Racine Unified School District

English 9

Name (First and Last):______________________________ 

School: _____________________________________ 

English Teacher: ___________________________ 

ELA 

9th Grade Standards & Skills THEMATIC CONCEPT: Coming of Age 

RI.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 

● I can cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says.

RI.9-10.2: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. 

● I can identify specific details that support the development of the central idea.

RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. 

● I can cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says.

RL.9-10.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text. 

● I can identify specific details that support the development of the theme or centralidea.

W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysisof content.

● I can introduce a topic, and organize complex ideas, concepts, and information.● I can develop the topic with relevant and sufficient facts.● I can establish and maintain a formal style while writing.● I can provide a concluding section that follows from and supports the information

presented.● I can connect passages using appropriate and varied transitions.

W.9-10.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and styleare appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

● I can identify and justify the reason for writing to determine the appropriatetask, purpose and audience.

● I can use strategies for idea development and organizational style.● I can produce clear and coherent writing that has fully developed ideas and is

organized appropriately for the genre or style.● I can use precise words and phrases to make my writing clear and coherent.● I can convey complex ideas/concepts or multiple plot lines in a way that the reader

comprehends my purpose.● I can develop my ideas with well-chosen information, facts or descriptions.

Activity  Directions  Completed ✔

Journal  Choose ONE quote (listed after this table of contents) to respond to using complete sentences, proper grammar, and punctuation. 

Activity #1: Determining Themes 

For each set below, match the quotation with the theme or lesson it suggests. Write the letter (A or B) next to the corresponding quotation. 

Activity #2: Context Clues 

Circle the letter of the word that most closely matches the meaning of the underlined word. Use the other words in the sentence as clues to the correct meaning. 

Activity #3: Types of Conflict 

Read each passage and identify the type of conflict. Then, in a few sentences, explain your reasoning. 

Reading: “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” & Activity #4 

Read the short story “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” and complete Activity #4: Text Analysis. As you read, pay attention to different elements of the story: characters, setting, plot, conflict, point of view, and theme. 

Reading: From Speak & Activity #5 

Read Activity #5: Narrative Voices for information on double-entry journals. As you read the excerpt from the novel Speak, complete the chart. You can make notes in the margins of questions you have or things that strike you as important. 

Reading: “Mrs. Flowers” & Activity #6 

Read “Mrs Flowers” an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. As you read, pay close attention to how Angelou creates and develops the characters. Complete Activity #6: Characterization.  

Readings: “Sleeping” & Activity #7 

Read the short story “Sleeping” and complete Activity #7: Text Dependent Questions. As you read, pay attention to the unusual details the main character notices and how these contribute to the final realization. 

Activity #8: Claims and Evidence  (Part 1) 

Read the review information and examples on making claims and providing evidence. Complete Activity #8: Claims and Evidence (Part 1). For each set of claim statements determine the strongest piece of evidence to support the claim. 

Activity #9: Claims and  Evidence  (Part 2) 

Complete Activity #9: Claims and Evidence Part 2. For each passage underline or highlight the evidence that best supports the bolded claim provided.  

Reading Informational Text 

Read “While College Isn’t for Everyone” and “Actually College is Very Much Worth It.” Then, complete Activity #10: 

& Activity #10  Comparing Claims & Evidence. 

Activity #11 Commas & Clauses 

There are three activities in this section. Complete the activities about commas, independent clauses, and dependent clauses. These will help you improve your writing as you prepare and write your essay. 

Activity #12: Parts of an Essay 

There are multiple activities to complete listed under Activity #12: Parts of an Essay. The activities included are “Writing Introductions: Lead Types,” “Identifying Thesis Statements,” and “Writing Introductions: Lead, Bridge, and Thesis.” 

Graphic Organizer  Complete the graphic organizer to help you organize your thoughts before writing your essay (you will find the prompt on the next page). The organizer is also useful to review all the parts that should be included in your essay. You are not limited to a 5 paragraph structure as long as you include all the elements of an essay.  

Final Assessment: Essay 

Your task is to write a clear, convincing argument that supports your perspective on school start times, and carefully consider the other viewpoint as you write your argument.  

Name:_______________ Journal Prompts

Directions: Choose ONE quote to respond to using complete sentences, proper grammar, and punctuation.

➔ “Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waitedfor, it is a thing to be achieved” (William Jennings Bryant).◆ How is destiny a decision?◆ What has happened in your life that you feel was a result of your choices?◆ What is something you could do right now to achieve your destiny?

➔ “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit” (Aristotle).◆ Describe three habits you currently have that are habits of excellence.◆ If we paraphrase the quote to read “We are what we repeatedly say,” would you

agree with it? What are the differences between doing and saying?◆ When is this quote not accurate? Can you think of single acts that are

demonstrations of excellence?

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9th Grade SBLA Rubric Beginning to demonstrate understanding of core skills and concepts

Developing a basic understanding of core skills and concepts

Consistently demonstrates understanding of core skills and concepts.

Demonstrates understanding of complex skills and concepts in extended contexts

Standard 1-Need Support 2-Approaching 3-Meets 4-Exceeds

Reading Literature Power Standards

RL.9-10.1 ● I can identify parts of a text tosupport ideas with continualsupport

● With minimal support, I canprovide textual evidence tosupport analysis of what thetext says (9-10.1).

● I can cite textual evidenceto support analysis of whatthe text says (9-10.1).

● I can cite and integrate strongand thorough textual evidence tosupport analysis of what the textsays when given an unfamiliartext

RL9.10-2 ● I can identify specific detailsthat support the development ofthe central idea with continualsupport (9-10.2)

● I can identify specific detailsthat support the developmentof the central idea withminimal support

● I can identify specificdetails that support thedevelopment of the themeor central idea

● I can analyze a theme or centralidea in detail and how itdevelops over the course of anunfamiliar text, citing details(9-10.2).

Reading Information Power Standards

RI 9-10.1 ● I can cite textual evidence withcontinual guidance

● I can cite textual evidencewith minimal guidance(9-10.1).

● I can cite strong textualevidence

● I can cite strong textual evidencewhen responding about anunfamiliar text

RI.9-10.2 ● With continual support, I canidentify specific details thatsupport the development of thecentral idea (9-10.2).

● I can determine a central idea ofthe text with continual guidance(9-10.2)

● With minimal support, I canidentify specific details thatsupport the development ofthe central idea (9-10.2).

● I can determine a centralidea of a text with minimalguidance (9-10.2).

● I can identify specificdetails that support thedevelopment of the centralidea (9-10.2).

● I can identify specific detailsthat support the development ofthe central idea when given anunfamiliar text (9-10.2).

9th grade

● I can determine a centralidea of the text with minimalguidance (9-10.2)

Writing Power Standards

W.9-10.2 ● I can write multiple paragraphsrelated to the same topic

● I can introduce a topic(W.9-10.2a).

● I can develop the topic withwell chosen facts(W.9-10.2b).

● I can use narrativetechniques, such asdialogue, pacing, anddescription, to developexperiences, events, and/orcharacters

● I can introduce a topic,and organize complexideas, concepts, andinformation (W.9-10.2a).

● I can develop the topicwith relevant andsufficient facts(W.9-10.2b).

● I can establish andmaintain a formal stylewhile writing.(W.9-10.2e).

● I can provide a concludingsection that follows fromand supports theinformation presented(W.9-10.2f).

● I can connect passagesusing appropriate andvaried transitions(W.9-10.2).

● I can establish and maintain anobjective tone while writingabout an unfamiliar topic.(W.9-10.2).

● I can include formatting,graphics, and multimedia,evaluating when it is useful toaid in comprehension(W.9-10.2).

● When given an unfamiliarprompt, I can develop the topicby integrating extendeddefinitions, concrete details,quotations, or other examples(W.9-10.2).

● I can intentionally integratedomain-specific vocabularyseamlessly into my writing(W.9-10.2).

● I can provide a concludingsection that articulates theimplications or significance ofthe topic (W.9-10.2).

W.9-10.4 With teacher support ● I can name the task, purpose or

audience. (W.9-10.4)● I can organize my writing.

