EOTT May 2015 6th grade ELA Study Guide
Terms covered on this study guide may appear on your EOTT exams. The practice questions are similar
to ones that you will see on your test.
Vocabulary to Know
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Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Onomatopoeia
hyperbole
Speaker’s attitude
Stanza
Lines
Theme
Ode
Ballad
Epic
Prefix
Root word
Loaded language
Argument/position
Setting
Plot
Summary
Connotations
tone
Practice Questions
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
1. In the poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" the words "dancing in the breeze" is an example of...
a. personification
b. alliteration
c. simile
d. metaphor
2. What does the phrase "my heart leaps up..." mean in the following lines?
"My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky..."
a. His heart is beating fast
b. He is getting old
c. He doesn't like nature
d. He is very happy
3. Hiawatha's Departure from The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is an example of which type of poetry?
By the shore of Gitchie Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
Hiawatha stood and waited.
a. Ballad
b. Sonnet
c. Epic
d. Acrostic
4. Use this dictionary entry to answer the following question.
rare, Adj.
1. Not often seen or found
2. excellent
3. not dense, thin
4. cooked for a short time
Snow in San Diego, California is very rare.
Which dictionary entry gives the BEST meaning for the word rare as it is used in the sentence in the
above?
a. not often seen or found
b. excellent
c. not dense, thin
d. cooked for a short time
5. Why do these things always happen to me?,Brad wondered. First I forget an important meeting, and
nobody reminds me until it’s over. Then my boss dumps a big project on my desk and wants it done by
yesterday. And to top everything off, I leave my wallet on the bus.
What is the tone of the passage above?
a. comic
b. self-pitying
c. optimistic
d. joyous
6. When an author uses loaded language, he or she is using strong words or phrases that are meant to
influence the reader’s emotions. Loaded language can be positive or negative, such as calling a nice day
“picture perfect” or an unpleasant person “a beast of a man.” Some types of loaded language include
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words or phrases that reveal an author’s bias, or prejudice, such as “the thoughtless politician
did not consider his people’s needs when casting his vote.”
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exaggerated words or phrases to make a point, such as saying “the refugees had to march a
million miles to reach their new home.”
The passage below uses loaded language. As you read, identify by highlighting or underlining any
words or phrases that can be considered loaded language, and think about how this language helps
you determine the author’s point of view or purpose.
The Inca built a vast network of highways that you could ride on forever. One road climbed into the Andes
Mountains and ended at the city called Machu Picchu. This town was forgotten until an American explorer named
Hiram Bingham luckily came across it in 1911.
No one was sure why Machu Picchu was built or why it was abandoned. Machu Picchu remains one of the most
interesting historical mysteries. Although Spanish conquerors cruelly destroyed many Inca treasures in the 1500s,
those remaining can give us a sense of the brilliant culture created by the “Children of the Sun.”
7. The word emerge is based on the Latin roots ex, meaning out of and merger, meaning to dip in water
based on this information, you can conclude that emerge means
a. to come out in the open
b. to sink
c. to cover
d. to smell
8. The word consistent is from the Latin root sistere meaning to stand based on this information, you
can conclude that the word consistent means
a. to change
b. to be the same every time
c. to go against
d. to create
9. Summarize the following reading. Imagine you are sending a text message to your best friend and
each word in the message costs 10¢. You have $1.80 to spend. Write a one sentence text message that
summarizes the story, using as many key terms as you can. Remember, when you summarize, you take
the most important ideas from a reading passage and restate them using fewer words.
Clever Jackal Gets Away
(A Traditional African Story)
One day long ago, Jackal was running through a narrow, rocky pass. Suddenly he was aware of a
movement ahead of him in the pass. "Oh, no," Jackal moaned and stopped in his tracks. Lion was coming
toward him. Realizing that Lion was too close for him to escape, Jackal was filled with fear, but he
thought of a plan.
Crouching down on the cliff path, he looked at the rocks above. "Help! Help!" he cried. Lion stopped
short in surprise. "Oh, great Lion! Help! See those great rocks above us? They are about to fall! We shall
both be crushed to death! Oh, mighty Lion, do something! Save us!" Jackal crouched even lower, his
paws covering his head.
Lion looked up, most alarmed. Before he even had a chance to think, Jackal was begging him to use his
strength to hold up the rocks. So Lion put his strong shoulder to the rocks and pushed. "Oh, thank you,
great Lion!" cried Jackal. "I will quickly bring that log over there to put under the rock, and we will both
be saved!" With that Jackal ran out of sight. Lion was left all alone to struggle under the weight of the
unmoving rock. How long he remained there before he realized that it was a trick, we will never know.
10. In the passage above Jackal can BEST be described as
a. foolish
b. fearful
c. clever
d. brave
11. Which of these best describes the setting of this passage
a. the jungle
b. a small African village
c. a rainforest
d. a narrow path
12. How does the setting of the story contribute to the conflict in the story?
a. It allows Lion to show that he is stronger and braver than Jackal
b. It allows Jackal to escape from Lion by using his brain
c. It shows a place where lions and jackals would encounter each other in the real world
d. It proves that the lion is not “king of the jungle”