I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Excerpt by Maya Angelou Reading Test

This 41-question multiple-choice reading comprehension and analysis test on an excerpt from the autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou has questions from different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised). The excerpt reading selection is approximately 8 pages long and has 43 paragraphs and includes the scenes where Marguerite recalls living with her grandmother and uncle in the Store in Arkansas and walking home Mrs. Bertha Flowers where she eats cookies and lemonade, borrows some books, and learns about the value of reading and speaking. The excerpt begins with the lines “We lived with our grandmother and uncle in the rear of the Store (it was always spoken of with a capital s)…” and ends with the line, “It was enough to prove that she liked me.” It will test students’ literal and interpretive understanding of the selection including: point of view, making inferences, vocabulary, cause and effect, figurative language, literary devices, author’s purpose, fact and opinion, analogies, and other elements of literature. Questions are modeled after standardized tests (SAT, ACT, and state tests) to familiarize students with the structure and vocabulary of standardized test questions. Questions are spaced 1.5 lines apart for comfortable reading. The questions also encourage students to go back and re-read key parts of the selection, a crucial skill for comprehension and improving reading stamina. Teachers are encouraged to remove/add questions as they see fit for their students. Answer key included. Editable MS Word Doc. You can use this product for years and years! Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!

Objectives/US Standards (SUGGESTED) (From Corestandards.com):

Students are expected to:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.1
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.5
Analyze in detail the structure of a specific paragraph in a text, including the role of particular sentences in developing and refining a key concept.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.6
Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

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