Language Use Test

Seventh Grade Language Arts

Mrs. Vlieger
Standards/Objectives of Test:
Students will be able to

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings (CCSS RL. 7.4.)
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over
the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. (CCSS:
RL.7.2)
Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS: RL.7.1)
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a word's
position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a word or
phrase. (CCSS: L.7.4a)
Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase (e.g.,
by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary). (CCSS:
L.7.4d)
Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of words with similar
denotations (definitions) (e.g., refined, respectful, polite, diplomatic,
condescending). (CCCS: L.7.5c)

Part One
Multiple Choice- Read the following poem, then answer the questions related to the
poem. Clearly circle which answer is the right one. If the answer choice is unclear,
you will not receive points for the question. Each question will be worth 2 points.
A Poison Tree
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.
And into my garden stole,
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

William Blake
*bold writing indicates the correct answer
1. What does sunned it with smiles (line 7) mean in the context of the poem?
a. burned it with smiles
b. disguised his anger
with smiles
CCSS:
c. smiled on it when the sun
came up
L.7.4a
d. smiled as big as the sun
2. If he used soft deceitful wiles (line 8), he was
a. letting his friend in on a
secret
CCSS:
b. tricking his foe
c. being nice to someone
d. playing a prank on his friend
3. According to the first stanza of this poem, why did the speakers wrath grow?
a. his foe wasnt listening to him
b. his foe made him angry
c. he bottled his feelings up and they
became worse
CCSS:
over time
RL.7.2
d. he kept getting angry about things
4. What does the poet mean when he says that the pole was veiled?
a. it had a black veil on
b. it was covered by the darkness
of the night
CCSS:
c. it was hiding something
d. the thief covered it with something
5. What does the speaker mean when he says he watered it fears (line 5)?
a. water makes fear grow
b. he used his fear to make his foe angry
CCSS:
c. he made his issues with his foe worse by letting his
L.7.4a
fear get the best of him
d. he was afraid of water
6. By the end of the poem, what do we know about the relationship between the
speaker and the foe?
a. his foe no longer wanted to deal with him
b. his foe got the better of the speakers fears
about him
CCSS:
c. the speaker left the foe alone in the garden
RL.7.2
d. the speaker is glad to see him because they decided to be friends
7. What does the apple represent in the context of the poem?
a. a regular apple that he wants to eat
b. a symbol for the garden of Eden
CCSS:
c. the foe is using the apple as a threat on the
speaker
L.7.4d
d. it is a representation of how ripe the speaker lets his fear get
8. Why is the poem called A Poison Tree?
CCSS:
RL.7.1

a. the speakers fears became a tree which poisoned his emotions

b. the foe was waiting under the tree all along with poison
c. the tree was already poison and it was hurting the speaker throughout the poem
d. the speaker poisoned the tree in the hopes of catching his foe
9. What did the foe know was his in the third stanza?
a. the tree
b. the symbol of fear represented in
CCSS:
c. the garden
RL.7.1
d. the symbol of confusion represented in the apple

the apple

10. Why does the speaker compare what he does with his friend versus his foe in
the first stanza?
a. the friend and the foe are the same person
CCSS:
b. his friend was supposed to help him handle
the foe
RL.7.1
c. the foe wouldnt listen to the speaker
d. to show that handling things with different people has different effects
Matching- Match the key term with the definition or concept. Write the word on the
right on the line next to the correct definition. Please write legibly. Each term is
worth two points.
11. _couplet__
Deceit
12. __deceit_
Behold
13. _bear__

What is it called when two lines end in the same rhyme?

To be false; lie purposefully

Hold and/or harbor

14. __behold_
Couplet

Perceive through sight

15. _outstretch_ Extend ones body

CCSS:
L.7.4a

Outstretch

Bear
Quatrain
Bewitched

Part Two
Read this excerpt from the beginning The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Read the
following statements and determine if they are true or false. Clearly circle whether it
is a T or an F. If it is not clear which is the answer you intended, you will not receive
points for the question. Each question will be worth two points.
At the time of these events, Parris was in his middle forties. In history he cut a
villainous path, and there is very little good to be said for him. He believed he was
being persecuted wherever he went, despite his best efforts to win people and God