(W.9-10.4)

● I can identify the reason forwriting to determine thetask, purpose or audience.(W.9-10.4)

● I can identify and justifythe reason for writing todetermine the appropriatetask, purpose andaudience. (W.9-10.4)

● I can analyze the reason for thewriting to ensure alignment withthe task, purpose and audience.(W.9-10.4)

9th grade

● I can name strategies that I canuse to brainstorm my ideas.(W.9-10.4)

● I can organize my writing.(W.9-10.4)

● I can write about my ideas.(W.9-10.4)

● I can include some information,facts or descriptions in mywriting. (W.9-10.4)

● I can describe strategies foridea development andorganizational style.(W.9-10.4)

● I can begin to develop myideas and organize them intoappropriate genre or style.(W.9-10.4)

● I can begin to use words andphrases that help to make mywriting clearer and morecoherent. (W.9-10.4)

● I can convey ideas in mywriting. (W.9-10.4)

● I can begin to useinformation, facts ordescriptions to support myideas. (W.9-10.4)

● I can use strategies foridea development andorganizationalstyle(W.9-10.4)

● I can produce clear andcoherent writing that hasfully developed ideas, isorganized appropriatelyfor the genre or style.(W.9-10.4)

● I can use precise wordsand phrases to make mywriting clear andcoherent.(W.9-10.4)

● I can convey complexideas or concepts ormultiple plot lines in away that the readercomprehends mypurpose.(W.9-10.4)

● I can develop my ideaswith well-choseninformation, facts ordescriptions. (W.9-10.4)

● I can determine the mostappropriate strategy for ideadevelopment and organizationalstyle. (W.9-10.4)

● I can strategically andpurposefully applyorganizational and genre/styletechniques to enhance my fullydeveloped ideas. (W.9-10.4)

● I can strategically apply wordsand phrases to support thereader’s comprehension of mypurpose or style. (W.9-10.4)

● I can strategically apply complexideas and concepts or multipleplot lines that clearly reveals mypurpose. (W.9-10.4)

● I can formulate ideas that applywell-chosen information, facts ordescriptions to enhance thecomprehension of the reader.(W.9-10.4)

9th grade

Name: _____________________

ACTIVITY #1: THEMES (from IXL 9-D.1)

Directions: For each set below, match the quotation with the theme or lesson it suggests. Write the letter (A or B) next to the corresponding quotation.

#1: Read the quotations below from Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds.” Match each quotation with the theme or lesson it suggests.

A. Parents make sacrifices for their children.

B. Being stubborn can prevent us from doing what we are capable of.

Theme Quotation

Mr. Chong was a retired piano teacher, and my mother had traded house cleaning services for weekly lesson and a piano for me

I might have become a good pianist at that young age. But I was so determined not to try, not to be anybody different.

#2: Read the quotations below from Brian Jacque’s Redwall. Match each one with the theme or lesson it suggests.

A. The power of a tool lies in its user.

B. You must learn new things slowly and thoughtfully.

Theme Quotation

“Knowledge… is the fruit of wisdom, to be eaten carefully and digested fully, unlike that lunch you are bolting down, little friend.”

“Maybe the sword does have some magic. Personally, I think it’s the warrior who wields it.”

#3: Read the quotations below from Libba Bray’s A Great and Terrible Beauty. Match each one with the theme or lesson it suggests.

A. Not being able to talk about something can be a burden.

B. Good things stand out only next to bad things.

Theme Quotation

The keeper of a secret is so terrible it made me afraid to speak, scared that it would pour out of me like kerosene, burning everyone.

“Because you didn’t notice the light without a bit of shadow. Everything has both dark and light.”

#4: Read the quotations below adapted from Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. Match each one with the theme or lesson it suggests.

A. Knowledge should be shared.

B. To know something, sometimes you must feel it.

Theme Quotation

“We think that books instead of being locked in cupboards, far from the sight of students, should be distributed as widely as possible.”

“No sooner is the rage of hunger satisfied than it becomes difficult to understand what it means to starve.”

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Circle the letter of the word that most closely matches the meaning of the underlined word. Use the other words in the sentence as clues to the correct meaning.

1. The generous people fed the emaciated lost dog.

A. fierce B. calm C. thin D. tame

2. She invariably leaves her homework at home and must turn it in late.

A. purposefully B. hated C. happily D. always

3. The mother bathed the baby in the tepid water.

A. lukewarm B. hot C. muddy D. cold

4. The car collector bought the vintage Ford Mustang.

A. rose colored B. broken down C. real D. classic

5. The slovenly boy never cleaned his room or washed his hands.

A. proud B. sloppy C. careful D. little

6. The policeman arrested the speeder for flagrantly disobeying the speed limit.

A. joyfully B. cautiously C. obviously D. sadly

7. The city council concurred with the excellent recommendations of the library committee.

A. agreed B. rejected C. argued D. stopped

8. A man of few words, he is known for his brevity.

A. briefness B. athleticism C. laughter D. skills

Name: ___________________________

Activity #2: Context Clues for Meaning

Name: _________________________

• Person vs Self• Person vs Person• Person vs Society• Person vs Nature

Directions: Read each passage and identify the type of conflict. Then, in a few sentences, explain your reasoning.

1. Johnʼs hands trembled in the cold as he fished through his coat pockets for a match. He had

already gathered scraps of wood and piled them up to make a fire. Now, he had to figure out

how to kindle it. The sun had already set and all light was quickly fading from the sky; John

could feel the temperature dropping just as rapidly. Without a match, there was no way to get

this fire going, and without a fire, he wasnʼt sure how he would survive the night. Nobody

knew he was stuck out there, alone, without food or shelter. His best hope was to try to avoid

freezing, then head out at dawn to find help.

Type of conflict: ____________________________________________

Reasoning: _________________________________________________________________

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Activity #3: Types of Conflict

Types of Conflict

The conflict could be internal or external.

2. I was just about to beat my high score in Call of Duty when my mom walked into the room

and stood directly in front of the TV screen. “Mom! What are you doing?!” In her hand was a

folded piece of paper. My report card must have arrived. This was about to get ugly. “Exactly

when were you going to tell me that you are failing three classes?! Youʼre failing gym! How do

you fail gym??” I rolled my eyes and sighed, and that just made things worse. I could tell that

she was waiting for me to respond, so I said, “God, Mom. Itʼs not a big deal. Iʼll bring my

grades up.” This was probably the dumbest thing I could have said, because her face turned a

deep scarlet. “Your father and I have sacrificed way too much to send you to the best school in

the city. It is VERY MUCH a big deal that you are nearly failing out,” she said, her voice about

twice the normal volume. I responded, “Yeah, well, I didnʼt ask for you to make any sacrifices

for me, so sorry if I donʼt care about that stupid school as much as you do.”

Type of conflict: ____________________________________________

Reasoning: _________________________________________________________________

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3. The story of Rosa Parks is a well-known one, but few people are familiar with Ms. Parksʼs full

history. She was not a woman who simply “didnʼt want to move” as we were often told in

elementary school. In fact, she had a long history of activism with the NAACP and the Votersʼ

League in the long fight for civil rights. Parks spent many years working with a network of

African Americans, staging peaceful protests around Birmingham, Alabama. Regardless, her act

of refusing to give up her seat on the bus on December 1, 1955 marked a powerful moment

when a single woman refused to bow to the racism that surrounded her.

Type of conflict: ____________________________________________

Reasoning: _________________________________________________________________

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4. Janet stared the horse Rowan in the eye. Rowan was an impatient and testy young horse, and

it was Janetʼs job to break him in. Every day after school, she would ride her bike 5 miles out

to the stables to groom, walk, and, hopefully, ride Rowan. He usually tried to run away from

her or bucked around until she fell off, but it was only a matter of time before he became

accustomed to her presence. Janet checked the tightness of the saddle straps, stuck her foot into

the stirrup, and flung her other leg over the horse. The moment her weight landed on Rowanʼs

back, he took off at a full gallop across the field. Janet clenched the reins, bouncing in the

saddle. Just when she thought she was steady, Rowan reared back. She lost her grip and fell flat

onto her back on the muddy ground. “Oh well,” she thought as she picked herself up, “Try, try

again.”

Type of conflict: ____________________________________________

Reasoning: _________________________________________________________________

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5. You have a book report due on Friday. Even though you've had several weeks to read, by

Tuesday you've read only half the book. Your teacher has even stated, "I have high

expectations for this assignment!" To make it worse, you have basketball practice every night

this week, which you love, that you will have to miss in order to complete your reading and

report. Oh, and last week you missed practice twice because of a family commitment.

Type of conflict: ____________________________________________

Reasoning: _________________________________________________________________

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1

The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant - W. D. Wetherell

There was a summer in my life when the only

creature that seemed lovelier to me than a

largemouth bass was Sheila Mant. I was fourteen.

The Mants had rented the cottage next to ours on

the river; with their parties, their frantic games of

softball, their constant comings and goings, they

appeared to me denizens of a brilliant existence.

―Too noisy by half,‖ my mother quickly decided,

but I would have given anything to be invited to one

of their parties, and when my parents went to bed I

would sneak through the woods to their hedge and

stare enchanted at the candlelit swirl of white

dresses and bright, paisley skirts.

Sheila was the middle daughter—at seventeen, all

but out of reach. She would spend her days

sunbathing on a float my Uncle Sierbert had moored

in their cove, and before July was over I had learned

all her moods. If she lay flat on the diving board

with her hand trailing idly in the water, she was

pensive, not to be disturbed. On her side, her head

propped up by her arm, she was observant,

considering those around her with a look that

seemed queenly and severe. Sitting up, arms tucked

around her long, suntanned legs, she was

approachable, but barely, and it was only in those

glorious moments when she stretched herself prior

to entering the water that her various suitors found

the courage to come near.

