6th Grade Literature Mini-Assessment Excerpt from Counting on Grace
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Last updated almost 5 years ago
7 questions
Note from the author:
January 26, 2021
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Directions: Today you will read an excerpt from Counting on Grace, a novel by Elizabeth Winthrop. You will thenanswer several questions based on the text. I will be happy to answer questions about the directions,but I will not help you with the answers to any questions. You will notice as you answer the questionsthat some of the questions have two parts. You should answer Part A of the question before youanswer Part B.Take as long as you need to read and answer the questions. If you do not finish when class ends, comesee me to discuss when may have additional time.Now read the passage and answer the questions. I encourage you to write notes in the margin as youread the passage.Excerpt from Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop:Chapter 10, “The Letter”
The setting is the early 1900s, a time when child labor laws were sometimes ignoredin the United States. Grace is the twelve-year-old narrator. She and Arthur work inthe mill during the day, and Miss Lesley is their teacher after work.
(1) Miss Lesley nods to Arthur and he pulls out the paper and smooths the wrinkles he made whenhe crunched it up.
(2) “Read it to her,” Miss Lesley says.
(3) “Are you practicing your writing?” I ask.
(4) “Grace, hush for once in your life and listen.”
(5) It’s a letter. Arthur’s doing the writing. It goes this way.
(6) To Miss Anna Putnam, National Child Labor Committee, Vermont Chapter, Bennington, Vermont.
(7) Dear Madam,
(8) This is to inform you that there are underage children working in the cotton mill in the town ofNorth Pownal, Vermont. These children range in age from eight to thirteen. They are employedin the following dangerous tasks.
(9) It stops there.
(10) “That’s as far as we got,” Arthur says. “Before you barged in.”
(11) “So now you can help us, Grace.”
(12) My brain is whirling around. My feet start shifting under the desk.
(13) “What is that child labor comm-thing?”
(14) “They investigate places where children are not supposed to be working because they are tooyoung. Believe it or not, there are laws against child labor. They’re just not enforced,” MissLesley says.
(15) “But we need to work. For the money.” I can hear Mamère’s voice speaking right through mylips.
(16) “Yes, Grace. But you also need your education. Then when you get older, you’ll have a job thatmakes you much more money than you’ll ever get working in the mill.”
(17) “Stop arguing,” Arthur says to me. “You wanna leave?”
(18) I don’t. This is more interesting than reading la Justice to Pépé for the third time this week. Ordoing laundry with Mamère. Or weeding.
(19) I’ll help them write their dumb old letter. What difference does it make? When that inspectorcomes, we’ll just hide in the elevator the way we always do until he leaves the premises. That’sa fancy word Mr. Wilson uses for the mill.
(20) “So back to the letter. What jobs do children do in the mill?”
(21) “Doffing,” I say.
(22) “Besides doffing,” says Miss Lesley.
(23) “Sweeping,” says Arthur. “And carrying the bobbin boxes. They’re heavy.”
(24) “Good. Write that down. What else, Grace?”
(25) I’m thinking hard. This is like a test and I want to do well on it. “Some of the boys work in thewarping room.”
(26) Arthur writes.
(27) “And what about Thomas?” Miss Lesley asks.
(28) “He was fooling around at the time,” I tell her. “He was standing too close to that gearbox.”
(29) “More accidents happen because of the number of children working in the mill. But Thomas waslegally old enough to be working so we’ll forget him for now. What else?”
(30) “We clean the machines on Saturdays. And some other times if the rovinggets too bunched up. Delia’s got scars on her fingers from the cleaning hook.”
(31) “Perfect,” says Miss Lesley, and I smile. I’m passing the test. “Arthur, put down machinemaintenance.”
(32) Then she writes out that big word for him so he can copy it.
(33) “Why aren’t you writing the letter to the committee place?” I ask Miss Lesley.
(34) “She’ll get fired if they find out it’s coming from her,” Arthur says, and rolls his eyes at me as ifeverybody is supposed to know that. “You’d better not tell.”
(35) “Who will fire her?”
(36) “The mill owners,” Arthur spits. “They own the mill school.”
(37) “Hush, Arthur,” says Miss Lesley. “Nobody’s going to be firing me as long as we keep this quiet.Now sign it this way.” She writes out another big word for him to copy. It says Anonymous.
Doffing: Removing objects from a textile machineRoving: Soft fibers ready to be twisted into yarn
Directions:
Today you will read an excerpt from Counting on Grace, a novel by Elizabeth Winthrop. You will then
answer several questions based on the text. I will be happy to answer questions about the directions,
but I will not help you with the answers to any questions. You will notice as you answer the questions
that some of the questions have two parts. You should answer Part A of the question before you
answer Part B.
Take as long as you need to read and answer the questions. If you do not finish when class ends, come
see me to discuss when may have additional time.
Now read the passage and answer the questions. I encourage you to write notes in the margin as you
read the passage.
