“Southbound on the Freeway”, “The Country”, & “The Choice” Poetry Reading Test

This 43-question multiple-choice reading comprehension and analysis test on the poems “Southbound on the Freeway” by May Swenson (16 QUESTIONS), “The Country” by Billy Collins (12 QUESTIONS), & “The Choice” by Dorothy Parker (15 QUESTIONS) has questions from different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised). It will test students’ literal and interpretive understanding of the selection including: author’s purpose, point of view, making inferences, vocabulary, literary devices, figurative language, fact and opinion, summarization, 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. Includes link to free file of the text so each student can get their own copy to annotate. Answer key included. Editable MS Word Doc. You can use this product for years and years! Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated!

*PLEASE NOTE: Due to copyright restrictions, this product does not contain the reading selection(s).

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

Students are expected to:

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

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

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