These were many. The Dartmouth heavyweight

crew would scull by her house on their way upriver,

and I think all eight of them must have been in love

with her at various times during the summer; the

coxswain would curse them through his

megaphone, but without effect—there was always a

pause in their pace when they passed Sheila’s float.

I suppose to these jaded twenty-year-olds she

seemed the incarnation of innocence and youth,

while to me she appeared unutterably suave, the

epitome of sophistication. I was on the swim team

at school, and to win her attention would do endless

laps between my house and the Vermont shore,

hoping she would notice the beauty of my flutter

kick, the power of my crawl. Finishing, I would

boost myself up onto our dock and glance casually

over toward her, but she was never watching, and

the miraculous day she was, I immediately climbed

the diving board and did my best tuck and a half for

her and continued diving until she had left and the

sun went down and my longing was like a madness

and I couldn’t stop.

It was late August by the time I got up the nerve to

ask her out. The tortured will-I’s, won’t-I’s, the

agonized indecision over what to say, the false

starts toward her house and embarrassed retreats—

the details of these have been seared from my

memory, and the only part I remember clearly is

emerging from the woods toward dusk while they

were playing softball on their lawn, as bashful and

frightened as a unicorn.

Sheila was stationed halfway between first and

second, well outside the infield. She didn’t seem

surprised to see me—as a matter of fact, she didn’t

seem to see me at all.

―If you’re playing second base, you should move

closer,‖ I said.

She turned—I took the full brunt of her long red

hair and well-spaced freckles.

―I’m playing outfield,‖ she said, ―I don’t like the

responsibility of having a base.‖

―Yeah, I can understand that,‖ I said, though I

couldn’t. ―There’s a band in Dixford tomorrow

night at nine. Want to go?‖

One of her brothers sent the ball sailing over the

left-fielder’s head; she stood and watched it

disappear toward the river.

―You have a car?‖ she said, without looking up.

Scull – row, as in a rowboat.

Coxswain – person steering a racing shell and calling out the

rhythm of the strokes for the crew.

Epitome – embodiment; one that is representative of a type orclass.

2

I played my master stroke. ―We’ll go by canoe.‖

I spent all of the following day polishing it. I turned

it upside down on our lawn and rubbed every inch

with Brillo, hosing off the dirt, wiping it with

chamois until it gleamed as bright as aluminum

ever gleamed. About five, I slid it into the water,

arranging cushions near the bow so Sheila could

lean on them if she was in one of her pensive

moods, propping up my father’s transistor radio by

the middle thwart so we could have music when

we came back. Automatically, without thinking

about it, I mounted my Mitchell reel on my Pfleuger

spinning rod and stuck it in the stern.

I say automatically, because I never went anywhere

that summer without a fishing rod. When I wasn’t

swimming laps to impress Sheila, I was back in our

driveway practicing casts, and when I wasn’t

practicing casts, I was tying the line to Tosca, our

springer spaniel, to test the reel’s drag, and when I

wasn’t doing any of those things, I was fishing the

river for bass.

Too nervous to sit at home, I got in the canoe early

and started paddling in a huge circle that would get

me to Sheila’s dock around eight. As automatically

as I brought along my rod, I tied on a big Rapala

plug, let it down into the water, let out some line,

and immediately forgot all about it.

It was already dark by the time I glided up to the

Mants’ dock. Even by day the river was quiet, most

of the summer people preferring Sunapee or one of

the other nearby lakes, and at night it was a solitude

difficult to believe, a corridor of hidden life that ran

between banks like a tunnel. Even the stars were

part of it. They weren’t as sharp anywhere else; they

seemed to have chosen the river as a guide on their

slow wheel toward morning, and in the course of

the summer’s fishing, I had learned all their names.

I was there ten minutes before Sheila appeared. I

heard the slam of their screen door first, then saw

her in the spotlight as she came slowly down the

path. As beautiful as she was on the float, she was

even lovelier now—her white dress went perfectly

with her hair, and complimented her figure even

more than her swimsuit.

It was her face that bothered me. It had on its

delightful fullness a very dubious expression.

―Look,‖ she said. ―I can get Dad’s car.‖

―It’s faster this way,‖ I lied. ―Parking’s tense up

there. Hey, it’s safe. I won’t tip it or anything.‖

She let herself down reluctantly into the bow. I was

glad she wasn’t facing me. When her eyes were on

me, I felt like diving in the river again from agony

and joy.

I pried the canoe away from the dock and started

paddling upstream. There was an extra paddle in the

bow, but Sheila made no move to pick it up. She

took her shoes off and dangled her feet over the

side.

Ten minutes went by.

―What kind of band?‖ she said.

―It’s sort of like folk music. You’ll like it.‖

―Eric Caswell’s going to be there. He strokes

number four.‖

―No kidding?‖ I said. I had no idea whom she

meant.

―What’s that sound?‖ she said, pointing toward

shore.

―Bass. That splashing sound?‖

―Over there.‖

―Yeah, bass. They come into the shallows at night

to chase frogs and moths and things. Big

largemouths. Micropterus salmoides,‖ I added,

showing off.

Chamois – soft leather used for polishing.

Middle thwart – brace across the middle of a canoe.

Micropterus salmoides – the scientific name for a largemouth bass.

.

3

―I think fishing’s dumb,‖ she said, making a face. ―I

mean, it’s boring and all. Definitely dumb.‖

Now I have spent a great deal of time in the years

since wondering why Sheila Mant should come

down so hard on fishing. Was her father a

fisherman? Her antipathy toward fishing nothing

more than normal filial rebellion? Had she tried it

once? A messy encounter with worms? It doesn’t

matter. What does is that at that fragile moment in

time I would have given anything not to appear

dumb in Sheila’s severe and unforgiving eyes.

She hadn’t seen my equipment yet. What I should

have done, of course, was push the canoe in closer

to shore and carefully slide the rod into some

branches where I could pick it up again in the

morning. Failing that, I could have surreptitiously

dumped the whole outfit overboard, written off the

forty or so dollars as love’s tribute. What I actually

did do was gently lean forward, and slowly, ever so

slowly, push the rod back through my legs toward

the stern where it would be less conspicuous.

It must have been just exactly what the bass was

waiting for. Fish will trail a lure sometimes, trying

to make up their mind whether or not to attack, and

the slight pause in the plug’s speed caused by my

adjustment was tantalizing enough to overcome the

bass’s inhibitions. My rod, safely out of sight at last,

bent double. The line, tightly coiled, peeled off the

spool with the shrill, tearing zip of a high-speed

drill.

Four things occurred to me at once. One, that it was

a bass. Two, that it was a big bass. Three, that it was

the biggest bass I had ever hooked. Four, that Sheila

Mant must not know. ―What was that?‖ she said,

turning half around.

―Uh, what was what?‖

―That buzzing noise.‖

―Bats.‖

She shuddered, quickly drew her feet back into the

canoe. Every instinct I had told me to pick up the

rod and strike back at the bass, but there was no

need to—it was already solidly hooked.

Downstream, an awesome distance downstream, it

jumped clear of the water, landing with a

concussion heavy enough to ripple the entire river.

For a moment, I thought it was gone, but then the

rod was bending again, the tip dancing into the

water. Slowly, not making any motion that might

alert Sheila, I reached down to tighten the drag.

While all this was going on, Sheila had begun

talking, and it was a few minutes before I was able

to catch up with her train of thought.

―I went to a party there. These fraternity men.

Katherine says I could get in there if I wanted. I’m

thinking more of UVM or Bennington. Somewhere

I can ski.‖

The bass was slanting toward the rocks on the New

Hampshire side by the ruins of Donaldson’s

boathouse. It had to be an old bass—a young one

probably wouldn’t have known the rocks were

there. I brought the canoe back into the middle of

the river, hoping to head it off.

―That’s neat,‖ I mumbled. ―Skiing. Yeah, I can see

that.‖

―Eric said I have the figure to model, but I thought I

should get an education first. I mean, it might be a

while before I get started and all. I was thinking of

getting my hair styled, more swept back? I mean,

Ann-Margret? Like hers, only shorter.‖

She hesitated. ―Are we going backward?‖

We were. I had managed to keep the bass in the

middle of the river away from the rocks, but it had

plenty of room there, and for the first time a chance

to exert its full strength. I quickly computed the

weight necessary to draw a fully loaded canoe

backward—the thought of it made me feel faint.

―It’s just the current,‖ I said hoarsely. ―No sweat or

anything.‖

UVM or Bennington – University of Vermont or Bennington

College, Bennington Vermont.

Ann-Margret – (1941- ) Movie star, very popular at the time of this

story.

4

I dug in deeper with my paddle. Reassured, Sheila

began talking about something else, but all my

attention was taken up now with the fish. I could

feel its desperation as the water grew shallower. I

could sense the extra strain on the line, the frantic

way it cut back and forth in the water. I could

visualize what it looked like—the gape of its mouth,

the flared gills and thick, vertical tail. The bass

couldn’t have encountered many forces in its long

life that it wasn’t capable of handling, and the

unrelenting tug at its mouth must have been a

source of great puzzlement and mounting panic.

