Characters & Summaries
In "The Prince of Los Cocuyos," what did Richard expect for Thanksgiving?
He expected a traditional Thanksgiving meal with foods such as turkey and other typical American dishes.
Which sentence is telling: "Maya felt scared." or "Maya's knees knocked together as she peered into the dark room."?
"Maya felt scared."
Which is a stronger verb: "went" or "raced"?
Raced
What does "perspective" mean in reading?
Perspective is the way a person sees, thinks about, or understands something based on their experiences.
What two words often signal a simile?
"Like" and "as."
In "Hello, My Name Is," why does Jennifer choose a middle name?
She chooses a middle name because she wants to feel more comfortable with her identity and connect better to her name.
Give a short "showing" sentence that shows a character is excited.
Answer may vary. Ex: "Her feet barely touched the floor as she raced down the hall, grinning from ear to ear."
Replace the weak adjective in this sentence with a stronger one: "The tree was big."
Ex: towering, enormous, massive, immense, large, huge
Name one experience from the study guide that shaped Rosa Parks’ perspective.
Attending a school with fewer resources and a shorter school year than white schools shaped her view that segregation was unfair.
"The classroom was a zoo." (simile, metaphor, or personification?)
Metaphor.
Name one way schools were unequal in Rosa Parks' childhood as described in "Rosa Parks: My Story."
Rosa’s school had fewer resources and a shorter school year than the school for white children.
Read this sentence: "Luis was angry when he lost." Rewrite it to BEST show anger without using the word angry.
Answer may vary: "Luis slammed his hands on the table and clenched his jaw when he lost."
Choose the stronger verb for this sentence: "The dog ____ toward the gate."
Options: walked, sprinted, moved
Sprinted
How might Richard’s experiences make him view American holidays differently from someone who grew up with only American traditions?
Because Richard experienced both Cuban and American traditions at home, he may see holidays as flexible and blend cultural customs, while someone raised only with American traditions might expect only typical American customs.
Write a short sentence that uses personification.
Answers vary
Explain how Richard’s family combined traditions at Thanksgiving. (Use one specific example from the study guide.)
Instead of only having a traditional American Thanksgiving, his family mixed Cuban traditions with American ones — combining foods and customs from both cultures.
Explain why a test question that asks which sentence BEST SHOWS a feeling will rarely have the one-word emotion as the best answer.
Because showing uses actions, expressions, or details to let the reader infer the emotion; a one-word emotion simply names the feeling and does not provide specific evidence.
Explain how using a strong verb changes the image a reader gets, using a short example sentence.
A strong verb gives a clearer picture and energy to the action. Examples may vary
Compare how Jennifer’s view of her name changed from the beginning to the end of her story (two short sentences).
At first Jennifer saw her name as a problem and felt uncomfortable. By the end she understood its meaning and importance and felt more connected to her identity.
Explain the difference between a simile and a metaphor and give one short example of each.
A simile compares two things using "like" or "as" (example: "Her smile was like sunshine"). A metaphor says something is something else to make a comparison (example: "Her smile was sunshine").
How did a Northern soldier’s kindness affect Rosa Parks’ view of people during segregation?
The soldier’s kindness showed Rosa that people could treat each other kindly despite segregation, shaping her belief that people should be treated equally.
Provide a two-sentence example that first tells a feeling and then shows the same feeling; label which is telling and which is showing.
Answers may vary: Telling: "Ben was nervous about the test." Showing: "Ben chewed his pencil and avoided looking at the paper until the teacher began."
Rewrite this sentence to be more vivid by improving verb and adjective: "The storm was big and the wind moved the trees."
"The storm was enormous, and the wind battered the trees."
Choose one character (Richard, Jennifer, or Rosa) and explain how that character's background shaped their actions or beliefs. Use evidence from the study guide in your answer.
Answers may vary
Identify the figurative device and explain its effect: "The wind whispered secrets through the leaves."
Device: Personification.
Effect: It gives the wind human-like behavior, making the scene feel quiet, mysterious, and alive.