Unit 6 Week 1 Skills Test

 The year was 1918, and Emma lived in Buffalo, New York. She thought back to one day in April almost a year earlier. Her dad came home from work with a newspaper under his arm. The headline had said, “PRESIDENT CALLS FOR WAR DECLARATION.” Dad explained that Germany was trying to take over other countries and attacking ships, including American ships, so President Wilson had asked Congress to declare war and join forces with Germany’s enemies. America had a duty to fight for freedom.

 

     Along with many of the men where he worked, Dad joined the U.S. Army to fight in World War I. He went to training camp and then was sent to France. Even though her mother did not say it aloud, Emma knew Mom missed him and was sad, but Emma was proud her dad was helping the cause of freedom.

 

   Mom missed Aunt Edith, too, Mom’s younger sister who had lived with them as long as Emma could remember. When Aunt Edith was eighteen, she got a job as a switchboard operator for the telephone company. Then, for the first time in American history, women were allowed to join the U.S. Navy because of the Naval Act of 1916. It said “all persons” who were able to provide “useful service” could be in the Navy. When America entered the war, telephone operators, chauffeurs, and truck drivers were needed. Emma remembered when Aunt Edith told her mother that she wanted to serve her country, so the next day Aunt Edith signed up and moved to Washington, D.C., where she shared an apartment with other young women.

 

     Aunt Edith wrote home often. She was proud of her uniform, a navy-blue jacket with gold buttons and navy-blue skirt. She said that the bottom of the skirt had to be exactly eight inches from the floor. Her blouse was called a waist, and she wore a scarf called a neckerchief around the open collar. The photo she sent to the family was displayed on the table in the living room.

 

     With so many men joining the armed forces, many jobs at home needed to be filled. Companies were hiring women for jobs that men usually held. Some of Mom’s friends had jobs and the family needed money, so Dad’s mom agreed to help care for Emma if Mom got a job. Mom saw ads for jobs at the Curtiss Company, a corporation that made airplanes at a plant outside the city of Buffalo. The company was at the end of the streetcar line.

 

   Mom applied for and got a job, and when she came home after the first day at the factory, she told Emma about the company. The workers made two kinds of aircraft: flying boats and training planes. Flying boats were aircraft that could land on water, and training planes were light aircraft not closed-in at the top.

 

   To manufacture the aircraft, different departments carried out the various steps. One department worked with machines, another with the wood used for the frames of airplanes, and other departments assembled and finished the aircraft. Mom was an inspector. Each part had to be carefully checked with tools that measured very short lengths and small diameters. Every bolt and screw had to match exactly the length and width shown on the plans. The job was important because the lives of pilots who flew the planes depended on careful attention to detail. Mom enjoyed her work at the factory.

 

     In August 1918, the family received a letter from Dad. He had fought in a battle but was fine. Then, in November 1918, the German Kaiser, or emperor, gave up his rule. The fighting stopped on November 11, and Dad wrote that he was coming home. The family was so happy and ready to see him. Mom wanted to keep working but was not sure it would be possible because the men returning from war would want their old jobs back.

• I read the text

• I didn't read the text

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.9

CCSS.RL.8.9

What role does paragraph 1 have in the passage?

1       The year was 1918, and Emma lived in Buffalo, New York. She thought back to one day in April almost a year earlier. Her dad came home from work with a newspaper under his arm. The headline had said, “PRESIDENT CALLS FOR WAR DECLARATION.” Dad explained that Germany was trying to take over other countries and attacking ships, including American ships, so President Wilson had asked Congress to declare war and join forces with Germany’s enemies. America had a duty to fight for freedom.

• It signals a flashback.

• It describes the narrator’s actions.

• It introduces Emma’s personality traits.

• It develops the main characters in the story.

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.2.10

CCSS.RL.2.2

CCSS.RL.2.3

Which word has the same meaning as the homophone allowed as it is used in paragraph 3?

Then, for the first time in American history, women were allowed to join the U.S. Navy because of the Naval Act of 1916.

• encouraged

• helped

• permitted

• spoken

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.4.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RI.6.4

Why does the author use flashback in paragraph 3?

3       Mom missed Aunt Edith, too, Mom’s younger sister who had lived with them as long as Emma could remember. When Aunt Edith was eighteen, she got a job as a switchboard operator for the telephone company. Then, for the first time in American history, women were allowed to join the U.S. Navy because of the Naval Act of 1916. It said “all persons” who were able to provide “useful service” could be in the Navy. When America entered the war, telephone operators, chauffeurs, and truck drivers were needed. Emma remembered when Aunt Edith told her mother that she wanted to serve her country, so the next day Aunt Edith signed up and moved to Washington, D.C., where she shared an apartment with other young women.

• to describe the conflict Mom has

• to develop the character of Aunt Edith

• to reveal information about the narrator

• to compare the setting before and after the war

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.3

CCSS.RL.4.5

CCSS.RL.5.3

CCSS.RL.5.5

CCSS.RL.6.3

Which word from paragraph 4 is a homophone of a word that means “trash” or “garbage”?

4       Aunt Edith wrote home often. She was proud of her uniform, a navy-blue jacket with gold buttons and navy-blue skirt. She said that the bottom of the skirt had to be exactly eight inches from the floor. Her blouse was called a waist, and she wore a scarf called a neckerchief around the open collar. The photo she sent to the family was displayed on the table in the living room.

• proud

• gold

• waist

• scarf

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.4

CCSS.RL.5.1

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.RI.4.4

CCSS.RL.6.4

What is a theme of the passage?

• Life can be unpredictable.

• War should never be declared.

• War affects countries everywhere.

• People work together in times of need

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.9

Which of the following is a clue that helps you know what the theme of the passage is?

• “She was proud of her uniform, a navy-blue jacket with gold buttons and navy-blue skirt.” (paragraph 4)

• “With so many men joining the armed forces, many jobs at home needed to be filled.” (paragraph 5)

• “Mom saw ads for jobs at the Curtiss Company, a corporation that made airplanes at a plant  outside the city of Buffalo.” (paragraph 5)

• “Flying boats were aircraft that could land on water, and training planes were light aircraft not closed-in at the top.” (paragraph 6)

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RL.4.9

CCSS.RL.5.9

Match each message with its supporting evidence from the passage.

• People put their lives at risk to fight

• “The job was important because the lives of pilots who flew the planes depended on careful attention to detail.” (paragraph 7)

• Some jobs are so critical they could cos

• “In August 1918, the family received a letter from Dad. He had fought in a battle but was fine.” (paragraph 8)

• There is honor in fighting for freedom.

• “Even though her mother did not say it aloud, Emma knew Mom missed him and was sad, but Emma was proud her dad was helping the cause of freedom.” (paragraph 2)

Tags

CCSS.RL.4.2

CCSS.RL.5.2

CCSS.RL.6.2

CCSS.RI.4.2

CCSS.RI.5.2