Me, I had problems of my own. To get to Dixford, I

had to paddle up a sluggish stream that came into

the river beneath a covered bridge. There was a

shallow sandbar at the mouth of this stream—weeds

on one side, rocks on the other. Without doubt, this

is where I would lose the fish.

―I have to be careful with my complexion. I tan, but

in segments. I can’t figure out if it’s even worth it. I

wouldn’t even do it probably. I saw Jackie

Kennedy in Boston, and she wasn’t tan at all.‖

Taking a deep breath, I paddled as hard as I could

for the middle, deepest part of the bar. I could have

threaded the eye of a needle with the canoe, but the

pull on the stern threw me off, and I

overcompensated—the canoe veered left and

scraped bottom. I pushed the paddle down and

shoved. A moment of hesitation . . . a moment

more. . . . The canoe shot clear into the deeper water

of the stream. I immediately looked down at the

rod. It was bent in the same tight arc—

miraculously, the bass was still on.

The moon was out now. It was low and full enough

that its beam shone directly on Sheila there ahead of

me in the canoe, washing her in a creamy, luminous

glow. I could see the lithe, easy shape of her figure.

I could see the way her hair curled down off her

shoulders, the proud, alert tilt of her head, and all

these things were as a tug on my heart. Not just

Sheila, but the aura she carried about her of parties

and casual touchings and grace. Behind me, I could

feel the strain of the bass, steadier now, growing

weaker, and this was another tug on my heart, not

just the bass but the beat of the river and the slant of

the stars and the smell of the night, until finally it

seemed I would be torn apart between longings,

split in half. Twenty yards ahead of us was the road,

and once I pulled the canoe up on shore, the bass

would be gone, irretrievably gone. If instead I stood

up, grabbed the rod, and started pumping, I would

have it—as tired as the bass was, there was no

chance it could get away. I reached down for the

rod, hesitated, looked up to where Sheila was

stretching herself lazily toward the sky, her small

breasts rising beneath the soft fabric of her dress,

and the tug was too much for me, and quicker than

it takes to write down, I pulled a penknife from my

pocket and cut the line in half.

With a sick, nauseous feeling in my stomach, I saw

the rod unbend.

―My legs are sore,‖ Sheila whined. ―Are we there

yet?‖

Through a superhuman effort of self-control, I was

able to beach the canoe and help Sheila off. The rest

of the night is much foggier. We walked to the

fair—there was the smell of popcorn, the sound of

guitars. I may have danced once or twice with her,

but all I really remember is her coming over to me

once the music was done to explain that she would

be going home in Eric Caswell’s Corvette.

―Okay,‖ I mumbled.

For the first time that night she looked at me, really

looked at me.

―You’re a funny kid, you know that?‖

Funny. Different. Dreamy. Odd. How many times

was I to hear that in the years to come, all spoken

with the same quizzical, half-accusatory tone Sheila

used then. Poor Sheila! Before the month was over,

the spell she cast over me was gone, but the

memory of that lost bass haunted me all summer

and haunts me still. There would be other Sheila

Mants in my life, other fish, and though I came

close once or twice, it was these secret, hidden

tuggings in the night that claimed me, and I never

made the same mistake again.

Jackie Kennedy (1929-1994)First Lady during the administration of

President John F. Kennedy; greatly admired by the public for her dignity

and sense of style.

Name: ACTIVITY #4: Text Analysis of "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant" by W.E. Wetherall

● I can determine a theme of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of thetext, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objectivesummary of the text.

● I can cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitlyas well as inferences drawn from the text.

1. What point of view is the story written? (First or Third)

2. What in the text helps you answer question #1?

3. Who is the protagonist?

4. Name at least one of the protagonist’s character traits.

5. Support your answer to #4 with evidence from the text.

6. What is an internal conflict in the story?

7. What is an external conflict in the story?

8. What is the story’s central theme?

9. Support your answer to #6 with evidence from the text.

10. Provide an objective summary of this short story. If someone reads your summary they should knowwhat happens in the story. You should include setting, main characters, conflict, central theme, andkey events. Start with the title and author of the text. Your objective summary should beapproximately one paragraph and include complete sentences, proper grammar, and punctuation.

Name:_____________________

ACTIVITY #5: NARRATIVE VOICES

Introducing the Strategy: Double-Entry Journal A double-entry journal is a note-taking strategy for actively reading a text. In

your journal, you can connect your own experiences to those of the characters, share your opinions about what is happening, trace the development of the characters, and comment on the writer’s choices that create the voice of the

narrator.

A double-entry journal can be used with any reading. As you read the narrative, use the format below to record notes in a double-entry journal. In the left column (“Trigger Text”), copy or summarize passages that trigger your thoughts in some way, citing the page number with the quotation. In the right column, write your thoughts about the passage or some element of the narrative (character, plot, theme).

If you are having trouble thinking of what to write, try using these stems:

● I really like / dislike this part because …● I wonder why … ?● The diction / imagery creates a tone of …● This quote shows the narrator’s / character’s voice by …● I predict that …● This reminds me of the time when I …● If it was me, I would …

1. BEFORE YOU READ:In the following scene from Speak, the narrator, Melinda, is dealing with a new experience: the first day of high school.

2. DIRECTIONS:As you read, highlight quotes in the text that make you stop and think or ask a question; then, use the My Notes section and the sentence stems above to write a variety of responses to the text. Complete the Double-Entry Journal.

DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL

Trigger Text (The text says…)

Analysis/Question/Opinion (I say…)

my Notes

GrAmmAr USAGeDashesWriters use dashes to emphasize certain content. Note how Anderson uses dashes to call attention to the different types of lunch bags.

AbOuT The AuThOrBorn in 1961, Laurie Halse Anderson always loved reading and writing. Even as a child, she made up stories and wrote for fun. As an adult, she did freelance reporting until she began publishing her work. Her novel Speak, which won numerous awards and was a best seller, was made into a movie. In 2009, she won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Catalyst, Fever 1793, and Speak. She continues to write historical fiction, like Chains, and young adult novels, like Wintergirls. She says she is inspired by her readers, who write to her with comments or come to her readings.

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Spotlight

1 I find my locker after social studies. The lock sticks a little, but I open it. I dive into the stream of fourth-period lunch students and swim down the hall to the cafeteria.

2 I know enough not to bring lunch on the first day of high school. There is no way of telling what the acceptable fashion will be. Brown bags—humble testament to suburbia, or terminal geek gear? Insulated lunch bags—hip way to save the planet, or sign of an over involved mother? Buying is the only solution. And it gives me time to scan the cafeteria for a friendly face or an inconspicuous corner.

3 The hot lunch is turkey with reconstituted dried mashed potatoes and gravy, a damp green vegetable, and a cookie. I’m not sure how to order anything else, so I just slide my tray along and let the lunch drones fill it. This eight-foot senior in front of me somehow gets three cheeseburgers, French fries, and two Ho-Hos without saying a word. Some sort of Morse code with his eyes, maybe. Must study this further. I follow the Basketball Pole into the cafeteria.

4 I see a few friends—people I used to think were my friends—but they look away. Think fast, think fast. There’s that new girl, Heather, reading by the window. I could sit across from her. Or I could crawl behind a trash can. Or maybe I could dump my lunch straight into the trash and keep moving right on out the door.

Novel

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Narrative voices

5 The Basketball Pole waves to a table of friends. Of course. The basketball team. They all swear at him—a bizarre greeting practiced by athletic boys with zits. He smiles and throws a Ho-Ho. I try to scoot around him.

6 Thwap! A lump of potatoes and gravy hits me square in the center of my chest. All conversation stops as the entire lunchroom gawks, my face burning into their retinas. I will be forever known as “that girl who got nailed by potatoes the first day.” The Basketball Pole apologizes and says something else, but four hundred people explode in laughter and I can’t read lips. I ditch my tray and bolt for the door.

7 I motor so fast out of the lunchroom the track coach would draft me for varsity if he were around. But no, Mr. Neck has cafeteria duty. And Mr. Neck has no use for girls who can run the one hundred in under ten seconds, unless they’re willing to do it while holding on to a football.

8 Mr. Neck: “We meet again.”

9 Me:

10 Would he listen to “I need to go home and change,” or “Did you see what that bozo did”? Not a chance. I keep my mouth shut.

11 Mr. Neck: “Where do you think you’re going?”

12 Me:

13 It is easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.

14 Mr. Neck makes a note in his book. “I knew you were trouble the first time I saw you. I’ve taught here for twenty-four years and I can tell what’s going on in a kid’s head just by looking in their eyes. No more warnings. You just earned a demerit for wandering the halls without a pass.”

