Short Story Test - The Possibility of Evil

Short Story Quizzes from My TPT site:

Wallace and Gromit - The Wrong Trousers (a video short story exercise)

Wallace and Gromit - A Close Shave (a video short story exercise)

The Sound of Gunfire - by John O’Reilly (a western)

The Landlady - by Roald Dahl NEW July 2018

To Build a Fire - by Jack London

The Most Dangerous Game - by Richard Connell

The Possibility of Evil - by Shirley Jackson

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - by Ambrose Bierce

The Sound of Thunder - by Ray Bradbury

There Will Come Soft Rains - by Ray Bradbury (NEW August 2019)

12 Again - by Mathew Licht (NEW August 2019)

Through the Tunnel - by Doris Lessing

Lamb to the Slaughter - by Roald Dahl

Rikki Tiki Tavi - by Rudyard Kipling

The Monkey’s Paw - by WW Jacobs

The Ransom of Red Chief - by O. Henry

The Whole Town’s Sleeping - by Ray Bradbury

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - by James Thurber

To Serve Man - by Damon Knight

Fairy Tale - by Todd Strasser

School Spirit - by Jerry Spinelli

On the Bridge - by Todd Strasser

Hijack - by Robert L. Fish

Ethan Unbound - by Gary Blackwood

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - by Richard Matheson

Leiningen Versus the Ants - by Carl Stephenson

Beware of the Dog - by Roald Dahl FREE

It’s a Wonderful Life (The Greatest Gift) - by Philip Van Doren Stern FREE

User Friendly - by T Ernesto Bethancourt FREE

The Fable of the Three Princes - by Isaac Asimov FREE

Novel Tests from my TPT site:

Inherit the Wind - by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

I Am Princess X - byCherie Priest

Plague Year - by Stephanie Tolen

Dune - by Frank Herbert

The Prisoner of Zenda - by Anthony Hope

Enemy Mine - by Barry Longyear

SLOB - by Ellen Potter

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - by Roald Dahl

Dairy Queen - by Catherine Murdock

My Life in Dog Years - by Gary Paulsen

Introduction:

Whenever I set up short story exams for my students, I want to incorporate a number of demands on their reading comprehension efforts. For that reason, you will see a variety of challenges for your students to meet in the series that I’ve developed, and I hope that they serve you as well as they have served me. What follows is the make-up for each exercise.

Google Form or Adobe Format:

Unfortunately, these tests have to be sent to you in Adobe format, which means that you can’t change or tailor the tests to your specific needs. HOWEVER, once you’ve purchased the item, please don’t hesitate to email me and I will send you a reply with the tests and keys in Google format. This will provide you with some flexibility. I only ask that you don't pass them along. We live in a country that, by and large, isn't particularly generous when it comes to teacher salaries and we're all trying to do the best we can - especially in North Carolina.

A and B Versions:

I tend to be something of a security freak, so all of my tests and quizzes are written in two different versions. It doesn’t stop cheating, but at least it makes it more challenging.

Free Answer Sheet:

Each quiz that you purchase (and the free ones as well) will provide you with a free answer sheet so that you don’t have to keep making copies of these short story exams. This means that you only have to make one set and the students can provide their answers on a single sheet of paper from there on. NOTE that because some short story quizzes come in different formats - that is to say that some have more true or false, multiple choice or vocabulary questions - that the answer sheet will often allow for extra spaces to supply answers. Once your students understand this, it won’t unnerve them to leave spaces blank.

40, 50 (optional) Point or 100 Point Tests:

At the top of each test is a scoring area that indicates whether the test included the written portion or not. You can alter your demands each time you use the test. NOTE that not all of the quizzes will include a written response area.

Literary Terms:

This quiz will also include our Literary Terms 1 and Literary Terms 2 sheets for use with your class. Many of the multiple choice questions require students to know their figurative language well and these sheets will give everyone a common understanding. BY THE WAY? I also sell the quizzes and tests that go along with these lists - just in case you happen to be looking for that sort of thing :)

Story Order:

I want my students to focus on the details of the material and I use Story Order as a means to check how thoroughly they are processing the plot. This portion of the exam asks that they place numbers from 1 to 7 next to plot statements to indicate the chronological order of the story. They must complete this for both halves of the story. Note that if their answer is one number away from the correct answer, their response is still acceptable.

Climactic Moment

A single point requires students to circle (or write down if they are using the one page answer sheet) the number that indicates the climactic moment within the plot. In other words - and it’s almost always the 5th, 6th or 7th occurrence in the second half of the story - the students have to place that story number on the single answer sheet OR circle it if you are using complete quizzes with your students.

We establish that moment as occurring when the main conflict in the story is resolved and no longer exists. You will note that in some of my exams I allow for two climactic moments as both points in the story arc can be seen as the climax of events.

True or False:

I like to include true or false statements, because it forces my students to truly examine what is being suggested within the statement. If they have thoroughly read their material then this area is not all that difficult, but if they have skimmed through it than this testing device can be their worst nightmare. We work under the understanding that unless a statement is completely true, it must, therefore, be false.

Multiple Choice (Inference):

This is a standard section for any test. I usually make sure that I sprinkle in a liberal amount of literary terminology along with questions that require students to draw conclusions based on the text. In addition, I will also include lower level questions as an additional means of confirming that my students have read the story.

Vocabulary:

As everyone across the country would be working with different short story anthologies or textbooks, I cannot place the page, paragraph or line number for each question. I have left you blanks so that you can supply the information that pertains to your own source.

Literary Term Application:

Most of the short exercises will include this portion so that students can demonstrate their command of literary terminology. They will have either 5 or ten questions to answer that come from the literature terms list that I have included with this exercise. I didn't make the questions especially difficult, and success in this aspect of the quiz is mainly dependent upon how well the student knows their terms and can apply them.

Response to Literature:

My approach to writing is to incorporate as many small composition assignments as possible rather than a significantly small number of long, complex assignments. It’s not that my students don’t write their share of papers, but I keep that load to a minimum so that I can concentrate on the essentials of spelling, capitalization and sentence structure. To reinforce these skills you need as many small assignments as you can squeeze into your curriculum. It’s the constant repetition of writing tasks that forces students to pay attention to the details and improve their abilities.

That said, you will note that this portion of the test is completely optional - as is the task that you assign them to write about. For my part, I usually assign them a persuasive task that has them argue the merits - or deficiencies - of the short story. In this way they get the chance to put in their two cents on the assignment , yet they still have to use the story as evidence to back up their assertions.

Bonuses:

Bonuses are optional. I like having them in place for my struggling students who could use a leg up. If you contact me for the Google form you can even remove them if you like.

Future Tests:

If there is a short story test that you would like me to develop, drop me an email and I will work on it as soon as possible. Right now I’m not completely certain which short stories are most popular with teachers across the country, so I’m staying with the classics.

Michael Harper

Wilmington, NC

harperwords@gmail.com