Plum Trials Quiz
Grade 5 ELA • Novel Study
Las Ciruelas (Plums) Quiz
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Name:
Date: Period:
Score: _____ / 15 pts
Part I: Multiple Choice (Questions 1–10). Read each question carefully and fill in the circle next to the best answer.
1 pt each
1. Why is Esperanza left alone to watch the babies, Lupe and Pepe?
A Josefina is sick in bed with a high fever. B Isabel goes to school, and all the adults are working. C Hortensia and Alfonso traveled to town for supplies. D Esperanza refused to work in the packing sheds.
2. What mistake does Esperanza make when feeding the babies?
A She forgets to warm up their milk. B She accidentally gives them spicy chili beans. C She feeds them raw mashed plums that upset their stomachs. D She lets them eat unwashed grapes off the ground.
3. How does Esperanza help the babies feel better when their stomachs hurt?
A She gives them medicine from the camp store. B She feeds them warm rice water (agua de arroz). C She puts them to bed without giving them any liquids. D She feeds them sweet bread and cinnamon tea.
4. While washing the dirty diapers, what does Esperanza realize about her life in Mexico?
A She realizes the servants did all the hard chores for her. B She wishes she had brought fancy dresses to wear. C She thinks washing clothes should only be done by adults. D She decides to demand pay for helping with the babies.
5. What does Esperanza's chat with Melina show about the people in the camp?
A Neighbors avoid talking to new people. B Neighbors help each other and share good advice. C Families argue over water and supplies. D People only talk to each other on weekends.
6. What dangerous weather event hits the valley that afternoon?
A A flood that overflows the river ditches. B A giant dust storm that fills the air with brown dirt. C A fast wildfire spreading from the foothills. D A freezing storm with heavy hail.
Esperanza Rising • Chapter Quiz: "Las Ciruelas" Page 1 of 2 • Turn page for Part II →
Part I: Multiple Choice (Continued)
Questions 7–10
7. What does Esperanza do to protect the babies when the dust storm starts?
A She brings them inside, shuts windows, and covers their faces with wet cloths. B She runs into the fields to take dust glasses to Mama. C She locks the door and leaves the babies with a neighbor. D She packs their bags to run away to the train station.
8. How do the adults look and feel when they return from the fields?
A Happy and energetic because work ended early. B Clean and fine because they waited inside the shed. C Covered in gray dirt, coughing, with red and stinging eyes. D Mad at Esperanza for letting dust inside the cabin.
9. What happens to Mama in the days after the dust storm?
A She develops a bad cough, feels very weak, and gets a high fever. B She hurts her ankle after slipping in a ditch. C She temporarily loses her sight from the dust. D She gets sick from eating spoiled plums.
10. What illness does the doctor say Mama has, and what caused it?
A A cold caught from the cold train ride. B Heat sickness from working under the hot sun. C Valley Fever, caused by breathing in tiny dust spores from the storm. D The flu from sharing water cups with workers.
Part II
Critical Thinking: Short Written Response
5 Points
Question 11: How Is Esperanza Growing Up?
In this chapter, Esperanza has to handle two big problems: caring for the sick babies and protecting them during the dust storm.
Prompt: Explain how Esperanza's actions show that she is growing up and becoming more responsible.
- Compare how she acts now to how she lived as a wealthy girl in Mexico.
- Give at least two specific examples from the chapter to support your answer.
Self-Check: □ Compares Mexico vs. California □ 2 specific examples from the chapter □ Explains how she is growing up □ Complete sentences
Esperanza Rising • Chapter Quiz: "Las Ciruelas" Page 2 of 2 • Total Score: _____ / 15
Plum Trials Answer Key
Teacher Reference & Grading Guide Grade 5 ELA
Las Ciruelas Quiz: Answer Key
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan • Total Points: 15 (10 MC + 5 Written Response)
Scoring Scale 10 MC: 1 pt each (10 pts) 1 Written: 5 pts rubric Total: 15 Points
Quick Key (1–6):
1. B 2. C 3. B 4. A 5. B 6. B
Question 1 Correct: B
Standard: RL.5.1 / RL.5.3 (Plot & Setting). Isabel attends her first day at the camp school to learn English. With all the adults laboring in the fields and sheds, Esperanza is left in charge of the twins alone.
Question 2 Correct: C
Standard: RL.5.1 / RL.5.3 (Cause & Effect). Esperanza feeds raw mashed plums to the babies. The raw plums are too acidic and harsh for their stomachs, giving both babies painful diarrhea.
Question 3 Correct: B
Standard: RL.5.1 / RL.5.2 (Problem Solving & Details). Remembering a remedy from Hortensia, Esperanza boils water with white rice and feeds the warm rice water (agua de arroz) to soothe and rehydrate them.
Question 4 Correct: A
Standard: RL.5.3 / RL.5.6 (Point of View & Growth). As Esperanza scrubs dirty cloth diapers until her hands are raw, she realizes how hard Hortensia and the house servants worked for her in Mexico without her ever realizing it.
Question 5 Correct: B
Standard: RL.5.2 / RL.5.3 (Theme & Community). Melina talks warmly with Esperanza, sews nearby, and shares gentle advice on baby care, showing how farmworker families stick together and support one another.
Question 6 Correct: B
Standard: RL.5.1 / RL.5.4 (Setting & Conflict). A severe dust storm rolls across the San Joaquin Valley, turning the daytime sky dark and filling the air with blinding, choking brown dirt.
Esperanza Rising Teacher Guide • "Las Ciruelas" Answer Key Page 1 of 2 • Turn for Questions 7–10 & Part II Rubric →
Part I Rationales (Questions 7–10)
7. A 8. C 9. A 10. C
Question 7 A
RL.5.3: Esperanza protects Pepe and Lupe by carrying them inside immediately, latching the windows, and placing damp cloths over their noses and mouths so they do not choke.
Question 8 C
RL.5.1 / RL.5.4: The field workers return covered from head to toe in thick gray dirt and silt, coughing continuously with raw, stinging, dust-filled eyes.
Question 9 A
RL.5.1 / RL.5.3: While others recover, Mama grows weaker each day. She develops a bad cough that will not stop, has no energy, and runs a dangerously high fever.
Question 10 C
RL.5.1 / RL.5.4: The doctor diagnoses Valley Fever, an illness caused by breathing in tiny spores carried through the air by the severe dust storm.