Word CoNNeCTIoNS

Roots and AffixesThe word protagonist has a form of the Greek prefix proto-, which means “first,” and the Greek root -agon-, which means “contest” or “struggle.”The prefix proto- is also found in these words: prototype, protozoa, and protocol.The root -agon- is also found in agony.

key IdeAS ANd deTAILSMelinda(theprotagonist)hasa vivid inner voice. What is significant, then, about the fact that she never actually speaks in this passage?

GrAmmAr USAGeCompound Sentences

A compound sentence is one that has two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. Example: “The lock sticks a little, but I open it.”

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taut- tightly stretched

2. voile- thin, sheer fabric3. benign- kindly

"Mrs. Flowers"from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

by Maya Angelou

Background Information: “Mrs. Flowers” is from a volume of Maya Angelou’s autobiography. When Angelou (born Marguerite Johnson) was a little girl, her parents separated. She and her brother Bailey were sent to Stamps, Arkansas to live with their grandmother (called Momma), who owned a general store. A year before meeting Mrs. Flowers, Marguerite had been violently assaulted by a friend of her mother’s. In reaction she became depressed and withdrawn, and she stopped talking.

For nearly a year, I sopped around the house, the Store, the school, and the church, like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible. Then I met, or rather got to know, the lady who threw me my first lifeline.

Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her. She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. She was our side’s answer to the richest white woman in town.

Her skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged, but then no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress, let alone snag her skin. She didn’t encourage familiarity. She wore gloves too.

I don’t think I ever saw Mrs. Flowers laugh, but she smiled often. A slow widening of her thin black lips to show

even, small white teeth, then the slow effortless closing. When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted to thank her. The action was so graceful and inclusively benign.

She was one of the few gentlewomen I have ever known, and has remained throughout my life the measure of what a human being can be.

One summer afternoon, sweet-milk fresh in my memory, she stopped at the Store to buy provisions. Another Negro woman of her health and age would have been expected to carry the paper sacks home in one hand, but Momma said, “Sister Flowers, I’ll send Bailey up to your house with these things.”

She smiled that slow dragging smile, “Thank you, Mrs. Henderson. I’d prefer Marguerite, though.” My name was beautiful when she said it. “I’ve been meaning to talk to her, anyway.” They gave each other age-group looks.

There was a little path beside the rocky road, and Mrs. Flowers walked in front swinging her arms and picking her way over the stones.

She said, without turning her head, to me, “I hear you’re doing very good schoolwork, Marguerite, but that it’s all written. The teachers report that they have trouble getting you to talk in class.” We passed the triangular farm on our left and the path widened to allow us to walk together. I hung back in the separate unasked and unanswerable questions.

11.

2

“Come and walk along with me, Marguerite.” I couldn’t have refused even if I wanted to. She pronounced my name so nicely. Or more correctly, she spoke each word with such clarity that I was certain a foreigner who didn’t understand English could have understood her.

“Now no one is going to make you talk—possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is man’s way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals.” That was a totally new idea to me, and I would need time to think about it.

“Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That’s good, but not good enough. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning.”

I memorized the part about the human voice infusing words. It seemed so valid and poetic.

She said she was going to give me some books and that I not only must read them, I must read them aloud. She suggested that I try to make a sentence sound in as many different ways as possible.

“I’ll accept no excuse if you return a book to me that has been badly handled.” My imagination boggled at the punishment I would deserve if in fact I did abuse a book of Mrs. Flowers’s. Death would be too kind and brief.

The odors in the house surprised me. Somehow I had never connected Mrs. Flowers with food or eating or any other common experience of common people. There must have been an outhouse, too, but my mind never recorded it.

The sweet scent of vanilla had met us as she opened the door. “I made tea cookies this morning. You see, I had planned to invite you for cookies and lemonade so we could have this little chat.

The lemonade is in the icebox.”

It followed that Mrs. Flowers would have ice on an ordinary day when most families in our town bought ice late on Saturdays only a few times during the summer to be used in the wooden ice-cream freezers.

She took the bags from me and disappeared through the kitchen door. I looked around the room that I had never in my wildest fantasies imagined I would see. Browned photographs leered or threatened from the walls and the white, freshly done curtains pushed against themselves and against the wind. I wanted to gobble up the room entire and take it to Bailey, who would help me analyze and enjoy it.

“Have a seat, Marguerite. Over there by the table.” She carried a platter covered with a tea towel. Although she warned that she hadn’t tried her hand at baking sweets for some time, I was certain that like everything else about her the cookies would be perfect.

They were flat round wafers, slightly browned on the edges and butter-yellow in the center. With the cold lemonade they were sufficient for childhood’s lifelong diet. Remembering my manners, I took nice little ladylike bites off the edges. She said she had made them expressly for me and that she had a few in the kitchen that I could take home to my brother. So I jammed one whole cake in my mouth and the rough crumbs scratched the insides of my jaws, and if I hadn’t had to swallow, it would have been a dream come true.

As I ate she began the first of what we later called “my lessons in living.”

4. aura- feeling or mood that seems to surround something like a glow5. wormwood-bitter-tasting plant. Angelou is referring to the harshness of life for African Americans in the South at that time.6. Beowulf- hero of an Old English epic. During the period portrayed in the epic, people drank mead, a drink made with honey.

3

She said that I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and even more intelligent than college professors. She encouraged me to listen carefully to what country people called mother wit. That in those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations.

When I finished the cookies she brushed off the table and brought a thick, small book from the bookcase. I had read A Tale of Two Cities and found it up to my standards as a romantic novel. She opened the first page and I heard poetry for the first time in my life.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . .” Her voice slid in and curved down through and over the words. She was nearly singing. I wanted to look at the pages. Were they the same that I had read? Or were there notes, music, lined on the pages, as in a hymn book? Her sounds began cascading gently. I knew from listening to a thousand preachers that she was nearing the end of her reading, and I hadn’t really heard, heard to understand, a single word.

“How do you like that?”

It occurred to me that she expected a response. The sweet vanilla flavor was still on my tongue and her reading was a wonder in my ears. I had to speak.

I said, “Yes, ma’am.” It was the least I could do, but it was the most also.

“There’s one more thing. Take this book of poems and memorize one for me. Next time you pay me a visit, I want you to recite.”

I have tried often to search behind the sophistication of years for the enchantment I so easily found in those gifts. The essence escapes but its aura remains. To be allowed, no, invited, into the private lives of strangers, and to share their joys and fears, was a chance to exchange the Southern bitter wormwood for a cup of mead with Beowulf or a hot cup of tea and milk with Oliver Twist. When I said aloud, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done . . .” tears of love filled my eyes at my selflessness.

On that first day, I ran down the hill and into the road (few cars ever came along it) and had the good sense to stop running before I reached the Store.

I was liked, and what a difference it made. I was respected not as Mrs. Henderson’s grandchild or Bailey’s sister but for just being Marguerite Johnson.

Childhood’s logic never asks to be proved (all conclusions are absolute). I didn’t question why Mrs. Flowers had singled me out for attention, nor did it occur to me that Momma might have asked her to give me a little talking-to. All I cared about was that she had made tea cookies for me and read to me from her favorite book. It was enough to prove that she liked me.

Name: ACTIVITY #6: Characterization in “Mrs. Flowers” from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Review: Methods of Characterization ● Description of a person’s physical appearance● Examples of the person’s speech, thoughts, or feelings● The speech, thoughts, or feelings of other people● The narrator’s ideas or comments about the person

1. Complete the chart with examples of characterization that Angelou uses in her autobiography.

Description of a person’s physical appearance

Examples of the person’s speech, thoughts, or feelings

Speech, thoughts, or feelings of others

The narrator’s ideas or comments about the person

2. Which one is the most powerful one to characterize Mrs. Flowers and why?

3. What does Mrs. Flowers mean when she tells Marguerite she “must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding ofilliteracy”? Explain.

Name: Class:

"Relax Baby" is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

SleepingBy Katharine Weber

2003

Katharine Weber (b. 1955) is a contemporary American non-fiction writer and novelist. In this story, a younggirl is asked to babysit--but the job turns out to be different than she expected. As you read, take notes onthe unusual details the main character notices and how these details contribute to the story's finalrealization.

She would not have to change a diaper, they said.In fact, she would not have to do anything at all.Mrs. Winter said that Charles would not wakewhile she and Mr. Winter were out at the movies.He was a very sound sleeper, she said. No needto have a bottle for him or anything. Before theWinters left they said absolutely please not tolook in on the sleeping baby because the doorsqueaked too loudly.

Harriet had never held a baby, except for onebrief moment, when she was about six, whenMrs. Antler next door had surprisingly bestowed1

on her the tight little bundle that was their newbaby, Andrea. Harriet had sat very still and her arms had begun to ache from the tension by the timeMrs. Antler took back her baby. Andy was now a plump seven-year-old, older than Harriet had beenwhen she held her that day.

