The Fist, the Clay, and the Rock

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Vocabulary Questions

Use context clues to help you decide on the best definition for each capitalized word.

1. "I'd like you to imagine something for me. Imagine that my fist is the real world - not the sheltered world of this school but the real world" (Paragraph 3).

In the sentence above, the word SHELTERED means

protected.

boring.

exciting.

dangerous.

Clear selection

2. "'What will happen if I smash my fist into this rock?' The answer was obvious. Nothing would happen to the rock. It would take the blow and not be changed" (Paragraph 7).

In the sentence above, the word OBVIOUS means

difficult.

nearby.

easy to see.

confusing.

Clear selection

3. "'Now if you want to train and become hard like the rock, I can help you. You need to develop skills, and you need to acquire knowledge'" (Paragraph 13).

In the sentence above, the word ACQUIRE means

to ignore.

to prevent.

to question.

to get by one's own efforts.

Clear selection

4. "He then smashed that wad of clay one more time, and the thud of his fist broke the silence and then created more silence" (Paragraph 15).

In the sentence above, the word WAD means

mountain.

lump.

coating.

package.

Clear selection

5. "When someone would not hand in a paper and make a lame excuse, he would say, Ms. Clay'" (Paragraph 17).

In the sentence above, the word LAME means

reasonable.

weak.

amusing.

crippled.

Clear selection

Part B: Choose one of the "Words to Watch" to complete each sentence.

6. After talking for a few minutes about the Bush presidency, our teacher _____ into a discussion of the 2008 presidential election.

7. The power-hungry dictator _____ all those who challenged his brutal policies.

8. The fairy tale was so _____ that when the child fell asleep, he dreamed about a house made of gingerbread and candy.

9. My little sister Vivien enjoys wearing a "magic" cape and waving her ruler around as if it were a _____.

10. That _____ of dirty clothes near the foot of the stairs really needs to be put in the washing machine.

Reading Comprehension Questions

Central Point and Main Idea

1. Which sentence best expresses the central point of the selection?

Mr. Gery forced his students to become fighters.

Mr. Gery was good at getting his students to pay attention.

Mr. Gery was not a mean person.

Mr. Gery challenged his students to learn skills that would help them in the real world.

Clear selection

2. Which sentence best expresses the min idea of paragraph 6?

Mr. Gery is in a bad mood.

Mr. Gery wants his students to prepare themselves to take some heavy hits.

Mr. Gery realizes that some of his students have already taken some heavy hits.

Mr. Gery doesn't want his students to be like rocks.

Clear selection

Supporting Details

3. Mr. Gery compares his fist to

a rock.

a lump of clay.

a magic wand.

everything that can happen out in the real world.

Clear selection

4. Mr. Gery's job is to

provide his students with shelter.

help his students with language skills.

train his students to become boxers.

teach his students social studies.

Clear selection

Signal Words

5. Most of the signal words used in this selection are

time words.

addition words.

Clear selection

6. "'You need to become a rock. Because you don't want to be flabby when the real world comes along and takes a crack at you'" (Paragraph 14).

In the sentences above, the word BECAUSE shows a relationship of

contrast.

illustration.

time.

cause and effect.

Clear selection

7. "'You're going to be the kind of person that life can smush around, and that's sad. But some of you, maybe a lot of you, are going to be rocks'" (Paragraph 16).

The relationship of the second sentence above to the first sentence is one of

contrast.

addition.

time.

cause and effect.

Clear selection

Inferences

8. This selection suggests that

students who have poor reading and writing skills are going to be unprepared for real life.

reading and writing skills are less important than being physically tough when facing the real world.

using a computer is the best way to develop good reading and writing skills.

good teachers can make their students into fighters.

Clear selection

9. We can infer that the author

was one of the students that Mr. Gery called "Mr. Clay" at the end of the semester.

became an English teacher like Mr. Gery.

thought Mr. Gery should have been harder on the class.

learned a great deal from Mr. Gery.

Clear selection

Argument

10. Choose the statement that is the point of the following argument. The other statements are support for that point.

Mr. Gery challenged his students to become like rocks, not like clay.

An inspring teacher, Mr. Gery worked hard to motivate his students to succeed.

Mr. Gery told his students that he'd help them train to become better readers and writers and then worked them hard.

Mr. Gery teased his students when they didn't complete their assignments by calling them "Mr. Clay" or "Ms. Clay."

Clear selection

Outlining

Prepare an outline of "The Fist, the Clay, and the Rock" by filling in the missing details, which are scrambled in the list.

Central point: Mr. Gery captures his students' attention and helps them to acquire language skills that they will need in the real world.

PSP 1:

PSP 2:

PSP 3:

PSP 4:

PSP 5:

PSP 6:

PSP 7:

PSP 8:

Short Answer

1. What does Mr. Gery mean by saying that fists will come along in life? Give an example of a time you experienced a fist, or someone you know experienced a fist.

2. What does Mr. Gery mean by "clay?" What is the danger of being clay?