t seem to mean anything.
c
D.
By the time the moon rises, it will be a yellow moon with black stripes, in my honor.
2. What is the theme of the story? [LC01]
c
A.
There are many reasons to fight.
c
B.
It means nothing to be king without someone to rule.
c
C.
Only a lion can truly be considered king of the beasts.
c
D.
Change in leadership is a healthy way to improve government.
3. Which sentence best summarizes this story? [LC02]
c
A.
The animals wanted a new king, so they fought to defeat lion.
c
B.
The animals did not want a king and fought both tiger and lion.
c
C.
Tiger gave his black stripes to the yellow moon after he challenged lion to a fight.
c
D.
After tiger challenged lion to a fight, the animals fought to see who would be king of
beasts.
4. What is the meaning of the word,
surveyed
, as it is used in paragraph 17 of the story? [LC04]
c
A.
Measured
c
B.
Drew out
c
C.
Longed for
c
D.
Looked over
4
Literary Passage – African Folk Tale
Read the following selection and then answer the questions.
Why Monkeys Live in Trees
by Julius Lester
1 One day Leopard was looking at his reflection in a pool of water. Looking at himself was
Leopard’s favorite thing in the world to do. Leopard gazed, wanting to be sure that every hair
was standing straight and that all his spots were where they were supposed to be. This took many
hours of looking at his reflection, which Leopard did not mind at all.
2 Finally, he was satisfied that nothing was disturbing his handsomeness, and he turned away from
the pool of water. At that exact moment, one of Leopard’s children ran up to him.
3 “Daddy! Daddy! Are you going to be in the contest?”
4 “What contest?” Leopard wanted to know. If it was a beauty contest, of course he was going to
be in it.
5 “I don’t know. Crow the Messenger just flew by. She said that King Gorilla mentioned there
was going to be a contest.”
6 Without another word, Leopard set off. He went north-by-northeast, made a right turn at the
mulberry bush and traveled east-by-south-by-west until he came to a hole in the ground. He
went around in a circle five times, and then headed north-by-somersault until he came to a big
clearing in the middle of the jungle and that’s where King Gorilla was.
7 King Gorilla sat at one end of the clearing on his throne. Opposite him, at the other side of the
clearing, all the animals sat in a semicircle. In the middle, between King Gorilla and the animals
was a huge mound of what looked like black dust.
8 Leopard looked around with calm dignity. Then he strode regally over to his friend, Lion.
9 “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the mound of black dust.
10 “Don’t know,” Lion replied. “King Gorilla said he will give a pot of gold to whoever can eat it
in one day. I can eat it in one hour.”
11 Leopard laughed. “I’ll eat it in a half hour.”
12 It was Hippopotamus’s turn to laugh. “As big as my mouth is, I’ll eat that mound in one gulp.”
13 The time came for the contest. King Gorilla had the animals pick numbers to see who would go
in what order. To everyone’s dismay, Hippopotamus drew Number 1.
14 Hippopotamus walked over to the mound of black dust. It was bigger than he thought. It was
much too big to eat with one gulp. Nonetheless, Hippopotamus opened his mouth as wide as he
could, and that was very wide indeed, and took a mouthful of the black dust.
5
15 He started chewing. Suddenly he leaped straight into the air and screamed. He screamed so
loudly that it knocked the ears off the chickens and that’s why to this day chickens don’t have
ears.
16 Hippopotamus screamed and yelled. Hippopotamus roared and Hippopotamus bellowed. Then
he started sneezing and crying and tears rolled down his face like he was standing in a shower.
Hippopotamus ran to the river and drank as much water as he could, and that was very much,
indeed, to cool his mouth and tongue and throat.
17 The animals didn’t understand what had happened to Hippopotamus, but they didn’t care. They
were happy because they still had a chance to win the pot of gold. Of course, if they had known
that the mound of black dust was really a mound of black pepper, maybe they wouldn’t have
wanted the gold.
18 Nobody was happier than Leopard because he had drawn Number 2. He walked up to the black
mound and sniffed at it.
19 “AAAAAAAACHOOOOOOO!” Leopard didn’t like that but then he remembered the pot of
gold. He opened his mouth wide, took a mouthful and started chewing and swallowing.