After two hours of reading all of the boring mail piled neatly on a desk in the bedroom and lookingthrough a depressing wedding album filled with photographs of dressed-up people in desperate needof orthodonture2 (Harriet had just ended two years in braces and was very conscious of malocclusion3

issues) while flipping channels on their television, Harriet turned the knob on the baby's door verytentatively, but it seemed locked. She didn’t dare turn the knob with more pressure because what ifshe made a noise and woke him and he started to cry?

She stood outside the door and tried to hear the sound of a baby breathing but she couldn’t hearanything through the door but the sound of the occasional car that passed by on the street outside.She wondered what Charles looked like. She wasn’t even sure how old he was. Why had she agreed tobaby-sit when Mr. Winter approached her at the swim club? She had never seen him before, and it wasflattering that he took her for being capable, as if just being a girl her age automatically qualified her asa baby-sitter.

[1]

1. Bestow (verb): to give or present2. Orthodonture refers to the branch of dentistry dealing with the prevention or correction of irregularities of the teeth.3. Malocclusion refers to a misalignment of teeth.

1

"Sleeping", © 2003, Katharine Weber. Reprinted with permission, all rights reserved.

By the time the Winters came home, Harriet had eaten most of the M & M's in the glass bowl on theircoffee table: first all the blue ones, then the red ones, then all the green ones, and so on, leaving, in theend, only the yellow.

They gave her too much money and didn’t ask her about anything. Mrs. Winter seemed to be waitingfor her to leave before checking on the baby. Mr. Winter drove her home in silence. When they reachedher house he said, My wife. He hesitated, then he said, You understand, don't you? and Harrietanswered Yes without looking at him or being sure what they were talking about although she didreally know what he was telling her and then she got out of his car and watched him drive away.

[5]

2

[RL.3]

[RL.1][RL.5]

[RL.4]

Text-Dependent QuestionsDirections: For the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. PART A: Why is Mr. Winter’s and Harriet’s interaction at swim club significant to thestory’s plot?

A. Mr. Winter knows Harriet to be mature for her age, so he asks Harriet to takethe unusual babysitting job to calm his wife’s concerns.

B. Mr. Winter asks her to babysit even though she has never seen him before,implying that he doesn’t care who babysits Charles and that he is a neglectfulfather.

C. Harriet suspects that Mr. Winter only approached her to babysit because of herage and because she’s a girl; this awareness is one of the first steps towards hergrowing up.

D. Mr. Winter asks her to babysit even though she has never seen him before; thisunusual approach is a clue that something is off concerning the Winter family.

2. PART B: Which TWO other details from the story have a similar effect as theanswer to Part A?

A. "She would not have to change a diaper, they said. In fact, she would not have todo anything at all" (Paragraph 1)

B. "He was a very sound sleeper, she said" (Paragraph 1)C. "Harriet had never held a baby, except for one brief moment" (Paragraph 2)D. "Andy was now a plump seven-year-old, older than Harriet had been when she

held her that day" (Paragraph 2)E. "Harriet turned the knob on the baby's door very tentatively, but it seemed

locked"F. "She didn’t dare turn the knob with more pressure because what if she made a

noise and woke him and he started to cry?" (Paragraph 3)

3. How is the word choice regarding the parents’ surname significant to the story? Citeevidence from the text in your response.

3

ACTIVITY #7

[RL.2]

[RL.1]

4. PART A: Which of the following best describes a theme of the story?A. People sometimes grieve in mysterious ways.B. Guilt can cause great changes in a person.C. Family supports each other no matter what.D. Death can force a person to grow up more quickly.

5. PART B: Which of the following quotes best supports the answer to Part A?A. “Harriet had never held a baby, except for one brief moment, when she was

about six, when Mrs. Antler next door had surprisingly bestowed on her thetight little bundle that was their new baby, Andrea.” (Paragraph 2)

B. “two hours of reading all of the boring mail piled neatly on a desk in thebedroom and looking through a depressing wedding album” (Paragraph 3)

C. “She wondered what Charles looked like. She wasn’t even sure how old he was.Why had she agreed to baby-sit when Mr. Winter approached her at the swimclub?” (Paragraph 4)

D. "Mrs. Winter seemed to be waiting for her to leave before checking on thebaby... When they reached her house he said, My wife. He hesitated, then hesaid, You understand, don't you?” (Paragraph 6)

4

Name: ACTIVITY #8: Claims & Evidence (Part 1)

Review: When making claims or other arguable statements in your writing, make sure you can support them with concrete evidence from reliable sources. By drawing upon such evidence, you make your writing more accurate. In addition, by quoting or citing such evidence when appropriate, you avoid plagiarism and make your writing more convincing.

For example, when writing an essay about a piece of literature, you might support a claim by quoting evidence from the text:

Claim: Patrick was not fearless; rather, he took action despite his fear.

Evidence: "Patrick bit his nails anxiously. Finally, he took a deep breath, nodded to himself with conviction, and burst into the room."

Similarly, when writing a report about a factual topic, you might support a claim by citing evidence from a relevant and credible source:

Claim: The majority of American adults are married.

Evidence: A 2011 report from the U.S. Census Bureau found that 50.8% of U.S. adults are married.

Directions: For each claim, clearly mark the strongest evidence to support the claim.

1. Criminalizing cyberbullying is not the most effective solution to the problem.

_______More than half of young people reported being cyberbullied in 2014.

_______A Democrat in the new York State Senate introduced a bill that called for prison time in some cyberbullying cases.

_______The co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center stated that the best response to cyberbullying includes in-school detention and family partnership programs.

2. College is worth the cost of tuition because graduates experience greater financialsuccess.

_______A prominent financial blogger writes, “My father dropped out of college in his senior year, and he always regretted it. I was determined to not make the same mistake.”

_______College graduates are more likely than those who don’t have college degrees to report being in excellent health.

_______The lifetime earnings of a college graduate are about half a million dollars more than those of someone with only a high school diploma.

3. Public schools should provide music classes because they are important for children’sdevelopment.

_______Research has shown that music training can help improve reading skills through the way it teaches students to distinguish between sounds and recognize language patterns.

_______At a recent conference for music educators, teachers noted that a lack of funding for the arts was making their jobs more difficult.

_______In a recent survey, a majority of elementary school students reported that they enjoy their music classes as much or more than they enjoy their math and science classes.

4. Educators should incorporate computer games into their classroom instruction.

_______A study published in an academic journal found that student engagement increased when a computer game about genetics was used in a high school classroom.

_______In recent years, a number of tech companies have prioritized the development of computer games that are both appropriate and fun for students in a classroom environment.

_______A ninth-grade student at Middlefield High School stated that playing computer games in her math class was the highlight of her day.

Name:ACTIVITY #9: Claims & Evidence (Part 2)

Directions: For each passage underline or highlight the evidence that best supports the bolded claim provided. There may be more than one correct choice.

1. In the following passage, Jared is teaching a new employee, Mae, how to completecustomer service requests. "Jared thinks he is smarter than the customers he helpsat work."

2. "Eleanor Roosevelt's relationship with the media was unlike that of any first ladybefore her."

3. "The narrator feels the anticipation of something is often better than the thing itself."

4. The following passage describes the bathing habits of people in 19th-century England."Bathwater was a shared resource in 19th-century homes."

evaluating Claims and reasoning

by Richard Vedder, April 09, 2012

A person who compares the annual earnings of college and high school graduates would no doubt conclude that higher education is a good investment—the present value of the college earnings premium (the better part of $1 million) seemingly far outdistances college costs, yielding a high rate of return. But for many, attending college is unequivocally not the right decision on purely economic grounds.

First of all, college graduates on average are smarter and have better work habits than high school graduates. Those who graduated from college were better students in high school, for example. Thus, at least a portion of the earnings premium associated with college has nothing to do with college per se, but rather with other traits.

Second, a goodly proportion (more than 40 percent) of those attending four-year colleges full-time fail to graduate, even within six years. At some colleges, the dropout rate is strikingly higher. While college students sometimes still gain marketable skills from partial attendance, others end up taking jobs that are often given to high school graduates, making little more money but having college debts and some lost earnings accrued while unsuccessfully pursing a degree.

Third, not everyone is average. A non-swimmer trying to cross a stream that on average is three feet deep might drown because part of the stream is seven feet in depth. The same kind of thing sometimes happens to college graduates too entranced by statistics on averages. Earnings vary considerably between the graduates of different schools, and within schools, earnings differ a great deal between majors. Accounting, computer science, and engineering majors, for example, almost always make more than those majoring in education, social work, or ethnic studies.

Fourth, the number of new college graduates far exceeds the growth in the number of technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have gravitated. As a consequence, we have a new phenomenon: underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with much less education. We have, for example, more than 100,000 janitors with college degrees, and 16,000 degree-holding parking lot attendants.

Does this mean no one should go to college? Of course not. First of all, college is more than training for a career, and many might benefit from the social and non-purely academic aspects of advanced schooling, even if the rate of return on college as a financial investment is low. Second, high school students with certain attributes are far less likely to drop out of school, and are likely to equal or excel the average statistics.

