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Henrietta Lacks Quiz

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Henrietta Lacks Quiz

Book cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice & Text Analysis

Success Criteria: I can identify the author's purpose, analyze context, and evaluate argument structure using textual evidence.

1. What is Rebecca Skloot's primary purpose in writing about Henrietta Lacks?

To criticize the medical industry

To tell an untold story about science and ethics

To promote cancer research

To write a biography of a famous scientist

2. Who is the primary audience for this book? (Check all that apply)

General readers interested in science

Medical professionals only

Students learning about ethics

People interested in civil rights history

3. What historical context is important for understanding Henrietta's story?

The Great Depression

Segregation and Jim Crow laws in the 1950s

World War II

The Civil War

4. What type of cancer did Henrietta Lacks have?

Breast cancer

Lung cancer

Cervical cancer

Brain cancer

5. Where did Henrietta receive her medical treatment?

Johns Hopkins Hospital

Harvard Medical Center

Mayo Clinic

Cleveland Clinic

✏️ Part 2: Cloze Reading & Vocabulary

Success Criteria: I can apply standard language conventions and demonstrate comprehension through context clues.

Word Bank: consent, immortal, cells, research, ethics, biopsy, laboratory, specimen

6. Complete the passage using words from the word bank:

When doctors took a __________ from Henrietta's tumor, they sent a __________ to the __________. The __________ they collected became __________ because they could reproduce indefinitely. This happened without Henrietta's __________, raising important questions about medical __________ that continue to influence __________ today.

7. Define "HeLa cells" in your own words:
8. Why were Henrietta's cells so valuable to scientists?

🎯 Part 3: Critical Analysis & Reflection

Success Criteria: I can evaluate the author's techniques, connect historical context to emotional impact, and provide textual evidence for my analysis.

9. How does Skloot's tone in the opening chapters affect the reader's understanding of Henrietta's story? Provide one example from the text.
10. What argument does Skloot begin to develop about medical ethics in these early chapters?
11. How does the historical context of segregation impact Henrietta's medical experience? Use evidence from the text.
12. Extension Activity: Compare Skloot's writing structure in Chapters 1-3. How does she balance scientific information with personal narrative?
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