to his side. In meeting, he felt insulted if someone rose to shut the door without first
asking his permission. He was a widower with no interest in children, or talent with
them. He regarded them as young adults, and until this strange crisis he, like the
rest of Salem, never conceived that the children were anything but thankful for
being permitted to walk straight, eyes slightly low-ered, arms at the sides, and
mouths shut until bidden to speak. His house stood in the town - but we today
would hardly call it a village. The meeting house was nearby, and from this point
outward - toward the bay or inland - there were a few small-windowed, dark houses
snuggling against the raw Massachusetts winter. Salem had been established hardly
forty years before. To the European world the whole province was a bar-baric
frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics who, nevertheless, were shipping out
products of slowly increasing quantity and value.
by Arthur Miller
16. T F
Parris behavior was considered villainous because he was
antagonizing people with his
religious beliefs outside of Salem.
CCSS:
17. T F
Salem would hardly be considered a village because it
looked more like a city.
18. T F
Parris believed he was being persecuted
because he broke the law.
19. T F

The towns children are usually

CCSS:

CCSS:

CCSS:
well-behaved.

20. T F
Europe considers the town of Salem to be full of
fanatics because of their religion.

CCSS:

Multiple Choice- Read the following poem, then answer the questions related to the
poem. Clearly circle which answer is the right one. If the answer choice is unclear,
you will not receive points for the question. Each question will be worth 2 points.
21. What does conceived mean in the context of the excerpt?
a. became pregnant
b. believed
CCSS:
c. performed
d. questioned
22. What does is mean that Parris doesnt have a talent with [children]?
a. he couldnt get them to perform on stage very well
b. he is not entertained by their gifts
CCSS:
c. he is not good with them
L.7.4a
d. he wishes he could be talented like
them
23. If the houses were snuggling against the raw Massachusetts winter, they
were...?
a. very close to each other in
proximity
b. covered in blankets
CCSS:
c. people went to each others houses to
cuddle

d. were good houses for Winter

24. What does established mean?
a. become a town that everyone
b. was considered a good town at that
c. was when it was built
d. had been relocated

CCSS:
L.7.4d

knows about
time

25. What are fanatics in the setting of this context?

a. people who love sports
CCSS:
b. they are enthusiastic about shipping products
c. people who love living in Massachusetts
d. they value their religion very highly

to Europe

Short Essay- Answer each question with roughly two to three sentences. The
questions will be on the texts from both part one and part two. Be sure to use
evidence and reasoning when answering. These questions are open-ended and
therefore have no one right answer, so explore your options here. Each question will
be worth five points.
26. What tone is coming across in the excerpt from The Crucible by Arthur Miller?
CCSS:

27. Compare and contrast the troubles the speaker from the poem and Parris from
the excerpt are going through.
CCSS:
RL.7.2

28. How is the language different between the poem and the excerpt? (i.e. what sort
of words are used in either of them and how does that effect the overall message of
either text)
CCCS:
L.7.5c

29. How does the speaker from the poems voice change from beginning to end?
CCCS:
L.7.5c

30. What do you gather about what the community looks like at Salem just from the
excerpt alone?
CCSS:
RL.7.2

Final Essay Question- Compare and contrast the language from the two texts that
you were exploring on this test. What do you notice about how wording was used to
describe exactly what the character were going through? How does a negative
versus positive connotation on a word change everything? This last question will be
worth 15 points. Still use textual evidence to support your answers.
CCSS RL.
7.4
CCSS:
RL.7.1

CATEGORY

Points: 5

4-3

3-2

2-1

Identifies
details

Student recalls
several details for
each main point with
quotations from the
texts.

Student recalls
several details for
each main point, but
references to texts
are minimal.

Student is able to
locate most of the
details but does not
use textual
quotations often.

Student cannot use

quotations in their
evidence.

Identifies

Student cites several Student cites pieces

pieces of evidence
of evidence that

Student cites minimal Student does not

pieces of evidence
cite pieces of

language
qualities

that proves how

language has an
impact on the writing,
tone, and message
of the texts.

somewhat prove how

language has an
impact on the writing,
tone, and message
of the texts.

that don\'t prove how

language has an
impact on the writing,
tone, and message
as much as it could.

evidence to prove
how language has
an impact on the
writing, tone, and
message of the
texts.

Grammar

Student\'s writing
proves exemplary
execution of
grammar and syntax
so that writing is
understandable and
coherent.

Student\'s writing
proves execution of
grammar and syntax
well enough that
writing is mostly
understandable and
coherent.

Student\'s writing
executes grammar
and syntax so that
writing is minimally
understandable and
coherent.

Student\'s writing
shows little to no
grammar and syntax
use so that writing
appears incoherent
and hard to
understand.