Students who do well in high school and on college entrance exams are much more likely to graduate. Those going to private schools may pay more in tuition, but they also have lower dropout rates. Those majoring in some subjects, such as education or one of the humanities, can sometimes improve their job situation by double majoring or earning a minor in, say, economics.

my Notes

key IdeAS ANd deTAILSWhere does the writer bring up the counterclaim, and how does he develop it?

Isn’t for EveryoneWhy College

opinion

key IdeAS ANd deTAILSWhat background details does the writer provide to set up the claim?

key IdeAS ANd deTAILSWhat are the major points in this opinion piece?

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As a general rule, I would say graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality high school should go on to a four-year degree program, while those in the bottom quarter of their class at a high school with a mediocre educational reputation should not (opting instead for alternative methods of credentialing and training).

Those in between should consider perhaps doing a two-year program and then transferring to a four-year school. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but it is important for us to keep in mind that college is not for everyone.

by Andrew J. Rotherham, May 19, 2011

Lately it’s become fashionable—especially among the highly credentialed—to question whether it’s really “worth it” to go to college. A recent report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education proposed deemphasizing college as the primary goal of our education system in favor of “multiple pathways” for students. Earlier this month, New York Magazine devoted almost 4,000 words to profiling venture capitalists (and college graduates) James Altucher and Peter Thiel and their efforts to convince Americans that they’d be better off skipping college. Thiel is even creating a $100,000 fellowship for young people who agree to delay going to college in favor of an internship.

Make no mistake, there is widespread dissatisfaction with higher education. According to a new survey released by the Pew Research Center, only 40 percent of Americans felt that colleges provided an “excellent” or “good” value for the money. At the same time, 86 percent of college graduates still felt the investment was a good one for them.

To understand these competing views, you have to juggle a few different ideas at once. First, there are plenty of problems with higher education—poor quality, even at brand-name schools, and out-of-control costs are two of the biggest. College presidents themselves shared some of these concerns and others with the Pew researchers. Second, it’s true: College isn’t for everyone. There are plenty of rewarding and important jobs and careers that do not require college. And due to the sluggish economy, there may in fact be more graduates than the current job market needs, or a temporary “college bubble.” Jobs for recent grads are harder to find, and salaries are lower, but that won’t last forever. And in spite of all of this, the data make clear that getting a college education is still a good idea—college graduates earn more, and are more likely to have a job in the first place—and is especially important for some Americans.

my Notes

key IdeAS ANd deTAILSWhat background details

does the writer provide to set up the claim?

Actually, College Is

Very Much Worth It

opinion

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evaluating Claims and reasoning

Anti-college sentiment is nothing new. Mark Twain admonished us not to let schooling interfere with education, and we’ve always celebrated the maverick who blazes their own path. These days, it’s Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, or Apple’s Steve Jobs—all college dropouts—who are held up as evidence of why all that time sitting in class is better spent elsewhere. Perhaps, but it’s also worth remembering that their companies are bursting with college graduates. And what about all the people who didn’t finish college and are not at the helm of a wildly successful venture?

Nobody spends a lot of time highlighting their stories, but let’s not lose sight of what happens to them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, the median weekly earnings for someone with some college but no degree were $712, compared to $1038 for a college graduate. That’s almost $17,000 over the course of a year and there is an even bigger divide for those with less education. College graduates are also more likely to be in jobs with better benefits, further widening the divide. Meanwhile, in 2010, the unemployment rate was 9.2 percent for those with only some college and more than 10 percent for those with just a high school degree, but it was 5.4 percent for college graduates. The economic gaps between college completers and those with less education are getting larger, too.

It’s also odd to talk down college—which is the most effective social mobility strategy we have—at the very time Americans are becoming concerned about income inequality. Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution found that without a college degree, only 14 percent of Americans from the bottom fifth of parental income reach the top two-fifths. But if they complete college, 41 percent of this same group can then expect to make it to the top two-fifths. Haskins’ data also shows the extent to which debates like this are a luxury of the privileged, because their children enjoy much more of a safety net and the risks are different for them. In other words, children from low-income families gain more by going to college than children of the wealthy lose by not going.

So here’s the key takeaway: Education gives you choices. Assuming you don’t pile up mountains of debt that constrain your career options (and that outcome is avoidable) or go to a school where just fogging a mirror is good enough to get a diploma, there are not a lot of downsides to going to college. The stories of entrepreneurs who bootstrapped themselves are exciting but most of us are not a Gates or Zuckerberg. So before heeding the advice of the college naysayers, make sure you understand the stakes and the odds. Or, here’s a good rule of thumb instead: When people who worked hard to achieve something that has benefitted them start telling you that it’s really not all that important or useful—beware.

Disclosure: I’m a member of the Visiting Committee for the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

my Notes

key IdeAS ANd deTAILSWhat are the major points in this opinion piece?

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“Why College Isn’t for Everyone” “Actually, College Is Very Much Worth It”

Claim: Claim:

Evidence: Evidence:

Counterclaims: Counterclaims:

Evidence: Evidence:

ACTIVITY #10: Comparing Claims & EvidenceDirections: Compare the claims made by each of these two writers. Evaluate the reasons

and evidence used by each writer. What is relevant and convincing?

Foreachtext,writetheclaimanditssupportingevidenceinthefollowingchart.

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4. Which writer presents the more convincing argument? Why? Cite evidence tosupport your conclusion.

5. What elements, if any, do you think are missing from either of these pieces?Explain.

6. Why do you think Andrew J. Rotherham disclosed at the end of his article thathe is a member of an educational group? How does this disclosure affect yourperception of his argument?

Conclusion/Call to ActionAn argument contains a conclusion that often restates the primary claim and tries to convince the reader to take an action.

7. What is the call to action in each of these pieces?

evaluating Claims and reasoning

my Notes

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Name:_________________________

Activity #11: Comma Practice

Review: Comma RulesThese are the rules you will need to complete this activity. There are a few more comma rules, but these are the one most commonly assessed on the ACT and Aspire tests.

• Use commas to separate items on a list of three or more.• Use commas to separate independent clauses (complete thoughts) when they are

joined by the following conjunctions (FANBOYS) - For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So• Use a comma to separate a dependent clause (incomplete thought) from an

independent clause (complete thought).• Use two commas in a sentence to separate out information that is not essential to

the sentence. This is similar to using parentheses.• Use a comma after an introductory clause or phrase.

Directions: Rewrite each sentence below including the commas that are missing. Some sentences have more than one comma.

1. I love cooking my family and my friends. (*you can add words and commas to this one if needed.)

2. Grant Park Beach in Oak Creek is a great place to find beach glass.

3. Gwen left her running shoes and water bottle at the track but I’ll drop them off at her house.

4. You haven’t really experienced pizza until you’ve had it in Manhattan Brooklyn Queens or the Bronx.

5. After I ate New York pizza I knew it was the best.

6. While some people are panicking over toilet paper I’m stocking up on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

7. We’re going to learn to cut and paste kids

8. Because I am always hungry in the morning I make sure to eat two breakfasts: hobbit style.

9. Everything you read fills your brain with new bits of information and you never know when it might come in handy.

10. The bearded man Ron Swanson stores bacon in various parts of his office.

Adapted from K12Reader. Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms.

Name: ___________________________

Add a Dependent Clause to an Independent ClauseAn independent, or coordinate, clause is a clause that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone.

A dependent, or subordinate, clause is a clause that does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

Curt called his father who was still at work. In the example Curt called his father is an independent clause. It would be a complete sentence without anything else added to it. The clause who was still at work is a dependent clause. It does not express a complete thought and is not a complete sentence.

Below are independent clauses. Write a sentence for each one, adding a dependent clause to add interest. Be sure to capitalize the beginning word of each sentence.

Example: We went for a walk We went for a walk after the rain stopped.

1. it was midnight by the lake__________________________________________________________________________________

2. Shawna enjoys popcorn

3. the soccer team won their game

4. at the end of the street the stoplight was flashing

5. Carlos pushed the elevator button

6. the clothes at the mall are expensive

7. I will call you on Friday

8. the hospital room was empty

Activity #11: Dependent to Independent Clause

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Adapted from K12Reader. Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms.

Name: ___________________________

Add an Independent Clause to a Dependent Clause

An independent, or coordinate, clause is a clause that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone.

A dependent, or subordinate, clause is a clause that does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

Curt called his father who was still at work.

In the example Curt called his father is an independent clause. It would be a complete sentence without anything else added to it. The clause who was still at work is a dependent clause. It does not express a complete thought and is not a complete sentence.

Below are dependent clauses. Write a sentence for each one, adding an independent clause to make a complete sentence. Be sure to capitalize the beginning word of each sentence.

Example: after the rain stopped We went for a walk after the rain stopped.

1. who gave the best report ____________________________________________________________

2. because she liked to sing ____________________________________________________________

3. when he arrived at the library __________________________________________________________

4. although it was the long way to go ______________________________________________________

5. that he thought was locked ___________________________________________________________

6. which was against the chair ___________________________________________________________

7. who was born in Illinois _____________________________________________________________

8. if the plane is late ___________________________________________________________________

Activity #11: Independent to Dependent Clause

Adapted from K12Reader. Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms.