Excerpt from Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop:
Chapter 10, “The Letter”
The setting is the early 1900s, a time when child labor laws were sometimes ignored
in the United States. Grace is the twelve-year-old narrator. She and Arthur work in
the mill during the day, and Miss Lesley is their teacher after work.
(1) Miss Lesley nods to Arthur and he pulls out the paper and smooths the wrinkles he made when
he crunched it up.
(2) “Read it to her,” Miss Lesley says.
(3) “Are you practicing your writing?” I ask.
(4) “Grace, hush for once in your life and listen.”
(5) It’s a letter. Arthur’s doing the writing. It goes this way.
(6) To Miss Anna Putnam, National Child Labor Committee, Vermont Chapter, Bennington, Vermont.
(7) Dear Madam,
(8) This is to inform you that there are underage children working in the cotton mill in the town of
North Pownal, Vermont. These children range in age from eight to thirteen. They are employed
in the following dangerous tasks.
(9) It stops there.
(10) “That’s as far as we got,” Arthur says. “Before you barged in.”
(11) “So now you can help us, Grace.”
(12) My brain is whirling around. My feet start shifting under the desk.
(13) “What is that child labor comm-thing?”
(14) “They investigate places where children are not supposed to be working because they are too
young. Believe it or not, there are laws against child labor. They’re just not enforced,” Miss
Lesley says.
(15) “But we need to work. For the money.” I can hear Mamère’s voice speaking right through my
lips.
(16) “Yes, Grace. But you also need your education. Then when you get older, you’ll have a job that
makes you much more money than you’ll ever get working in the mill.”
(17) “Stop arguing,” Arthur says to me. “You wanna leave?”
(18) I don’t. This is more interesting than reading la Justice to Pépé for the third time this week. Or
doing laundry with Mamère. Or weeding.
(19) I’ll help them write their dumb old letter. What difference does it make? When that inspector
comes, we’ll just hide in the elevator the way we always do until he leaves the premises. That’s
a fancy word Mr. Wilson uses for the mill.
(20) “So back to the letter. What jobs do children do in the mill?”
(21) “Doffing,” I say.
(22) “Besides doffing,” says Miss Lesley.
(23) “Sweeping,” says Arthur. “And carrying the bobbin boxes. They’re heavy.”
(24) “Good. Write that down. What else, Grace?”
(25) I’m thinking hard. This is like a test and I want to do well on it. “Some of the boys work in the
warping room.”
(26) Arthur writes.
(27) “And what about Thomas?” Miss Lesley asks.
(28) “He was fooling around at the time,” I tell her. “He was standing too close to that gearbox.”
(29) “More accidents happen because of the number of children working in the mill. But Thomas was
legally old enough to be working so we’ll forget him for now. What else?”
(30) “We clean the machines on Saturdays. And some other times if the roving
gets too bunched up. Delia’s got scars on her fingers from the cleaning hook.”
(31) “Perfect,” says Miss Lesley, and I smile. I’m passing the test. “Arthur, put down machine
maintenance.”
(32) Then she writes out that big word for him so he can copy it.
(33) “Why aren’t you writing the letter to the committee place?” I ask Miss Lesley.
(34) “She’ll get fired if they find out it’s coming from her,” Arthur says, and rolls his eyes at me as if
everybody is supposed to know that. “You’d better not tell.”
(35) “Who will fire her?”
(36) “The mill owners,” Arthur spits. “They own the mill school.”
(37) “Hush, Arthur,” says Miss Lesley. “Nobody’s going to be firing me as long as we keep this quiet.
Now sign it this way.” She writes out another big word for him to copy. It says Anonymous.
Doffing: Removing objects from a textile machine
Roving: Soft fibers ready to be twisted into yarn
1
Question 1.
Based on paragraph 14 of Text 1: Counting on Grace, what is the meaning of the phrase “notenforced”?
Question 1.
Based on paragraph 14 of Text 1: Counting on Grace, what is the meaning of the phrase “not
enforced”?
1
Question 2
Part A
This question has two parts. First answer Part A, and then answer Part B.Part A: How does Arthur respond when Miss Lesley asks Grace to help with the letter?
Question 2
Part A
This question has two parts. First answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
Part A: How does Arthur respond when Miss Lesley asks Grace to help with the letter?
1
Question 2
Part B: Which sentence from the story best shows Arthur’s reaction?
Question 2
Part B: Which sentence from the story best shows Arthur’s reaction?
1
Question 3
Reread paragraph 12.
“My brain is whirling around. My feet start shifting under the desk.”
How does this paragraph move the plot of the story forward?
Question 3
Reread paragraph 12.
“My brain is whirling around. My feet start shifting under the desk.”
How does this paragraph move the plot of the story forward?
1
Question 4
Part A
This question has two parts. First answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
Part A: What is Miss Lesley’s point of view about child labor?
Question 4
Part A
This question has two parts.
First answer Part A, and then answer Part B.
Part A: What is Miss Lesley’s point of view about child labor?
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Part B:
What are two reasons Miss Lesley provides to support her point of view?
Part B:
What are two reasons Miss Lesley provides to support her point of view?