20 Leopard leaped straight into the air, did a back double flip and screamed. He yelled and he
roared and he bellowed and, finally, he started sneezing and crying, tears rolling down his face
like a waterfall. Leopard ran to the river and washed out his mouth and throat and tongue.
21 Lion was next, and the same thing happened to him as it did to all the animals. Finally, only
Monkey remained.
22 Monkey approached King Gorilla. “I know I can eat all of whatever it is, but after each
mouthful, I’ll need to lie down in the tall grasses and rest.”
23 King Gorilla said that was okay.
24 Monkey went to the mound, took a tiny bit of pepper on his tongue, swallowed, and went into
the tall grasses. A few minutes later, Monkey came out, took a little more, swallowed it, and
went into the tall grasses.
25 Soon the pile was almost gone. The animals were astonished to see Monkey doing what they
had not been able to do. Leopard couldn’t believe it either. He climbed a tree and stretched out
on a sturdy limb to get a better view. From his limb high in the tree, Leopard could see into the
tall grasses where Monkey went in to rest. Wait a minute! Leopard thought something was
suddenly wrong with his eyes because he thought he saw a hundred monkeys hiding in the tall
grasses.
26 He rubbed his eyes and looked another look. There wasn’t anything wrong with his eyes. There
were a hundred monkeys in the tall grasses and they all looked alike!
27 Just then, there was the sound of loud applause. King Gorilla announced that Monkey had won
the contest and the pot of gold.
6
28 Leopard growled a growl so scary that even King Gorilla was frightened. Leopard wasn’t
thinking about anybody except the monkeys. He took a long and beautiful leap from the tree
right smack into the middle of the tall grasses where the monkeys were hiding.
29 The monkeys ran in all directions. When the other animals saw monkeys running from the
grasses, they realized that the monkey had tricked them and they started chasing the monkeys.
Even King Gorilla joined in the chase. He wanted his gold back.
30 The only way the monkeys could escape was to climb to the very tops of the tallest trees where
no one else, not even Leopard could climb.
31 Moreover, that’s why monkeys live in trees to this very day.
7
Coached Reading Assessment
Grade 6 – Grading Period 1
“Why Monkeys Live in Trees”
5. What does the author mean when he says, “Moreover, that’s why monkeys live in trees to this
very day,” in paragraph 31 of the story? [LC03]
c
A.
The monkeys will need to live in the trees to be safe from the other animals.
c
B.
The monkeys had so much fun living in the trees that they made it their home.
c
C.
The monkeys enjoyed the view while living in the trees so much they decided to stay.
c
D.
The monkeys discovered their bodies are ideal for living and traveling in the trees.
6. Based on the information in the selection, “Why Monkeys Live in Trees,” what inference could
you make about Leopard? [LC03]
c
A.
He had bad eyesight.
c
B.
He liked to eat black pepper.
c
C.
He was vain and cared deeply about his appearance.
c
D.
He thought the monkeys were clever and deserved to win.
7. What is the meaning of
dismay
, in paragraph 13 of the story? [LC04]
c
A.
relief
c
B.
delight
c
C.
embarrassment
c
D.
disappointment
8. Which two objects does the author compare using a simile? [LA05]
c
A.
Ears and chickens
c
B.
Tears and a waterfall
c
C.
A crow and a messenger
c
D.
Leopard’s reflection and a pool of water
9. What is the theme of the selection? [LC01]
c
A.
Trickery can cause distrust.
c
B.
Living in isolation can be lonely.
c
C.
Friendship is the key to happiness.
c
D.
Some are best suited to life in trees.
8
10. Which sentence summarizes paragraphs 24, 25, and 26? [LC02]
c
A.
King Gorilla announces that Monkey has won the contest.
c
B.
It is discovered by Leopard that Monkey was cheating to win the contest.
c
C.
King Gorilla tells the animals they can win a pot of gold for eating a mound of dust.
c
D.
Hippopotamus competes to eat the black mound of dust the fastest of all animals.
11.
Short Answer- 2 pts
In your own words, write a summary of “Why Monkeys Live in Trees.” Include a
summarizing
statement
and
three
main events from the story in your summary. [LC02]
12.
Short Answer- 2 pts
The story shows that dishonesty does not pay. Provide
two
details from the story to support your
answer. [LC01]
9
13.
Extended Response- 4 pts
According to the selection, describe how Leopard feels about himself. Provide
three
details from
the selection to support your answer. [LA05]