Name: ___________________________

Activity #12: Parts of an Essay Writing Introductions: Lead Types

Most introductions have three basic parts: an attention-getting lead, a bridge or transition from the lead to the thesis, and the thesis statement.

A lead is important to an introduction. It captures the attention of the reader. An interesting lead is a “hook” that encourages the reader to keep reading. Many times, the lead does not seem to relate to the topic. The bridge serves the purpose of connecting the lead to the topic and thesis statement.

There are several types of leads.

Factoid: The writer gives an interesting fact or piece of trivia.

Personal story: The writer tells an anecdote or gives a personal opinion on another subject.

Metaphor: The writer tells about an unrelated item that will be compared to the topic.

Surprise statement: The writer gives a surprising opinion or startling idea.

Description: The writer paints a picture of a scene or event to put the reader in a setting.

Below are two thesis statements. Write two different types of leads for each thesis statement.

1. Students should have a study hall built into their school schedule because of their after school activitiesand responsibilities.

Lead 1 Lead 2

Type: ____________________________________ Type: ___________________________________

2. Although grades are a traditional method of assessing knowledge, they are an inadequate form of feedbackand do not show mastery.

Lead 1 Lead 2

Type: ____________________________________ Type: ___________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Name: __________________

ACTIVITY #12: Parts of an Essay Identifying Thesis Statements

Review: Method #1: Topic + Your Position + Rationale (Reasons that support your position) = Thesis

Statement ➔ Example: Eleanor Roosevelt became the most influential woman in the twentieth century

by using her position as first lady to advocate for women's rights, stand against racial discrimination, and help the nation's poor.

Method #2: Counterargument (opposing viewpoint that you will argue against + Your Position + Rationale = Thesis Statement ➔ Example: Although many believe that a fancy prom is the most important night of a

teenager's life, prom is not worth all of the hype because it is financially not possible forsome students, causes students to lose focus on academics, and creates stress instudents and parents.

*There are other methods for writing thesis statements, but these are the most common.

Directions: For each set of statements below clearly mark (with an x, check, or circle) the one that is a thesis statement.

1. _______In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that nearly one hundred thousand

animals suffered pain during scientific experiments.

_______The aim of this paper is to show why animals should not be used in scientific experiments.

_______Animals should not be used in scientific experiments, since such experiments subject animals to pain and suffering.

2. _______Legal scholars disagree about whether the National Security Administration’s program

to collect phone data from millions of Americans violates the Fourth Amendment.

_______What should be done in response to the National Security Administration’s collection of phone data from millions of Americans?

_______The National Security of Administration’s collection of phone data from millions of Americans should be ruled as unconstitutional.

3. _______The government should subsidize college for median-income Americans to help with

the rising cost of tuition.

_______This paper will discuss how the rising cost of college tuition has affected median-income Americans.

_______What should the government do to help with the rising cost of tuition in the United

States?

4. _______How can reducing large classroom sizes improve performance on standardized testing

for students in the United States?

_______The number of students per teacher has been shown to influence overall student achievement in classrooms in the United States.

_______Reducing classroom sizes is the most effective way to improve test performance for students in the United States.

5. _______The aim of this paper is to show why school start times are too early for teenagers.

_______The early start time of high schools across America needs to change because it causes sleep deprivation, mood swings, and caffeine dependence in teenagers.

_______Research proves that teenagers are not getting enough sleep.

6. _______Although younger generations argue that today’s technology has made them better

at interacting with others and more socially aware, the reality is that technology has created teenagers today who lack soft skills and are less driven.

_______Technolgoy has only helped teenagers stay connected.

_______There are many benefits when using technology.

Name: ___________________________

Activity #12: Writing IntroductionsLead, Bridge, and Thesis

Most introductions include three parts: the lead, which catches the attention of the reader, the bridge which connects the lead to the topic, and the thesis statement which is a sentence that states the author’s opinion or the main idea of the text. The thesis may also forecast the important points of the text.

Below are two essay topics and the main points that should be covered in the essay. Write an introduction for each topic. Be sure to state a position in your thesis statement.

1. Subject: Fruits and vegetablesMain points: vitamins, weight control, disease prevention

2. Subject: Driving lessonsMain points: build confidence, give guidance for beginners, increase abilities

Adapted from K12Reader. Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved. Free for educational use at home or in classrooms.

Writing Graphic Organizer

Paragraph #1 – Introduction Attention-grabbing beginning -

Description of issue/Background -

Thesis Statement -

Paragraph #2 (reason 1)

Evidence & Explanation

Paragraph # 3 (reason 2) Evidence & Explanation

Paragraph #4 (reason 3)

Evidence & Explanation

Paragraph #5 – Conclusion Restate your thesis-

Summarize 3 reasons -

Call to action or closing statement -

Can you include an opposing viewpoint and show the weakness in that opposing argument?

RUSD Writing Assessment

9th Grade Writing Task/Prompt:

Step 1: Task

Your task is to write a clear, convincing argument that supports your perspective on school start times, and carefully consider the other viewpoint as you write your argument. .

1. First you will review the perspective below. The perspective shares one belief or side of theargument related to the topic.

2. Once you have reviewed the perspective, you will develop your own perspective.3. In your writing you will discuss the relationship between your perspective and the provided

perspective .

Step 2: Essay Topic:

School Start Times

Many studies have suggested that sleep deprivation is a widespread problem among children and teenagers. Teens in particular struggle to fully engage both mentally and physically at early hours. Moreover, later sleep times have been shown to improve brain and physical development. Today’s early school start times; however, are based on traditional schedules that are focused more on historical precedent than recent discoveries in human cognitive development. Basing their opinion on the studies, some feel that schools should adjust their schedules to conform to the findings of this research. Given the growing awareness of the crucial nature of sleep on not only physical but also intellectual and emotional development, it is worthwhile to explore this issue.

Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about adjusting school start times.

● Perspective One - To maximize the effectiveness of the learning process, school start timesshould be pushed back an hour or more across the board to improve the sleep kids get and helpthem do better in their studies.

Step 3: Write your essay You will take a stance on the provided topic, and support your ideas with logical reasoning and

detailed, persuasive examples. You are not to use any outside sources to back up your position. You need to use your own knowledge, experiences, and things you've learned in school or studied on your own. Consider the following to support your answer.

● What are the strengths and weaknesses of the two perspectives provided?● Identify the insights they present and what they fail to consider. What are the similarities and

differences to your belief and how can you incorporate those into your essay to defend yourperspective?

RUSD Writing Assessment

9th Grade Assessment Rubric

Standard: W. 9-10.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence (Introduce, develop and provide closure to precise claims using specific word choices)

1 (Needs Support) 2 (Basic) 3 (Proficient) 4 (Advanced)

Lead/ Introduction

The writer: ● wrote a few

sentencessuggesting a topicor argument.

The writer: ● attempted to interest

readers in theargument.

● attempted to showreaders what thepiece would argueand forecasted theparts of the argument.

The writer: ● provided a specific

context for their own aswell as another’sposition(s),

● introduced the position,and oriented readers tothe overall line ofargument that would bedeveloped.

The writer: ● demonstrated the

significance of theargument.

● offered hints ofupcoming parts of theessay.

● presented neededbackground informationto show the complexityof the issue.

● distinguished theirargument from others.

Organization The writer: ● had a lead, body

and conclusion.

The writer: ● attempted to arrange

parts of the piece tosuit the purpose andto lead readers fromone claim,counterclaim, reason,or piece of evidenceto another.

The writer: ● organized claims,

counterclaims, reasons,and evidence intosections.

● clarified how sections areconnected to theargument.

The writer: ● uses the claims,

counterclaims, andevidence as theorganizational structureto solidify and clarifythe reader'sunderstanding of theargument.

Elaboration The writer: ● wrote an opinion

statement about atopic.

The writer: ● attempted to write

about anotherpossible position orclaim.

● attempted to showwhy readers shouldcare about theargument.

The writer: ● analyzed the relevance

of the reasons and evidence for their claims and counterclaims.

● used analysis so readers could follow the line of argument.

The writer: ● angled and/or framed

evidence to clearly andfairly represent variousperspectives, while alsomaintaining a clearposition.

● used aspects of theargument that weremost significant tosolidify the argument.

Craft The writer: ● used an informal

writing style thatincludedconversationalword choice,syntax orpunctuation.

The writer: ● attempts to use a

more formal style ofwriting, but haselements ofconversational wordchoice, syntax, andpunctuation.

The writer: ● consistently uses a

formal style of writing,including words, syntaxand punctuation toprovide information toreaders.

The writer: ● conforms to guidelines

of a particular style ofpersuasive/opinionwriting (i.e. APA, MLA)and carefully utilizesword choices that elicita formal style of writing.

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