7th Grade English Unit 1 Assessment (copy 9/23)

The Fantastic Forest Frannie

1 Jensen and Estelle spent most of Saturday morning on Jensen’s living room couch, planning their superhero comic book. The coffee table was covered with their sketches, notes, and colored pencils. By noon, they had figured out that their hero’s name would be Forest Frannie and her super power would be flight. The girls’ first issue, “Frannie Rescues Callie Cub,” would be about Frannie helping a lost baby bear find its mother. Now they had to figure out what color her cape would be.

2 “Definitely purple,” said Jensen.

3 “No, it should absolutely be green,” argued Estelle.

4 “Frannie is going to be flying over the forest, so a green cape will make her blend right into the background. A purple cape will make her stand out,” said Jensen.

5 “There are a billion different shades of green we can use to make sure everyone who reads the book will see her, and I’m sorry, but purple makes no sense for Forest Frannie. You just want to use it because it’s your favorite color,” Estelle said angrily.

6 “I guess we’re going to disagree, and it’s obvious you can’t handle any critisism. Maybe you should just leave, and I’ll do my own book,” Jensen replied, now just as angry as her friend.

7 Estelle quickly gathered her things, which included a backpack and a box of pencils, and walked out the front door. Jensen kneeled in front of the coffee table, thinking to herself that the comic book would be better now that she could do it all her way. Eight houses away, Estelle sat at the desk in her bedroom, thinking the same thing.

8 An hour later, Jensen erased the bear cub for the third time and sharpened her pencil to try again. She just couldn’t seem to get the shapes of the animal’s head right. Estelle was the artist, and she would have been able to sketch the cub perfectly on the first try. Meanwhile, Estelle, was trying to figure out what Forest Frannie should say to the bear cub, when she found it. She tried again and again to fill in the speech bubble, but nothing seemed to work. Jensen was the author, and she would have known exactly the right words to use.

9 Jensen got up from the floor, Estelle stood up from her desk, and both girls walked out their front doors. They met on the sidewalk halfway between their houses, each feeling some embarassment about the fight and smiling doubtfully.

Battle for the Bastille

1 (1) Henri Fontaine stood looking up at the mighty Bastille, trying to put on a brave face while his heart pounded like a drum in his chest and his hands trembled. (2) Men, commoners like Henri, surrounded him on all sides, each grasping a weapon.

2 (3) A short time after the crowd had gathered, the governor of the Bastille appeared at the front gates. (4) A man took a few steps forward to speak. (5) Henri recognized him as a shopkeeper from his neighborhood. (6) He also saw a fellow farmer standing a short distance away.

3 (7) Some men had beautiful swords or heavy muskets, while others had simply-made weapons using whatever they could find. (8) Henri guessed there must be close to a thousand people there who were ready to help capture the royal fortress and show they were no longer willing to obey their tyrannical king.

4 (9) “We order you to surrender this fortress immediately and give us all your weapons and gunpowder,” the shopkeeper called out.

5 (10) “Oh, I’m afraid I can’t do that, but why don’t we try to reach a deal? (11) Since you seem to be the leader here, why don’t you come in? (12) You can choose someone else to bring with you,” the governor said.

6 (13) The shopkeeper waved to a man standing nearby, and they walked side by side toward the front gates.

7 (14) After they disappeared, everyone grew calm for a while. (15) Henri guessed the others, like him, were probably feeling optimistic that the governor would agree to their requests, and so there would be no need for violence. (16) As the hours went by, these hopes began to fade, and the group once again grew frustrated and angry.

8 (17) When the cobbler first stepped to the front of the crowd a couple of long hours later, Henri knew in the pit of his stomach that something big was about to happen.

9 (18) “The governor isn’t going to surrender the fortress. (19) In that case, we’ll just have to take it!” the boot maker shouted.

10 (20) Then, he raised his sword above his head, pointed it toward the courtyard of the fortress, and began running at full speed. (21) The mob gave an enraged roar and followed him. (22) Henri was among the charging men who had decided that one way or another, their demands would be met. (23) The governor would be defeated, and the Bastille would fall.